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In the fall of 2014, Chad Kartchner, senior manager of marketing and product management at Honeywell Aerospace (HA), pondered how technology could transform the way aircraft were maintained. He had heard a lot of buzz about cognitive analytics, an artificial intelligence term referring to the use of computer models and algorithms to simulate human thought through self-learning systems, data mining, pattern recognition, and natural language processing. The sheer volume of parts and the time-sensitive nature of repairs in the aviation industry made it complicated to identify problems and address them quickly.

Kartchner contemplated the options for updating HA's ground-based maintenance system. Should he emulate HA's state-of-the-art on-board system for an entire aircraft or try something new? Emulating the on-board system, which HA developed internally, would be an easy sell to leadership given internal buy-in and satisfaction with the on-board system, but he contemplated new approaches because he did not want to overlook rapidly emerging technologies. The latter could include crowdsourced features that leveraged the abundance of knowledge among HA's customers' technicians or a cognitive analytics approach. Even if he could persuade leadership to try a new cognitive analytics approach, should HA partner with an established entity or work with a relatively unproven startup who promised lower cost, better features, and quicker turnaround to develop a new system?

Students will step into the shoes of Kartchner as he leads the internal discussion on whether and how to tap into the benefits of cognitive analytic solutions for Honeywell Aerospace and its customers.

The instructor should discuss the various forms of organization. Particular reference needs to be drawn on “For Benefit” firms. How such firms enable societal development should be stressed upon. Other theories considered are “need achievement theory”, “self-determination theory” and “social cognitive theory.”

The primary data for the case was from a series of in-depth interviews and interactions with Sonia and her core team members of Bazaar and Approval Teams. Frequent deliberation with the founder and core team led to interesting dialogues on the aspiration to uphold Pune Ladies Association (PULA) Exclusives Pvt. Ltd. as a “For Benefit firm” and developing indigenous women entrepreneurs which was a stimuli for writing the case. Online surveys of the PULA verified sellers were conducted to identify their rationale of starting the venture and also their experiences on the PULA platform.

March 2019, the core committee of PULA Exclusives Pvt. Ltd. (the firm) engineered a dialogue. They wanted to expand a new horizon with its mission of “For Benefit”. The firm is an offshoot of PULA, a virtual women’s community in Facebook.

The case may be used for postgraduate students pursuing entrepreneurship and management courses. The case can be used for teaching executive level programs of business strategy and digital media. The case applies to the use of digital media in businesses, social entrepreneurship and innovation strategies.

The case describes the popular Russian children's animated TV series named the Smeshariki, its parent company (Marmelad), the domestic animation industry, and the principal international rivals and their respective animated products and/or services. The series' success led to the organic growth of vertically and horizontally related business units. Marmelad's business units' scope included producing more than 200, six and one-half minute episodes of the Smeshariki, branded children's products (e.g. educational games), granting licenses to manufacturers, establishing a network of kindergartens, and licensing the Smeshariki animated series to exhibitors in international markets. Key issues the company faces include: brand management for the Smeshariki and Marmelad, domestic and international competition in the Russian animation industry, and the need for professional management. The case provides instructors with a range of options including a holistic marketing case, or one that concentrates on focused marketing issues (i.e. all or parts of the marketing mix, brand architecture, brand equity and brand management).

Tourism and hospitality management, strategy, economics and customer service.

Undergraduate students studying hospitality management, customer satisfaction, customer service and economics.

Dubai International Airport is one of the most celebrated airports worldwide. It was constructed by order of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum in 1969 and has developed significantly in all sections over the years. Passenger numbers and profits have increased dramatically and the airport has received many awards from various countries and organizations, contributing greatly to economic and tourism development. Dubai International Airport offers unique services and facilities to customers, including the Airport Medical Centre, special needs services, Dubai International Airport Hotel, transportation, lounges, a children's play area, smoking rooms, Al Majlis services, executive flight services, Ahlan services, a modern baggage-handling system and Dubai Duty Free. The quality of service is one of the significant concerns of an international company, including Dubai International Airport, as a high quality brings many benefits to the organization, such as increased customer satisfaction and revenue. Thus, to maintain a high-quality level and compete with other international airports, Dubai International Airport needs to ensure the development of its service.

This cast study will help understand both the services offered by the airport and their features and understand the concepts of increasing value to customers in lieu of money, the contribution of the airport to economic growth, exceeding customers' expectations, intonation in providing services, some factors of competitive advantages, the application of customer satisfaction theories, the services market triangle and providing a role model to other airports.

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

Entrepreneurship, Innovation Management, Bringing Technology to Market, International Growth Strategy from Emerging Markets, Russia, B2B Marketing.

MBA and executive education programs, technology management programs and electives.

The case investigates the 20-years growth story of ABBYY, one of the most successful Russian technological companies in a global market. It covers the company’s roots, development of unique technology, evolution of products, market development and globalization and discusses a strategic threat from Google Translate to the company’s sustainable position and its business model.

The expected learning outcome is to discuss the key issues associated with establishing, growing and globalizing technology-driven business in an emerging market: bringing technology to market, defining customer value proposition, entering overseas markets from Russia, building partnerships, developing organizational structure to fit growth, financing rapid growth and solving “Innovator’s Dilemma”.

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

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The case study is based on field research and also on secondary data. A primary survey is included in the case study. Simple frequency and factor analysis as statistical tools have been used.

Family businesses, like that of Kiran Rai’s, owning a local Mom and Pop store in an emerging city were faced with a serious problem of sustaining their businesses. These family businesses countered immense competition from: their own types, i.e. from other local Mom and Pop stores within the same cities; online stores; and the organised stores.The choice of the customers to buy goods from the neighbourhood shops has remained largely as an age-old tradition in the households. With the millennials and the Generation Z (Gen Z) exposed to an array of brands, can they become the first choice of young customers for shopping for all kinds of products and varieties? Can the local Mom and Pop stores spread their wings across the young generations, particularly the Millennials and Gen Z through inexpensive social media channels? What are their growth options? How can the social media serve this purpose? The case uses the social cognition theory and the use gratification theory to throw light on the new concept of Social Shopping.

The case is meant to be discussed in courses like Fundamentals of Marketing, Digital Marketing and Retail Marketing in a 90-min session in the Post Graduate as well as in the Working Executives’ Management programmes. The case analysis will expose the students to the use of social media and its benefits to the small businesses. The students will also be able to analyse and understand the different types of Online Consumers’ Shopping Personalities. This would enable them to strategize for different stages in the decision-making processes.

The technical reports released by the National Transportation Safety Board, along with secondary data in the form of available public data, such as news reports, interviews and memos, were used to round out the synopsis of the case study.

This case explores the events that led up to the crash of United Airlines Flight 717 (for anonymity), in Sioux City, Iowa, on July 19, 1989, and the subsequent investigation. The case uses secondary sources to highlight the positive team interactions between the pilots that led to the crash landing not being as catastrophic as it might have been with 185 survivors in an extreme crisis scenario. The teaching note focuses on the importance of cognitive bias, psychological safety and teamwork in a crisis situation, and practical recommendations for managers at all levels.

Organizational Behavior at the undergraduate and graduate level. Leadership and Change at the graduate and graduate level.

The sub field of academia that the case is designed to teach is small business development, entrepreneurship or women in business.

This case is appropriate for graduate and post-graduate, MBA and executive education students focusing on entrepreneurship, small business development or women in business.

This real-life case is based on interviews that took place with Kate Rogan, the co-founder of Love Books, and other stakeholders associated with the small bookselling business that is based in the suburb of Melville in Johannesburg. It describes how Rogan’s past influenced how she saw and was open to the opportunity; and how, through passion, commitment, dedication and stakeholder management, she created a business that brought meaning to her and others’ lives. Rogan’s vast experience in editing, publishing and radio influenced how she evaluated the bookstore opportunity. For the past 11 years, she focused on building a loyal customer base through knowing her customers, staying on top of current industry and market trends and constantly thinking about how she could add value through minimal financial outlay. COVID-19 further complicated her thinking about how to traditionally market and sell books to her client base. As the case concludes, Rogan wonders how to build upon the foundations of her successful bookshop and grow profitability while remaining true to her and the business’s values.

The case allows students to consider the key enablers for assessing entrepreneurial opportunities and drivers of small business growth. Following discussion and analysis of the case, students should be able to: explore how cognitive dynamics affect an entrepreneur’s evaluation of opportunities; analyze the case against the 4Cs (continuity, community, connection and command) of competitive business advantage; evaluate building blocks for sustainable business profitability; and assess and recommend different learnings for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 7: Management Science.

This case has two primary purposes. First, it allows students to examine how cognitive bias can affect decision making in stressful situations. Students explore why individuals make flawed choices. They learn about how managers shape the context and the process through which teams make decisions. For instance, automation can create a climate in which people then struggle to cope with the unexpected when it happens. Students examine why individuals make these systematic errors in judgment. The case demonstrates that leaders need to be aware of the traps that individuals and teams encounter when they make decisions in crisis situations, and it enables students to discuss the strategies that leaders can employ to avoid these traps. Second, the case provides an opportunity to examine a catastrophic failure in detail. Students discover that it can be nearly impossible to identify a single factor that caused the failure. Instead, they learn how to apply multiple theoretical perspectives to examine a serious organizational breakdown. They become familiar with important concepts from behavioral decision theory, such as complex systems theory and how it interacts with cognitive bias.

The technical report released by the French Aviation Authority along with the primary flight cockpit voice recorder data were used as the basis for this case. Other available public data such as news reports were used to round out the case study.

On June 9, 2009, on a routine flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, Air France 447 (AF 447), carrying 220 people crashed in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. Drawing from various first-hand accounts (cockpit voice recorder) and secondary evidence of the tragedy, the case provides a detailed account of the key events that took place leading up to the accident. The case describes how the pilots on AF447 were confronted with a scenario they had not faced before, and through the confusion made a series of errors. Through many of the quotes in the text, readers gain an understanding of the impressions and perceptions of the pilots, including how they felt about many of the critical decisions and incidents during the last minutes of the flight. The case concludes by highlighting the main findings of the BEA report.

This case study is appropriate for undergraduate students studying organizational behavior. It is also appropriate for MBA-level leadership and behavior classes.

After a successful transition from a projects-based IT business services company to a platform-driven analytics company, Saama's core leadership team gathered in 2017 to brainstorm the next phase of its growth. The year before, the team had decided to narrow its target market to the life sciences vertical. Saama now had to decide how to execute on this focused strategy by choosing a growth pathway within the life sciences vertical. Saama's leadership team was considering three alternatives: acquiring new customer accounts, developing existing customer accounts, or developing new products by harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies. The team had to evaluate these growth pathways in terms of both short- and long-term revenue potential, as well as their potential for sustaining Saama's competitive advantage.