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This case illustrates the rationale for adopting employee ownership, and difficulties in implementing employee empowerment beyond investment. In the beginning it focuses on why Jerry Pritchett, one of the co-founders of Pritchett Controls, decided to convert it to an employee-owned company. In the body of the case, it details the efforts of the company to operate under its new ownership structure in an increasingly competitive environment. Although Pritchett established employee owners, only selected High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) practices have been implemented. The issue that reader must grapple with is whether other HPWS practices should be adopted or not.

Primary data were collected by interviewing eight managers including the current and former CEO at two of the firm’s three locations. Secondary data were used to supplement industry and competitive information.

Human resources courses, especially those that focus on strategic human resource management, organizational development, and how high performance organizations can be built, would be most appropriate for this case.

The primary theoretical foundations for this submission are shared entrepreneurship and HPWS. Knowledge of leadership, employee ownership, human resources, corporate governance, organizational culture and strategy would also be helpful in analyzing this case.

You are the CEO of an e-cigarette company that has just been acquired by a major tobacco company. Your company operates in the European market. The July 2013 draft of the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) recently has been crafted by the European Commission, but it has not yet been examined by the EU Parliament and its Council. The draft proposes that all e-cigarette products be classified as medical devices, regardless of nicotine content. This is the strictest available mode of regulation. If the directive goes into effect as written, e-cigarettes would have to undergo costly and lengthy clinical trials to receive approval and face much stricter marketability restrictions.

The case details the state of the e-cigarette industry in 2013, including consumer data, distribution, competition from similar products, and public health concerns. Students will analyze the current regulatory environment, determine what outcome would be most favorable to the e-cigarette industry, and identify the ways to achieve that goal.

(i) To determine the push and pull factors for a developing country SME to internationalize via exports. (ii) To evaluate the use of social networks in the internationalization journey of Yew Chian Haw (YCH). (iii) To analyse how a developing country SME adapts to local conditions in order to sustain and grow the business in a foreign country.

Yew Chian Haw (YCH) was a small and medium enterprise (SME) producing herbal and healthcare products in Penang, Malaysia. This case study traced the company's internationalization journey, focusing on how the owner used his social networks based on common ethnic ties and language to penetrate the external markets by establishing trading companies in each of his export destinations, from Singapore to Hong Kong and later to Taiwan and China. These internationalization activities also helped him cultivate deeper local networks and enhance his business opportunities in each investment destination. The social network approach has important implications for SME firms such as YCH. The network strength helped to overcome entry barriers to foreign markets and enabled YCH to tap into local complementary resources such as local networks to sustain the internationalization process. Yew’s successful internationalization journey prompted him to focus on the external market for his company’s herbal soup products. But now he must decide whether to continue the internationalization journey in the existing external markets he has penetrated or to expand towards other markets such as Northeast Asian markets like Japan and Korea, as these countries have high income and purchasing power. However, Yew has no extensive social network in both countries, especially in terms of ethnic ties and common language. Yew therefore, had a dilemma: should he just continue expanding the existing external markets he has successfully penetrated, or should he move forward and seek to enter new markets where his current social networks may be weak or non-existent?

This case study is relevant for DBA, MBA, Master and undergraduate (International Business and Business Economics) students

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 5: International Business

Management, business studies, entrepreneurship, public relations or communications.

This case study is suitable for certificate, diploma and degree programmes in management, business studies, entrepreneurship, public relations or communications.

In this case study, there are three issues related to the halal controversy with the Sarawak layered cake that aimed at business competitiveness, namely, business perseverance during turbulent times; creativity and innovation for business growth; and expansion strategy. The halal controversy of an imported butter affected Di Wannie's business to a great extent. The “Imported X” butter was then declared to be halal after further investigation by the Islamic Advisory Committee, but the business impacts from the controversy took longer to vanish.

By the end of the discussion, students should have a clear concept of the various elements that constituted Di Wannie's business strategies, as well as the elements that constituted a Sarawak layered-cake industry strategy. Students should realize that the business model for a cake and pastry company is more complex because it not only involves building competency in cake production and marketing but also involves continuous innovation in recipe and baking process development, experimentation, sensitivity and ethical consumerism.

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

Strategic management and management of innovation and technology.

The course can be used for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The case would be relevant in the strategic management course to understand the concept of technology strategy and the various evaluation parameters guiding firms in their technology decisions. A refresher of the concept of value chain analysis can also be done through the case. It can also be used to teach innovation and technology management to understand the innovation process and the importance of various organizational factors for taking technology decisions.

The case tries to bring together different aspects of technological innovation and technology strategy at North Delhi Power Ltd, Delhi which has taken various initiatives to turnaround the dilapidated power distribution industry in India. It details the various technological initiatives taken by the company to revamp the power distribution situation of the country. Discussion in the case also revolves around the technology decisions (technology strategy) taken by the company to drive the technological initiatives. The organizational culture supporting technology decisions and the technological initiatives are also woven into the case.

After a discussion on the case students will be in a better position to appreciate various decisions which firms take with respect to technology. They will get an understanding of what is technological innovation and about the technological innovation process. The importance of organizational factors to supplement technology decisions and innovation will be brought out in the case.

Teaching note.

In early 2004, residents of Inglewood, California, a working-class community just outside Los Angeles composed primarily of African- and Hispanic-Americans, were preparing to vote on a referendum that would change the city charter to allow Wal-Mart to build a supercenter on a huge, undeveloped lot in the city. Walmart had put forward the measure after the city council refused to change the zoning of a sixty-acre plot on which it held an option to build. Numerous community and religious groups opposed Wal-Mart's entry and campaigned against the referendum. Walmart promised low-priced merchandise and jobs, but these groups were skeptical about the kinds of jobs and compensation that would be offered, the healthcare that would be provided to employees, and the broader impact Walmart would have on the community. Inglewood was a pro-union community, so there was also opposition based on Walmart's anti-union position. On April 6 Inglewood residents voted to reject the referendum by a margin of 60.6 percent to 39.9 percent. Though smaller, less organized, and with fewer resources than Walmart, this coalition of community and religious leaders had defeated the global retailing behemoth.

After students have analyzed the case they will be able to (a) appreciate the importance of nonmarket factors to execute growth and market entry strategies, (b) understand how the decisions of political institutions depend on the issue context and the alignments of coalitions of interest, (c) formulate and assess strategies to overcome nonmarket barriers to entry.

The purpose of this study is to use design thinking principles to understand the failure of the ‘new’ European Super League, and also understand how it could be redesigned.

This case has been developed from secondary sources, including news reports, social media sites, annual reports and websites of the Union of European Football Associations and the European football clubs. This case was classroom-tested with post-graduate management students in a design thinking course in May 2021 at an Indian business school, S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, in Mumbai, India.

In April 2021, a new football league – the European Super League, is announced as a breakaway rebel league, in direct competition with United European Footballers Association's Champions League. It is backed by the top 12 European clubs and officials in European football, besides the US investment bank, JP Morgan. The new league is touted as one intended to save football. It is, however, denounced by fans and shunned almost universally. The league, which has been planned for the past three and half years, faces collapse. Why did the European Super League fail? How could the founders design a new league?

This case could be used in an undergraduate or MBA classroom or an executive education programme in a design thinking course. It can also be used to teach marketing courses such as marketing strategy, new product development and consumer behaviour.

The 12^th South Asian Games were held in India in Guawhati and Shillong in February 2016, after repeated rescheduling. There were a number of challenges to organizing the games such as lack of infrastructure, legacy of corruption from past games, shortage of time etc. However, the games were held within 90 days of the announcement of venues and final dates. Sri Yadav, the Secretary, Department of Sports wants to understand the key drivers of success behind organizing the event. He also wants to understand how the success of Indian athletes at SAG could be leveraged for success at larger events.

The main objectives of this case are to provide an opportunity for case users to understand the organisational governance framework in a farmers' association and how to build an effective organisational board. More specifically, the teaching objectives of this case are as follows: to provide an overview of the functions of different types of governance structures in a farmers' association. To understand the importance of good governance practices in a farmers' association and for its stakeholders. To relate democratic theory, stakeholder theory, agency theory and stewardship theory with the governance practices of a farmers' association. To critically evaluate the board governance in a farmers' association and recommend measures to enhance the practices.

The teaching case presents the governance practices in a farmers' association in Malaysia, ZIX-PPK and the various governance challenges that emerged in the PPK subsequent to the appointment of politically affiliated directors. Prior to 2019, ZIX-PPK was an outstanding PPK under the helm of the General Manager, Khadijah. The PPK had continually been recognised as an exceptional and excellent PPK by the Farmers' Organisation Authority and the Muda Agricultural Development Authority. However, the Arahan Pendaftar Bil 1/2019 required changes to the governance structures of ZIX-PPK, with five new directors being appointed by the minister. The appointment threatened the independence and autonomy of ZIX-PPK and affected the dynamic of the board of directors. Khadijah had to search for measures that could improve the board governance in ZIX-PPK. The names, in this case, had been altered but the details were based on an actual event. The data were collected through interviews with key players and with reference to the minutes and other documentation of ZIX-PPK.

The teaching case can be used by students in higher education institutions at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The case may also be relevant for training purposes to farmers' associations and any non-profit organisations.

CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

The Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) was founded as a Non-profit to support Indian athletes in their quest to win Olympic Gold medals by bridging the gap between the best athletes in India and in the world. The support from OGQ has been instrumental to India in winning its highest number of medals at any summer Olympics. Buoyed by this success, OGQ has set up a target of achieving eight Olympic medals at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. With OGQ relying on donations to support the athletes, the challenge is to market the Olympic cause by creating, communicating, and delivering the right offering for its donors.