The future of petroleum business at RIL – to stay or to exit
Publication date: 9 November 2016
Abstract
Subject area
Subject areas are strategic management and marketing management.
Study level/applicability
This case can be used in strategic management and marketing management courses for MBA students.
Case overview
This case discusses the future of petroleum business at Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) – whether to stay or exit. This scenario took place between 2001 and 2008. The volatility in the external environment was beyond their control. Or was it so? This case encapsulates the characteristics of innovative strategy formulation, leading to successful differentiation in a regulated and commoditized industry. This case portrays two significant aspects of business strategy by RIL. First is to comprehend the pioneering strategies formulation and implementation by RIL in the petroleum retailing business. Second is the severe impact of external forces on the company’s current and future prospects and what contingency plans could have been made.
Expected learning outcomes
This study enables to understand how innovative and differentiation strategies can be successfully applied in a commoditized business; to comprehend the effective application of forward integration and brand extension in a complex, scale-driven industry; and to understand the implication of external threats severely disrupting a growing business.
Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Subject code
CSS 11: Strategy
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Dr Sonia Mehrotra, Associate Professor and Head, Center of Excellence for Case Development, Weschool, Bangalore, for reviewing and editing of the manuscript.
Professors Githa Heggde and Deepak Shyam wrote this case study solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation.
This case study is published in partnership with Prin. L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, India (www.welingkar.org).
Citation
Heggde, G. and Shyam, D. (2016), "The future of petroleum business at RIL – to stay or to exit", , Vol. 6 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-03-2016-0044
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited