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The data for this case was collected from legal and business research databases (Lexis, ABI/INFORM)) and from business press sources (for example, Forbes, the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal). Emails between the Egg Board, the Food and Drug Administration and key players at Unilever are referenced throughout the case and were provided by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service Compliance Branch and obtained pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Federal regulations and codes, as applicable, are also referenced (The US Code, the Code of Federal Regulations).

This short case presents the problems of Just Mayo, a start-up company, in maintaining and growing market share in an industry dominated by a well-established, multinational firm. In 2011 Hampton Creek (renamed Just, Inc in 2018) began operations as a manufacturer of plant-based food products. One of its earliest products was Just Mayo, a sandwich spread with all the attributes of traditional mayonnaise except without eggs or other dairy products. Shortly after Just Mayo was introduced, Unilever – a multinational conglomerate and food giant, sued Hampton Creek, claiming that use of the name “Just Mayo” amounted to false advertising and unfair competition.

This case is a learning tool for management, business law and ethics students at the undergraduate level. It was used in 2019 in a business law class at the sophomore and junior undergraduate level, where the focus was primarily on ethical considerations for all parties, understanding the role of regulatory agencies, and the legality of the strategies used. However, this case is equally applicable for a management or strategic management course with a focus on analyzing the tactics used for maintaining competitive advantage. A stakeholder analysis for various parties in either of these courses would also be suitable. Instructors addressing some of these topics together should find it particularly useful.

The purpose of this editorial is to reflect on the growing interest of situated project research.

The editorial is conceptual and relies on published work and the articles included in the special issue.

With this special issue it is found that practice‐based studies, also called Projects‐as‐Practice studies, interested in the everyday activities of project practitioners, are multi‐faceted and rich. What may also be seen is that practice‐based studies are not yet a coherent area. However, it is more important that practice‐based studies allow researchers to understand the organization less as an entity and more as a socially‐accomplished task.

Several implications for research are offered, including the need for studies that emphasize the small details of organizing, and that practice‐based studies are not restricted to a certain methodology but depend on what a particular paper tries to accomplish.

With an ever‐growing stream of research focusing on projects the guest editors argue that it is about time to look into the details of organizing. This could be accomplished through a number of ways but in this special issue it is proposed that approaching traditional areas with a conscious naivety when asking the questions may do it. For the practitioner, the special issue offers important insights into how things are done in practice, which may be used as a mirror or reflection upon their own practice.

This editorial and special issue offer insights for any academic interested in understanding projects differently.

The aim of this study is to explore potential barriers to seafood consumption by young adults and the parents of young children. Knowledge of these barriers will be used to assist the development of new seafood product concepts that fulfil the needs of consumers.

To gather this information, 28 infrequent consumers of seafood participated in three semi‐structured two‐hour focus group discussions in Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. The results were then linked to the Stage‐Gate model for consumer‐based new product development (NPD).

The participants thought of seafood as either healthy or convenient, although there were concerns about the amount of effort required to prepare it. These concerns resulted in an expression of their need for products that are attractive, healthy, palatable, and convenient. In particular, the newly developed products should be accompanied by clear advice on preparation methods and materials. An increase in seafood availability coupled with lower prices would encourage these consumers to add seafood to their diet.

Purchase‐point‐marketing and habitual behaviour were found to implicitly skew planned behaviour.

Inputs for NPD related to convenience, attractiveness, quality, trustworthiness, knowledge and requirements about seafood preparation are discussed.

The present study combines qualitative methods to lead to practical input for NPD focusing on overcoming the barriers that keep consumers from choosing existing healthy seafood products. The importance of the consumers' confidence in their ability to successfully prepare a seafood meal was revealed and can be used in Stage‐Gate based NPD.

Global Connect, a major telecommunications service provider, partners with national cable providers to bundle media and telecom services offered through voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). Global Connect provides the VoIP physical infrastructure that enables cable providers to offer VoIP phone service to their end customers. VoIP cable services are growing at a faster rate than anticipated, leaving Global Connect incapable of meeting contractual agreements with the cable partners and preventing them from capturing substantial VoIP market opportunities. Students are asked to improve the configuration of work at this service organization by identifying the types of waste in the current process. Process improvements use lean tools and their impact is quantified using time and capacity analysis.

To view a service business as a process and to understand where to find the constraints regarding customer responsiveness (flow time) and sales (throughput). This requires a rather subtle capacity analysis.

Core groups stand as the tangible, but fluid repositories of knowledge, influence and power in organizations. Thus, the core group in any organization is the focal point of organizational learning throughout the organization, because people act to fulfill the perceived needs and priorities of some key group of people. An organization goes wherever its people perceive that the core group needs and wants to go. An organization becomes whatever its people perceive that the core group needs and wants it to become. Core Group Theory holds implications for how the complex of power, knowledge and influence interacts with organizational opportunities for genuine learning and creativity.

This paper aims to describe how knowledge management (KM) in planning can support the sustainability of innovation in a hybrid, joint-use facility. The case study research studies ImaginOn, a 15 year-old children’s library and theater for young people in Charlotte, NC.

This research used KM model analysis of qualitative data about tacit-explicit knowledge, intellectual capital (IC) and cognitive modes of collaboration. Both historic documents and primary data (from field study observations, interviews and a questionnaire) were analyzed for informal KM practices. Semi-structured and unstructured interview questions about innovation were used.

This study found evidence of tacit knowledge sharing, the growth of IC and the operationalization of collaboration to promote innovation. Although traditional KM terms were not used by staff, an integrated model framework demonstrates how KM practices promote innovation in planning joint-use facilities.

Although a study of a diverse cultural collaboration rather than two libraries, the KM practices that supported innovation and collaboration in this hybrid, joint-use facility might be applied to libraries. Future KM model research on joint-use organizations could investigate merged businesses, government programs and non-profits.

The library and theater institutions in ImaginOn impact the lives of children and parents in meaningful ways that support community understanding, art, diversity and social interaction.

Research on joint-use libraries began in the 1960s. This case study provides unique model analysis of KM practices in a hybrid, joint-use facility (a library and theater). The innovative success and sustainability of ImaginOn illustrates the application of KM for strategic planning and aligning IC and business assets.