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AfrobitLink Ltd was an information technology (IT) firm with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. AfrobitLink started as a very small IT firm with less than two dozen staff. Within a few years of its founding, AfrobitLink established itself as a dependable organization known for delivering high-quality IT services. However, starting in 2004, AfrobitLink experienced rapid growth as it expanded to serve the telecommunications firms taking advantage of the deregulated market. This rapid expansion resulted in many challenges for AfrobitLink. The firm rapidly expanded into all 36 states in Nigeria, hiring a manager to oversee the company’s operations in each of the states. Poor hiring practices, inadequate training, excessive spans of control, low accountability, a subjective reward system, and other cultural issues, such as a relaxed attitude to time, resulted in low motivation, high employee turnover, poor customer service, and financial losses. By 2013, the firm was operating at a loss and its reputation was in shambles. Generally, the culture was toxic: employees did not identify with the firm or care about its goals, there were no performance standards, employees were not held accountable, self-interest and discrimination prevailed. The organization was in a downward spiral. Consultants were hired to help sort out the firm’s problems but these efforts yielded few results. Ken Wilson, the founder’s son, was hired in 2014 as VP of Administration to help get the firm back on track. As a change agent, Ken had to decide how to address the issues facing the firm and how to achieve profitable growth.

Primary sources included interviews with the company CEO, his wife, his son, and a volunteer staff member. Secondary sources included the company website. The names of the people and the firm in the case have been changed to provide anonymity.

This case is intended for use in graduate courses (although it can also be used in upper level undergraduate courses) in change management/organization development, organizational behavior, leadership, or international management. For graduate courses, students may focus on application or integration of several theories or concepts. For upper level undergraduate courses, students may focus on application of a single theory or concept. Below are suggested texts or readings for each type of student by subject.

Change management theories (e.g. Lewin’s force field analysis (Schein, 1996), Kotter’s eight-step change management process (Kotter, 2007), The change kaleidoscope approach (Balogun and Hailey, 2008)), social identity theory (Tajfel, 1981), attribution theory (Kelley, 1972), leadership theories (e.g. Hersey and Blanchard, 1969), intercultural/international management theories (e.g. Hofstede, 1980, 1991).

This case should be paired with textbook chapters that cover the important roles of leadership, staffing and corporate culture in the strategy implementation effort. The case can also be used to review textbook chapters covering competitive and industry analysis, differentiation strategies, goal setting and financial analysis. In advanced courses, readings on leadership and corporate social responsibility should be assigned to inform debates regarding Vasu’s style and his commitment to creating shared value. Alternatively, instructors in retail management courses could assign readings that investigate the linkages of human resource management, service quality and other behaviors to optimal supermarket performance.

The authors revised this case and Teaching Noes from an MBA student case writing project in Fall 2017. The student conducted focus groups with Pacific Market’s consumers, worked with Vasu and his consultant, Tom Scott, a former CEO of a local grocery chain, supplemented with secondary industry research and demographic information about the cities of Sebastopol and Santa Rosa. Meetings to develop the company mission statement and long-term goals took place over Fall 2017. Tom provided the operating information and trade area analysis used in the case, and Vasu provided financial statements and background information.

After a career as a turnaround specialist for Silicon Valley high-tech startups, Vasudev Narayanan (Vasu) acquired Pacific Market, a two-store chain in Sonoma County, California, in 2013. By Fall 2017, rival local chains had expanded, online vendors threatened in-store shopping, the Amazon-Whole Foods combination threatened disruption, and consumers increasingly insisted on “buying local.” Vasu aimed to grow revenues 50 percent by 2020, and fund Good Karma Foundation, a charity in his native India. Strategies to achieve these objectives included infrastructure investments, employee profit sharing, changing the mix of products and amenities or finding a buyer for the operation.

The Pacific Market case is intended for undergraduate or MBA-level strategic management courses. The case pairs well with coverage of how leaders approach the strategy implementation effort, a topic typically introduced toward the end of the course. The case gives students practice in applying strategy formulation concepts and frameworks, e.g. PESTEL analysis, Porter’s industry forces, key industry drivers, strategic group mapping, SWOT analysis, corporate social responsibility and financial ratio analysis. Instructors might also use this case to cover similar material in retail management courses. The case is highly suitable as a written assignment for an examination and/or for team presentations.

It was December 13, 2010. The Government of Uttar Pradesh announced their plan to urbanize the entire area along the Yamuna Expressway (YE) in order to prevent haphazard growth of urban sprawls on the flanks of the YE. The YE was conceived in 1997 as a dream project of Ms Mayawati, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, with the idea of reducing the travel time between Delhi (and the larger National Capital Region) and Agra. It was a 165 km long expressway and was proposed to run from Greater Noida to Agra via Mathura. Amidst issues concerning land acquisition, and various protests and litigations, the deadline for completion of the project had extended beyond its original completion date of February 8, 2010 to April 2013. Meanwhile, the project cost had escalated from Rs 2500 crore (cr) in the year 2000 to about Rs 10,000 cr as of December 2010. By then, about 80% work on the expressway had been completed. The project was finally expected to be completed around April 2011. This was, however, subject to the pending court judgements and mitigation of risks as perceived by Jaypee Infratech, the concessionaire of the project.

In early 2006, the anticipated expansion of package delivery services in China provided a great opportunity for the two package delivery giants FedEx and UPS. It was unclear which of these firms would make the most of this opportunity. An analysis of financial performance suggests that UPS is the better performer. On the other hand, the FedEx stock price performance has been far stronger. This apparent conflict highlights the fact that stock prices reflect anticipated future performance and new information. A teaching note and instructor and student spreadsheets are available.

Specific teaching and learning objectives include to identify factors influencing market expansion decisions and recommend appropriate entry modes, understand factors in the international business environment that contribute to success or failure of international businesses in developing countries, evaluate strategies enabling international businesses to sustain market presence in developing countries and overcome local competition, analyze the concept of local responsiveness in international business operations and suggest strategies for internationalizing domestic companies from developing countries.

The McDonald’s case examines the challenges associated with market expansion by global brands. The case occurs during the early-globalization era in the 1990s. Barbados, a developing country, is the site for potential expansion. Prospective investors, the Winters, are desirous of establishing a McDonald’s in Barbados. They need to thoroughly analyze the previous experience of McDonald’s against the host country’s current international business environment, e.g. political, economic, cultural and competitive environment. This case analysis provides a framework for understanding the multifaceted reasons behind McDonald’s exit from Barbados, considering the complex interplay of political, economic, sociocultural, technological and legal factors in the international business environment. The case equips the instructor and students to explore the risks of international expansion, particularly in developing country markets. The case study on McDonald’s failure in Barbados highlights the need to thoroughly examine one’s market entry strategy and available information on the host market and be more locally responsive regarding tastes and preferences. The case study also presents essential lessons for firms and planners from developing countries. Local firms innovated and enhanced their operations in response to the threat from the entry of the global fast-food giant. Yet, they did not seek to internationalize once McDonald’s exited the Barbadian market. The case study, therefore, considers strategies firms from developing countries could utilize to penetrate markets from developed countries.

At the undergraduate level, the McDonald’s Barbados case can be used in international business classes to highlight risks in the international business environment and the need for a carefully planned and executed market entry strategy.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS5: International Business.

It is February 2011 and Brian France, CEO of NASCAR (the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), is facing a crisis. In the last five years, attendance at weekend NASCAR races has fallen 22 percent and television viewership has declined 30 percent. Key marketing sponsors have recently left the sport. At the same time, the U.S. economy was only beginning to recover from an economic recession that had an adverse impact on the sport of auto racing as a whole. Some leaders within NASCAR counseled Brian that these trends in attendance, viewership, and sponsorship stemmed from the recession and that NASCAR should continue with business as usual. But Brian sensed that the industry needed fundamental change and that he, as CEO of NASCAR, was the one that must lead this change.

With Brian at the helm, NASCAR embarked on an unprecedented amount of qualitative and quantitative research to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the entire industry. At the center of this research was the NASCAR consumer. Highly engaged, enthusiastic consumers were at the heart of an industry business model that had been successful for decades. But in 2011, marketing within all of NASCAR needed to transform, as it was clear that consumers were disengaging with the sport.

As the consumer research results unfold, Brian and leaders within NASCAR must make tough choices and set priorities. The case focuses on four key areas in which decisions need to be made by NASCAR leadership: digital marketing and social media, targeting the next-generation NASCAR consumer, enhancing the star power of NASCAR drivers, and enhancing the consumer experience at NASCAR events. Focus group videos offer students a customer-centric deep-dive into these challenges.

At its heart, this is a case about great leadership and transforming marketing throughout an entire industry. A wrap-up video from CEO Brian France summarizes how NASCAR executives tackled the difficult questions posed in the case.

• Understand how deep consumer engagement is at the heart of a successful marketing ecosystem

• Analyze focus group videos to understand the needs of today's consumer

• Prioritize the market segments that should be cultivated as the next-generation consumer

• Understand how differing incentives within an industry are at the heart of many marketing problems

• Analyze a complex set of problems and set and manage priorities

• Understand the importance of leadership in a time of crisis

Understand how deep consumer engagement is at the heart of a successful marketing ecosystem

Analyze focus group videos to understand the needs of today's consumer

Prioritize the market segments that should be cultivated as the next-generation consumer

Understand how differing incentives within an industry are at the heart of many marketing problems

Analyze a complex set of problems and set and manage priorities

Understand the importance of leadership in a time of crisis

This case presents the leadership challenges that Chief Petty Officer Amanda Smith navigated as the first woman assigned to lead a Flight Line work center at NAS Ionian, an organization that was characterized by a culture of “hegemonic masculinity.” Failure to effectively lead the work center could have catastrophic consequences, including death of service personnel. Flight Line work centers, located in naval air stations throughout the world, serviced the air operations of aircraft carriers of the US Navy and provided allied air support. The assignment was a test of Smith’s leadership because the NAS Ionian Flight Line had experienced a spate of misconduct by personnel and had failed important maintenance inspections. Chief Smith was tasked to improve the morale and performance of the work center’s sailors who had diverse personal and professional backgrounds. She was also directed to ensure that the work center passed important maintenance inspections despite the challenges of dealing with subordinates, rank peers, and senior officers who had never previously worked with a woman in her role.

The case study is based on primary data collected from the protagonist, a.k.a. Amanda Smith. The primary data are supplemented with secondary data from published sources. The names of the air station and the protagonist have been altered to protect the identity of individuals in the case.

The case is applicable to senior undergraduate courses in HRM performance or talent management, training and development as well as in MBA or other Master’s level courses in management, industrial-organizational psychology, organizational behavior and leadership.

The case deals with leadership style (e.g. Initiating structure – organizing work, giving structure to the work context, defining role responsibility, scheduling work activities; consideration – building camaraderie, respect, trust, and liking between leaders and followers); organizational culture; diversity management; power and influence; and performance management.

They are as follows: to identify strategic growth opportunities for SMEs in the South African craft beer industry; to understand the complexities associated with operating a craft beer SME in the South African alcohol sector and analyse the SME’s strategic decision-making process that happens as a result; to understand the challenges and identify opportunities for entrepreneurship and growth in an emerging economy and niche segment; to develop a differentiation strategy for a small player in a competitive market; and to impart industry-specific knowledge and insight on the craft brewing industry.

The case is centred on the challenges that Hein Swart, managing director of Mitchell’s Brewery, is facing in sustaining business operations amid heavy regulations and increasing competition from existing craft breweries. In addition, there is the entry of a different type of competitor into the South African market that did not exist previously. The case narrative broadly presents several industry themes that interact with each other and create the existing complexities.

This case is targeted at postgraduate business school students with some work experience who want to build their critical thinking, business management and strategic decision-making skills such as Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and Executive MBA academic programmes, and also delegates on Executive Education programmes. The case is expected to be used as a case study for courses in entrepreneurship and strategic management; however, it can also be applied in strategic marketing courses.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship

This case is meant for MBA/MS/executive MBA students.

Entrepreneurship development, leadership.

This case is about the successful entrepreneurial journey of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder of India-based biotechnology company Biocon Limited. Mazumdar-Shaw established Biocon in 1978 as a joint venture company. As a woman entrepreneur, Mazumdar-Shaw faced many challenges and setbacks during her initial days. She overcame these and took Biocon to new heights. Later, Mazumdar-Shaw decided to make a strategic shift in Biocon’s business model – going from manufacturing enzymes to biopharmaceuticals with the vision of making an impact on global health care by providing access to affordable, life-saving drugs.

The learning outcomes are as follows: understand the ecosystem of women entrepreneurs in developing countries; examine the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in their entrepreneurial journey and how successful entrepreneurs convert challenges into opportunities; and analyze what entrepreneurial leadership is and understand how these leadership qualities play an important role in the success of entrepreneurial ventures.

Mazumdar-Shaw was able to break through the gender barrier that was highly prevalent in Indian society then and successfully established her entrepreneurial venture in biotechnology, a discipline that was still nascent in the1970s. Though she has scaled great heights in the biotechnology area and developed her business, she has remained sensitive to the problems of those who are unable to get affordable medicines. Firmly believing that she should share the prosperity of the company with the poor and the marginalized, Mazumdar-Shaw, through her philanthropic venture, Biocon Foundation, started providing essential drugs at affordable prices to them.

CCS 3: Entrepreneurship.