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I would recommend the following two readings: Kotter, J. P. 2001. “What leaders really do” Harvard Business Review, vol, December 2001, pp. 85-96 and MIntzberg, H. & Waters, J. A. 1985. “Of strategies, deliberate and emergent” Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 6, pp. 257-272 Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

This case study aims to provide following four learning outcomes: enhanced understanding of organizational leadership style/approach in terms of rigidness or flexibility to bring modifications in organizational vision to tap current opportunities, enhanced understanding of the use of emotions and rationality in organizational decision-making to strike a balance between organizational needs and community needs in the context of organizational priority framework, enhanced understanding of issue of integration to meet community needs smartly particularly in social development organizations and enhanced understanding of leadership strategies for successful business diversification.

This case study highlights and discusses three issues: first, it explores issues related to change in organizational vision and aims keeping in mind the needs of community rather than sticking to organizational needs (flexibility versus rigidity). Second, it explores the role of emotions and rationality in organizational decision-making by its leadership. Third, it discusses the role of leadership in successfully transforming one-dimensional organization into multidimensional organization by adding new avenues for future growth by mobilizing existing organizational strengths and competencies. Finally, this case discusses theories of leadership and change management in the context of social development organizations to align their activities with community’s emerging needs.

Master Level - Master of Business Administration and Master of Management. This case provides sufficient material to be discussed at master level courses such as change leadership and change management in social development organizations.

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

Management science

The case deals with project management principles that are required for implementing a social project in India.

The study has been carried out at primary schools in an underdeveloped state, namely, Odisha, in India.

The case illustrates a project management approach for improving primary education in a government set up. The bureaucracy set up in education in a state like Odisha, India, needs to undergo radical changes. To be effective, an education system requires an optimal integration of the three main components, namely, people, infrastructure (this includes technology) and pedagogical processes. Using a public–private partnership model, American India Foundation (AIF) through its Digital Equalizer (DE) Program has been able to make a positive impact in an underdeveloped tribal dominated district like Keonjhar. The case study also illustrates the detailed execution plan predicated on total system planning, required to achieve this amount of success. The case study also explains how to measure success through different metrics where intervention has to be at multiple levels. The learning from the case study can also be adopted for designing an implementation strategy in other states.

Expected learning outcomes are as follows: how to approach implementation of technology-based intervention with involvement of all stakeholders; learn project management techniques related to digital learning model implementation; understand the DE methodology; and understand the challenges faced while implementing the DE Program.

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 7: Management Science.

The learning objectives of this case are as follows: identify and understand the major challenges/problems faced by a social enterprise in promoting handicraft business; examine the value chain architecture of handicraft products; assess the role of the protagonist (Sanjay) as a social change agent in shaping a successful social enterprise; assess Sahaj Crafts' initiatives and analyze whether the key intervention/s planned/executed were required for skilling up of rural artisans and upgradation of handicraft business; know the marketing strategies for handicraft products; and understand the “strategies” which need to be applied for uplifting people's lives at the bottom of pyramid in general and for enlivening of artisans’ clusters in particular. The outcomes are as follows: examining the value chain architecture of handicraft product; understanding the difficulties and challenges of structuring a viable social business model; examining the role of Sanjay as a social change agent in shaping a successful social enterprise; and examining the model of Craft Incubation Center and design education proposed by Sahaj Crafts for improving rural artisans’ livelihood and skills upgradation.

Sanjay Joshi – the promoter and CEO of “Sahaj Crafts” (a social enterprise established in Western Rajasthan, India), an initiative to strengthen indigenous skills and mainstream rural craft products and artworks – is faced with the question of how to scale up his organization’s operations. Doing so requires that he address these fundamental challenges in terms of – how to deal with unorganized craft communities; match up product orientation to market demands; integrate modern technology / processes in craft business; combat restricted mobility of women artisans; and make effective interventions so that the artisans learn and enjoy working in the current model and solve the financial issues faced by the social enterprise. Providing effective and implementable answers to those questions is vital to Sahaj Craft’s development in attaining its mission to alleviate poverty in the region. Failing to expand operations above a critical scale may leave Sahaj Crafts vulnerable in meeting sufficient demand for contemporary craft products in the mainstream markets.

This case study is primarily suitable for post-graduate level management students to teach the concepts of designing and operationalizing a “social” business model in a social entrepreneurship module. This case study can also be used for highlighting business model innovations in the social sector of emerging markets. The case could be taught in the following academic domains: social entrepreneurship; bottom of the pyramid; social inclusion; supply chain consolidation (vertical integration in a value chain); marketing strategies for handicraft products; branding; brand positioning; cost and management accounting.

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

Organisational behaviour; Leadership; Organisational development; Public–Private partnership; Health care management; Public health.

Masters students in Business Administration, Post Graduate Diploma, Clinical Training of Medical Professionals, Health Leadership Programme.

Prof Jannie Hugo, the protagonist in the case, was considering his dilemma of aligning the multiple partners involved in public health care. A high level of collaboration was required of a multitude of stakeholders in developing the Daspoort clinic into a pilot site for the Tshwane district’s implementation of the National Health Insurance system. In addition, the re-engineering of primary health care with the focus on the patient and community orientated approach were launched on this site.

Gaining insight into international and national landscapes and principles of health care systems. Critically analyse the role of technology in delivering innovative health and social services. Present judgment of Prof Jannie Hugo’s contextual leadership effectiveness in enhancing collaboration between the multiple stakeholders and recommend next steps.

2 × DVDs on Vimeo, Slides and teaching plan with discussion or exam questions with model answers.

CSS 7: Management Science.

Upon completion of the case study, students should be able to understand how changes in a macro environment affect the competitive landscape in an emerging market; acquire a granular understanding about the logistics industry in an emerging market and the various business models developed to service customer needs; determine the attractiveness and challenges of doing business in a fragmented but sunrise industry in an emerging market; and identify the drivers for growth and profitability in the logistics business.

Manisha Sharaf (she/her) and her co-founders conceived the idea of Truck Hall in 2011 to ride with the tide created by booming public investments in the infrastructure and transportation sector. Truck Hall aimed to improve the efficiency of the logistics industry in India by extensively using technology. However, the market research showed that technology-driven services in logistics faced many challenges owing to low internet penetration in the country, weak network connectivity during transportation and the low literacy rates of the truck drivers who were central to this industry. Between 2015 and 2018, Truck Hall experimented with several business models including load board, brokerage and integrated transporter with the sole purpose of achieving profitable growth in a highly fragmented industry with razor-thin margins. This case documented the dilemma faced by a startup in a high-growth but largely unorganized and unregulated industry in a developing economy. Should Truck Hall continue with the current business model of being a niche player or should it vertically integrate and control major segments of the value chain? Should it compromise on growth to become profitable or first scale up?

This case study can be used at the undergraduate, graduate and executive levels.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

After completion of this case study, students will be able to help participants appreciate how the personal experiences of the founder(s) shape the inception of a social venture and impact its ongoing evolution; elucidate the intricacies and challenges inherent in managing a mission-driven organization dedicated to serving the underserved segments of society; emphasize the difficulties associated with exploring opportunities for scaling up a social venture; and facilitate comprehension of the various options and strategies available for achieving scalability.

The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), founded in 1992–1993 by Prof. Achyuta Samanta in Bhubaneswar, was a pioneering institution with a distinctive focus on providing high-quality education at all levels, exclusively to tribal students. From its inception, KISS remained unwavering in its commitment to the holistic development of marginalized tribal communities. It offered not just free education but also comprehensive support, including accommodation, food and health care, to thousands of students spanning from kindergarten to post-graduation levels. Remarkably, KISS held the unique distinction of being the world’s only university dedicated to tribal education. Over the years, KISS witnessed remarkable growth, evolving from a modest 125 students in 1992–1993 to a thriving community of 30,000 students. Its success garnered attention from federal and state governments, public institutions, philanthropists and corporations, all intrigued by the prospect of replicating its transformative model in diverse regions of the country. KISS even received invitations to establish similar campuses in neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. What set KISS apart was its self-sustaining approach. While it did receive support from like-minded organizations and government schemes, it operated without charging any fees to its students. This ethos posed a unique challenge for Samanta: determining the nature and extent of support and resources required should KISS choose to expand its impact beyond its current boundaries.

This case study is suited for inclusion in courses pertaining to social innovation and non-profit management, particularly in modules around the theme of scaling social innovation. It provides an illustration of the growth trajectory of social innovation-oriented ventures and the key factors underlining their success and sustainability. Furthermore, this case study delves into the inherent tensions that often emerge during the process of scaling up such initiatives.

In addition to the MBA-level courses, this case study can also be used as a resource for executive education programs with a specific focus on social purpose organizations and those dedicated to fostering partnerships in pursuit of social goals. It offers insights into the dynamics of these organizations and their collaborative efforts towards achieving social impact.

To effectively explore and analyse the case material, instructors should allocate approximately 70–90 min of class discussion time.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS11: Strategy.

Financial Services Marketing, Financial Inclusion, Emerging Market Studies.

The case is suitable for graduate management students in courses such as general management and marketing courses. It is also suitable for a specialised rural marketing course and marketing of financial services. In business schools outside India, the case can be used in a course on marketing strategies for emerging economies. The case is suitable for executive development programmes for the areas pertaining to rural banking, marketing of banking services and financial inclusion programmes.

The case analyses the financial inclusion initiative by Odisha Gramya Bank, a regional rural bank set up after amalgamation of three banks in the state of Orissa, India. The topic of financial inclusion has been the attraction from bankers, policymakers and academia in light of linkage between formal financial system and inclusive growth. To harness the fortunes at the bottom of pyramid, the case looks into the development of financial inclusion, business strategies and strategies for various customer segments.

To introduce students to analyse and compare various financial inclusion options. The case is useful to comprehend the various methods of financial inclusion. To analyse the evolution of regional rural banks and Odisha Gramya Bank after its amalgamation. To appreciate the issues faced by Odisha Gramya Bank. To understand various market segment and to evaluate its potential. To suggest appropriate strategies for each market segment. To appreciate how technology can be harnessed for business correspondents. To recommend the roadmap for financial inclusion to Mr Sidharthan, Chairman, Odisha Gramya Bank.

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.

Information Systems – IT Strategy Design and Implementation.

The case can be discussed in Marketing Management courses and IT Strategy classes in MBA, executives from NGOs who are participating in Management Development Programs, etc. It can also be used in entrepreneurship classes. The case serves as an illustration to entrepreneurship projects, and so this case can be discussed in training program for budding entrepreneurs intending to implement cloud in its IT infrastructure.

E-commerce is big nowadays in India. In e-commerce, particularly e-tail in India is witnessing a boom with players reporting achieving revenue targets earlier than anticipated. Though e-tail sites are now ubiquitous and dime a dozen with multiple offerings or specialized offerings, the e-grocery model is yet to take off on a large scale across India. E-grocery model has its unique challenges on both supply as well as distribution side unlike other e-tail business. As it deals with perishable items, it faces challenges in supply chain, procurement, inventory management, cold storage management, quality and logistics. To solve such problems, high degree of localization is needed for players in this business. It requires them to open up multiple warehouses at strategic locations in a city if they decide to have control over the goods they sell. Start-ups in this space face the problems in monitoring inventory levels across warehouses where they use disparate Point of Sales (POS) systems. There is a lack of synchronization among the POS applications across the warehouses for which they are able to take the benefit of economies of scale during procurement and distribution. Also, they face stock out and excess inventory across stock keeping units (SKUs). To solve this problem, a strategy is needed so that they can maintain data for all its warehouses through a single database and also by which they can scale up easily and at a lower investment without disturbing continuity in business.

Following are the learning outcomes: to learn about the business model and market ecosystem of an e-tailing business dealing in grocery items in a tier-II city in its introduction phase of organizational life cycle, to learn about various processes involved in online ordering of an item from an e-commerce website, to understand the various challenges faced by an organization dealing in e-tailing business in its introduction phase and to find out whether IT Strategy can be of help to overcome these challenges, to have an understanding of the Balance Score Card and Departmental Score Card, to understand how cloud can be of help to overcome the challenges and what are the possible cloud architectures to address such problems, to get an idea about how return on investment can be measured for finding feasibility of investment in cloud and to have the understanding of risk associated with implementing cloud and the cost of mitigating those risks.

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.

Strategic innovation through the deployment of a sophisticated collection of information systems and technologies to help accomplish financial inclusion for the urban poor.

This case is suitable for graduate courses on strategic planning and innovation.

Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS) is a microfinance company that seeks to serve the financial service needs of the urban poor, a market segment with huge growthpotential. This operation involves large numbers of cash transactions making effective control mechanisms necessary. However, small margins make an innovative strategy necessary. JFS states that information technology (IT) is its DNA. The way in which the leadership team used a variety of ITsolutions to create an integrated set of well managed operations provides a very useful lesson in managing the process of strategic innovation.

The primary learning objective is to help the student understand the impact of strategic innovation through the use of information systems and technologies. This is achieved by helping the student to: connect the abilities provided by information technology to the social objective of financial inclusion; understand what financial inclusion means to the urban poor and how this segment differs from other microfinance and banking segments; assess the approach (related to organizational design as well as systems) JFS has employed to accomplish the objective of financial inclusion among the urban poor in India; analyse the systems and processes JFS has used to deliver services to its target market while making processes more transparent and efficient at JFS; and assess the risks to which JFS is exposed throughits business activity as well as the use of information technology.

Teaching notes are available; please consult your librarian for access.

The learning objectives of this case include:

▪ Outline the brand repositioning approaches that Equity Bank used in its various stages of growth.

▪ Identify the impact of Equity’s brand repositioning in supporting its growth.

▪ Develop a brand repositioning framework for Equity bank as a fintech.

▪ Identify the theoretical frameworks that informed Equity’s brand repositioning during the various growth stages.

▪ Suggest a theoretical framework that would help Equity to reposition the new brand in the market.

In March 2020, the Government of Kenya declared a lockdown to slow down the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lockdown of entire economic sectors put pressure on the adoption of technology to deliver services such as education, training and financial services. Banks had to innovate ways of supporting customers transactions with minimal physical and cash contact. Equity Bank had been implementing a digital banking strategy which had demonstrated successful adoption. Covid-19 accelerated the adoption and usage of Equity Bank’s digital banking by consumers. The bank found itself in a new territory competing fiercely with new and more agile fintechs. Consequently, Dr James Mwangi, the Group Managing Director and CEO of Equity Group, was contemplating the possibility of bringing forward the bank's strategic intention of repositioning as a fintech. He was convinced that such a move would bring massive success to the bank’s digital banking strategy, achieve enhanced efficiency, improve customer experience and attract a new segment of digital-savvy customers. But he needed to carry the Board, his management team and customers along in this repositioning strategy without sacrificing the gains made in the consumers' minds about Equity's brand as a bank.

This case can be taught to graduate-level students of marketing courses. It can also be taught to participants of executive education undertaking short courses in in business management and entrepreneurship.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.