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The case captures the origin and initial years of two restaurants Mirchi & Mime and Madeira & Mime, which exclusively employed Speech and Hearing Impaired persons (SHI) as servers (often called “waiters” in India). It documents how the restaurants were set up, captures significant incidents during this initial period and the impact of these incidents on the working of the restaurants. Further, it describes the challenge of opening a fine dining restaurant and a gastropub staffed exclusively by SHI persons as servers. The case narrates the reactions and impact on the SHIs and their families, co-workers within the outlets and the customers visiting these outlets. Finally, the case lists the recognition received by the organisation and outlines plans for the immediate future.

After completion of the case study, the students would be able to identify and evaluate organizational culture as a critical element of organizational resilience and assess its fit to the business context, evaluate different elements of organizational resilience and their contribution to business adaptation and develop leadership approaches that help adapt and leverage organizational culture to foster individual, team and organizational resilience.

This teaching case covers topics of organizational leadership, including organizational culture and organizational resilience. This case study is appropriate for the postgraduate and executive education programmes. This case study covers the approach to organizational leadership and resilience of the OKKO, a Ukrainian retail petrol station network. The dilemmas considered by top managers of the company emerged in February–April 2022 amid the unfolding Russian invasion of Ukraine. The case study protagonists solved multiple business and organizational dilemmas to continue efficient business operations while allowing the organization to adapt to a complex and fast-changing environment. They leveraged a distinct corporate culture, strong employee engagement and established business processes and management practices to ensure the viability of the business.

This case study is appropriate for postgraduate and executive education programmes. The level of difficulty is light to medium. Recommended pre-requisites are understanding human resources management terminology and reviewing preparation materials. The case study is suitable for teaching courses in leadership, people management and organizational development that cover corporate culture, leadership and organizational resilience.

CSS 6: Human resource management

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

To understand the goals and key performance indicators of online social media marketing and the primary drivers of interaction in a social community. To analyze the challenges faced by the team during the launch of the new digital platform National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) Connect, interacting with an already online present small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) community. To analyze the concept of community marketing in an emerging country and appreciate the value of digital platforms in customer relationship management. To identify and critically evaluate insights on which ideas for marketing communication activities for NBF Connect can be built upon. To build an operational plan for NBF Connect customer engagement on online social communities.

In 2020, NBF launched a new digital platform for SMEs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) called “NBF Connect” with the purpose of redefining banking services for the small businesses sector. The digitalization wave in the UAE was revolutionizing various industry sectors. The global banking industry was already impacted by digitalization and some banks in the UAE, especially in the retail segment (Emirates NBD, 2017), had already introduced many technology-led innovations bringing more effectiveness in the processes and better customer experience. However, the SME banking segment was lagging in terms of innovation. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic situation, with compulsory lockdowns and social distancing, changed the way of doing business for entire industries and increased the pressure on banks for the provisioning of new digital products. Rose joined NBF in the first part of 2020 as Product Owner of the project NBF Connect. The new digital platform was ideated by NBF to be differentiated from other banking products. It was co-created with insights from and regular interaction with the SME community. After the deployment of the first version of the platform in April 2020, Rose realized that the user adoption and commercial results were below par. Over the next three months, only a few users were using the platform with shallow interactions. This case study looks at Rose’s journey as NBF refined and evolved its SME banking platform, including developing and positioning the digital platform in the market, identifying competitive advantages and developing the right commercial strategy to monetize NBF’s investment in the digital platform’s development.

Students are expected to have knowledge of the issues relevant to marketing and communication management, product management and business development.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing

The data has been provided by the protagonist in the form of interviews, tables and figures.

Abdul and his team, comprising MS Finance graduates from Lahore University of Management Sciences, embarked on a transformative process that led to the inception of their startup, Ingine. Originating from a discarded idea of importing recycling machines, the team pivoted to address a significant gap in the influencer marketing industry. They envisioned a subscription-based software-as-a-service platform that streamlines interactions between influencers and businesses, emphasizing secure payment processing, messaging and feedback features. The narrative underscores the intricate connection between influencer marketing and the return on investment for small businesses, recognizing the challenge of decoding tangible financial gains. Ingine’s mission is to unravel this puzzle, optimizing small businesses’ investments in influencer marketing while navigating the complexities of crafting a competitive influencer compensation model. The team’s background, strategic considerations and commitment to fostering sustainable relationships between influencers and businesses serve as a compelling backdrop to Ingine’s entrepreneurial aspirations.

The case can be used in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial finance. The case can be used in undergrad, master’s, MBA, executive MBA and short executive programs. The complexity of a case can be increased or decreased depending on the level of class, i.e. start, middle or end of the course, and the time allocation, i.e. 90 min.

The instructor should discuss the various forms of organization. Particular reference needs to be drawn on “For Benefit” firms. How such firms enable societal development should be stressed upon. Other theories considered are “need achievement theory”, “self-determination theory” and “social cognitive theory.”

The primary data for the case was from a series of in-depth interviews and interactions with Sonia and her core team members of Bazaar and Approval Teams. Frequent deliberation with the founder and core team led to interesting dialogues on the aspiration to uphold Pune Ladies Association (PULA) Exclusives Pvt. Ltd. as a “For Benefit firm” and developing indigenous women entrepreneurs which was a stimuli for writing the case. Online surveys of the PULA verified sellers were conducted to identify their rationale of starting the venture and also their experiences on the PULA platform.

March 2019, the core committee of PULA Exclusives Pvt. Ltd. (the firm) engineered a dialogue. They wanted to expand a new horizon with its mission of “For Benefit”. The firm is an offshoot of PULA, a virtual women’s community in Facebook.

The case may be used for postgraduate students pursuing entrepreneurship and management courses. The case can be used for teaching executive level programs of business strategy and digital media. The case applies to the use of digital media in businesses, social entrepreneurship and innovation strategies.

This case is about “Red”, a cross-border e-commerce platform developed from a community which was built to share overseas shopping experience. With sharp insights into the consumption behavior of urban white-collar women and riding on its community e-commerce advantage, “Red”, a cross-border e-commerce startup, pulled in three rounds of financing within just 16 months regardless of increasingly competitive market. On the other hand, well-established platforms such as T-mall International and Joybuy also stepped in, and their involvement will also speed up the industry integration and usher in a reshuffling period. Confronted with the “price war” started by those e-commerce giants, in what ways can “Red” adjust its shopping experience and after-sales services to enhance the brand value and sharpen its edge?

Israeli entrepreneur and inventor Dov Moran envisioned the creation of a mobile device that was a small, stand-alone, fully functional mobile phone that could be slipped into a variety of enclosures, or “jackets,” that would provide added functionality and better reflect the personalities of its users. As the development of the Modu phone began to take shape, Moran and his team decided that to ensure the success of the new phone's much anticipated launch, Modu would develop and market the accessory jackets itself. The question now was which of the eight jackets to develop and what factors should be considered in making that decision. The case is about how to estimate optimal product-line extensions after accounting for experience curve and cannibalization effects of products that share similar features, cost, and price. This will require quantitative analysis that estimates the effect of the experience curve and cannibalization on cost, revenues, and ultimately, profit. The issue is how to optimize profits by choosing an ideal set of products.

• Understand the importance of quantitative analysis in launching product-line extensions while taking into account demand and cost side interactions

• Combine both qualitative and quantitative data in choosing a targeted segment

• Reflect on the strategic and financial considerations in choosing a segment for a new technology product

• Evaluate the implications of experience curve and cannibalization when introducing product-line extensions and their impact on the decision under consideration

Understand the importance of quantitative analysis in launching product-line extensions while taking into account demand and cost side interactions

Combine both qualitative and quantitative data in choosing a targeted segment

Reflect on the strategic and financial considerations in choosing a segment for a new technology product

Evaluate the implications of experience curve and cannibalization when introducing product-line extensions and their impact on the decision under consideration

The learning outcomes of this case study are to understand the business-to-business (B2B) consumer outlook on mental health care in emerging markets; analyse the challenges faced in creating a need for mental health care in Indian workplaces; explore the business attractiveness of the B2B model and understand the business potential of the B2B segment at heyy,; and contemplate different innovative strategies that could change consumer mindset on mental health care in emerging markets.

Ankit, the founder and CEO of heyy, was facing a conundrum. “heyy,” was built on normalizing mental well-being at workplaces. His mental health-care app heyy, had crossed 50,000 subscribers within a few months of launch. The mobile app was designed to spread mental health awareness and provide various levels of mental well-being interventions. Business-to-consumer and B2B customer segmentation had been targeted by this start-up. The B2B space consisted of employees working with partner organizations. The adoption rates of employees using the features of heyy, declined after the initial app download. The employees had yet to fully become acclimatized to the features of heyy,. Exploring the business potential and investigating the business attractiveness of the B2B segment were the focus of the present study. Ankit contemplated various strategies he could adopt to increase user adoption of “heyy,” services by employees in his partner organizations. The case study strives to address the question – “What are the risks faced by organizations when entering the mental health-care industry in emerging markets like India, where mental health care is still not openly discussed?”

This case study is designed to be taught as part of the “entrepreneurship development” and “strategic management” courses for undergraduates, postgraduates and students of executive programmes in management. Students need to be aware of basic strategic management concepts such as BCG matrix, SWOT analysis and business canvas before working on this case study, so they could dissect the case from multiple perspectives to get a comprehensive outlook on the case.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

After working through the case and the assignment questions, students will be able to understand the current practices and importance of influencer marketing strategies within overall marketing strategies; appreciate both the debate and dissonance that surround influencer performance measures; outline the key elements of Qoruz.com’s investments and efforts that brought them success; understand the strategic intent and justify the logic of operationalisation of Qoruz.com by creating two different SBUs after they launched a vastly improved tech platform; and evaluate potential strategies that Qoruz.com could use to move ahead and cement its supremacy in the influencer marketing space.

Interest in influencer marketing which found many takers during the pandemic was expected to intensify and form the core of many brand strategies. Coupled with this heightened interest and increased budget overlay, demands from brands and agencies alike for clearer ROI linkages and KPIs that have better correlation with business goals, have gained momentum. Qoruz, an early entrant in the influencer marketing space in India, attributed their success to their focus on product innovation and service quality. From a predominantly narrow service offering providing analytics that facilitated decision-making for influencer marketing campaigns, their recently launched multi-feature platform enabled them to expand their services and consolidate their position. However, today, in an increasing volatile market, drawn by the high growth trajectory of the influencer marketing space, many players had jumped in and tried to introduce technology-based platforms with almost similar features while aggressively playing the price card. With the monetary and economic conditions under pressure and constantly changing demands of clients, Qoruz.com found itself faced with a dilemma to protect their first mover advantage. The co-founders of Qoruz realised that to give confidence to their loyal client base, and really cement their leadership, they would need to urgently take stock and relook at their strategy afresh relying on their deep experience of the industry, loyalty of their customers and their tech-centric DNA to build a holistic and ambitious strategy.

This case is designed for use by graduate and under-graduate level students in marketing management and strategic management courses.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The purpose of this study is to describe how Zoom became the tope video conferencing service across the globe.

This case was developed from secondary sources including industry reports, academic, newspaper, periodical sources, company annual reports, social media sites and company websites. This case has been classroom tested with undergraduates in a strategic management course as a capstone course.

The case study describes the rapid growth of Zoom Communications Inc., a San Jose based publicly traded video conferencing company founded in 2011 by Eric Yuan. It illustrates the competition in the online meeting solutions industry in late 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown. To explain how Zoom became the top video conferencing service across the globe, the case highlights the attractiveness of the market and the competitive advantage of Zoom over its rivals. Students can evaluate the internal capabilities and competencies of Zoom as well as identify key challenges in the external environment for sustaining Zoom’s competitive advantage.

This case study is suitable for strategic management classes for upper-level undergraduates and at the graduate level for MBA and/or master students. It prepares students to discuss core concepts in strategy, such as competitive strategy and competitive forces that shape strategy.