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Derived from field interviews and secondary research, the case describes the dilemma that the Marketing Manager Bentley Collins of Sabre Yachts faces in developing a profitable marketing mix given the firm's current product line, competitors, industry and national economic trends. Sabre had always been a niche boat builder. Their product line was divided into two distinct categories; sail boats and power boats. Their sailboats were targeted toward boaters interested in the comfort desired for cruising but also the capability of competitive racing while their power boats were designed to be modern yachts that could cruise 20 knots or better. A majority of sales came from the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions with only sporadic success in other areas. Bentley worried that slower phone traffic in Spring of 2001 would be indicative of slower sales and wanted to know what actions the firm should take to continue their regional growth as well as their push to become a more nationally-based firm. The case has a difficulty level appropriate for a junior or senior level course. The case is designed to be taught in one class period and is expected to require between five to seven hours of outside preparation by students.

After three years in business together, Des Carpenter and Kees Schaddelee had a decision to make – should they double the size of their location, based on the opportunities and competitive threats they perceived? The startup phase took longer than expected and access to distribution channels was more difficult than expected. Nonetheless, the business gained traction with online sales that proved the concept of custom-made counters using EnvironiteTM technology was viable. As they prepared to expand the business, the owner-managers needed to decide on a growth strategy that would let them leverage their strengths. In analyzing their successes so far, they needed to evaluate their business model including their product line, target markets, marketing strategy (including the pricing strategy, product lines, and channels of distribution) and operations.

Data were collected through interviews with business owners and a review of company documents, production processes and the company website.

This case exercise will suit strategy and entrepreneurship students at both the senior undergraduate level and graduate level. The case discussion will ask students to consider operations, supply chain management, marketing and other issues, all through the lens of a holistic vision for the company. This case may be taught as an example of a growth strategy or a business model in a capstone business strategy course or higher level entrepreneurship course. It is appropriate for both undergraduate seniors and graduate students.

This case may be taught as an example of a growth strategy or a business model in a capstone business strategy course or higher-level entrepreneurship course. The case may be used to help students understand external and internal analysis, identifying the sources of value creation and competitive advantage, and creating an appropriate strategy for growth. It provides a rich context to discuss and apply the following conceptual tools: the application of a value chain analysis and the application of a business model canvas (key partners, key activities, key resources, value propositions, customer relationships, distribution channels, customer segments, cost structure and revenue streams). The case may also be used to reinforce the applications of growth phases in a young firm that are part of the entrepreneurial setting, for example, value proposition, ideal customer, revenue streams and key performance indicators.

This case is used in Darden's Supply-Chain Operations elective. The field-based case gives supply-chain educators the ability to teach the newsvendor model with pricing under a capacity constraint using real-life decisions. By 2005, Eastman Chemical Company, based in Tennessee, had created a new specialty plastic, Tritan, which demonstrated heat resistance and durability properties that might allow Eastman to compete in the lucrative polycarbonate plastics market. Development of this product was a major breakthrough for both Eastman and the broader chemical industry. The Eastman specialty plastics team had to contend with numerous challenges, however, before producing Tritan at full scale. First, Eastman had to commercialize a completely new material that only had been produced in the lab; second, the team had to develop a supply chain to manufacture a new component (monomer) and a new product (polymer) simultaneously; and finally, it had to analyze market entrance options given capacity constraints. Thus, the specialty plastics team faced several dilemmas: who should the initial launch partners be, given Eastman's limited manufacturing capacity, and how aggressively should Eastman price Tritan, given that price would drive demand in the launch markets and in new markets?

Business-to-business (B2B) marketing, microeconomics and strategic management.

Target audience can be MBA students who are taking B2B marketing, microeconomics and strategic management courses.

On 1 January 2015, Hamza joined Hisham Packaging, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the CEO. Hisham Packaging specialises in production of corrugated boxes of various sizes, both in plain and printed forms. Most of Hamza’s experiences have been in the automobile industry, where his focus was on Lean operations rather than marketing. After joining Hisham Packaging, he learnt that in service industry like printing and packaging, the business focus is more customer-oriented than process-orientated. In the packaging industry, each customer’s requirement is unique and customised with variety and small volumes. What was shocking to him was that there is an informal cartel arrangement among major corrugated box suppliers in the country and without the consent of the cartel members, he cannot take any major decision like expanding the business or accepting or dropping a customer. Hamza discussed the scenario with his sales manager Ahmad to see what strategy to adopt for the growth of the company. He was trying to figure out what next? Like any other newly joined CEO, Hamza also had plans to increase the market share and make the operations Lean. He quickly found that it would be difficult for him to make any major impact on the existing business due to the constraints and he needed a different strategic move to grow the company.

The outcomes include understanding of market dynamics, cartelization of companies based on market structure and strategy building. Students learn that an organization’s performance is just not dependent on how the managers plan, organize and control but it also depends on the competitors and customer’s strategies. Students learn how to apply strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis, Porter’s Five Forces analysis and PESTEL analysis in developing business strategy.

Teaching note is attached.

CSS 8: Marketing

The learning outcomes include to identify and discuss important personality characteristics of an entrepreneur, to explore the business planning pitfalls that torment many new ventures and to understand key concepts of business model thinking.

The case is about Fetakart, a one-year old venture, which offered custom designed and printed t-shirts in Gujarat, India. The venture was launched by Himanshu Dhadnekar in 2018. Himanshu was a young first-generation entrepreneur who displayed entrepreneurial characteristics since his school days. Later, he was involved with a few failed startups, worked as an employee in different companies and curated new ventures. Fetakart was born out of another venture, MotivPrints, which sold a large variety of custom designed and high-quality printed products such as visiting cards, office essentials, apparels, packaging and marketing material. At MotivPrints, Himanshu discovered the market for customized t-shirts in India but with very little knowledge of the business model or capabilities of leading players such as Bewakoof.com. The venture started struggling and faced several problems including high cost demands by manufacturers and lack of funding. Where did Fetakart go wrong? Was Fetakart born out of impulse? Did Himanshu have a viable business model for Fetakart?

The case can be discussed in the class of entrepreneurship at master’s level. It can also be used in entrepreneurship specialization course and strategic management elective(s) in the second year of post-graduation. The case can be particularly useful for young entrepreneurs associated as incubatees with a business incubator and for an executive development program related to new ventures.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Marketing.

This case is oriented to undergraduate (BA) students taking courses in marketing strategy, branding, new product development and market research.

This case deals with the events surrounding branding and positioning of a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) by a multinational company settled in Mexico. After working in a private–public partnership (PPP) that deployed millions of CFLs in the Mexican market, the company is now striving to understand customer repurchase behaviour. The company executives are struggling with product, technology, and distribution issues. Their primary task is to develop an appealing marketing strategy and a tactical plan in the context of reduced budget and sceptic customers.

This study's task is to enhance student's ability to perform functional marketing analysis; to frame issues according to a given business model to solve the problems that organizations face in developing innovative products; and to propose alternate courses of action and formulate competitive marketing strategies.

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

This paper aims to explain the theory of stakeholder, value chain analysis and triple bottom line sustainability approach.

The present case was developed from both primary and secondary data sources. The primary sources included visits to Global Enterprises and collected data through a structured interview. The secondary sources included enterprise annual reports and websites.

This case presents the innovative approach adopted by a for-profit social enterprise, utilizing locally available resources, changed products and an improved business model to deliver the desired social impact. It highlights the challenges social entrepreneurs face and how the people at the grass-root level are uplifted through the success of a social entrepreneurial venture. The case study is based on an interview conducted with the founder and managing director of Global Enterprises and other stakeholders (farmers, women artisans and employees). An interview schedule was used for conducting the interviews. The researchers tried to understand the business model deployed, stakeholders involved, challenges faced, competencies needed and strategic decisions made by the social entrepreneur that helped the enterprise become sustainable. The social problems identified by the entrepreneur include unavailability of quality raw material at a reasonable price on time; financial scarcity and massive dependence on non-institutional financial sources; lack of product development, market research and production; and the high price of handmade products compared to factory-made products. The case explains how the entrepreneur addressed the problems of cotton farmers, women artisans and local youths through his enterprise. The case also explains how he could make a social venture sustainable in the long run.

This case targets graduate-level students and is designed to be taught in Entrepreneurship, Social entrepreneurship, Rural entrepreneurship, Business administration and Entrepreneurship development. It can also be used for other programmes, where problem identification, opportunity recognition, stakeholder analysis and porter's value chain analysis are taught.

The case includes theoretical references to family business, organizational culture, resource-based value and leadership.

The case combines primary and secondary data. There is ample public information about Martin Guitar including histories of the company and its instruments. These were used for background. Primary data were provided by the company in the form of customized data and interviews.. The case writer has served Martin Guitar as a consultant and also plays Martin instruments. The case writer had numerous opportunities to interview Chris and his key lieutenants.

In 2019, C.F. Martin IV (Chris) was in his fourth decade leading one of the America’s oldest family-owned companies, C.F. Martin & Co., Inc. Martin Guitar is a globally known maker of fine guitars that are prized by collectors, working musicians and amateur musicians. Chris was raised in the family business and took on the CEO’s position at the age of 30. The case describes the company’s management practices and the culture that has emerged from them. In 2019, at age 64, Chris confronted issues faced by his predecessors over multiple generations: how to prepare the company for succession, and maintain its strong performance as a family-owned company in a dynamic industry environment.

The case is designed for a management course for upper-level undergraduates.

Jarsh Safety received an order of 500 units of its Model S helmet. However, the order must be delivered within 15 days. Jarsh Safety was founded by three engineering college peers, who conceptualized air-conditioned, industrial safety helmets. This innovative revolutionary product offered industrial workers not only safety but aesthetics and comfort. The founders hoped that the product could change the perception of safety helmets from mandatory wear to desired wear. The case details the production process, staffing, raw material required and procurement lead time.

In mid-1992, Christine Olsen, the chief financial officer (CFO) of this large CAD/CAM equipment manufacturer, must decide on the magnitude of the firm's dividend payout. A subsidiary question is whether the firm should embark on a campaign of corporate-image advertising and change its corporate name to reflect its new outlook. The case serves as an omnibus review of the many practical aspects of the dividend decision, including (1) signaling effects, (2) clientele effects, and (3) finance and investment implications of increasing dividend payout.