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In the light of the case and the accompanying case questions, the students should understand the theoretical underpinnings of the Blue ocean strategy. Application and critical evaluation of analytical frameworks associated with the blue ocean strategy. Role of political, socio-cultural and technological factors undermining the success of any endeavor aimed at bringing about innovation in education in Pakistan. The critical balance that social enterprises need to develop between their commercial and social impact goals.

Founded in early 2014, LearnOBots was a young social enterprise spearheaded by Shamyl Bin Mansoor and Faisal Laghari. The venture aimed to provide science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-based, tech supported experiential learning to young kids, which would eventually help improve the educational standards in the country. This case presents the complex dilemma of an enterprise, which achieved market traction to its novel business idea but soon faced changing competitive dynamics that posed a challenge to the uncontested blue ocean strategy that the venture attempted to create. The case is a rich description of the idiosyncrasies that an innovative startup faces in emerging markets context. It gives an insight on the balancing act that social enterprises need to achieve between their business goals and social impact aspirations.

This case is geared toward undergraduate students enrolled in courses of strategy and entrepreneurship.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Expected learning outcomes are as follows: to understand the nature of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) manufacturing industries based on Al Junaid Industrial group when considering entering such businesses. To understand how unexpected short-term shocks such as a global pandemic may require long-term changes in a company’s outlook and planning. Discuss the marketing mix strategy that the Al Junaid Industrial group business products and services elements follow. To understand the competitiveness of Al Junaid group’s business environment and to identify the potential for business growth. To gain skills at developing a marketing strategy using the products, price, place and promotion model.

Al Junaid Industrial group is a small to medium-sized HVAC manufacturing company created over 12 years ago, in the United Arab Emirates. It has a production line company in the Sharjah industrial area with a capacity of 5,000 ft. The company not only manufactures air conditioning and its accessories but also provides installation and maintenance services. As for its international connections, it imports raw materials such as aluminum and exports air conditioning grills and accessories, offering installation services to many destinations, including Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The company has recently suffered a setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020 its net revenue and profits decreased by an average of 40%. As a result, Al Junaid Industrial group currently faces several internal and external challenges affecting its business performance such as high operating expenses, low market demand and stiff competition. Due to these challenges, this case study argues that Mr. Obaid Al Junaid, the Chief Executive Officer, should develop a new marketing strategy aimed at raising revenues to levels closer to those observed before the onset of the epidemic.

This case could be used in undergraduate and graduate classes of the business management field, as well as in development programs for managers in small to medium-sized enterprises (SME). Students (final year students of an undergraduate program for a bachelor’s degree) are expected to have a basic knowledge of Strategic management and business in general. It is preferred that the students have basic knowledge about small-to-medium businesses. Additionally, the managers in SME should be familiar with operational management, business management and marketing strategy and some of the challenges faced by managers in industrial businesses.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The case explores information technology (IT) company Mindtree’s journey of 20 years from the time it was founded in 1999 to be different from others, and how it became a target for acquisition by an Indian diversified conglomerate in 2019. It offers insights into developing organizational culture and values in an organization, threats faced by a company when promoters dilute their shareholding, and the strategies followed by the acquirer and the target firm. It also deals with the challenges in the acquisition of a knowledge service digital firm. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to: identify the circumstances under which a company can become a target for hostile takeover; describe motivations of the acquirer firm in an acquisition; distinguish between acquisition and hostile takeover, and discuss salient features of Securities and Exchange Board of India (substantial acquisition of shares and takeover) regulations, 2011; list the defenses a target firm can adopt to ward off hostile acquirer; explore strategies followed by acquirer and target firms; analyze important ingredients of organization culture, and importance of cultural congruence in an acquisition; and discuss challenges faced by an acquirer in India, namely, legal, retention of clients and key people in the target firm particularly in hostile environment.

The case explores how ten IT professionals founded mid-tier IT services company Mindtree in 1999 in Bengaluru, India (home to Infosys and Wipro) to be different from others – by inserting themselves at a higher level in the value chain, being philanthropic as a part of broader business strategy to attract a certain kind of employee and customer. It developed a culture of equality, consideration and respect. Its attrition rate of 12 to 13 per cent was significantly lower than the Industries. Mindtree crossed annual revenue of US$1bn for FY 2019 and was growing at twice the industry’s growth rate. The most attractive part was that its proportion of revenue from digital services was about 50 per cent as compared to 25-35 per cent of other services vendors. With time, the share of promoters/founders declined and increased one investor’s shareholding of V. G. Siddhartha and his related entities. In early March 2019, the promoters’ stake was 13.32 per cent while Siddhartha had 20.32 per cent. Larsen and Toubro (L&T) one of India’s conglomerate entered into a share purchase agreement on March 18, 2019 with Siddhartha to acquire his 20.32 per cent stake. Immediately, L&T asked its broker to purchase up to 15 per cent of share capital of Mindtree at a price not exceeding INR 980 per share (each share of face value INR 10). This would trigger an open offer by L&T to purchase additional 31 per cent shares of Mindtree. The action of hostile takeover bid by L&T evoked emotional criticism from Mindtree founders. Mindtree efforts to defend itself could not materialize. L&T’s stake crossed 26 per cent on May 16, 2019. After Indian regulator SEBI’s approval, L&T’s open offer to buy shares from Mindtree shareholders commenced on June 17, 2019. The case examines motivation of the acquirer firm particularly when it is a conglomerate, and how a well-performing company became a target for hostile takeover. It looks at vulnerabilities of a target firm, and defensive steps a firm can take to fence itself against such takeover. The case also explores how organizational culture is built in a people-oriented business, namely, digital services, and what role it plays in a merger of two firms.

The case is suited for postgraduate students of management, as well as those undergoing executive courses in management.

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 11: Strategy.

This case was developed from interviews the author held with Nathan Baumeister, the protagonist in the case and Towny CEO; Hannah Franzen, a Towny marketing employee discussed in the case; and Mallory Franzen, Hannah’s sister-in-law and the company representative for Boomn, the digital marketing agency discussed in the case. In addition, secondary research on the USA retail industry was performed by the author. The case was class-tested four times by the author, with Hannah Franzen and Mallory Franzen initially visiting as case protagonists. This resulted in the case of refinements based on student discussion.

Towny: A new business model for a mobile economy shares the context and issues surrounding CEO Nathan Baumeister in the spring of 2018 at Towny, a unique business helping local businesses connect with their consumers over mobile devices. The company began going to market based on the vision of its owner and Nathan’s boss, Don Shafer. It had quickly approached local business clients and consumers in five key markets. The purpose of the case is to allow students the opportunity to discuss key new venture creation concepts and scenarios such as customer value proposition, competitive advantage and digital marketing.

This case was developed to be used in an undergraduate course in entrepreneurship. The particular course, new venture finance: the entrepreneur’s perspective, teaches the general subject of entrepreneurial finance through financial models such as free cash flow and valuation, case discussions with entrepreneurs visiting as facilitators and protagonists and business concept planning and forecasting. This case helps train students on how to incorporate online marketing costs into their business concept plans. Relevant courses and topics also include small business management and entrepreneurial financial management.

After studying this case, the students/participants would be able to: discuss important personality traits of an entrepreneur; understand specific challenges faced by a venture as it moves toward higher growth stage; discuss the importance of strategic planning and managerial style as the ventures move from establishment stage to growth stage.

The case is about MotivPrints, a two years old venture, offering custom designing and commercial printing to businesses in Gujarat, India. MotivPrints was established by Himanshu Dhadnekar in 2016 and had 85 SME clients and 35 vendors by 2019. Himanshu, a young entrepreneur had been involved in entrepreneurial activities since his school days and was also involved in a couple of business ventures during his MBA. However, he had been flip-flopping as an employee and entrepreneur, as then. At MotivPrints, he handled key responsibilities of developing client networks, generating business, marketing and managing relationship with vendors. With limited support of a team of freelancer associates, no permanent staff for assistance and lack of funds made it imperative for Himanshu to plan for scaling up his venture for survival and growth. Could he envision MotivPrints as a larger entity? If yes, what changes, mandated by growth, were needed to be made in both – the entrepreneur and the organization?

The case can be discussed in the class of entrepreneurship at the master’s level. It can also be used in the entrepreneurship specialization course in the second year of post-graduation. The case can be also be used for young entrepreneurs in an executive development program focusing on new ventures.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 3 Entrepreneurship.

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.

Upon completion of this case study, students will have learned to identify and analyze pending organizational failure, based upon company data. They will have formulated a business strategy (either cost leadership, differentiation or focus), as well as propose process improvements to cope with changing macroeconomic factors, costs, supplier conditions, and especially talent management and retention. Students will practice the logical organization of information, articulating the key facts and assumptions underlying their solutions. They will practice communicating with a possibly hostile executive team, to whom they defend their proposal based on its merits.

This case recounts the recent history of the XT Beauty, a fictionalized but real company headquartered in Moscow, selling professional cosmetics, electrical instruments and equipment for beauty salons in St. Petersburg, and other cities in Russia. XT Beauty enjoyed successful growth until the onset of the 2014 economic crisis when consumer purchasing power plummeted. Students consider both the obstacles and opportunities presented by an emerging Russian market, customer behavior in a recession, managing sales talent, the leadership style of women, as well as key operational, and financial issues as the company react to a deepening economic crisis in an uncoordinated manner. The case is an introduction to the Russian business culture and operational environment. It focuses not only on challenges but also the opportunities in the anti-cyclical market for beauty products.

Master’s students in international business, human resources, operations and MBA candidates.

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CSS 1: Accounting and Finance

Using the case, students will learn about the following topics: identification of the right shareholder for a start-up. Need for a tech co-founder for an app-based start-up. Delay in building the right team at the right time. Lack of preparedness; a start-up’s challenges in identifying the business model. What was the real pain point (problem identification)? Did the solution meet market expectations (solution quality)?; consumers’ usual social habits. How do people’s habits hinder a product’s survival in the market? Why do consumers continue to behave the same way they have? Technology-related constraints.

KnoDues was a mobile application (app)-based start-up in the domain of split expenses. The business idea germinated in early 2015 and became a reality toward the end of 2015. In a developing country context, the case provides rich insights into lean vs traditional start-up formation, founders’ knowledge, opportunity identification, product development and investment. India is a growing economy with ever-increasing smartphone users and internet consumers. Despite its deep-rooted rural-urban divide in the usage of modern technologies, India possesses a vast market opportunity in big cities. Rightly so, KnoDues intended to target the urban youth (between 15 and 35 years of age) population. Although KnoDues was not a unique product or the first of its kind, the founders perceived it to be the “first mover” in the Indian market. In its initial days, the product received an overwhelming response from accelerators and business-plan judges. Although KnoDues achieved more than 20,000 downloads by the end of 2016, customer retention and attracting investors became a difficult task. Founders felt that the difficulty was because of people’s “usual social habits,” and inadequate revenue model. Toward the end of 2017, KnoDues’s founders contemplated on ceasing their business.

Undergraduate, postgraduate and executive.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Discussion of the case will enable the students to: ● use “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats” analysis. ● Use “pros and cons” analysis. ● Explain what constitutes an effective strategy. ● Analyze the quality of the strategy for IndiGo Airlines (IA). ● Explain sustained competitive advantage through value, rareness, imitability and organization framework.

This case describes a situation in which InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. (IGAL) has been experiencing multiple engine snags because of the faulty Pratt and Whitney engines. In a span of two years between June 2018 and January 2020, IGAL faced around 22 snags. IGAL is known to be one of the safest airlines in the world, the engine issue has tainted its reputation. In October 2019, in just one week IA faced four-engine snags, forcing the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to come out with a guideline in November 2019. The faulty engines were to be replaced by January 31, 2020. If IA failed to complete the task by the given deadline then IA would have to ground around 70–80 aircraft. IA was way behind the deadline when on January 13, 2020, they received an email from DGCA mentioning an extension of the deadline to May 31, 2020. The purpose of this case is to provide an opportunity for the participants to take into consideration the data given for IA and make assumptions and resolve the dilemma through which Ronojoy Dutta (Dutta), the Chief executive officer if IA is going through.

The case engages the participants in deciding a suitable course of action for IA to develop a strategy and is ideal to teach elements of strategy. The case can be used in the following courses/programs: ● A strategy formulation module in strategic management program or post-graduate program in management.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Learn the application of important strategy frameworks such as PESTLE, SWOT and Porter’s five forces. Understand the theoretical underpinnings of services marketing and learn the art of developing service blueprints. Critically evaluate the use of change management strategies to induce behavioral change among employees. Appreciate the balance that social enterprises need to achieve between their commercial and social impact goals. Critically evaluate the decision of outsourcing core competencies.

In 2019, Abbas Jaffery and Sumair Saleem, founders of Washup, Pakistan, a young venture providing on-demand, high-quality and cost-effective laundry service faced a critical management dilemma as their supply chain collapsed due to a rampant surge in demand. The demand surge had been the outcome of Washup’s effort to push its services to the customers by getting vetted by a social media influencer. However, the duo was caught off guard when their supply chain could not meet the sudden increase in demand. The hesitant behavior of the informal workers to join hands with Washup had not only cost Washup this management nightmare but even left the duo at wits ends to develop a strategy that would help gain business idea acceptance from the grass root workers to whom the core competencies of washing and ironing were being outsourced. This case is a rich description of the nuances of operating an unconventional social enterprise in an emerging market and gives an insight on how behavioral change among key workers is critical in ensuring the success of ventures.

This case is geared toward undergraduate students enrolled in courses of entrepreneurship, strategy and services marketing.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.