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Firm success, organizational structure and values, business challenges, corporate change, decision making.

Senior undergraduate courses in Organizational Behavior and Business Policy and Strategy.

This case relates the story of growth of Future Internet, a small media firm launched in 1998 in Dubai, UAE. The case describes the past achievements of Future Internet along with the challenges met on the road, illustrates the key factors and core organizational values that were critical for its business success and discusses the new prospects that the company is seeking to explore in the future. As Future Internet is continuously searching to engage in a path of new business opportunities, what are the most viable strategic choices to be made for securing a sustainable corporate growth and development?

Discuss different aspects involved in the management of a small firm operating in a dynamic industry; assess the key factors that might contribute to explaining corporate success; and evaluate the effectiveness of managerial decision making over time (change in structure and values, opportunities' evaluation and selection of strategic options) to achieve sustainable development.

Teaching notes.

Enterprise, Strategy.

This case study is about a used car retailer in an African country, specifically Ghana. Lessons drawn from the case could be applied in societies which are highly socialised; not individualistic.

Ghana is one of the first African countries to be hooked up to the internet. However, there has been a very slow uptake of “traditional” e-commerce applications due to a number of critical factors including a legal framework, and electronic payment system. Despite these challenges, some firms are making strides to use the power of the internet to enhance their operations. For example, the case firm uses social relationships to sell its first stock of cars and to re-design its website. Other findings and lessons from this case could be applied to similar contexts.

An understanding of how society influences business operations, especially in an African or Ghanaian context. Learners can also draw lessons that could be applicable to enhancing and growing the e-commerce capabilities of offline firms.

Teaching notes.

Pharmaceutical marketing, brand protection.

It could be used with the pharmaceutical marketing students and MBA students for analysing counterfeit medicines' menace in developing countries and positioning of a disruptive technology. The case could be used for marketing consultants, Brand managers and executive development programmes to explore issues such as protecting brands through technology, pharmaceutical packaging marketing, competitiveness of counterfeit drugs, global harmonisation.

Against the backdrop of rising menace of counterfeit drugs in developing countries, the case talks in particular about an innovative pharmaceutical packaging company. The company has developed a unique security technology called non-ClonableID™ which can enable products to be authenticated throughout the supply chain, thus protecting brands and preventing misuse. Despite a promising technology, it poses challenges regarding its adoption and commercial success.

Counterfeiting as an inevitable result of Globalization has become a global nuisance and has to be dealt at global level. Brand protection could be one of the lowest cost tools for pharmaceutical companies to restore public confidence in their products and themselves. While all methods for anti-counterfeiting are known to have short lives the menace still must be dealt with. For this, companies need to deploy anti-counterfeiting strategies that set up various layers of security.

Teaching note.

Quantifying the efficacy of marketing is an age-old challenge. As John Wanamaker said a century ago, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.” The big difference today, however, is that the Internet enables detailed tracking of marketing campaigns in real time, or near time. Exemplifies how to leverage the Internet to dramatically improve the efficacy of marketing. Centers upon the Microsoft Security Guidance marketing campaign, which was designed to change IT professionals' perception of Microsoft's software product security. The integrated marketing campaign involved print media, analyst relations, and online advertising. The advertising was designed to drive IT professionals to a Web site on security guidance, then sign them up for free in-person security training classes. Illustrates two important best practices for marketing in the Internet age: first, the campaign was designed to be measured, and second, agility was specifically designed into the campaign. In addition to tracking weekly click-through data from the print and online advertising, the campaign also used online pop-up customer perception surveys. Analyzing the click-though data, Microsoft realized it had a problem at the end of the first week of the campaign–there were far fewer signups for the training sessions than anticipated. By the end of the second week the campaign was changed, resulting in a huge improvement in efficacy. Creates a scorecard illustrating the pros and cons of the Microsoft approach compared to a more traditional campaign. Illustrates how, rather than creating big-bang campaigns, high-performing marketing organizations today are continually experimenting. They build flexibility into campaigns and design them to be measured.

To learn how to leverage the Internet in marketing campaigns, analyze click-through data and online survey results acquired in near time, and learn how it is used to fine tune and dramatically improve a campaign. Furthermore, illustrates how nonfinancial metrics can be used to quantify marketing efficacy.

Services marketing.

This case can be taught effectively to MBA/MS students. The case provides students with an opportunity to closely examine various marketing activities and to understand how problems associated with intangible services can be dealt with by using effective integrated marketing communications.

On March 1, 2011, JustEat, the world's largest and premium online food ordering and table reservation portal, acquired a 60 per cent stake in India's premium online food ordering and table reservation portal – Hungryzone. Following this, Hungryzone was rebranded as www.justeat.in. Ritesh Kumar Dwivedy Founder and CEO of Hungryzone and now the CEO of www.justeat.in, soon faced some challenges that cropped up as a result of this new development. Rebranding and the scalability of operations with the existing resources were the major causes of concern. To overcome these problems, www.justeat.in undertook several marketing initiatives and in the process implemented innovative ideas like JustConnect Terminal; introduction of the global JustEast mascots Belly and Brain to replace the existing mascot Aloo Patel of Hungryzone; and various innovative promotional activities to promote www.justeat.in. The case highlights the issues and challenges faced by the management. Finally some significant challenges yet to be resolved are posed. What should be done to deal with the problem of poaching of customers by partnering restaurants? How should www.justeat.in ensure that the partnering restaurants do not perceive it as their competitor in spite of the fact that registering with www.justeat.in helps increase their revenues by 10-15 perx cent? How should www.justeat.in convince popular restaurant chains to register with it keeping in mind the fact that they are already facing excess demand situations?

The case is designed to enable students to understand: the concepts associated with delivering services through electronic channels; communications and the services marketing triangle; key serxvice communication challenges; the integrated services marketing communication mix; strategies to match service promises with delivery; and the services branding model.

Teaching notes are available; please consult your librarian for access.

Marketing, branding, strategic management, online retailing, and entrepreneurship.

Postgraduate courses in: strategic management; marketing management (branding); and entrepreneurship.

The case describes the founding and the first year of an Estonian internet start-up, the “deal-of-the-day” web site Cherry.ee. The focal topic of the case is the analysis of alternative scenarios for the further development of the company after the first year in business: selling the company, entering into a merger with similar businesses, or continuing to develop the brand independently. The case gives an example of creating a new market, introducing a new business model and launching a brand with substantial use of social media marketing. The successful business model was quickly copied by a lot of followers creating a fierce competitive environment and raising a question of sustainability of the competitive advantage. The case provides an opportunity to discuss how to strategically handle the development of a growing start-up company in an increasingly competitive market environment.

Understanding the critical success factors and potential pitfalls for an internet start-up; developing skills to critically analyze the concept of sustainable competitive advantage; comprehension of the main factors influencing the strategic decision on whether to follow a growth, cooperation, or exit strategy; and awareness of the relative advantages of online and offline marketing and understanding how social media strategies can be used to build a brand.

Teaching note.

Strategic management and management of innovation and technology.

The course can be used for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The case would be relevant in the strategic management course to understand the concept of technology strategy and the various evaluation parameters guiding firms in their technology decisions. A refresher of the concept of value chain analysis can also be done through the case. It can also be used to teach innovation and technology management to understand the innovation process and the importance of various organizational factors for taking technology decisions.

The case tries to bring together different aspects of technological innovation and technology strategy at North Delhi Power Ltd, Delhi which has taken various initiatives to turnaround the dilapidated power distribution industry in India. It details the various technological initiatives taken by the company to revamp the power distribution situation of the country. Discussion in the case also revolves around the technology decisions (technology strategy) taken by the company to drive the technological initiatives. The organizational culture supporting technology decisions and the technological initiatives are also woven into the case.

After a discussion on the case students will be in a better position to appreciate various decisions which firms take with respect to technology. They will get an understanding of what is technological innovation and about the technological innovation process. The importance of organizational factors to supplement technology decisions and innovation will be brought out in the case.

Teaching note.

Marketing plan; virtual shopping; consumer behavior.

Undergraduate.

This case discusses the e-commerce plan of new online grocery company in Mexico, MexGro, which is planning to emerge as low-cost outlet as compared to the brick-and-mortar establishments in the market. MexGro is an online grocer with a round-the-clock call center to process phone-based orders and to provide customer support. The grocery online company is aimed at setting up a virtual grocery shop by the name of MexGro S.A de C.V to serve cross-cultural products to the Hispanic and Asian communities in Mexico. The MexGro, being a virtual shop, need not pay for checkout clerks; display cases, or parking lots, online grocers can drop prices below those of retail stores and remain profitable. This case explores online consumer-shopping behavior, the economics of online and offline grocery distribution, and the challenges of uniting a pure information business with a mundane package delivery service.

This case may be discussed towards learning developing effective online marketing planning strategy for the niche markets. The specific learning objectives of the case are: to analyze the virtual marketing planning constituents for developing customer-centric marketing within a niche and explore the possibilities of sustainable business growth to encourage strategic thinking towards developing online marketing plan and develop effective communications among the consumers and to address the critical online planning issues, such as what are the prospects for grocery shopping on the internet. The case allows students to grapple with the strategic and tactical decisions on planning for the online marketing companies. Students will also become familiar with key questions/issues raised by the various executives of the company in formulating the online marketing plan for ethnic grocery in a niche business environment: the case challenges students to think about how online grocer creates the most value for customers and how grocer will likely be able to overcome the competition from the brick-and-mortar grocers. Should Wal-Mart be aggressive in launching its grocery brand? The case raises issues to debate on how the organizational and system decisions are faced by managers in developing a virtual shopping culture in Mexico as the company has the goal to move among more efficient competitors in the supermarket industry, and How the online marketing plan can be implemented within a niche. This case study would take students through the rise of a private brand to the strategies of its sustainability in the competitive marketplace. This case illustrates the importance of using new variables in developing an effective marketing plan when companies reinforce their products in the niche markets. The discussion in the case allows students an opportunity to evaluate online marketing planning and their brands in a niche as well as in a competitive marketplace.

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

Heather Loya started her custom designed wedding invitations business in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, when she was no longer comfortable commuting to New York City from New Jersey for her corporate job. In the ensuing years, her business picked up to the extent that she was making a reasonable income from it. She was due to become a first time mother in July 2007. Her impending motherhood made her realize that she would not be able to work long hours in her one-person business after the birth of her child. She had started a webbased business that was set up to sell wedding invitation accessories (such as boxes, ribbons, etc.) procured from various vendors. This business was expected to take less of her time as compared to the custom business, but the custom business made better use of her creative talents. Heather now had to make a decision whether to emphasize the web-based business to compensate for the likely decrease in revenues from her custom business (because of motherhood) or to just continue her custom business in a scaled down form.

Corporate social responsibility, sustainability and business ethics.

This case has been designed for undergraduate students, with two target audiences. The first is business and management students following modules in corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability and business ethics. Here the accent is on allowing the students to explore and debate how CSR agendas are emerging within a specific sector of the retail economy. The second is students pursuing fashion, clothing, textile, retailing and consumer studies degrees and here the focus is on how some of the leading fashion goods retailers are addressing CSR. More generally the case can also be used on “Contemporary Issues” modules within general business and management programmes.

This small case offers an exploratory review of the emerging CSR issues currently being publicly addressed by the world's leading fashion goods retailers. It includes a brief introduction to CSR; a brief thumbnail sketch of the fashion goods industry; details of the method of enquiry; a description of the CSR issues currently being publicly addressed by the top ten fashion good retailers on their corporate web sites; and some critical reflections on the CSR agendas being pursued by these retailers. The case study is novel in two ways. First, it focuses upon what is an emerging market issue rather than on emerging markets per se though a number of the issues raised in the case have major implications for emerging economies. Second, it addresses the CSR issues being addressed by a number of the leading fashion goods retailers and as such it a not a case which relates to individual decision making. While the case is principally focussed upon the retail sector it ranges across the whole of the supply chain.

The paper provides an accessible review of the CSR issues and agendas currently being pursued by the leading fashion goods retailers and as such it will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners who are interested in both the fashion industry and corporate sustainability.

Teaching notes are available, please consult your librarian for access.