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Leadership, international business, financial reporting, entrepreneurship

The case study is aimed at undergraduate students at a 300 level.

Mr Badr Jafar, co-founder of the Pearl Initiative (PI), is the chief protagonist in this case study set in the Gulf Arab states. He launched this company at the United Nations in September 2010, and the launch was timely, as business leaders were looking to rebuild the global economy following the economic downturn. The Initiative was originally the idea of a number of leading company owners in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The company vision is to improve business practices for the benefit of business and society in the future, but the context is one of a highly competitive and secretive business environment. The mission of the PI is to improve private sector corporate culture to one of transparency and accountability. The PI approaches that mission through building a network of business leaders in the GCC, particularly those from the family-owned companies in the private sector. A biography of the founder and the background to the founding of the PI is given, followed by a rationale of the company structure. The potential influence of the network of companies and leaders on the socio-business climate is considered. The specific activities are outlined within the strategy of the PI to address four key business areas: anti-bribery and corruption; corporate governance; corporate reporting; and women in leadership The PI focuses on raising awareness about the potential benefits of social entrepreneurship for business and society. To what extent this relatively new model of business can be successful in the context of the GCC is a case dilemma. Key issues: There are two main issues raised in the case study: the rationale for the relatively new business model of social entrepreneurship and the extent to which PI can modify the past and current GCC business environment by addressing the four business areas.

Students will be able to: analyze the business case for social entrepreneurship and explain the contribution of PI activities for changing the business environment.

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

The subject areas are strategic management, transportation management and business management.

This case is useful for undergraduate and postgraduate level students majoring in strategic management, transportation management and business management.

Etihad Rail Company is planning to implement a mega infrastructure project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They have included freight rail system as part of the 2030 Abu Dhabi economic vision and the UAE national Charter 2021. The plan is to link the UAE’s main cities via the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) border. This ambitious project presents a formidable task for the Etihad Rail Company and the region, as there is no previous railway history of this kind. The project requires coordination of rail standards from East of Ghwefatet and the Northern Emirates cities and will ultimately be combined with the Western Saudi Arabia borders. The transportation system in the region will be improved greatly with the introduction of a cargo and passenger railway system in addition to the current road system and other means of transportation. The Etihad railway network is the first infrastructure project in the UAE, and it will bring economic, strategic, social and environmental changes to the country. This case aims to present an overview of the strategic management dimensions of the Etihad Rail and the processes involved. This case will analyze whether Etihad’s top management team should make a decision to focus only on freight rail or to include passenger transportation as well. Many questions will be addressed in this paper such as the following: What steps should Etihad take to start passenger rail? Will economical, strategic and environmental aspects affect it? And if so, how? The case will focus on the analysis of the different aspects of Etihad Rail by using strategic management tools as guidance for implementation and determining its success factors.

In this case, the students can learn and understand the purpose of commencing cargo rail projects in the region; discuss the mechanisms which help in promoting sustainability and the business growth of Etihad Rail; and identify the challenges and issues freight rail may face in terms of legal, economic and environmental aspects and identify and alternative solutions.

Teaching notes are available upon request.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Growth strategies, marketing strategy, resources-based value theory, alliance network model, logistic and supply chain.

This case can be used in undergraduate and graduate classes as well as development programmes for managers in small to medium-size enterprises. The case suits courses in business, strategy, marketing and freight forwarding.

Union National Air, Land and Sea Shipping Co (LLC) (UNASCO) is a small to medium-sized freight forwarding company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It has three offices, two in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi. UNASCO handles commercial imports/exports from/to many destinations, including Europe, Asia, the USA, India, the Far East, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Middle East (ME) and Africa. UNASCO has been in business for more than 35 years and has run the business smoothly. Recently, the company has faced several internal and external challenges that impact business performance. These challenges are high operating expenses, stiff competition and low market demand. Due to these challenges, the sales staff is being pressured to generate more income to ensure that the company is not experiencing a loss. Now, UNASCO is uncertain how to sustain the business.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to learn about the freight forwarding industry, the competitive landscape and the challenges surrounding it; to enable the participant to generate a list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) for UNASCO and to gain skill at using SWOT analysis; to increase the participant’s ability to evaluate a situation and effectively communicate remedies about it both in writing and verbally; to enable the participant to analyse a problem using the Fishbone Diagram cause and effect tool; to enable the participant to use the Six Thinking Hats technique to make more reliable and sounder decisions; to gain skill at using Porters Five Forces tool, understand the competitiveness of UNASCO’s business environment, and identify the potential for business growth; and to gain skills at developing a marketing strategy using the 4Ps model.

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.

Expected learning outcomes are as follows: to understand the nature of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) manufacturing industries based on Al Junaid Industrial group when considering entering such businesses. To understand how unexpected short-term shocks such as a global pandemic may require long-term changes in a company’s outlook and planning. Discuss the marketing mix strategy that the Al Junaid Industrial group business products and services elements follow. To understand the competitiveness of Al Junaid group’s business environment and to identify the potential for business growth. To gain skills at developing a marketing strategy using the products, price, place and promotion model.

Al Junaid Industrial group is a small to medium-sized HVAC manufacturing company created over 12 years ago, in the United Arab Emirates. It has a production line company in the Sharjah industrial area with a capacity of 5,000 ft. The company not only manufactures air conditioning and its accessories but also provides installation and maintenance services. As for its international connections, it imports raw materials such as aluminum and exports air conditioning grills and accessories, offering installation services to many destinations, including Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The company has recently suffered a setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020 its net revenue and profits decreased by an average of 40%. As a result, Al Junaid Industrial group currently faces several internal and external challenges affecting its business performance such as high operating expenses, low market demand and stiff competition. Due to these challenges, this case study argues that Mr. Obaid Al Junaid, the Chief Executive Officer, should develop a new marketing strategy aimed at raising revenues to levels closer to those observed before the onset of the epidemic.

This case could be used in undergraduate and graduate classes of the business management field, as well as in development programs for managers in small to medium-sized enterprises (SME). Students (final year students of an undergraduate program for a bachelor’s degree) are expected to have a basic knowledge of Strategic management and business in general. It is preferred that the students have basic knowledge about small-to-medium businesses. Additionally, the managers in SME should be familiar with operational management, business management and marketing strategy and some of the challenges faced by managers in industrial businesses.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Entrepreneurship, venture creation and business management.

The case is suitable for analysis in an undergraduates program specializing in entrepreneurship, business and management. The case could also be discussed in an executive development program on business ventures/business strategy/business management.

Since its inception in 1981, Abdul Rahim Al Fahim, CEO Paris Gallery decided that Paris Gallery would foray into French perfumes. At that time, he would have never thought that such a move would ever make him more than a shopkeeper. Now in 2016, Mr Abdul Rahim Al-Fahim has much to be pleased about the success that his organization Paris Gallery (Luxury stores in Dubai) has been able to achieve. He has been twice named as the Arab World’s most powerful retail sector entrepreneur. Certainly, it was his good fortune to be based in the great city, and his business venture has paralleled the exponential success of Dubai. As the concept of grand malls developed and flourished in UAE, Paris Gallery stores emerged and also prospered. Currently, Paris Gallery has 80 stores in the finest locations of the Middle East. This encourages family business owners in UAE to have ambitions for success and growth of their enterprises. This is especially true in a developing region that has rarely hosted such a high-end homegrown success story as Paris Gallery. The study of strategic positioning of Paris Gallery with a workforce of 4,000 employees and representing more than 550 international brands today shall help us in weighing the options of how businesses should proceed strategically.

The following insights could be elucidated by the case: familiarizing students with the business challenges in the retail industry in emerging markets such as the United Arab Emirates, and exploring future strategy options from the business growth perspective.

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.

Business Management, Global Marketing Strategy, Strategic Management, International Business, International Management.

The case is suitable for undergraduate and post-graduate business and management students. The case is based on secondary data collection and all the facts are real.

The expected learning outcomes include the selection of a foreign market; the determinants of the foreign mode of entry strategy; the process of integrating an internationalization strategy; how to choose the most appropriate partner; and the monitoring of international markets. The case provides a space to think about practice and help learners, therefore, to connect theory and practice.

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

International business and/or strategic management.

This case is useful for undergraduate and postgraduate level students majoring in international business management and/or strategic management.

Etihad Airways was established in 2003, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the UAE government as sole owner. It is the national carrier of UAE with Abu Dhabi as its centre of operations. Etihad is recognized as a fast-growing player in the aviation industry, and has become one of the dominant international players in the industry in a relatively short time. Etihad's fleet now contains more than 67 planes, with more than 1,300 flights per week to diverse destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. The company describes its business strategy as “sustainable growth”. Looking through a practitioner's lens, strategic partnerships have been the critical activities through which Etihad has delivered its strategy. The purpose of this case study is therefore to elaborate on its major and successful partnerships and the critical benefits of these. Secondary data were collected from credible sources including academic studies, relevant Etihad publications and industry reports published by official aviation associations.

Students will be able to understand the theory of strategic partnerships, their roles and benefits and critically evaluate the pre-staging “requirements” of such partnerships. In this case, the specific learning outcome of it is to help students to understand the importance of successful strategic partnerships for Etihad Airlines and how partnership strategies can improve the performance of Etihad Airlines.

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

Organizational behavior.

Upper-level undergraduate courses, introductory MBA courses.

This case study unveils the story of Al Qatef Holding, a Gulf-based real estate company that was created on the vision of one ambitious businessman. The case begins in 1999 when Faisal Al Qatef decided to pursue his dream of establishing a full-fledged corporation to serve the mounting real estate needs in the Gulf region. Faisal started his company by launching a number of residential and commercial property developments in his home country, Kuwait. During its early years of operation, Al Qatef Holding witnessed an impressive success and an increasing appetite for growth. A couple of years down the road, the founder made the strategic decision to open a new branch in Doha to seize the opportunity that the Qatari real estate market presented at that time. Yet, along with the rapid expansion came the company’s incapacity to deliver on its promises, generating many customer complaints and a damaged reputation owing to poor construction quality and significant delays in project delivery. The case describes the multiple challenges experienced by Al Qatef Holding throughout its evolution and portrays the external and internal dynamics that led to its initial success and subsequent decline.

Assess the internal dynamics and challenges that are associated with the management of small firms; discuss how leadership styles and characteristics affect the organizational climate and employee performance; demonstrate understanding of how corporate culture drives human behavior in the workplace; perform an analysis of firm structure to estimate its impact on individual and organizational outcomes; apply different techniques for enhancing employee motivation in organizations; and evaluate the effectiveness of managerial decisions and provide recommendations for securing corporate survival.

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 6: Human Resource Management.

The case takes place in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a booming regional tourist and commercial center located on the Arab (Persian) Gulf coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The story describes Vijay, the Indian (East Asian) entrepreneur, his personality, background, motivations and management style. The focus of the case is on how this entrepreneur grows the business over the seven years leading up to the decision to launch a travel club targeted toward East Asian travelers in the region. The details of the new venture are chronicled from inception to its eventual closure four years later under desperate financial circumstances. The richness of the case is enhanced by the inclusion of details of the legal, economic and cultural factors that define the business context and business risks. The case provides an interesting and informative view of a part of the world that is “in the news” but largely remains a mystery to the typical North American student.

Marketing Communication.

At the undergraduate level, this case can be used in marketing courses such as Marketing Fundamentals, Marketing Management, Marketing Communication and Consumer Behavior. This case may also be used for Master's level students for Quality when focusing on safety/security in offices and factories.

This case is used to introduce the concept of B2B and B2C marketing and explore the possibilities of converting an industry that essentially uses B2B marketing communication to choose B2C options. This case is also important for creating awareness on safety and preventive measures in the face of a fire crisis.

Understanding the role of marketing communication. Differentiating between B2B and B2C markets. Exploring the application of B2C marketing communication in the fire suppression systems market in the Middle East.

Teaching notes.