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The Case takes place at the headquarters of Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. (GWI), one of the leading short line railroads in the United States. The Case revolves around three executives - Mortimer B. Fuller III, Chairman and CEO, Mark Hastings, CFO and Treasurer, and Alan Harris, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Office - and the dilemma over whether to pursue international expansion.

GWI has generally pursued a strategy of diversification through acquisition. However, there are other approaches to diversification, including international expansion. With increasing deregulation and privatization of railroads around the world, GWI and its competitors must weigh the risks of internationalization with the rewards. GWI fears that a failure to move quickly might result in missed opportunities as competitors acquire railroads around the world.

An opportunity has recently arisen in Australia, where the government is selling Australian National Railway. GWI believes Australia might be a good initial foray into the international market given the similarities of the country and its railroad industry to the United States and its railroad industry. The Case asks the question, “Should GWI enter the bidding?”

Stahmann Farms Enterprises is an Australian company focused on farming, processing, and marketing of pecans and the high-end macadamia nuts. While the company owns pecan farms, it depends solely on farmers for the supply of macadamia, which poses a challenge with numerous competitors trying to attract the farmers. As an agro-processing business, it is dependent on the vagaries of nature and profits fluctuate wildly. Competition exists in the form of large processors as well as new entrants. Given the company's target of becoming one of the top five macadamia processing businesses in the world, volume and profitability need to be driven up. There are a number of paths open before the company and the MD and his team need to evaluate these and draw up a strategy to be presented to the board.

How does a mature business develop new growth markets, assuming it already has new products? That was the challenge facing The Coca-Cola Company and its global system of bottlers in the 2000s when demand for its core line of carbonated soft drinks flattened. The Australian bottler, Amatil, pinned its hopes on energy drinks, a fast-growth, youth-oriented category that was capturing headlines and share away from traditional products. To wrest control from the upstart brands that originated them, Amatil was targeting the retail context where young people congregated and formed their preferences, in pubs, nightclubs, healthclubs, and sporting events. This international case explores the challenges encountered when a mature company with considerable distribution assets, well-honed systems, and entrenched operating procedures attempts to sell into an underserved retail channel with requirements quite unlike those of the company's mainstream buyers. How does it attract market interest? How does it develop new routes-to-market without undercutting the cost efficiencies and delivery value that have earned it dominant position elsewhere? How does it win over what could be its core customers of the future without alienating today's faithful? These are just some of the questions that Amatil management was determined to solve.

Understand issues related to retail channel strategy development in fast-changing international consumer markets, and the challenges of adapting legacy routes-to-market systems to changing consumer demands.

By early 2009 Starbucks had nearly 17,000 stores worldwide, with about a third of these outside the United States. Despite multibillion-dollar annual revenues, the giant coffee retailer's yearly growth had declined by half, quarterly earnings had dropped as much as 97 percent, same-store sales were negative, and its stock price was languishing. Factors such as a global economic downturn and increasing competition in the specialty coffee market from large players such as McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts had driven this decline, resulting in the closings of hundreds of domestic stores already, with many more planned. Founder Howard Schultz, who had recently returned as CEO, and his executive team were convinced that Starbucks's growth opportunities lay overseas, where the firm already had a strong foothold in markets like Japan and the United Kingdom and was preparing to open hundreds of new stores in a variety of locations. But recent international challenges, including the closing of most Australian stores due to sluggish sales, made clear that Starbucks had more to learn about bringing its value proposition—a combination of premium coffee, superior service, and a “coffeehouse experience”—to foreign soil. The key question was not whether Starbucks could transport its value proposition overseas, but how the value proposition's three elements would play in recently entered and new markets. And the stakes of making the right international moves rose with each U.S. store closure. Schultz and his team also faced a broader question, one that applied to both their U.S. and foreign stores: Could they “grow big and stay small,” remaining a huge retailer that delivered both high-quality products and a consistently intimate and enjoyable experience to consumers worldwide? This case presents this challenge in the context of Starbucks's history, well-established value proposition, and domestic and international growth and vision.

The key objectives of the case focus on the successful growth of local city brand, to a country brand, to a global brand, leaving the questions: 1. How much more can it grow? 2. Can it? 3. What is the impact of new competitors in a given market and/or the impact of the global economy on discretionary spending by a loyal customer base? 4. How important is it to the sustain a brand's core value(s) proposition when innovating for new audiences and customer preferences?

This case describes the challenges faced by Amul in organising dairy farmers into a co-operative and creating continuous opportunities for value addition. Participants in the case discussion are required to review the developments in the organisation and recommend a strategy for the future.

Higher education leadership and planning.

Postgraduate/higher education.

Professor Rob Whelan was appointed President of the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) from the University of Wollongong in Australia (UOW). Professor Whelan brought to the job in Dubai the perspective that public-good benefits flow from a comprehensive institution engaged with the larger community and these are led by academic staff members who produce research that serves the national interest. To apply this model to UOWD meant a thorough analysis of the organization in terms of both its culture and its broader environment. This case explores the various processes through which a new leader takes stock of an existing institution, identifies the potential for development in a particular direction, draws upon a range of stakeholders to refine the vision and develop it into a strategic plan, gains support for the plan, and then implements change through close collaboration with the institution's constituents.

This case can be used to explore a number of issues in leadership and management including: identifying the various internal and external stakeholders in a complex organization; analysing strategies for mobilization for change, including the assessment of inclusive versus exclusive approaches; reviewing the opportunity costs of change; and assessing types of leadership.

Teaching notes.

Teaching objective 1: Students are able to identify and apply characteristics of a social entrepreneur, and social enterprise, as defined by Dees (2001). Teaching objective 2: Students are able to identify and apply the four tensions identified by Smith, Gonin and Besharov (2013) that manifest in social enterprises. Teaching objective 3: Students are able to apply Institutional Theory to social entrepreneurship. Students are able to explain legitimacy and the influence of context on the social enterprise. Teaching objective 4: Students through using the Change Canvas, are able to distinguish between profit and purpose characteristics of the organisation; and are able to make recommendations based on the process they have followed.

Kovin Naidoo is the CEO Of a multi-national social enterprise, Australia-based The Brien Holden Institute. The case explores Naidoo's journey as a social entrepreneur, and the partnership forged with Brien Holden as they built their multinational social enterprise. Naidoo is catapulted to the position of CEO after the sudden death of his friend, and is trying to balance the competing pressures of profit and purpose. The case introduces the foundational characteristics of social entrepreneurship, before exploring Institutional Theory and the Change Canvas as a tool for managing tensions between profit and purpose.

This case study is aimed at students of entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, corporate social investment, development studies, innovative health-care systems, sustainable livelihoods and asset-based development. It is written at an Honours / Masters level and is therefore also appropriate for use in customised or short programmes.

Videos (including a TedX by Naidoo), Web materials and a book chapter are included in the supplementary materials list.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship, agriculture, small business management and strategic planning.

This case is most relevant to undergraduates.

This case is about Azad Ahmed who will soon graduate from his business school. He has the option of either landing in a high-paying job or joining his family business. Azad has the task of thinking for his family's future and turning the family business around. The case gives information on the condition of the agriculture sector in Pakistan, issues that the sector is facing, its non-traditional alternatives and the bright future it holds for the farmers who want to enter into agribusiness to capture international markets. The case also talks about how ownership structure of a family farm changes as the family expands further and baton is passed on to the future generations.

The case should get the students to define the term “family business” and weigh the perks and risks of working in a family business; recognize the importance of agriculture and farming in the Pakistani context; evaluate the dynamics of family expectations with respect to collectivistic society; identify the ownership transition stages and transition elements such as trigger points; define the term “agriprenuers”; and set up a business plan for agribusiness.

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

The “Anti-Racism in my Pocket” case illustrates how collaborative entrepreneurial leadership can build on personal experiences, expertise and a desire to change the status quo to support racial equity. The case will support students’ critical thinking skills and further heighten their understanding of the contributions of women in leadership, anti-racism and the role of technology. Moreover, the case is motivating for students with aspirations of using business skills and knowledge to contribute to social equity.

After completing this case, students should be able to identify the role of marketing in the development, implementation and evaluation of a behavior change initiative, the Anti-Racism Action Nuggets anti-racism training program; analyze qualitative and quantitative data to assess the impact of the Anti-Racism Action Nuggets Pilot using a logic model; identify marketing opportunities, challenges and strategies to scale the Anti-Racism Action Nuggets series for a broader impact; and discuss the relationship of gender in strategic positioning and marketing leadership to the development of the Anti-Racism Action Nuggets (Optional).

This case charts the development of an anti-racism training series by two friends, Allison Plyer (she/her) and Valerie (Val) Uccellani (she/her), called Anti-Racism Action Nuggets. The two protagonists aimed to change individual behaviors to reduce structural racism through lessons that were delivered in text messages to participants. Once the course is completed, they conduct a test pilot with members of NOW, LOVE, a women’s organization in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the end of the case, students are provided with the qualitative and quantitative pilot data for their analysis to recommend next steps and important marketing considerations for the Anti-Racism Action Nuggets series.

Undergraduate, graduate and executive education

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS 8: Marketing

The dilemma down under is a two-party distributive negotiation with integrative potential. A large airline, Transpacific Airlines (TPA), created an internal tour operator brand named Transpacific Vacations as a separate profit center. After licensing its brand to Global Tour Services and establishing operations in the UK, negotiations to take over the internal tour operations of TPA-Australia are about to begin. The case involves the negotiation between Mr Edwards, representative of GTS, and Ms Bentley, representative of TPA-Australia.

The dilemma down under is based on a real negotiation with altered names and facts. All names of companies have been changed. All names of protagonists have been changed. The year of the case has also been altered. The case was created after an extensive interview with an individual engaged in the actual negotiation.

Students in courses related to negotiation and/or decision making. The case also works in international management/strategy courses where students are asked to apply market entry mode decisions along with the accompanying negotiations. The case is most appropriate for undergraduate courses, but can be used for graduate courses. The case can easily be used with common negotiation textbooks, such as Negotiation, 7th edition by Lewicki et al. (2014).

The exercise will be able to reinforce basic distributive negotiation concepts, including identifying issues, positions, interests, alternatives to a negotiated agreement, reservation (resistance) points, target (aspiration) points and opening bids, while at the same time challenge students to look for integrative potential among and across the issues. The case also provides an opportunity to explore the connection between negotiation and international market entry choice.