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This case is focused on the allegations of corrupt practices within the strategic leadership at the board level of an international sports organization – the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The theoretical premise is that the practices and decisions of the AFC’s leadership will have a profound impact on the AFC’s performance. However, because the AFC is the continental governing body, the impact is theorized to be far larger, across an entire industry. In writing the case, the authors were guided by upper Echelons theory (UET) (Hambrick and Mason, 1984; Hambrick, 2007; Hambrick et al., 2015), which argues that an organization’s strategic direction is directly influenced by its leader’s values. The authors selected UET for the theoretical framework, as it considered a spectrum of factors from industry, leader characters (values), their choices and the results of their actions. Such a comprehensive theory aligned with the complexities of the AFC and its leadership. In constructing the case roadmap using UET, the authors first adopted an ethnographic methodology. This was motivated by the fact that one of the authors had been embedded for many years as part of the leadership team at the AFC. His career work notes based on direct interactions and observations of these leaders helped in two ways: to identify the complex set of personal characteristics of these leaders (i.e. background, their careers outside football and financial standing) as they originated from 47 different nationalities. UET refers to these as observable factors to better theorize the hidden intentions of their alleged corrupt behaviors. UET identifies this second set of non-observable factors as psychological factors. These two different sets of observations combined helped to theorize their drivers, intentions and strategic decisions (options). For the second methodology, the authors accessed archival, publicly available media news and reports to understand the consequences of their actions to the AFC and the Asian football industry. This completed the final parts of the UET framework (Yamak et al., 2014).

This case relied on information that was widely reported within international media, press announcements by various organizations, published decisions by tribunals and publicly available information on the AFC. All of the names and positions in this case are actual persons.

This case focuses on the role and influence of the AFC as the Asian football governing body. The AFC is a member of the world football governing body – FIFA. With a US$1bn budget, the AFC has a strong impact on the future of football among Asia’s three billion people. Unfortunately, the AFC has been unable to create the value in its sports events or properties that attracts fans and investors. Central to this problem is the issue of corruption and corruption allegations within the AFC, especially with regard to its leadership. This case, therefore, attempts to highlight the various issues, discusses the circumstances around these challenges and brings forth the complexities of leading a truly international organization across 47 countries. Such factors are then tied to the value of the organization’s products or services in the marketplace.

The case is written and designed for a graduate level (MBA) class or an upper level undergraduate class such as corporate strategy, leadership, international management, international marketing, contemporary issues in management, cross-cultural management, sports management and sports marketing. In general, the case will also be a good fit for courses that discuss leadership, organizational strategy, organizational structure, organizational ethics and organizational behavior.

There had been many pieces of research on international expansion approaches, and they continued to grow. However, research about the firms belonging to emerging nations and that went global were still in the early stages. It had been argued that most theories on international expansion had focused on explaining the internationalization of large firms, majorly originating in developed countries. This case study offers an intriguing reading about an Indian MNC, successfully entering the developed markets and competing thereof amidst tough and complex world. Moreover, the leaders like Baba Kalyani met the stiff challenge from complexities and disruption successfully through entrepreneurial mindset. The case study offers insights into “Creating Value Through Entrepreneurial Leadership Framework”.

The case study has been developed through secondary data sources. The published online resources, the firm's annual reports formed the basis of the research work. Author accessed online news articles, auto component industry experts' views and reports from global consultancy firms, and auto industry body such as SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) reports helped the research. The views and interviews by promoters of the company are available online for deeper insights and analysis.

An Indian multinational, Bharat Forge Limited (BFL), was a shining example of achieving global manufacturing standards through perseverance and entrepreneurial leadership. For more than the past four decades, BFL faced complexities, uncertainties and disruptions multiple times, and every time, the business world saw a resurgent company, Bharat Forge. The company achieved growth through diversification, related and unrelated, acquisition, product innovation, portfolio expansion and expansion in domestic and global development. Competitive market, economic slowdown, innovation and technology disruption had not deterred BFL from growing into a worldwide auto component giant. BFL overcame all hurdles with grit and enterprise. It achieved a paradigm shift with over half the revenue from non-automotive sectors such as defence, electric vehicle components, e-mobility, power electronics and aluminium light-weighting.

This case is planned for MBA students, primarily in the second half of the course curriculum. It can be executed in marketing, strategic marketing and strategic management courses. The conceptual framework pertaining to corporate strategy, global expansion, diversification, product development, innovation, disruption, market development and entrepreneurial leadership can be taught through the case. The case is suitable for MBA executive students as well, in courses mentioned above in addition to courses such as strategic leadership.