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In this case, the situation is a classic duopoly. Two shipping firms are in a price war over the market for containerized shipping to and from a small Caribbean island. The case presents a table of contributions to both firms as a function of their prices. This table serves as a basis by which the class can explore the concepts of Nash equilibrium, price leadership, and prisoner’s dilemma. It is also available with the case as a student spreadsheet (QA-0355X). See also “Lesser Antilles Lines (B)” (UVA-QA-0641) and “Lesser Antilles Lines (C)” (UVA-QA-0670).

Studies the impact of tariffs, subsidies, and quotas on the U.S. steel market. Focuses on “winners” and “losers” from different policies. Applications to the events in the U.S. steel market in 2001 illustrate the impact of these policies.

Describes the events leading up to the imposition of the London congestion charge. Views about the congestion charge, both pro and con, are presented. Also discusses, in general terms, the economics of traffic congestion, pointing out that an unregulated market for driving will not reach the social optimum. Contains sufficient data to estimate the deadweight loss in an unregulated market and the reduction of the deadweight loss due to the imposition of the congestion charge in 2003.

To provide a good illustration of how an unregulated market with negative externalities can lead to an overprovision of a good (in this case driving). Also, to show how an externality tax (in this case, London's congestion charge) can lead to an improvement in social welfare.

Investments.

The case is suitable for students with diverse backgrounds – from different countries with different cultures, and from different programs (undergraduate or graduate). The case will be used for an all-English course “The research of Chinese stock markets” and has been used for the course “Portfolio theory and management” (junior student level) at Nankai University.

The case introduces Chinese stock markets' uniqueness that there exists a huge number of previously nontradable shares. The release of the shares radically changes the markets' balance and causes the absolute dominance of stock supply over stock demand. Based on the analysis for ICBC, the case demonstrates that the dominance can explain the drop of ICBC's stock price by supply-demand law but fundamental analysis cannot.

The case will help students to understand the uniqueness of Chinese stock markets and the applicability of supply-demand law in the markets and then be able to make investment decisions.

The case can help to educate not only students but also Chinese and foreign investors about the uniqueness of Chinese stock markets and arm the students and investors with the supply-demand methodology to analyse the markets and the reasoning of when and how to invest.

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.

An instructor could link the case to lean production principles and Kurt Lewin’s change management model, key reading materials on these theories are, namely,  Lewin, K (1947) Frontiers in group dynamics: concept, method and reality in social science; equilibrium and social change. Human Relations 1(1): 5–41  Stewart, J. (2012). The Toyota Kaizen continuum: a practical guide to implementing lean. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Wickramasinghe, V. and Wickramasinghe, G. L. D. (2020). Effects of human resource management practices, lean production practices and lean duration on performance. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(11), 1467–1512.

This case was developed from both primary and secondary sources. The primary source included three face to face meetings with Mr CK in University Putra Malaysia (two meetings) and WSAE factory (Rawang, Malaysia – one meeting), respectively. Interviewed three workers at Rawang factory. The secondary source was taken from the company website and company reports.

Dr Wan, the Chief Executive Officer of WSA Engineering Sdn Bhd (WSAE) accepted the invitation from Small Medium Industries Development Corporation to participate in a Malaysian-Japanese Industry Cooperation program that focused on Lean Production System (LPS). Dr Wan was worried about Malaysia’s culture incompatible with Japanese-originated LPS. The case shares how the organization and behavioral change took place, for LPS buy-in. Successes and challenges WSAE faced in the 10-year journey of implementing LPS were elaborated.

This case was written for use in an operations management course, on the topic of lean production. It can also be used as a training material targeting the operation managers of a manufacturing company aiming to implement lean production or any change management process.

Why do some individuals become entrepreneurs while others do not? This fundamental question has vexed entrepreneurship scholars for some time, giving rise to various schools of thought. Traditional economic motivation theories, for example, suggest that entrepreneurial opportunities arise from changes in either supply (Shane, 2000) or demand (Dew et al., 2004) and emphasize personal economic gain as a motivator for pursuing entrepreneurship. Both neoclassical equilibrium and psychological theories take a person-centric perspective whereby stable, enduring differences among people’s characteristics, determines who becomes an entrepreneur. Opportunity recognition may be enhanced through perspective taking (i.e. putting oneself in the shoes of another person) (Prandelli et al., 2016).

The founders of the company provided us with access to the inner workings of the company, their mentors and advisors and themselves. This study used archival research and interviews when preparing this case. Interviews allow for the development of uncensored, real-life insights into the entrepreneur’s business experience. The authors first conducted a 90-min interview with Rajia and Ray at DifferenceMaker^® Central on the UMass Lowell campus. DifferenceMaker^® provided us with pictures and timelines from when Rajia and Ray participated in the various DifferenceMaker^® activities and competitions. A follow-on 90-min interview was conducted with the founders four months later at the UMass Lowell Innovation Hub to delve deeper into their transition from engineers to entrepreneurs.

In the summer of 2016, the future of invisaWear suddenly became uncertain. Rajia Abdelaziz and Ray Hamilton had conceived an idea for smart jewelry that they felt solved a real problem. But it was one thing to have a great idea and quite another to turn that idea into a real business. As engineering students, they were accustomed to solving problems, but if they truly wanted to make an impact, they had to learn to solve problems as entrepreneurs. With the help of DifferenceMaker^® and their mentors, they developed an entrepreneurial mind-set and decided to build invisaWear into a company.

This case is suitable for an undergraduate course in business or entrepreneurship. This case is intended to illustrate to both business and non-business students how individuals with different backgrounds can become entrepreneurs. Presented as a real-life example of how engineering students can make the transition to an entrepreneurial mind-set, the case can also be used to hone in on select topics including opportunity recognition, problem-solving, ideation and the business model canvas.

As marketers love to teach students, differentiation must be the focal point of marketing strategy. But what happens when a firm's competitive set is shared by similar customers, perceived differentiation is weak among rivals, and loyalty is a thing of the past? This was the dilemma the French luxury jeweler Mauboussin faced: how to leverage its iconic brand to access new customers, domestically and abroad, and through new channels, while preserving the image of luxury goods founded on the myth of rarity and exclusivity? The case was designed and used for the latter portion of an international MBA marketing course and would work well in most international business courses.

Quality management among multiple business units of a large organization is often difficult if each unit is run independently in terms on their quality standards. In this case, participants will discuss how Bukhari Group of Companies should establish a common brand image through standardized quality. Participants should also understand that common brand image for diverse products does not mean identical level of rejection or customer complaints. It should be understood that different markets have different tolerance for product failures. The participants can chalk out the measures the protagonist of the case should be able to take to effectively steer the Bhukari Group to achieve profits and excellence.

1. What are public goods? What are the defining characteristics of public goods?2. What is special about managing common resources like Markhors/Ibex (and other rare species)? What is the free rider problem?3. How the incentives-based system works?4. What are the consequences of Community Trophy Hunt Program (CTHP) in Pakistan?

Learning objectives are as follows:1. applying new approaches to manage common resources;2. understanding the various types of goods that society needs for its material progress;3. understanding the challenges associated with the management of common resources because of their particular nature; and4. understanding the need for incentive-based engagement in the management of public policies at the community level.

Management of shared resources is challenging. This case uses the problem of a forest officer who was given the task of managing the animal population of the region. The primary focus of the case is common resources and how it can be managed through incentive-based system. The case demonstrates how individual actions have external effects. These external effects are sometimes good for the community, but sometimes, they are bad. Many desirable outcomes require social cooperation, but they cannot be achieved because individual self-interest dominates collective well-being, the issue called Prisoners' Dilemma. Gulnar (the fictional forest officer) was convinced about the potential of managing common resources by means of a CTHP in the Gilgit–Baltistan region (in Pakistan). The CTHP provided not just environmental benefits but also substantial social and economic benefits to the local community. The financial gains from the initiative can be used in community projects that help locals become less reliant on their natural environment, create more space for wildlife and enhance the quality of life for people.

BS (Hons.) Economics, MS Economics (Public Policy), MBA (Business Economics)

Supplementary materials teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 4: Environmental Management

The case illustrates the application of the concepts of demand elasticities of an agricultural product with high protein content - pulses. It considers the current situation where a good monsoon has raised hopes for a bumper crop of pulses in India. From a deficit of about 20% met by imports, the county now is looking at attaining self-sufficiency. Public Policy options such as exports, imports or allowing domestic price adjustments or changing the minimum support price (MSP) in this regard are also considered.