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The case was written using information and data from secondary sources. It describes real people, real companies and the situations experienced by them. It does not use any fictitious names, scenarios or organizations.

The case “Maggie Timoney of Heineken: Shattering the Glass Ceiling and Forging a New Path,” traces the career of Maggie Timoney (Timoney) (she), the CEO of Heineken USA (HU) – a subsidiary of Dutch multinational brewing company Heineken N.V. (Heineken). The case starts by documenting the early life experiences of Timoney that were thought to have shaped her thinking and strategic capability. It then describes in detail the 25+ years of her career at Heineken, wherein she held several senior positions and worked in various global offices of Heineken. Timoney had a leadership style that was transformational, collaborative and inclusive. In 2018, she was made the CEO of HU and consequently, she became the first woman to hold the top position at one of the top five beer companies in the USA.

The case then describes in detail the challenges she faced as the CEO of HU, which led her to formulate various strategies. Timoney brought innovation to Heineken’s core brands to meet customer needs and follow industry trends; diversified into new market segments; served new consumption occasions; and reached out to the customers through novel marketing strategies. Timoney did achieve excellent business results at HU, but the decline in the global beer industry was still a tough challenge. Having broken gender stereotypes and become a role model through her leadership capability, can Timoney put HU on the path of sustainable future growth?

The case is intended for use in teaching the subjects, “Leadership Skills & Change Management,” “Organizational Behavior” and “Organizational Development: Diagnosis and Interventions” in both graduate and postgraduate programs.

This paper aims to uncover patterns of Mexican craft beer consumers and guide companies’ decisions in the creation of new products, marketing strategies, advertising and promotion to increase craft beer sales and contribute to faster growth.

This is a conjoint analysis with a selection of attributes for new or renewed products, marginal disposition to pay for particular characteristics through brand-specific choice-based design, and market simulation.

This paper clearly demonstrates consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay in Mexico, with a cutting-edge market research technique combining the prioritization of preferred craft beer characteristics, and the price consumers are willing to pay for such product characteristics.

The study's sample size of 501 responses is relatively small compared to the total number of craft beer consumers in Mexico. To enhance the validity and reliability of the findings, future studies should aim to obtain larger samples and compare their results with those of this study.

This study has important implications for craft beer producers, allowing them to develop targeted craft beers with appealing attributes for Mexican consumers, such as color, aroma intensity, alcohol degree intensity, bitterness, foam level and price.

This study's market forecasting simulation technique is based on assumptions of consumer behavior and market dynamics. Although relevant variables were considered, unanticipated external factors or market changes could impact the forecasts' accuracy. This will allow for a more comprehensive understanding of craft beer consumer preferences in different markets and enhance the reliability of forecasting techniques.

This paper informs craft beer producers by providing valuable knowledge on customers’ preferences and willingness to pay to enhance craft beer companies’ product development processes.

World Health Organizations (WHO) (2023) states that governments and employers have a responsibility to uphold that right by providing work that simultaneously prevents workers from experiencing excessive stress and mental health risks. The business environment continues to produce a lot of stress on workers, which includes internal pressures to achieve results and employees suffer the consequences. Some companies have turned to mindfulness as a technique that helps mitigate these consequences and have joined Kaizen as a process improvement technique in the work environment. Therefore, this study has a research purpose: “to comprehend the possible linkage between Kaizen philosophy from an individual perspective, with Mindfulness ZEN Buddhism technique to understand the individual benefit (well-being) of each employee in organizations.” The answer to this represents the research gap in this article. The research questions governing this study are as follows: RQ1: Does Mindfulness is used as Kaizen technique of personal-individual improvement in 21st-century organizations? RQ2: What elements and characteristics of Kaizen and mindfulness can be found working together? And RQ3: Which qualitative impact of mindfulness and Kaizen in the workplace outcome (well-being, performance of the job (process)) and relationships with other employees)?

This research used a qualitative approach due to the recent phenomenon studied. In a certain way, it was used a mixed-method (combination of qualitative data – web search secondary data analysis and qualitative research-Convergence Model). First, it was done an intensive web search with the aim to identify companies' corporate mindfulness programs, along with companies which have applied mindfulness and Kaizen programs. It was identified a group of big companies with global and international presence (“famous” for their products and services) in diverse industrial and service sectors, country of origin and business locations; with the purpose of getting a holistic vision of all organizations which have practice Kaizen and mindfulness. Therefore, this study explored secondary data related to both practices, analyzing reports or briefings published in management magazines and official WEB pages and/or business magazines.

As a result of the triangulation of the data with its secondary data convergence model and qualitative research, a theoretical framework was reached that shows the benefits of the two combined twin techniques of Kaizen and mindfulness. The worker experiences a path that goes from concentrating on the execution of their processes, following their operating standards (Standardize, Do, Check, Act [SDCA] cycle), going through the evolution to continuous improvement or Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, experiencing work with concentration-awareness and reducing your daily stress, maintaining high sensitivity to the work process and your environment and finally, discovering an essential life purpose. Finally, worker experiences benefit when there is wide application of both with the SDCA and PDCA cycles such as high motivation, constant learning from your mistakes, day-to-day learning and the Munen Musso (not using the mind).

The main limitation is the qualitative methodological bias and secondary data research. In addition, to have a theoretical sample. However, the richness of the data helps to overcome this limitation. On the other hand, the qualitative research interviews are for a certain geographical area, therefore, the results cannot be generalized.

The results of this research can shed light on operations managers in the use of techniques for continuous improvement and improvement of people's quality of life, such as mindfulness. In Mexico, they are beginning to be used jointly (twin techniques) to comply with Regulation 035 of psychosocial risk, the researchers are sure that in other countries it will be used in the same way to comply with regulations. However, the research findings show the benefits that can be provided to workers in organizations by applying Kaizen and Mindfulness together.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, according to the literature review, this is the first article that explores the relationship between Kaizen and Mindfulness as twin techniques that help improve the individual quality of life of employees in organizations.

Many in the private and public sectors see headhunting as a “necessary evil.” A tour of investors, business schools, executive and supervisory board directors throws up unflattering descriptions. Accusations of “opacity” are probably linked to the industry’s duty of discretion. Other observers signal a need for improvement: “pumping the same names around,” “emphasis on reputation, not merit,” “lack of quality” and “low innovation.” The battle to professionalize is underway. We look at the avenues ahead for executive hiring, the demise of the “old boys’ network” and the need for diversity and sustainability in modern organizations. We present the difficulties of running a headhunting firm, and distinguishing factors of the best players. We argue that selecting a headhunter demands the same rigor as choosing a lawyer, and six areas of improvement for executive search firms. Unpacking the Spartan marathon to the boardroom, we reveal the surprising estimates of the number of new high potentials entering the market annually. We conclude by looking at possible blind spots on both sides of the hiring equation that can undermine company interests, and continue to examine the march to professionalize the executive search industry.

An earlier form of this chapter by the author was published in Dutch in “Bestemming Boardroom: over zoeken en gevonden worden” (Boom, Amsterdam, 2018) and in English (online) by the Amrop Partnership (2021) as “Destination Boardroom 3: Mapping the Executive Search World.”

After completion of the case study, students will be able to: 1. understand the basis for developing global supply chains for exploring international markets, 2. identify the various sources of geopolitical risk while expanding globally, 3. assess the market entry or exit decisions from a principled and commercial perspective and 4. identify and weigh different options when faced with an exit situation under conditions of geopolitical risk.

The Japanese fast fashion brand Uniqlo opened 45 stores in Russia as a part of its international retail expansion strategy. The brand provided affordable fashion for everyone. However, the Russia–Ukraine armed conflict had put the company in a dilemma. The Japanese Government and the public joined the broader global community in condemning Russia’s armed intervention in Ukraine. These countries also imposed economic sanctions on Russia, resulting in many multinational companies winding up their operations in Russia. Uniqlo faced a market exit dilemma. Russia had the largest number of Uniqlo stores in Europe. The company CEO also highlighted the necessity of meeting the clothing needs of the Russian people. However, people in Japan and elsewhere considered Russia as an aggressor nation. Any economic link with the Russian market would be ethically wrong, and consumers in Japan, the USA and the European Union might see this as support for Russia’s war efforts. The company had to choose between continuing operations in Russia or exiting the Russian market.

This case study can be used in basic marketing management and international business courses to discuss the market attractiveness and risk aspects for market entry or exit decisions. It can also be used in advanced courses such as strategic management, global strategy and global political economy, highlighting the impact of geopolitical conflicts on business operations.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

This study aims to investigate the evolving concept of the metaverse and its implications for service innovation. It seeks to understand how integrating technologies such as extended reality, blockchain, artificial intelligence and non-fungible tokens enables companies to experiment and innovate.

Adopting a qualitative methodology, this investigation conducts an immersive netnography across more than 25 case studies spanning diverse industries such as gaming, retail, health care and education. The thematic analysis method is used to distill critical insights, providing a deep dive into the technological enablers, innovation processes and market adaptations within the metaverse.

The study addresses four main building blocks through which companies experiment with the metaverse to foster innovation: enabling virtual identities’ agency, developing non-fungible tokens, designing immersive paths and crafting phygital microworlds. They shape the metaverse by enacting actors, resources, processes and phygital ecosystems. Companies obtain learning outcomes from such experimentation and identify learning challenges.

This research contributes to the nascent body of knowledge on the metaverse and service innovation by providing a comprehensive framework that encapsulates the multifaceted ways companies experiment within the metaverse. It extends the understanding of digital-physical convergence in service research, offering theoretical and practical insights into the development of phygital service ecosystems.

Este estudio tiene como objetivo investigar el concepto en evolución del Metaverso y sus implicaciones para la innovación en servicios. Busca comprender cómo la integración de tecnologías como la realidad extendida, la cadena de bloques, la inteligencia artificial y los tokens no fungibles permite a las empresas experimentar e innovar.

Adoptando una metodología cualitativa, esta investigación realiza una netnografía inmersiva a través de más de 25 estudios de casos que abarcan diversas industrias como los juegos, el comercio minorista, la atención médica y la educación. Se emplea el método de análisis temático para destilar conocimientos críticos, brindando un profundo análisis de los habilitadores tecnológicos, los procesos de innovación y las adaptaciones al mercado dentro del Metaverso.

El estudio aborda cuatro bloques principales a través de los cuales las empresas experimentan con el Metaverso para fomentar la innovación: habilitar la agencia de identidades virtuales, desarrollar tokens no fungibles, diseñar senderos inmersivos y crear micromundos físico-digitales. Estos dan forma al Metaverso mediante la actuación de actores, recursos, procesos y ecosistemas físico-digitales. Las empresas obtienen resultados de aprendizaje de dicha experimentación e identifican desafíos de aprendizaje.

Esta investigación contribuye al cuerpo de conocimiento incipiente sobre el Metaverso y la innovación en servicios al proporcionar un marco integral que encapsula las diversas formas en que las empresas experimentan dentro del Metaverso. Amplía la comprensión de la convergencia digital-física en la investigación de servicios, ofreciendo ideas teóricas y prácticas sobre el desarrollo de ecosistemas de servicios físico-digitales.

这项研究旨在探讨元宇宙概念的演变以及其对服务创新的影响。其目标在于深入理解通过整合增强现实、区块链、人工智能以及非同质化代币等技术, 如何使企业得以进行实验和创新。

本研究利用定性研究方法, 进行了一项沉浸式网络民族志调查, 涵盖了跨越游戏、零售、医疗保健和教育等多个行业的25多个案例。通过主题分析方法, 提炼出关键见解, 深入探讨了元宇宙内的技术驱动因素、创新过程和市场适应性。

这项研究以四个主要方面为切入点, 探讨了企业在元宇宙中促进创新的方法：启用虚拟身份的代理、开发非同质化代币、设计沉浸式路径以及打造物理-数字微观世界。通过这些措施, 企业塑造了元宇宙, 涉及行动者、资源、过程和物理-数字生态系统的执行。在此类实验中, 企业积累了丰富的学习经验, 并面临了

本研究旨在建立一个全面的框架, 以拓展关于元宇宙和服务创新的新知识, 揭示企业在元宇宙中进行实验的多方面方式。它不仅扩展了服务研究领域中数字与物理融合的理解, 还提供了有关发展物理-数字服务生态系统的理论和实践见解。

This paper aims to investigate the locational determinants of the craft beer industry in Budapest, Hungary, between 2009 and 2022.

The authors use various count data models to determine the relationship between the number of microbreweries and locational factors.

The authors find that demand and supply-side factors, including income, unemployment, level of education, population density and the number of local businesses, affect the number of craft breweries. Whilst agglomeration effects proxied by breweries per capita in a district have a positive coefficient, the number of breweries in neighbouring districts is not significant. In addition, the authors do not observe any negative impact of COVID-19-related restrictions. The picture of a still-evolving, resilient craft beer sector emerges from our analysis.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first specific studies on the craft beer sector in the Central and Eastern European region and the first to evaluate the location choices of craft breweries in Hungary within a municipality using an up-to-date data set. The authors’ analysis covers 14 years, from the early stages of craft brewery proliferation in Budapest until 2022, testing several hypotheses with respect to the location choices of these businesses.