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This case followed Todd Duncan, Chairman of Duncan Aviation, as he considered which international locations Europe, Latin America, or Asia were most important in positioning Duncan to benefit from continued internationalization of the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) industry. The company had the option to hire Regional Managers to actively manage these areas, recruiting new customers and building relationships with existing ones. The case provides students with an opportunity to identify the core competencies of a company, and to recognize ways in which employee engagement contributes to Duncan's core competencies. Optionally, the case may be used to introduce students to Dunning's eclectic paradigm.

The research for this case was obtained from a combination of primary research, secondary research, and personal experiences. One of the research assistants for this case was employed at the company for over two years, and reflections thus obtained, supported with supplementary research, enriched and deepened the paper. Duncan's Debrief magazine and news releases were important secondary sources, in addition to industry web sites, industry journal articles, reference books, and newspaper articles.

This case is intended to be taught in undergraduate international business or marketing courses.

This case is an illustration of the complexity, and strategic importance, of considering whether, and how, to build customer relationships outside the firm's home country. Such decisions confront many companies facing increasingly global industry environments. The eclectic paradigm, developed by John Dunning, explains why companies expand and participate in international markets.

The learning outcomes of this paper are to understand the supply side of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) model and how a firm can develop and capture a new market using Blue Ocean Strategy principles; understand how to use the four actions framework and eliminate/reduce/raise/create (ERRC) grid to develop a Blue Ocean market; evaluate three strategic alternatives available to a firm along with the benefits and challenges of each; map out the current strategy to inform possible future strategies and envision how one can use the BMC to re-invent the execution strategies of a disruptor; and discuss the opportunities for growth and the challenges therein in a dynamic global business environment.

Sri Rao, President of Market Development and Strategy of Quatrro Business Support Services (Quatrro), a BPO firm, weaved through the bustling streets of Gurgaon, India, to get to work early on a blistering summer day. It was the beginning of the new 2017 fiscal year and there was a sense of anticipation and uncertainty in the office to which he was headed. Quatrro offered outsourced finance, accounting and payroll solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises across the world, but mainly the USA. Arriving at his desk, Rao gazed out the window and reflected on Quatrro’s journey so far, the ups and the downs and the strategy for moving forward. Growth had been moderate with small deals. Local and regional Certified Public Accountant firms continued to provide stiff competition and the cost of acquiring new clients was high. There was a need to rethink Quatrro target markets and business development strategy. Quatrro’s annual board meeting was coming up in three weeks and Rao wanted to present a credible plan to accelerate Quatrro’s growth. He was worried that if the plan was not accepted by the board, any further investments in the business would be challenging and could even lead to the board directing Quatrro to divest. He believed they had run out of patience with a business that had a lot of potential but was not growing. He had one last opportunity to get Quatrro’s strategy right before his planned departure from the company in just a year’s time. Rao waited for his team to discuss their recommendations based on a presentation he had made to them two days ago.

Undergrad/MBAs. While most growth strategy cases focus on firms seeking to outsource services for efficiency and concentrate on value added to the core functions and competences, this case centers on the supply side and examines the BPO firm itself. It focuses on the technology service industry (as opposed to product/manufacturing), which while growing and significant is not often written about in cases, and finally, the case integrates an understanding of the Blue Ocean Strategy along with the Business Model Canvas allowing students to envision how one can use the BMC to re-invent a business strategy. It does so with a traditional Ansoff Matrix as the backdrop.

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.

Upon completion of the case study, the students will be able to analyze the brand equity construct through the associative neural network model for decision-making; identify prospective scenarios through the Delphi method for the construction of strategic plans in organizations; and propose the innovation of a product by applying creativity techniques to enter international markets.

Cafe Galavis was one of the leading family businesses in industrial development and had the highest business recognition, with a century of experience in producing and commercializing roasted and ground coffee in Cucuta, Colombia. In 2015, the diplomatic crisis between the governments of Colombia and Venezuela led to the indefinite closure of the Colombian–Venezuelan border, which caused an increase in income from smuggled coffee. In addition, the presence of different competitors and traditional brands negatively impacted the level of sales, which considerably affected financial stability. Likewise, internal difficulties of family nature and administrative management led to the change of senior management. By 2016, Juan Yáñez was appointed chief executive officer (CEO) and was in charge of avoiding the company’s closure. In January 2023, he received feedback from his consulting team, and upon evaluation of the new market challenges with his collaborators, he realized a great challenge that merited the search for a priority alternative solution. How to design a new product considering the loss of brand identity in the face of the generational change of its consumers? These were some of the challenges posed by the CEO that consequently required starting a strategic management process of innovation.

The teaching case is aimed at students of postgraduate academic programs in the areas of knowledge of innovation, product design, industrial design, marketing or MBA. In the modules of marketing, strategic management, brand management and strategic foresight, the case allowed for the orientation of the concepts of brand value or branding as well as the analysis of the value chain for the implementation of strategies that promote competitive advantages of companies. Similarly, in the modules of product or service design, creativity and innovation and complex thinking, the case allows one to approach a complex problem and apply creativity techniques for its solution.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 8 Marketing.

Marketing, e-marketing, strategy.

Suited for final-year undergraduate and graduate courses in marketing strategy, strategic sales management, e-marketing and internet businesses.

This case follows the evolution of Mech Technologies and Website Portals Division within the company. CEO of the company who was also heading the division was grappling an unprofitable venture. A dilemma of competitors offering free services while his portals were devoid of matching revenue stream added to his woes as he was strategizing a turnaround. Readers get an insightful review of the industry, key competitors as well as emerging challenges.

Developing marketing strategy for a small organization in an emerging market. Learning about evolution and challenges faced by internet businesses in developing economies.

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.

The case describes the origins of money, touching on the gold standard, the Fed’s 1942 purchase of US debt to fund the “war effort”, Bretton Woods (1944), Nixon’s 1971 pulling the currency peg and descent of money from gold to fiat. It also touches on theories of inflation and deflation, quantitative easing (QE) post the 2008 crisis and the “swamp” of (unorthodox) modern monetary theory (MMT). Aside from providing a brief history of monetary policy and economics, the case study seeks to widen students’ understanding of key economic issues including: fiat money, QE, government funding mechanisms, taxation, economic stimulation, inflation/deflation – and of course, the need for an ombudsman to limit excess.

In May 2020, South Africa’s deputy finance minister David Masondo announced that he would support the South African Reserve Bank’s lending to the government. This statement followed President Ramaposa’s earlier announcement of a R500bn COVID-19 stimulus package. The case explores the economic history of money, from barter to gold to cryptos. The case examines the origins of central banks’ printing of money, initially to support the Second World War effort and more recently the 2008 global financial crisis and now the COVID-19 crisis. In particular, the case raises the question of central bank independence – “democratically elected governments always need money, is it appropriate for central banks provide it? And are there limits?”

MBA and Executive Education

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 1 Accounting and Finance.

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.

Forming ties with prominent partners can help convey greater status and legitimacy to the company (Hallen, 2008) and also increases the entrepreneur’s influence within their own network (Bonacich, 1987). This allows entrepreneurs to gain greater access to the information, experience or resources that the company needs.

The founders of the company provided us with access to the inner workings of the company, their mentors and advisors and themselves. The authors 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 also interviewed two of their mentors and investors.

Having graduated from UMass Lowell with engineering degrees, co-founders Rajia Abdelaziz and Ray Hamilton build invisaWear into a venture, but they did not know much about business. With coaching from their mentors, Rajia and Ray focused on building their network to raise capital to finance the business. Despite all their hard work networking, however, they faced a hurdle. Rajia and Ray contemplated their dilemma. “Are the authors doing something wrong? What can the authors do differently to attract investors?”

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 entrepreneurs can go about building their networks to grow their businesses. Presented as a real-life example of how entrepreneurs build their networks, the case can also be used to hone in on select topics including mentoring, searching for resources and coachability.

Marketing: New Service Launch; Relationship Marketing; Direct Marketing.

This case could be taught in marketing management, services marketing or strategy courses, in the product development or service launch modules at the graduate level; alternatively it could also be used in the promotion module for the illustration of direct marketing (DM) tool application; and it could also be used as a capstone case for the introductory Principles of Marketing course at the undergraduate level.

The case examines the launch of a new air ambulance service in Karachi, Pakistan; a venture of Akbar Group Jet services; Princely Jets (Pvt) Ltd. The case describes the first mover advantage of the service and the marketing strategy recommended by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Ghouse Akbar. The major concern is whether the strategy is forceful and compelling enough to secure approval from the board. The major issues include the role of DM processes and relationship marketing tools to encourage a value-added premium service which had no precedence of demand and practice. Concepts to thrash out in class also include customer profiling and segmentation along with how best to create awareness and generate a sustainable basket of customers for the high-price value-added low-use service.

Discuss and illustrate the importance and benefit of market research information for making a decision; how to create awareness and customer recognition and cultivate demand for a new and unsolicited service; identify appropriate and effective promotion tools to achieve required customer demand, brand recognition and customer value; how to launch a premium priced unsolicited service in a niche market?; and exhibit the synthesis of the four P's in a new product launch marketing strategy.

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

Atlantic Basin Refining, Inc. (ABR), a Virgin Islands company located on the island of St Croix, reached a tentative agreement with Hess and Petroleos de Venezuela SA to purchase the two companies’ joint venture, Hovensa, LLC in November 2014. Hovensa operated the large St Croix oil refinery that had been closed since 2012, but the deal required approval by the Virgin Islands Senate. Although reopening the large refinery would generate a significant boost to the local economy, past operating losses, and financial and legal issues associated with Hovensa, raised concerns about the feasibility of ABR’s proposal. The case is set in late 2014 as the government is working to ensure that the decision to allow ABR to purchase the refinery reflects the long-term interests of the Virgin Islands.

The case was researched using secondary data and all materials are available to the public. This was necessary due to the ongoing legal battle concerning the refinery’s sale. No disguises of people or entities were used. Frequently cited sources include government and court records, newspaper articles, and internet sources.

The case is most appropriate for undergraduate courses in management or finance where capital budgeting decisions are analyzed.

The case draws on literature related to capital budgeting and management.