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Emerging markets – marketing and business strategy; social entrepreneurship; opportunity identification; frugal innovation.

MBA; marketing management; specialis ed courses such as entrepreneurship and international marketing. Data rich case, but analytical difficulty is only moderate.

Reboot Systems was conceived as a reverse engineering/refurbishing company for used computers when Rahul Chowdhury and Subbarao came in contact with Anand Tater who had started a small business in the used computer market. The team recognised the potential of the refurbished computer market in India, which was largely unorganised with penetration of personal computers pegged at less than 5 per cent. They identified the opportunity to address the digital divide, caused by lack of affordability and accessibility, by providing inexpensive “as good as new” used computers to those who aspired to own a computer. Additionally, in extending the life of used computers on a large-scale through “frugal innovation”, they hoped to reduce the extent of e-waste generated in the economy. This case provides a rich description of an emerging market characterised by market heterogeneity, social-political governance with poor policy measures, unorganised markets, chronic shortage of resources and inadequate infrastructure. Entrepreneurs hoping to address social issues must tackle these problems at the grass-root level and come up with improvised solutions that address the unique needs of the heterogeneous and resource constrained market. Some of Reboot Systems pressing challenges were in building a viable strategic approach to the market and ensuring scalability in a sustainable way.

An understanding of the characteristics of an emerging market from a macro (environmental) as well as micro (industry specific) perspective, an appreciation of opportunity identification and improvisation in emerging markets as well as differentiating “frugal” innovation from the idea of “Jugaad”, an understanding of the role of strategic vision and mission in accomplishing social and business objectives, an understanding of how to develop sustainability and competitive advantage from a social as well as business perspective.

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

Bonnie CLAC (car loans and counseling) is a social entrepreneurship venture whose mission was to help low-to-moderate income consumers purchase new cars. Co-founder and social entrepreneur, Robert Chambers developed a business proposal for the venture. Chambers was struggling to convince banks that the proposal significantly reduced the banks' risks and the proposal provided significant benefits to the banks and community at large. The case begins with another bank rejecting the business proposal, continues with an explanation of the issues sub-prime consumers (generally low-to-moderate income consumers) face when attempting to obtain financing for reliable automobile transportation, and concludes with Chambers beginning to revise his proposal to convince risk averse bankers that Bonnie CLAC's clients were credit worthy and worth the risk. The exhibits for the case are the principal information sources students will use to answer the ice breaker and discussion questions.

The authors developed the case from interviews with Robert Chambers and secondary sources.

Personal finance, Financial management, Financial institutions management

Personal financial planning, Bank lending decisions and Credit scores

This case should be paired with textbook chapters that cover the important roles of leadership, staffing and corporate culture in the strategy implementation effort. The case can also be used to review textbook chapters covering competitive and industry analysis, differentiation strategies, goal setting and financial analysis. In advanced courses, readings on leadership and corporate social responsibility should be assigned to inform debates regarding Vasu’s style and his commitment to creating shared value. Alternatively, instructors in retail management courses could assign readings that investigate the linkages of human resource management, service quality and other behaviors to optimal supermarket performance.

The authors revised this case and Teaching Noes from an MBA student case writing project in Fall 2017. The student conducted focus groups with Pacific Market’s consumers, worked with Vasu and his consultant, Tom Scott, a former CEO of a local grocery chain, supplemented with secondary industry research and demographic information about the cities of Sebastopol and Santa Rosa. Meetings to develop the company mission statement and long-term goals took place over Fall 2017. Tom provided the operating information and trade area analysis used in the case, and Vasu provided financial statements and background information.

After a career as a turnaround specialist for Silicon Valley high-tech startups, Vasudev Narayanan (Vasu) acquired Pacific Market, a two-store chain in Sonoma County, California, in 2013. By Fall 2017, rival local chains had expanded, online vendors threatened in-store shopping, the Amazon-Whole Foods combination threatened disruption, and consumers increasingly insisted on “buying local.” Vasu aimed to grow revenues 50 percent by 2020, and fund Good Karma Foundation, a charity in his native India. Strategies to achieve these objectives included infrastructure investments, employee profit sharing, changing the mix of products and amenities or finding a buyer for the operation.

The Pacific Market case is intended for undergraduate or MBA-level strategic management courses. The case pairs well with coverage of how leaders approach the strategy implementation effort, a topic typically introduced toward the end of the course. The case gives students practice in applying strategy formulation concepts and frameworks, e.g. PESTEL analysis, Porter’s industry forces, key industry drivers, strategic group mapping, SWOT analysis, corporate social responsibility and financial ratio analysis. Instructors might also use this case to cover similar material in retail management courses. The case is highly suitable as a written assignment for an examination and/or for team presentations.