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Choice Behavior.

The case study deals with cross-gender analysis of impulse buying behavior in apparel shopping in India. Any extrapolation of this study to other markets should take into account that Indian consumers are price sensitive. The buying behavior in apparel shopping may not be directly related to other retail categories such as ready-to-eat food, consumer electronics, etc.

Mr Khuswant Chaddha’s family business is in tatters. Market dynamics have changed over the years and his textile mill is no longer the cash cow it once was. His son, Gaurav Chaddha, a recent engineering graduate, plans to save the business by venturing into branded apparel retailing. A key component of this strategy is to figure out impulse shopping behavior in apparel purchases. The gender angle is used to better comprehend the differences in impulse buying emotions so that males and females can be targeted with greater success. A survey of shoppers belonging to suitable demographics is used as the backbone of this study. The analysis of the data presents several dilemmas in some critical business decisions.

The objectives of the case include: understanding how marketplaces change over time; realizing the fact that businesses should evolve over time and even highly profitable business models can become obsolete pretty fast; studying the factors which influence the choice of an apparel store; understanding impulse buying behavior and how gender plays a decisive role in it and analyzing post purchase behavior with respect to gender.

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 8: Marketing.

Mahindra Trucks and Buses forayed into India's commercial vehicles sector in 2005. However, they had to battle numerous supply chain challenges associated with introducing a new product (a new truck brand) in the market and to gain a noticeable foothold in the market. In this case, we attempt to align customer brand stickiness with the supply chain expectations from a new product. In particular, we deliberate how the needs of all actors in the supply chain must be met and their interactions must be accounted in developing a robust supply chain. Finally, a supply chain is successful when demand can be matched with supply and the customer's service level can be achieved.

This case is designed to facilitate students to comprehend the challenges an e-commerce firm faces when it attempts to monetize data network effects. The challenges faced by Zomato are ideal for in-class debate and discussion. The following learning objectives can be fulfilled through this case: understanding the promises and issues raised by data network effects; comprehending the problems an e-commerce firm faces in re-configuration; illustrating the responsibility of an established e-commerce firm towards its stakeholders; and discussing how a firm should navigate its relationship with its stakeholders.

Zomato.com, the largest Indian food aggregator and delivery platform, was contemplating the launch of Zomato Instant, a 10-min food delivery. Currently, the company’s delivery model pivoted around delivering food within 30 min. Recently, Zomato acquired Blinkit, an online grocery shopping app that was positioned to deliver groceries in 10 min. Deepinder Goyal of Zomato felt that customers would soon be more discriminant in demanding quicker services, as they might not be comfortable with 30-min deliveries. Hence, Zomato’s business model must also be re-configured to provide 10-min deliveries. Armed with access to customer data, Goyal predicted items that could be prepared and delivered within 10 min from its dark stores and automated kitchens. Although the model seemed promising and the company was upbeat about it, Zomato Instant faced challenges on several fronts. From the human angle, the decision was criticized on social media, mainly around the violation of road regulations, road safety issues and pressure on the delivery personnel to perform. Many delivery personnel had fled this gig work to join their pre-COVID jobs. Even the Competition Commission of India had established an inquiry into Zomato’s anti-competitive practices using customer data.

This case is best taught as part of a curriculum in management programmes at the post-graduate level, in courses such as e-commerce, e-retailing, business models for electronic commerce and online entrepreneurship/new age entrepreneurship. In terms of the positioning in the course, this case could be used to demonstrate the challenges of re-configuration of an online platform.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The subject areas are entrepreneurship, start-up ventures and business strategy.

The case is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate MBA.

Shikhar Veer Singh (Singh), a post graduate in Medical Biotechnology, quit a cushy corporate job to start his own food venture WoknStove Foodworks Pvt. Ltd. (WSFL) in October 2015. WSFL sold the ubiquitous popular Indian snack food “Samosas” under the brand name of “Samosa Singh”. “Samosa” – a deep fried triangular in shape with conical edges crispy wrap with variety fillings of potatoes/vegetables – was part of unorganized sector and sold by small shops and road-side hawkers. Singh spotted an opportunity to “brand” the “Samosas” that as well was gaining momentum in the international convenience food markets. The company set up a central kitchen near Electronic city, Bangalore, and started experimenting with different fillings. In February 2016, WSFL opened its first quick service restaurant (QSR) in Electronic city, Bangalore. It was an instant hit with consumers of all age groups. Gradually, the company started supplying bulk orders to various other customer segments such as corporate customers, schools and movie theatres/event stalls, that resulted in revenue growth. By January 2017, his monthly annual revenues amounted to INR […] Singh had ambitious plans to expand his business from a single QSR to 15 QSRs across the city by 2018. However, to cater to the increasing demands and support his expansion plans, he was yet to find out the most suitable back-end processes. He had adopted few standard operating procedures (SOPs) for quality operations and implemented 30 per cent of automation for backend processes at his central kitchen. Singh was aware of the automated machinery available in international markets that had conveyor belt arrangements where one could place the flour dough and filling consecutively to get the end product in a shape, unlike the shape of the Indian “Samosas”. The triangular shape with conical edges of the Indian “Samosas” was of utmost importance for the Indian consumers, as the shape associated them with the favourite snack, the “Samosas”. Singh preferred the method of manual filling to maintain the shape and decided to focus on increasing the shelf life of the “Samosas” instead. He felt that an increased shelf life would better equip him to cater the increased market and seasonal demands. However, the question was that whether this was a feasible option to support his ambitious expansion plans (with only 30 per cent automation)? Was Singh’s thinking right with respect to the business operation? More importantly, whether WSFL venture would be able to make an attractive business proposition for investments from any future institutional/angel investor? Singh’s mood turned reflective as he pondered on the above questions.

The case is structured to discuss the structure of Indian QSR market and factors contributing to its growth, evaluate WSFL’s ability to leverage the Indian QSR market potential, its strengths and shortcomings, to highlight the steps of consumer decision making process in terms of selection of a QSR and discuss WSFL’s business model and its future sustainability.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship.

Undergraduate – Entrepreneurship.

The case concerns to an entrepreneur named Aamir Ghouri, a US graduate, who is concerned about managing the growth of his newly established venture named ICON Stores. The case presents the idea of entrepreneurial mindset characteristics and motivation besides which, it also explains the typical venture creation process in Pakistan and the general rubrics used to measure the entrepreneurial success in the economy.

The case is designed to help students to understand entrepreneurial mindset, characteristics and motivation; to understand entrepreneurial venture creation process; to learn the common practices regarding the measurement of entrepreneurial success of new venture; and to outline as to how growth of a new venture could be managed profitably.

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 is designed for students with prior knowledge of principles of management, particularly leadership theories. The case would also benefit bachelor students who already took an introductory course to leadership such as organizational behavior or graduate students who are familiar with the leadership and/or entrepreneurship literature. This case study may be used in the following academic courses: theories of leadership, leadership and leaders, organizational leaders’ roles, management skills, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial management.

This case study may be used in the following academic programs: Bachelor’s in Business Administration Master of Science in Business Administration MBA Programs.

Kamal Reggad is a Moroccan entrepreneur who created the company Menaclick, an online business that aims to sell and promote various products and services nationally and internationally at discounted prices. Goods and services are posted on Menaclick’s website www.hmizate.ma, which means “good deals” in Moroccan Arabic. The Hmizate platform operates a daily-deals and group-buying website offering discounted deals to Moroccan customers. The deals are mainly on goods and services such as traveling, food, esthetics, shopping, high-tech gadgets and recreational events (Eco, 2013). Menaclick is based in Casablanca, Morocco, and its website www.hmizate.ma is one of the most popular websites in the country with over 40,000 visitors per day. In the past few years, Kamal has been significantly contributing to building the groundwork of the e-commerce industry in Morocco, a course that has been changing the way Moroccan customers shop for goods and services. In fact, it is because of the merits of group-buying sites such as Hmizate that over 16 million Moroccan internet users navigate the net daily to buy products and services online with ease and facility (Maroc Numeric Cluster, 2014). Kamal Reggad is a fitting example of an innate leader who introduced a new leadership style to Morocco. Kamal took a colossal risk by targeting a new and unexplored market in Morocco which is the e-commerce business; his risks have paid off. As the case explains, Kamal’s success is because of his passion, perseverance and positive attitude.

In general, the objective of the case study is to further enhance the understanding of leadership in general and entrepreneurial spirit in particular. The case study will assist students in developing their leadership-related skills through the discussion of a real-life situation and experience and propose an example of the importance of participative leadership during the launching phase of a business venture. The case is designed to provoke and stimulate students’ personal reflections about a particular management style, especially in entrepreneurship.

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.

Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurialism, marketing strategy, strategic stakeholder engagement.

Entrepreneurship policy makers, post-graduate level, practitioners interested in MENA region.

Yogen Früz is a leading frozen-yogurt franchising network started in 1986 in Ontario, Canada, as a small business adventure. It then grew to be the largest frozen-yogurt company in the world after acquiring many of its smaller competitors locally and internationally. In 2002, new key players entered the market and set new benchmarks in the frozen-yogurt industry, which led to Yogen Früz losing its dominance and closing many shops. This case study is written to show how Yogen Früz, the world's largest frozen-yogurt chain, was outperformed by new, small-sized rivals in the industry. This case explains the successful strategic move made by Yogen Früz to adopt a rebranding strategy and reintroduce itself with a totally new brand image. Yogen Früz specializes in frozen yogurt and now has more than 100 flavors and 1,300 outlets around the world.

This case study will expose students to a strategically successful example of expansion and critical thinking beyond the daily operation of a business. The students will be able to apply business process models, SWOT analysis.

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

Tihar Jail (TJ), one of the largest prisons in the world also functions as a reformation and rehabilitation centre. As a part of this effort, it operates a factory and a baking school in its premises. A consultant had been employed by Tihar Jail to find solutions for the stagnation in sales revenue despite marketing quality products and garnering good reviews from customers. This case is suitable for first-year MBA-level course in marketing management as well as for more-focused courses in product marketing strategy, business strategy, consumer behaviour, organizational behaviour, sales and distribution, or public policy.

In this case, a senior business analyst at the online travel agency Trek-ation struggles with the decision of whether to pursue a potentially lucrative idea. Her innovation team had proposed revising the online pricing algorithm in order to use the cookies and other information from customers’ web browser to customize pricing for flights and hotels. Although she wanted to increase revenue for the company and meet her targets, she was also concerned not only about the backlash if this tactic was revealed to the public but also, more importantly, about both the fairness of this practice and the violation of customer privacy norms.

The learning outcomes are as follows: understanding of the principles of choice overload and the impact of consumer choice overload on company sustainability and growth prospects; understanding of how several heuristics inform consumer decision-making; applying nudge theory to interpret and clarify the impact and consequences of nudges on consumer decision-making; and considering the challenge of a newly appointed CEO to influence consumer choice.

The case study and teaching note offers insights into the use of behavioural economics principles in consumer choice. The case study methodology was used to design, analyse and interpret the real-life application of behavioural economics in the retail sector. The case demonstrates how choice overload, dual process theory, decision heuristics and nudge theory play a role in consumer decision-making. The case offers insights into the application of behavioural economics to support the sustainability of a company in an emerging market context. Managers can use the findings to consider how to use behavioural economics principles to drive consumer choice. The application of behavioural economics to an industry facing challenges of sustainability offers new insights into how to design spaces and cues for consumer choice.

The case study is suitable for course in business administration, specifically at postgraduate level.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing