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This case was developed from both secondary and primary sources. The secondary sources include the company’s website and social media, social media sites and PR news reports. Primary sources include in-depth interviews with Nafigate Cosmetics executives. This case was classroom-tested with graduate students in an International Marketing course in Autumn 2021 and Spring 2022.

Nafigate Corporation is a small Czech company with a global presence and a solid organizational philosophy to create a better world through scientific knowledge and active use of technology. With innovative new products, Nafigate is poised to revolutionize the cosmetics industry. The case explores elements of branding, strategic decision-making and how to balance competing priorities during a company’s growth phase.

This case was written for use in International Marketing classes at the graduate level. In addition, the case could be used in International Marketing Communication courses and in CSR subjects. Students are encouraged to discuss building a competitive advantage, portfolio decisions in terms of brand differentiation, branding strategies, and most importantly, understand the complexity of the business decision-making process.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of luxury buyers' awareness of a luxury brand's corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities together with its individual brand-related sustainable dimensions (in terms of economic, societal and environmental) and luxury values on purchase intention for luxury products and, as a result, highlight the potential implications of these relationships for the luxury industry.

A luxury purchase intention model, which assumes an impact from traditional luxury values and CSR, was indicated based on the authors' previous qualitative research and corresponding literature review. To validate the model by proving that the suggested relationships are statistically significant, (1,100) luxury customers over the age of 18 were approached, and (253) valid responses were entered and analyzed using SEM to confirm the indicated theoretical model's hypothesized causal relations.

The findings suggest a positive and significant relationship between buyers’ awareness of a specific luxury brand's CSR-related activities and their purchase intention; however, certain demographics and gender both moderate this relationship. The moderating role of general attitudes toward CSR and sustainability on this relationship was not confirmed. Furthermore, awareness of the brand's CSR positively mediates the relationship between both the societal/environmental and economic parts of the brand-related individual sustainable dimension and purchase intention.

The results of this study are based on actual purchases of branded luxury items and validate the authors' indicative model based on earlier qualitative research by claiming a significant relationship between the purchase intention for a brand and awareness of its CSR activities amongst luxury shoppers.

In September 2014 Leyth Jamal, a transgender woman, filed suit against her employer, luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue. Jamal alleged that she experienced harassment from managers and other employees because of her gender identity while employed by Saks, including verbal abuse and threats of violence. At the time she filed suit, no federal, state, or local laws protected transgender employees from discrimination. However, some federal district courts had recently begun to allow such suits on the premise that discrimination based on gender identity was a form of sex discrimination. Other suits and amicus briefs brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) furthered this trend. The EEOC is the federal agency charged with investigating and supporting claims of discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, so district and appellate courts watched the EEOC's position on the application of Title VII. Socio-culturally, many Americans supported transgender rights, even as they voiced anxiety about transgender men in women's bathrooms.

This case has students assume the role of a trusted member of the executive team of Hudson's Bay Company, which owns Saks Fifth Avenue. One Friday afternoon in late December 2014, the Hudson's Bay CEO sends an email to his executive team notifying them that he has approved corporate counsel's motion to dismiss Jamal's case based on the argument that transgender people are not a protected class according to Title VII. The motion will be filed in federal court on Monday. The CEO shares that he personally believes it is preposterous for anyone to think that Saks Fifth Avenue is anything but a strong advocate for LGBT rights, but he invites executive team members to call him if they have any concerns. Members of the executive team have a responsibility to consider the broader strategic implications for the company, so students must decide if and how to respond to the CEO.

Browsing is a common consumer behavior, but it has not been researched extensively. The aim of this paper is to fill some of the gaps in the research.

Drawing on literature from different areas, consumers' browsing experiences, browsing patterns, and factors influencing browsing activities are empirically examined. A combination of interviews and shopping trips with informants to examine the issues are used.

The results show that browsing serves both functional and recreational purposes. Consumers vary by the degree to which they browse functionally or recreationally. Browsing behaviors are influenced by both consumer characteristics and the retail environment. Browsing is a powerful consumer information acquisition activity and has both desired and undesired consequences for consumer purchases. Consumers use various strategies to cope with the undesired consequences.

Exploration of browsing patterns and factors influencing these patterns suggests important managerial implications for enhancing desirable browsing and reducing unnecessary browsing.

The conceptualization and findings of this research contribute to two areas of research: consumer information search and consumer shopping behaviors in retail environments. An examination of the role of browsing offers an empirical extension to the information acquisition framework.

This paper aims to explore the motivations of digital moms to develop relationships with brands in the online environment.

Following a qualitative, interpretative approach, this paper uses several data collection methods such as netnography, focus groups and in-depth interviews to fully understand the motivations of digital moms.

The results suggest that eight motivations influence consumers to engage with and follow brands on their social networking sites: information, entertainment, knowledge-seeking, social influence, social interaction, brand-relationship maintenance, communication and self-expression. A proposed framework that categorizes these motivations based on the level of engagement, and the type of user is discussed along with the new functions that brands fulfill in the online environment.

These findings have practical implications for managers seeking to design and implement improved branding strategies to develop stronger, more meaningful relationships with their customers. The location of participants of this study can be considered as a limitation, as the different life situations or contexts of other Internet users may alter the results.

This study recognizes important changes in consumer behavior elicited by online technologies. Several qualitative data collection methods are used to identify and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the motivations of digital moms to interact with brands online. A major contribution of this research is the establishment of a link between consumer-brand relationship theory and uses and gratifications theory.

The purpose of this paper is to propose mindfulness (e.g. practices such as yoga, meditation) as a fruitful addition to women leader/ship development research and practice, specifically as a means through which to prevent and mitigate negative health outcomes.

This is a literature review-based paper that integrates scholarly research on gender and women’s leadership, well-being (including stress reduction), women leader/ship development and mindfulness.

Women continue to be under-represented in senior leadership roles and many confront a “labyrinth” of “gender-organization-system” challenges throughout their careers. These challenges can have material effects on the well-being of women leaders. Research reveals positive psychological and biological effects of mindfulness practices on well-being (including stress). Some of this research reveals that women are more likely to engage in mindfulness practices and experience greater benefits. Leader/ship development programs designed specifically for women are needed, and it is proposed that incorporating mindfulness into these programs may result in beneficial outcomes for women leaders.

This research contributes to the limited body of work on women leader/ship development, mindfulness and leadership.

Hospitality and Tourism.

Senior undergraduate level and graduate level.

This case study charts out the development of a business plan for Ch’ulel Mendoza, a hypothetical all-villa resort nestled against the Andes Mountains, where guests enjoy luxurious wine-infused spa treatments. The business plan has to be comprehensive because it should become the basis of a turnkey project for potential investors. Ch’ulel Mendoza is surrounded by the lush vineyards of some of the most famous wine estates in Argentina. The spa, facilities and services pay homage to the wine-growing heritage of the region, promoting wine to its guests as both pleasurable for consumption and conducive to healthy living. The architectural design speaks directly to the vines themselves: the earth-covered spa is where guests soak up the healing nutrients in the vinotherapy and water treatments, much like the roots are nourished by the elements and water in the soil; the resort area embraces the outdoors with decks, open patios and pools where guests can bask in the sun and enjoy other natural elements, just like the grape plants themselves. Once it becomes operational, Ch’ulel Mendoza will symbolize a blend of wellness, recreation and the charm of the Latin American culture.

Develop a comprehensive business plan for a new business, understand the business environment, prepare a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and weaknesses analysis, develop functional (marketing, finance, human resources, operations, etc.) plans and understand the opportunities and challenges in the new product development process.

CSS: 12: Tourism and Hospitality.