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Learning outcomes are as follows: to understand the influence of external factors in operations planning; to understand the importance of contingency planning in new initiatives; to analyze financial and non-financial gains of the new project; to analyze and visualize the unexpected challenges in post-implementation of project; and to critically analyze the ethical consideration in decision-making.

After joining A to Zee Distribution, Shaikh had brought up several improvements to distribution operations and had suggested various cost-saving initiatives. He had also developed and implemented the distribution KPIs for the first time in the organization. One of the recent initiatives that he took was the start of a new project named ‘Bike Wala’. This project not only increased the market base for A to Zee but also significantly reduced their operations expenses. However, after around two months of the project, the delivery officers reported several incidents and accidents. These accidents included several injuries due to unbalancing bikes and excess load/weight in delivery boxes. The owner has asked Shaikh to close the project on humanitarian grounds and revert back to delivery vans. However, Shaikh is confused and willing for the project to continue. Shaikh had to choose from either his own career and initiative or safety and security of employees and the company’s assets.

BBA and MBA.

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CSS 9: Operations and Logistics.

1. Analyze the factors influencing the creation of a social enterprise, while appreciating the theoretical perspectives on social entrepreneurship and social innovations. 2. Analyze the impact of social enterprises on sustainable development. 3. Recognize the need for different types of strategies in the varied situation. 4. Analyze the business model.

Shashi Kumar, the CEO of Akshayakalpa Farms & Foods Pvt Ltd (Akshayakalpa), is determined to take the business to the next growth level. He has integrated technology to measure and monitor the quality of milk and to reach out to tech-savvy customers. Owing to the preservative-free and short life of milk, he believes that redesigning the marketing and distribution strategies is the only way to ensure the massive expansion and growth that will enable Akshayakalpa to reach out to customers directly and quickly. Another issue he was facing was a lag in receivables. Their receivables from vendors were delayed and held up because of issues related to product spoilage and returns. This has posed a liquidity challenge to Akshayakalpa. Amidst all these challenges, he wants to develop the best strategy to take the business forward to the next level.

This case can be used in undergraduate or postgraduate courses in Management, Social Entrepreneurship and Business Sustainability with special relevance to social enterprise creation, enterprise growth strategies, sustainable development, sustainable business models, etc.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship Small Business Management.

BBA first-year students. The case is positioned at the beginning of the course.

Uzma, 25 years, enrolled in the MBA program of a prestigious university of Pakistan and owner of Baker Street, was accustomed to a hectic routine; preparing the orders, sometimes even dropping them at customers doorsteps, university classes, assignments and reports. The only thing which she felt missing from her busy life was good sleep and a great time with her family. Brand Baker Street was developed to provide baking solution to upper echelons for special occasions. The big, moist, chewy, gourmet cookies; rich and gooey brownies; the most decadent, indulgent cookie cakes/brownie cakes; and a lot more other things were developed to create unforgettable moments. Her aim after graduation was to convert her dream of opening a café into a reality. Uzma wondered whether the time was right and most importantly was she ready.

The case aims to teach the following concepts: female entrepreneurship, its potential and barriers; entrepreneurial marketing; and identify and analyze different variables involved in setting up a small baking business.

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This case shows an example of the opportunities opened by the internet that drove young entrepreneurs to start their business, in May 2011, as a premium beanbag supplier in Egypt.

Undergraduate students studying management.

The case examines the use of information and communication technology (ICT) by young Egyptian entrepreneurs, and how technology could open for them a broad horizon for continuous development, creativity and innovation. It presents the experience of a group of four undergraduate students who established a virtual company producing and selling beanbags through their website. The main objective of the case is to highlight the business challenges faced by entrepreneurs and possible opportunities in emerging economies and the effective role of ICT in reacting to these business environment changes. The case also provides a strategic analysis of the various factors that may impact the organization and explains how technology can contribute to improving the company’s standing. Finally, recommendations are provided to serve as basis for any future strategic plans.

This study highlights the value of ICT in general and the internet in particular in driving young entrepreneurs to start their own business. It also presents the best practices in conducting a successful online business, and approaches undertaken by internet entrepreneurs to address rising challenges. It understands the variety of tools that could be used to market business online. It indicates the role of information technology in supporting business strategies at any organizational stage to improve different processes, to assist in decision-making, and to create new customer-centric services and products.

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.

The case deals with marketing research study undertaken to introduce a new product in the market. The company was planning to introduce Cerenity, a toilet seat sanitizer for women who frequently use shared restrooms. The case discusses the conclusive study undertaken involving quantitative marketing research. The research team carried out quantitative survey and collected the data. It applied various quantitative research methods such as factor analysis, multiple regression, cluster analysis and conjoint analysis for analysis the collected and drawing managerial inferences.

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?

International marketing, new product development, international business expansion, small business management.

This case is intended for senior undergraduate or graduate MBA students taking a course in international business, international marketing, or small business management.

Thai Jintan Company Limited (Thai Jintan) is a medium-sized importer, distributor, and marketer of premium confectionery and health care products in Thailand with the exclusive distribution arrangements of Morishita Jintan Company Limited (Morishita), one of Japan's oldest companies and a leader in the Japanese probiotic and confectionery industry. The case takes place in August 2009, approximately 18 months after Thai Jintan implemented its market launch of Morishita's technologically advanced breath and belly mint under the brand name of Jintan Nude. With a limited promotional budget of 8 million baht (€161,128) coupled with Thailand's regulatory environment for the marketing of food and drugs, Thai Jintan, a newcomer to the breath mint market, was faced with having to devise a resourceful marketing and promotional campaign. Thai Jintan management was confronted with assessing its past marketing plan and deciding on what to do to achieve its ambitious goal of capturing a 20 percent market share of the growing mint/menthol candy confectionery segment in Thailand.

After reading and discussing the case, students should have a better understanding of the following: the challenges faced by small businesses and new entrants; learning to apply different frameworks such as PEST or PESTEL, SWOT, and/or Five Forces to scan and assess a competitive environment; familiarizing themselves with different channels members’ roles in a distribution system; learning to evaluate a company's current marketing strategies and to recommend strategies to improve its segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies and to design a new marketing mix for a new product launch in an overseas market; and learning how to effectively allocate a marketing budget.

Teaching notes are available.

This case concerns the promotional activities of Nashua Photo, the nation's largest mail-order photofinishing firm. Discount-price mailers (inserted in local newspapers, for example) were used to generate new customers, but also allowed existing customers to pay a lower price. Students must evaluate not only the results of last quarter's 125 separate promotions in light of this “leakage,” but also the appropriateness of discount-price mailers within Nashua's marketing mix.

Strategic management, Strategic marketing, Entrepreneurship and Small business ventures.

This case study will be useful for undergraduate level students majoring in strategic management, entrepreneurship, small business ventures and marketing.

Just Fresh Juice is a small entrepreneurial venture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), specialising in preparing all-fresh juices, special mixes and fruit salads. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how Just Fresh can maintain its competitive advantage, and how it could sustain its rapid growth in the market and gain more market share in the long run. Just Fresh focuses on satisfying its customers more effectively than its competitors through a competitive strategy of cost leadership (Papulova and Papulova, 2006), direct interaction with the customers through social media (Srinivasan, 2014) and creating a customer experience (Porter, 2008), as delivering a good customer experience is often more effective in building a competitive advantage than optimising internal processes.

The purpose of this case is to enable management students to evaluate and analyse a small business established in the United Arab Emirates. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of new business set-up and build proper business strategy. They will be able to perform the company’s competitive standing using Porter’s Five competitive forces and analyse its business strategies as well. They will be able to analyse the current status of the company using SWOT analysis and to design alternative strategies for the company using TOWS analysis. Furthermore, students will be able to build a cost analysis model for the company.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The primary learning objectives of the case are described below:1) Understanding the start-up market segment for an innovative product.2) Analyse the market expansion and diversification strategies of a start-up.3) Evaluate the business expansion through introduction of new product variants or through envisaging new distribution channels.

Cronos Ltd. was Iyer's first business endeavour after completing his Master of Business Administration (MBA). Iyer had aspired to be an entrepreneur since he was a youngster. In 2015, a first-generation entrepreneur with full conviction, he entered a market that was tough for a novice to access. Despite several challenges and uncertainties, he persisted and ventured into the company on the edge of extinction with a concept for affordable sanitiser sachets. Strong willpower, but no background, guidance or finances have made him struggle at each stage of his journey. He made this possible as he had understood the need for a specific lower-income segment of customers who could afford to buy the sanitiser sachets for as low as INR1 ($0.013). Until 2021 he was selling through the GT channel in central and western regions of India. He had planned for product extension by introducing three new products in the FMCG sector with manageable finance needs. Meanwhile, he had gotten an offer to enter into the MT channel to compete with big brands in the Gujarat region. Iyer needed substantial funds to expand his business in the MT channel and had to offer equity partnership to the investor, who would invest in the business.

Graduate and post-graduate in the topics of segmentations and market expansion in the marketing management subject.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.