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The case was written to help students understand the value that a product or service can offer a consumer in terms of helping them accomplish important tasks and overcome obstacles. It is intended to help students understand the link between marketing strategy and different business models.

The case was written after two of the co-authors assisted the organization with developing a marketing strategy and communications plan. The details in the case were gathered through personal interviews with staff as well as document analysis, including marketing documents, financial statements and strategic plans.

This case is suitable at the undergraduate level in third and fourth year marketing courses or strategy courses where all students have completed, at minimum, an introductory level marketing course. It can also be used in graduate-level business administration courses that focus on marketing strategy and positioning.

The case learning objectives and discussion questions relate very closely to several theories related to branding, including brand positioning, brand growth, brand management, customer value proposition, brand matrix and brand identity.

The information provided in this case was gathered by the author through personal interviews and email exchanges with Jordan Boyes, managing broker and owner of Boyes Group Realty Inc. Secondary research was also conducted to gather relevant academic materials, as well as industry and competitor information.

Jordan Boyes opened Boyes Group Realty Inc. in 2015 after working as a Realtor® at another private realty firm in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for several years. They offered buying and selling services in the areas of commercial, residential and farm real estate. Over the past five years, they had experienced strong sales numbers and growth in the number of new agents joining the company. However, Boyes saw untapped potential in the marketplace and wanted to develop a brand strategy that took the best advantage of brand extension opportunities to drive the continued growth of his company.

This case is suitable at the undergraduate level for a branding course, marketing strategy course or services marketing course. The case is best used to apply the concept of developing brand identity and making strategic decisions in a service-based organization.

The case was written based on personal interviews with Jordan Boyes.

Boyes Group, a private real estate brokerage in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, had been growing rapidly. Company founder Jordan Boyes needed to determine where to continue expanding. Saskatoon held great potential in home building, and he wondered if this would be a direction for his company. His real estate reputation was excellent, but he wondered if building homes would jeopardize his current relationships with local builders. He wanted to move fast, to avoid giving up market share to his competitors.

This case was designed for undergraduate and graduate classes in strategy.

To ensure that students are well prepared to successfully analyze this case, they should be familiar with the following concepts, theories and principles:

▪ Stakeholder theory

▪ Concept of duty to consult and accommodate

▪ Concept of social license to operate (SLO)

▪ Concept of indigenous economic self-determination

▪ Indigenous world view

▪ Seventh generation principle

▪ Cree principles

▪ Dene principles

The information provided in this case was gathered by the authors through face-to-face interviews, phone interviews, e-mail exchanges and secondary research. Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) separates business operations from council operations through use of corporate entities (as shown in Exhibit 1 of the case). Meadow Lake Tribal Council II (MLTCII) is the corporate entity that oversees two companies referenced in the case: Mistik Management and NorSask Forest Products LP. Interviews were conducted with the General Manager at Mistik Management, Certification Coordinator at Mistik Management, Chief of Buffalo River Dene Nation, Chief of Waterhen Lake First Nation, MLTC Vice-Chief, Board Member and Advisor to MLTCII, President and CEO of MLTCII, MLTCII Business Development Consultant and a former consultant with MLTC, NorSask Forest Products and Mistik Management.

Mistik Management Ltd., a forestry management company co-owned by the nine First Nations of MLTC, was a leader in economic reconciliation in 2022. However, the company had dealt with significant challenges not long after it was established in 1989. Richard Gladue, former Chief of the one of MLTCs Member First Nations and a leader in economic development at MLTC, had been actively involved in establishing the organization. Gladue loved the life and vitality of the boreal forest in the Meadow Lake region and felt a sense of responsibility to take care of the forest and the land for generations to come. This responsibility was balanced with the acknowledgement that the forest also provided vast economic development, employment and wealth generation opportunities for MLTC and its Member First Nations.

In the early 1990s, MLTC and Mistik Management dealt with a year-long blockade by a group of protesters that included members of Canoe Lake Cree First Nation, one of the Member First Nations of MLTC. They had not been consulted on Mistik’s processes and policies, and the company’s clear-cut logging had affected their ability to continue their traditional way of life and practices on the land. After the incident, Mistik Management moved more quickly to invest in a co-management process that they were still refining and using in 2022 when consulting with Indigenous groups and communities.

A natural resource economy brings together Indigenous peoples, industry and government. In this case, students will learn about the important role that relationships play and how decisions are made when balancing complex legal, environmental and economic interests. Students will learn about the history of duty to consult and accommodate in Canada; conduct a stakeholder analysis and reflect on how decisions affect stakeholder interests; and make recommendations for meaningful Indigenous engagement strategies using the concept of social license and indigenous principles.

This case is suitable for use in undergraduate courses on indigenous business, ethical decision-making, public policy and/or natural resource development. There may also be applications in other fields of study, including anthropology, economics and political science.

If the case is used in an indigenous business course, it would be best positioned in the last third of the class, after topics such as duty to consult and accommodate, social license and meaningful engagement with indigenous communities have been covered. If used in an ethical decision-making course, it would be best used when discussing stakeholder theory and engaging in stakeholder analysis. If used in a public policy course, the case could be used to start a discussion around the duty to consult and accommodate indigenous communities in Canada. If used in a natural resource development course, the case would be best used as an example of indigenous economic development.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

An organization that boasts effective strategies is best positioned to optimize its performance. Putting such strategies in place is only the start though. Companies must also regularly evaluate their impact and ensure that they remain relatively uncomplicated. However, many operators fail in these respects while others become complacent. Author and inspirational speaker Steve Maraboli once argued that “a lack of clarity could put the brakes on any journey to success”. Such sentiments have become increasingly relevant in the current business environment where change seems the only certainty. As industries splinter and competition intensifies further, clearly defined strategies are undoubtedly more critical still.

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the worlds leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The purpose of the paper is to emphasize the performance benefits of a long-term innovation and value creation perspective. This paper responds to the recent concept of the imagination premium method for valuing companies. It offers four key takeaways to create a long-term innovation-focused orientation for future value creation.

The research is based on both consulting experience and insight from several studies of executives that were supported by the U.S. Conference Board.

The research differentiates how high versus low innovators create long-term perspectives and value. High innovators have explicit processes that support innovation, leadership that focuses on long-term performance, resources committed to long-term projects and innovation and knowledge management systems that transfer knowledge throughout the organization.

The research offers strategic directives aimed at creating long-term value but acknowledges that there are other means to accomplish such objectives.

This paper offers strategies for executives to create an innovation-focused organizational culture that drives lasting long-term value.

Focusing on long-term innovation prioritizes larger social, environmental and business objectives over superficial short-term stock price changes, leading to greater value-creation.

This paper advocates that leadership play the long game and adopt a longer-term view of innovation due to its long-term competitive, employee engagement, sustainability and performance benefits.

In an era where competitive landscapes are changing dynamically, traditional strategic approaches are no longer delivering the value required to support growth in many organizations. In response, many organizations have pursued an innovation agenda, but with mixed results. This paper offers five implementation “shifts” for more effective strategy execution.

Based on two recent global innovation studies, five strategy shifts were identified, permitting organizations to amplify their strategy without having to completely abandon current methods. These shifts were derived by analyzing the most polarizing differences between high innovative organizations and low innovative organizations in the global innovation studies.

The five strategy shifts include the engagement in innovation culture management, strategic external collaborations, advanced technologies, innovation methodologies, and measurement of innovation.

Examples of how organizations can operationalize strategy shifts are provided so executives can increase innovativeness and see how traditional strategic approaches fall short.

This article aims to highlight the results of a Global Innovation Survey from 407 organizations representing 33 countries. This was the third of three surveys conducted by the researchers since 2011. Ten key insights were formulated to gauge the progress of innovation in organizations as well as the practice and success of nine innovation methods (data analytics, design thinking, innovation metrics, etc.) used to support innovation execution.

The survey data was bifurcated into two groups, high and low innovators, by analyzing their innovation scores using a K-means cluster analysis. This was followed by correlational analysis with the innovation practices by these groups. Qualitative survey data was also collected and used to interpret the results.

Overall innovation scores have improved over the decade. Organizations are still struggling with process drivers such as idea management and innovation measures. High innovators are pervasively using innovative methods to advance innovation execution much more than low innovators. The two methods that showed the highest correlation to an innovative culture were design thinking and open innovation.

Comparing the Global Innovation Survey to two other surveys, 2011 Canadian Executives (n = 605) and 2013 US Fortune 1000 (n = 1,203) that use the same innovation measurement scale, provides a unique longitudinal perspective. The nine innovation methods investigated in the Global Innovation Survey provide original insight into how high and low innovative organizations are using methods to advance innovation execution.