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“Starting up a new company” and “development of technology-based venture”.

The target audiences for this study are advanced business or non-business undergraduate students and MBA students taking courses of entrepreneurship, management of innovation and organization theory and design.

Yeayyy.com was a private limited company based in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, a township located about 30 km south of Kuala Lumpur. It was founded by Mr Hazmin in early 2010 with a seed funding of RM150,000 (about US$50,000). By the end of 2014, its core businesses include developing mobile application (app), software and website, as well as conducting information technology (IT) training. The company had developed its own animation cartoon, Oolat Oolit, and had commercialized several mobile app inventions. These mobile apps include a Jawi (traditional Malay writing system) app, mobile games and Facebook apps which were compatible with most mobile operating systems. Since its inception, Yeayyy.com had aspired to follow the footsteps of the internationally acclaimed Malaysian home-grown animation production house, Les’ Copaque, which had produced the popular Upin Ipin series. Similar to Les’ Copaque, Yeayyy.com also planned to commercialize its in-house characters into TV series and to market related merchandises, along with its collaborative partner, CikuTree Studio. However, by the end of 2014, the company’s seed funding had depleted, thus forcing Mr Hazmin to strategize for the company’s future.

Understanding the process of entrepreneurship and technology-based venture development enables case analysts to apply the concepts in many situations involving business opportunities and company development.

CSS:3 Entrepreneurship.

This trio of cases is appropriate for upper-level undergraduate classes or for postgraduate programs in non-profit management, leadership and community development, international development, global studies, women’s and gender studies and social entrepreneurship. It allows the instructors and students to engage with classical leadership tenets and emerging social entrepreneurship literature. Upon completion of the case study discussion and assignments, students will be able to: identify diverse obstacles that African women face in starting social enterprises; understand the ways that African women leaders build a social dimension to their enterprise; and identify characteristics of women’s leadership and critique the value of women’s leadership for establishing sustainable social enterprises.

The case stories of the three African social enterprises portray how female leaders have fostered sustainable organisations through prioritising social, over economic and governance investments. Martha Letsoalo, a former domestic worker, founded the Heartfelt Project in South Africa, which now employs fifteen women, ships products all around the world and enriches the community of Makapanstad with its workshop, training and education centre. Victoria Nalongo Namusisi, daughter of a fisherman in rural Uganda, founded Bright Kids Uganda, a thriving care facility, school and community centre that educates vulnerable children, empowers victims of gender-based violence and distributes micro-loans to female entrepreneurs. Gertrude, abandoned in Lusaka, Zambia, founded Chikumbuso, a home of resilience and remembrance to educate children and offer women employment in a cooperative business. Each case documents the founding years of the social enterprise and outlines some of the shared women’s leadership approaches. The case dilemma focuses on why and how women start social enterprises in socially and economically difficult contexts.

This trio of cases is appropriate for undergraduate or graduate-level programs in non-profit management, leadership and community development, international development, global studies and social entrepreneurship.

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.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

The learning outcomes focus on enabling students to view operational model changes critically, as they pertain to:

■ evaluating different management styles and uses of the ADKAR change management model in decision-making moments in times of crisis (such as COVID-19) in non-profit organisations (NPOs);

■ evaluating different ways in which NPOs pivot to sustainability, including the use of social enterprise models and change management;

■ anticipating and managing change in institutional formations through new technologies;

■ articulating trade-offs between grant and non-grant resource mobilisation for African philanthropy; and

■ application of change management theory to organisations’ sustainability journeys.

In May 2020, working from her home office just over one month into a nationwide lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Masego Madzwamuse, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Southern Africa Trust (the Trust), knew that it could once again be at a crossroads. In 2015, the Trust had found itself in a quandary when its primary donor gave notification of its intention to withdraw its funding. The Trust had responded by making changes to its structure and strategy. Now, with uncertainty rife throughout South Africa, the CEO knew that she had to consider whether the changes that had been implemented over the past five years had prepared the Trust not only to respond to, but also to survive the pandemic and continue its vital work long into the future.

Postgraduate Diploma in Management, MBA, Masters in Management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The proposed areas of study for this case are strategic management, marketing, tourism planning and development, hospitality management, attraction management and special event planning and management.

The case is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing courses in the areas of strategic management, marketing, tourism planning and development, hospitality and tourism management, attraction management and special event planning and management.

The Denbigh Showground located in the parish of Clarendon, Jamaica, is the venue of the annual Agricultural and Industrial Show. Three separate studies conducted indicated the need for its development to enable the use of the facility all year round and to contribute to the socio-economic development of the parish. Suggested development options from these studies included a fun and amusement park, a site for eco-tourism and a multi-purpose agri-cultural facility with linkages to the parish's cultural legacies and places of interest. The large land acreage could facilitate its development, making the property a leading “agri-cultural” attraction concept.

he students should be able to: identify the typology of the Denbigh Showground as an attraction; categorize the product offerings of the Denbigh Showground from a marketing perspective; explain the factors to consider regarding the development of the showground; analyze the socio-economic contributions of the facility to the parish of Clarendon and the community's attitude towards the development of the showground; discuss the potential uses of the Denbigh Showground that can make it a leading international “agri-cultural” attraction; synthesize the concept of sustainable tourism development and its importance to the development and viability of the attraction for future generations; and assess other tourism concepts such as community-based tourism, special interest tourism and alternative tourism and how they relate to the development of the Denbigh Showground.

This case study will help students understand the concept of an agri-cultural attraction and its impact on the socio-economic development of the surrounding communities and the country as a whole. The case will contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the areas of community development and residents’ perception regarding tourism development. It offers insights to both potential and current investors; provides practical guidance to the government and other tourism planners to enable better planning for the areas’ future growth and development; and serves as a reference for academicians as well as undergraduate and graduate students.

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

Impact investing, Social enterprise.

MBA, EMBA, Executive Education.

Zoona mobile money: investing for impact details a slightly altered version of the real events that occurred in late 2011 with the series A round of investment in Zoona, a mobile money business in Zambia. The focus is on the decisions that have to be made by the management team of a socially innovative tech start-up (Zoona) providing mobile money and financial services to previously unbanked consumers in Zambia.

By the end of this case, the student should be able to: understand the basics of term sheets and be able to perform a high level analysis and comparison of two distinct term sheets; identify investor objectives, ultimately recognising the general differences between private equity and venture capital investors; identify and weigh the costs and benefits of term sheets, as well as identify negotiating points and necessary trade-offs in the investment process; and identify and understand the “soft” benefits of investors and weigh these in relation to a term sheet analysis.

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 1: Accounting and Finance.

It was December 13, 2010. The Government of Uttar Pradesh announced their plan to urbanize the entire area along the Yamuna Expressway (YE) in order to prevent haphazard growth of urban sprawls on the flanks of the YE. The YE was conceived in 1997 as a dream project of Ms Mayawati, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, with the idea of reducing the travel time between Delhi (and the larger National Capital Region) and Agra. It was a 165 km long expressway and was proposed to run from Greater Noida to Agra via Mathura. Amidst issues concerning land acquisition, and various protests and litigations, the deadline for completion of the project had extended beyond its original completion date of February 8, 2010 to April 2013. Meanwhile, the project cost had escalated from Rs 2500 crore (cr) in the year 2000 to about Rs 10,000 cr as of December 2010. By then, about 80% work on the expressway had been completed. The project was finally expected to be completed around April 2011. This was, however, subject to the pending court judgements and mitigation of risks as perceived by Jaypee Infratech, the concessionaire of the project.

This teaching case focuses on the field of marketing, particularly, the situation of building a global brand as small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) internationalizing from an emerging market.

It is recommended for postgraduate and post-experience students, for example, in MBA programmes and executive education courses.

This teaching case focuses on the field of marketing, particularly, the situation of building a global brand as SME internationalizing from an emerging market. It is recommended for postgraduate and post-experience students, for example, in MBA programmes and executive education courses. BOS Brands provides an interesting case on the internationalisation experience of a Born Global firm, particularly from an emerging market context. This medium-sized South African business develops, distributes and markets Rooibos-based beverages in Southern Africa and Europe, with eyes on a broader global presence. The case provides insights into the strategic decisions required to successfully take a medium-sized business into competitive foreign markets without the capital and support enjoyed by many larger multinational corporations. Among other issues, BOS Brands provides fertile ground to explore the selection of target country and entry mode, overcoming cultural and physical distance, opportunity recognition and the roles of networks and innovation.

The expected learning outcomes are to: analyse the decision-making process of the internationalising SME in terms of internationalisation factors, timing and phases and evaluation of potential target countries and entry mode options and launch marketing approach; understand the complexities of marketing in a foreign cultural and business context (including cultural and physical distance); and develop alternative marketing strategies for an entrepreneurial SME to grow internationally given limited resources.

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 8: Marketing.

The paper aims to understand the process of transfer of agricultural technology, which comprises incubation of the technology business, valuation, evaluation, licensing and commercialization, to examine various dimensions of the process of technology transfer and the effectiveness of transfer object use criteria, to explore ways of sustaining incubation and commercialization through an autonomous unit responsible for technology transfer, to peruse the role of agribusiness incubators in creating an effective agri-entrepreneurship eco-system and to study the factors that promote or inhibit the sustainability of business incubators in an academic or research institution setting.

An innovative technology for production of liquid bio-fertilizers was developed and nurtured to market levels by Anand Agricultural University (AAU), a State Agricultural University in Gujarat. The technology for production of liquid bio-fertilizers, developed during 2009-2010 to 2013-2014 was licensed to some of the state public and private sector undertakings under the World Bank-financed National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) implemented through Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). For commercializing the technologies from the University, a Business Planning and Development (BPD) Unit was set up at AAU along the lines of a technology transfer office, under the aegis of NAIP during later part of 2009. The NAIP funding from World Bank for BPD Units ceased in June 2014 with closure of the project. With funding no more available, Rajababu V. Vyas, a research scientist at the Microbiology and Bio-fertilizer Department of the University and Head of the BPD Unit, had serious concerns about the BPD unit’s sustainability, as well as sustaining the process of technology transfer from the University.

Anand Agricultural University (AAU), a state-run university in Gujarat, developed and incubated a technology to produce liquid biofertilizer, licensed the technology and marketed its product through a few state-run and private fertilizer firms. The technology was developed between 2009/2010 and 2013/2014 as part of the National Agricultural Innovation Project of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research with funds from the World Bank. A unit to incubate agri-businesses, referred to as Business Planning and Development Unit (BPDU), was set up in late 2009 to expedite the process of technology transfer from AAU to agribusiness firms. Rajababu V. Vyas, a research scientist at the Microbiology and Bio-fertilizer Department of the university, was concerned about the unit’s sustainability, because funding from the World Bank had ceased from June 2014, and wondered how to sustain the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the field in the light of the data available to him.

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

The learning outcomes are as follows: to analyze the multidimensional and complex crises, and market stature of a company that was a market and industry leader in a developing country; to evaluate and interpret the outcomes of decisions pertaining declining profits, outstanding receivables, branding, marketing and radical reforms to overcome the challenges of sustainable growth, customers and employees’ loyalty, market stature and leadership crises; and to design strategic solutions for sustaining its leadership position and combating severe challenges.

The purpose of this paper is to ponder upon various crises that Pakistan State Oil (PSO) was facing, so that learners can critically analyze, assess and design strategic solutions for it. PSO was the state-run market leader in the petroleum industry. The company had been struggling to combat multiple types of turmoil at a time. Its huge fund of receivables was blocked in circular debt that caused the company budget constraints and deficits. Due to a government policy shift, the demand for its furnace oil substantially reduced and profits plummeted. The countless internal and external crises posed severe menace to its competitive position vis-a-vis its rivals. This qualitative case study garners data from eight interviews from senior managers in the petroleum industry and adds content analysis technique to acquire pertinent data from renowned media sources and subsequent analysis. The drastic crises left PSO with dearth of funds and declining profitability. Consequently, due to limited marketing budget, creativity of its marketing team for devising effective marketing programs to raise market share was compromised. PSO underwent the issues of brand sustainability, sustainable growth, customers and employees’ loyalty, and market stature to financial and leadership crises. However, despite limitations, it still enjoyed a market leadership position among its rivals in the industry by occupying more than half of the chunk of market in the petroleum industry. This is a unique case study of a state-owned giant company facing multidimensional menaces. It offers tremendous learning opportunities for students who can devise creative strategic solutions and link theories and models with practice.

Graduate (MBA), MS, PhD (management and administrative sciences); Suitable for teaching in chapters: Anywhere but ideally near the middle or end of the above courses.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS 11: Strategy.

The case describes the internal growth workshop initiative at Vedanta Group. Anil Agarwal in 1976 founded Vedanta as a scrap-metal dealership in Mumbai (then Bombay). Over the years, Anil pursued a very aggressive growth journey with a vision to create a leading global natural resource company. The principal objective of discussing this case is to understand how Vedanta introduced this initiative and how it fits within the strategic human resource management at the group.