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The case is particularly relevant for students studying elements of business strategy with an interest in strategic decision-making, competitive strategy, and growth strategy. The case leverages several strategic frameworks taught throughout business courses and illustrates a real-world application of these frameworks to support sound strategic decision-making. Furthermore, the case examines the relevance of sustainable competitive advantage and the linkages to the appropriate growth strategy for a business. It is recommended that this case be taught once students have covered the applicable theory and frameworks in class.

This case is designed for business administration students, in particular MBA, EMBA, speciality Masters, or executive education students.

MWEB is a leading first-tier South African internet services provider, with an operating history spanning over 22 years. The MWEB brand is a household name across South Africa, seen as one of the pioneers of the internet industry and accredited with bringing the internet to ordinary consumers across the country. The state of competition in the market, however, has intensified and MWEB's traditional operating model has not evolved fast enough to meet the changing landscape. The market is in the midst of a price war, to which MWEB has responded by reducing market pricing and offering attractive deals, undercutting all its competitors. The results have been positive; sales have increased and churn has reduced, but competitors have already started to follow. The dilemma facing CEO Sean Nourse and his management team is how to accelerate growth in a highly commoditised market with intense competition while ensuring the long-term profitability of the business. The case encourages the consideration of the strategic decision-making process by analysing the competitive landscape, evaluating the options, and reaching a decision on the most viable growth strategy for the business.

To analyse the competitive landscape and the forces at play

To conduct a competitor analysis, appraise long-term profitability in the industry, identify profitable strategic positions, and determine how MWEB may achieve and protect its competitive advantage

To identify and analyse the key parameters that, in combination, represent a company's business model

To critically analyse the contextual factors that are presented as business challenges, evaluating and understanding the impact and scale of these challenges

To critically assess relevant growth strategy alternatives for MWEB and analyse the viability of the alternatives presented

To conduct an informal valuation to determine a purchase price for an acquisition target for the business

Marketing Management, Marketing Strategy and Marketing Communication.

The case is targeted at students of post-graduation and under-graduation programs in Business Administration, specializing in Marketing Management or Marketing Strategy.

Mukesh Ambani’s announcement about the launching of Reliance Jio at the 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) in June 2015 sent shock waves in the telecom industry. Everyone, including the customers, competitors and the entire telecom industry, was excited to know whether Reliance Jio would be able to make a dent or fizzle out like a weak firecracker. Was it time for the top players to be worried and pull their socks up or will it be an inconsequential ripple in the ocean? Mukesh Ambani saw the telecom sector from a new viewpoint and proposed a complete set of solution in the form of Reliance Jio SIM card that addressed the different needs of customers through various applications. This has spread rumors of a merger between Idea and Vodafone in India, which can have a huge impact on Reliance Jio and the telecom sector in general. The profitability indicator that was earlier determined as the average revenue per user (ARPU) will continue to dominate. The companies will be scrambling to find different ways to increase the ARPU to maximize the returns. This would also lead to a downsize in the cost in such a way that their operations do not suffer and profitability is also not negatively affected.

To better understand the entry strategy of firms in highly volatile business situations. To know about the competitors and their contribution to the operational and strategic changes of a new entrant. To understand the proceedings associated with marketing communication for establishing a product in a highly competitive market. To know about the impact of joining hands with the competitors on a new entrant.

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.

Finance, General Business Management.

Postgraduate/MBA Second Year.

The university-owned Universal Computing Limited (UCL) was contemplating on the future of its internet services business. Internally, the internet services department had put up a proposal on how to revamp the business. Concurrently, UCL received a joint venture proposition from a foreign telecommunication entity with which it had some business relation. The proposal was for UCL to cede its internet services department and the associated licence to the venture while the partner will finance the venture. Professor Ben Msomi, the UCL’s Managing Director knew that he had to make one of the two proposals a good sell to the board of directors’ meeting in two-weeks’ time probably before suggesting UCL to exit the internet services business.

Overall, the case aims at gaining an understanding of the sources of value of business and valuation of business. Specifically students are expected to learn how to: evaluate of the effect of various courses of action on the value of a business; apply different valuation methods – balance sheet, discounted cash-flows and market multiples in different context; establish appropriate rate for capitalization in business valuation; and handle assumptions and risks in business valuation,

Overall, the case aims at gaining an understanding of the sources of value of business and valuation of business. Specifically students are expected to learn how to: evaluate of the effect of various courses of action on the value of a business; apply different valuation methods – balance sheet, discounted cash-flows and market multiples in different context; establish appropriate rate for capitalization in business valuation; and handle assumptions and risks in business valuation,

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

Winstar Communications was a successful and fast growing telecommunication company in the 1990s and early 2000s. However, in the early 2000s, the company started to struggle financially. In 2000, Grant Thornton audited Winstar, issuing an unqualified opinion. After Winstar went into bankruptcy in 2002, investors started to question the quality of the audit. This teaching case is based on the Gould v. Grant Thornton case that was tried in the United States Court of Appeals in 2011/2012. It provides accounting students with an opportunity to learn about auditing procedures and the consequences when auditing procedures are not correctly followed.

Teaching case study.

This case study is suitable for introductory undergraduate auditing, advanced undergraduate auditing and master level auditing courses.

This paper aims to present an opportunity to explore the opportunities and challenges involved in running a business with a strongly ingrained social vision in the complex, multi-dimensional environment of an emerging economy. Key learning areas are as follows: How the concept of inclusive innovation applies to the real-world difficulties faced by businesses operating in informal economies. By exploring the tensions between growth and inclusivity in Silulo’s development, students will grasp the challenges entrepreneurs face as a business starts to gain momentum and change, and gain appreciation for the trade-offs that occur when choosing between franchising and organic growth. The challenges of a rapidly evolving technological environment, the need to adapt service offerings at pace, and the importance of balancing financial considerations with deeper social values will find application far beyond the informal economy context of the Silulo story.

This teaching case looks at Silulo Ulutho Technologies via CEO Luvuyo Rani and the challenges he faces in balancing expansion and profitability with its mission of empowering disenfranchised communities – challenges exacerbated by a changing telecommunications environment, with more widespread internet availability, mobile phones and online training courses encroaching on Silulo’s traditional service offering.

This case focusses primarily on the processes of inclusive innovation and is suitable for graduate courses in social entrepreneurship, business model innovation, sustainability, business and society, strategic management, emerging markets, business in Africa and organisational studies in general. The case is suitable for Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and Executive MBA academic programmes and delegates on Executive Education programmes.

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

Learning outcomes are as follows: Students will be able to demonstrate the need to understand the uncertainty faced in a crisis; demonstrate how dynamic capabilities allow an organisation to respond effectively in a time of crisis and deep uncertainty; explore how strong dynamic capabilities are required to maintain continuity of operations by enabling a shift in the current business model; and evaluate methods of mobilising resources to address needs and possible opportunities presented in a crisis.

Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), a South African-based business school and the one of the top ranked business schools in Africa, faced a crisis in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the announcement of a national lock down, under strict conditions, and the immediate closure of the GIBS campus, the Academic Programmes had to radically shift their mode of delivery to enable students to continue with their respective programmes. When the situation was further exacerbated by the breaking of the undersea cable, the Executive Director of Academic Programmes, Professor Louise Whittaker faced the difficult decision on what to do next. The case illustrates the need for strong dynamic capabilities to foster organisational agility and to respond effectively in times of deep uncertainty or crises.

The case is positioned at a postgraduate level and would be ideal as a teaching case for business students on a Master of Business Administration programme, a specialised Master in Philosophy programme or selected executive education programmes for general managers or senior executives.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 11 Strategy.

This case brings out the role of institutions and corporate governance issues in regulatory/policy organisations in the telecom sector. Spectrum is a critical input for mobile services, the economic growth driver. The Indian government, like other governments, attempted to move to a more flexible spectrum governance regime and introduced trading to ensure that more spectrum became available for commercial services. Despite its efforts, the government's framework was restrictive. The spectrum trading deal between the two private telecom operators-RCom and Reliance Jio-failed. RCom was fighting to remain solvent by selling spectrum, and Reliance Jio needed it for its growth.

Set in September 1992, this exercise provides teams of students the opportunity to negotiate terms of a merger between AT&T and McCaw Cellular. AT&T, one of the largest U.S. corporations, was the dominant competitor in long-distance telephone communications in the United States. McCaw was the largest competitor in the rapidly growing cellular-telephone communications industry. Prior to the negotiations, AT&T had no position in cellular communications. This case and its companion (F-1143) are designed to allow students to be assigned roles to play. The case may pursue some or all of the following teaching objectives: exercising valuation skills, practicing strategic analysis, exercising bargaining skills, and illustrating practical aspects of mergers and acquisitions.

The case can be used to discuss leadership issues in young ventures. It also allows for a discussion of effective sales and marketing functions for a new product. The case also addresses the different challenges facing certain business models in the market, and finally the importance of having a supporting team.

The case traces the development of an Egyptian startup software venture and the challenges faced regarding the entrepreneurship ecosystem. The startup’s main dilemma is whether to continue in its existing market or to extend elsewhere. Launching the main services of the startup is another challenge, as the market needs to be educated to see its value. Despite the success story, as a young Egyptian entrepreneur, the founder is expected to face various challenges to excel in the Egyptian market, such as financing, marketing, teamwork and self-development of the entrepreneur himself.

The case can be used at all levels, from undergraduate and MBA classes to executive seminars, because the issues it addresses are of broad interest.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The subject areas are strategy, general management, health-care management, change management and inclusive growth model and application of technology to manage health care.

The case can be used to teach challenges in managing change in a health-care facility.

Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) is dedicated to provide best health-care services in the field of cancer cure. TMC established its credentials for service, education and research, which contributed to it being rated among the ten best hospitals year on year. Starting from humble moorings, TMC has grown to an institution of high repute from an 80-bed hospital to a 700-bed hospital. TMC held a number of pioneering efforts, which included bone marrow transplantation, external beam radiotherapy (linear accelerator), tumor tissue bank and bio-imaging to name a few. The management team of TMC had ensured that the growth had been orderly and appropriate to the changing needs of the community. Managing a hospital with disparate skill sets in the face of ever-increasing demand for services had always been a challenge in itself. As a government-run facility and well funded by the trust, TMC offered excellent services and post-operative care to the patients. So, it became imperative for the hospital to adopt technology to improve its hospital services and maintain transparency. Patients came to the hospital from different states in India and across the globe. TMC registered international and national patients online. Online medical reports were checked before the patients visited the hospital. TMC has developed an e-system that will allow patients around the world to send their tissue samples that are suspected to be cancerous for medical advice to the hospital. This case study is developed to provide insights into the transformation of TMC into an e-health-care service and explains the process of change management.

They are to provide insights into the challenges in health-care management, to illustrate the challenges faced by organization in implementing information and communication technology- managing change and to bring about best practices in the case organization and find solutions to the following questions: What are challenges faced by health-care officials in providing health care using new technological innovations? How can hospitals equip themselves with new technology? With the advent of improved and modern communication methods, medical practices and cases are more easily shared. Cases are discussed, recorded and, in many cases, put up for general public viewing through the electronic media. How can hospitals manage change? How can hospital administrators manage speed of delivery, quality healthcare, innovation and brand image?

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:11 Strategy.