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1 – 10 of 19This case used the interplay between individuals, firms and markets to examine how a company sustained success from its value adding activities. The theory of value creation was…
Abstract
Theoretical basis
This case used the interplay between individuals, firms and markets to examine how a company sustained success from its value adding activities. The theory of value creation was demonstrated by the leader’s ability to configure the firm’s tangible and intangible resources to create opportunities beyond the commodity markets. Also, what matters were not just the technical processes of developing value-added products, but how the company’s culture served as a link to new products, new markets and new ventures.
Research methodology
The case was based on primary and secondary sources. The primary sources face-to-face semi-structured recorded interviews with the protagonist at the company’s headquarters. The secondary data were from the company’s website, and public information about Johnsonville Sausage LLC. Supplemental information was gathered from market research firms. No names have been disguised. The case has been classroom tested with undergraduate students in a capstone course. The author has no personal relationship with the company.
Case overview/synopsis
Kevin Ladwig, Vice President, was concerned by the expanded production of ethanol, an attractive supplement to gasoline in the USA. Because most ethanol is processed from corn, expanded production of ethanol heightened the demand for corn. Since corn is a staple feed ingredient for animals, heightened demand for corn increased the cost of Johnsonville’s raw material – hogs. In fact, the cost of feed was Johnsonville’s major economic input in animal production from farrow to finish, accounting for up to 70 percent of the total production cost of hogs. The case introduces the nexus of food and energy markets and how the “Johnsonville Way” was used to convert an old idea into an innovation.
Complexity academic level
This case is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate courses in business and agribusiness management. It would also be appropriate for courses using concepts in innovation and organizational culture.
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Khairul Akmaliah Adham, Rosmah Mat Isa, Zizah Che Senik and Norjaya M. Yasin
Developing and communicating a positioning strategy covering issues on market positioning, product lifecycle, product differentiation strategies and developing the marketing mix…
Abstract
Subject area
Developing and communicating a positioning strategy covering issues on market positioning, product lifecycle, product differentiation strategies and developing the marketing mix strategies in order to compete with competitors.
Study level/applicability
Advanced undergraduate and MBA student, taking courses of marketing management, strategic marketing, and brand management.
Case overview
GranuLab is a private limited company based in Shah Alam, about 30 km from Malaysia's capital city of Kuala Lumpur; it was a producer of synthetic bone graft substitute GranuMaS. GranuMaS was launched in the Malaysian market in late 2010. At that time, the company aimed to capture 50-70 percent of the Malaysian bone graft substitute market by the end of 2015. However, by the end of 2012, GranuLab was experiencing low sales and the company had suffered a two-year loss due to manufacturing at low capacity. GranuLab also faced stiff competition from multinational competitors that had penetrated the Malaysian market earlier with competitive product offerings. The pressure to increase the sale ofGranuMaS was mounting for Mr Romli Ishak, the Managing Director of GranuLab, Mr Fadil Dalal, the new General Manager of Marketing, and GranuLab's management team. This is especially so since the company's contract to supply GranuMaS to government hospitals under the Ministry of Health (MOH) program would end soon. These situations forced the company to make a quick decision. In December 2012, Mr Romli and his team pondered upon the best strategy that the company should pursue to achieve its objective of being a dominant player in the Malaysian bone graft substitute industry. This teaching case is designed to stimulate case analysts' thinking on positioning a medical device product in a market which was already conquered by established multinational companies.
Expected learning outcomes
Understanding of the concept of product positioning, product lifecycle, marketing mix strategies, and social exchange theory, enables case analysts to extend the concepts to analyzing many other products and services in organizational settings.
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.
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Julia P. Rotter and Cecilia M. Mark-Herbert
This teaching case aims to stimulate the debate over the issue of arsenic in rice and prepares students to make a decision by evaluating trade-offs and aligning moral values in a…
Abstract
Learning outcomes
This teaching case aims to stimulate the debate over the issue of arsenic in rice and prepares students to make a decision by evaluating trade-offs and aligning moral values in a business context.
Case overview/synopsis
Rice feeds people in many parts of the world. This teaching case focuses on an entrepreneurial food producer who has strong sustainability values built into his business model. The CEO, Johan Henriksson, of Vegoganic faces a dilemma when a press release by the Swedish National Food Agency potentially threatens the core existence of the business. It challenges the CEO to take a stand on food safety and food security, as well as personal and societal values.
Complexity academic level
It is a discussion case, developed with undergraduate students in mind, but could be taken to a graduate level by including more advanced literature and questions.
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 8: Marketing
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Vidhee Avashia, Sundaravalli Narayanaswami and Anurag Saxena
The subject area is operations management.
Abstract
Subject area
The subject area is operations management.
Study level/applicability
The case is to be used at master’s level, for example, MBA courses on operations management, operations research, logistics management and supply chain management.
Case overview
It was the morning of 20 September 2012 and the three directors of Distromed Bioclean Pvt. Ltd. were in the office discussing the developments from past night’s meeting with the Rajkot Chapter of the Indian Medical Association. They are a bio-medical waste treatment facility involved in collection, treatment and disposal services and charge yearly subscription fees. On 13 September 2012, fuel prices had gone up consecutively for the second year. Last year, the doctors resisted the fee hike and seemed reluctant this year again. In response, management of the company was looking for ways to minimize the total distance travelled by its fleet to reduce the operating cost.
Expected learning outcomes
The paper enables illustration of concepts of routing/scheduling and generation of optimal solutions in a realistic setting; and developing the understanding regarding the travelling salesman problem, Chinese postman problem and the entire family of vehicle routing problems and vehicle scheduling problems.
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 9: Operations and Logistics.
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The case is set in Northeast Wisconsin, where the two largest industries are dairy farming and papermaking. Dairy farms have a continual need for bedding material for cows, and…
Abstract
Synopsis
The case is set in Northeast Wisconsin, where the two largest industries are dairy farming and papermaking. Dairy farms have a continual need for bedding material for cows, and Lynn Heemeyer recognized an opportunity for a new bedding material: a waste byproduct of recycled paper. The case includes the progression of Heemeyer’s venture – Alternative Animal Bedding (AAB) – from the idea phase, to initiation and growth, to near collapse, recovery, and renewed growth. By September 2015, AAB was at a turning point as the sales were increasing, and Jess, Lynn’s daughter, had joined the business. Jess’s challenge: how best to grow the business.
Research methodology
Information for the case was gathered via interviews with Jess Heemeyer; she also provided some supporting materials. Jess Heemeyer is a former student of the author and a graduate of the institution that employs the author. Additional information for the case was collected from publicly available sources, as referenced. The identification of the college was not included in the case.
Relevant courses and levels
The case is best suited for use in an undergraduate or graduate entrepreneurship course or courses that include entrepreneurship as a topic. The case fits well with the topics of alertness and opportunity identification, and the innovation process. It can also be used to illustrate critical factors for new-venture development and growth. In addition, the benefits and challenges related to family-based entrepreneurial ventures can be included as a learning objective.
Theoretical bases
This case draws upon and illustrates the concept of alertness (Kirzner, 1973) which was further developed by Tang et al. (2012) when they identified three dimensions of alertness: “scanning and searching for information, connecting previously disparate information, and making evaluations on the existence of profitable business opportunities” (p. 77). Also, the case follows the creativity-based model of opportunity recognition developed by Corbett (2005) that uses experiential learning theory. Finally, students are asked to apply Ansoff’s Growth Matrix (Ansoff, 1957) to identify and evaluate the growth options available to the business owners and managers. As an optional pasture for discussion, a stewardship theory perspective can be applied to examine the family business aspect of this case (see Eddleston and Kellermanns, 2007).
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Shahram Taj, Souheil Badaa, Sarena Garcia-DeLeone and Beena George
This case tackles the diaper industry in a developing country and can be applied to three different undergraduate or graduate level courses, including Marketing Management…
Abstract
Subject area
This case tackles the diaper industry in a developing country and can be applied to three different undergraduate or graduate level courses, including Marketing Management, Strategic Management, and Operations and Supply Chain Management. The case describes the industry, the manufacturing process, along with detailed information about Novatis Group's business and functions and the overall improving economic environment in Morocco.
Study level/applicability
The Novatis Group case has several objectives that can be applied to three different courses within undergraduate and graduate studies including Marketing Management, Strategic Management, and Operations and Supply Chain Management.
Case overview
The case focuses on Novatis Group, a diaper manufacturing company located in Morocco which competes against multinational companies (MNCs) such as Procter and Gamble and Kimberly Clark in order to satisfy the rising diaper needs of the country. Morocco is a developing country that is strengthening its manufacturing industries. The rising economic conditions have given way to a growing middle class and an increased demand for disposable baby diapers. Novatis uses two distribution channels for the diapers: the multi-tiered distribution channel and the streamlined (straight to retailer) channel. Novatis Group is producing diapers at full capacity; still demand has exceeded supply.
Expected learning outcomes
Students will understand the business processes in a developing country and how a small, local company can compete against large MNCs.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available, please consult your Librarian to access.
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Diana Ross, Kent Royalty and Karl Kampschroeder
This case, developed from a wide variety of publicly available information, presents ethical and economic issues arising from the development, marketing, and pricing of a biotech…
Abstract
This case, developed from a wide variety of publicly available information, presents ethical and economic issues arising from the development, marketing, and pricing of a biotech drug. Genentech developed TPA, the first genetically engineered drug that could be used in clot-dissolving therapy for heart attack, and marketed it as Activase. Public outrage focused on the disparity between the drug's $10 direct manufacturing cost and what Genentech charged for its drug. Activase/TPA was priced at $2200 a dose, raising immediate concerns about its affordability and therefore availability to those who needed it. Additional issues arise from other events, including concern over related-party relationships between the company and organizations which researched and recommended TPA, as well as aggressive marketing of TPA to physicians and the company's refusal to participate in an international drug study to compare TPA with competitor drugs.
Khairul Akmaliah Adham, Mohd Fuaad Said, Nur Sa'adah Muhamad, Saida Farhanah Sarkam, Zizah Che Senik and Rosmah Mat Isa
The area of focus is on internationalization strategies, specifically on developing suitable strategies to support an internationalization initiative of a new medical device…
Abstract
Subject area
The area of focus is on internationalization strategies, specifically on developing suitable strategies to support an internationalization initiative of a new medical device company.
Study level/applicability
This case is designed for final year undergraduate and MBA students. It is suitable for courses of organizational management, organization theory and design, strategic management, and international business as well as international marketing.
Case overview
GranuLab, a medical device company that produced the synthetic bone graft substitute GranuMaS, aspired to be a high-growth company. To achieve this aspiration the company had made plans for internationalization, which include penetrating the ASEAN, Middle East, Latin American, and African markets within the next five years. By December 2010, GranuLab had completed the construction of its new manufacturing facility in Shah Alam, about 30km from Malaysia's capital city of Kuala Lumpur. This manufacturing facility had the capability to produce high volumes to support the company's high growth plan. However, the company's internationalization processes had taken longer than expected and this has led to a low business volume. By mid-2012, the company was forced to make a quick decision as it had suffered a year and a half of operations losses. GranuLab had to formulate a strategy as to how to position GranuMaS and penetrate the targeted markets. Failure to internationalize would incur even greater losses and might hinder the achievement of its high growth aspiration by 2015.
Expected learning outcomes
This case is designed to stimulate case analysts' thinking into providing recommendations for the appropriate internationalization strategies to be adopted by the management team to ensure that the company could succeed in achieving its goals. The case will expose students to the concepts and theories of strategic management, international business, international entrepreneurship; and facilitate the development of students' abilities to apply those concepts in managerial situations.
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.
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CF Industries’ products nitrogen fertilizers are a crucial input to making agriculture productive enough to feed the world. However, its products are undifferentiated commodities…
Abstract
CF Industries’ products nitrogen fertilizers are a crucial input to making agriculture productive enough to feed the world. However, its products are undifferentiated commodities. Throughout parts of its history, CF has struggled to be consistently profitable, yet over the last decade it has been very profitable. The case provides an opportunity to examine how CF manages to create value and capture it as profits despite being in a commodity business.
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Subrata Kumar Nandi, Manisha Saxena and Pallvi Vadehra
The learning outcomes are to get an understanding of the greeting cards (GCs) industry – appreciate the evolution of the industry and the changes that have been impacting the…
Abstract
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes are to get an understanding of the greeting cards (GCs) industry – appreciate the evolution of the industry and the changes that have been impacting the industry; analyze the external environment situation and assess the current strategy of Archies; analyze the existing strategy of Archies and apply the knowledge of strategic frameworks to the current business context of Archies; and create a new strategy for the company to overcome its current challenges.
Case overview/synopsis
The case highlights the situation faced by Archies Limited, a company, which pioneered the growth of the social expression industry in India and developed the market for GCs, a quintessentially Western concept in the Indian market. While it experienced phenomenal growth for two and a half decades, in the past 10 years, things have become more difficult for the company. Based on secondary data, this case presents various facts related to the case and seeks answers related to possible strategies that the firm may explore in the future.
Complexity academic level
Undergraduate and postgraduate management course in the area of strategic management. The level of difficulty can be from medium to high depending on the learning level.
Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only.
Subject code
CSS 11: Strategy.
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