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A 2010 MBA graduate explored her options for full-time employment. She found Ethical Business Company (EBC) and was instantly intrigued. Not only did the company consult on many of the ethical issues that were important to her, but it also had a flat organizational structure. Although it was a riskier choice than going with a larger and more established firm, she was excited about being able to use her skills in direct interaction with clients and senior executives, rather than having them hidden beneath multiple layers of hierarchy. But after three weeks at EBC, she wonders if a flat structure is right for all companies and all employees or if there are certain companies and people who fit better in the hierarchy more than others.

Management fundamentals, public management, social responsibility, strategy.

This case may be used in undergraduate courses on management fundamentals, public management, social responsibility, or strategy. Also, it is useful for strategy courses in MBA level and MA in development practice.

In 1997, Corporación Picacho con Futuro (Picacho), a second-tier community organization created with the support of Fundación Social (FS) at Medellín's Comuna 6, stands at a crossroads. After promoting community development in the area for over ten years, FS announces that it will be withdrawing its financial support in the following year. As a result, self-sustainability mechanisms and strategies must be sought and formulated in preparation for FS' departure. The Corporation's accomplishments over its collaboration with FS were noteworthy: 16 grassroots organizations working together in one of Medellín's most violent districts proved the social fabric woven by Picacho. The young people who engaged in its projects had become examples of cohesion and civil resistance to armed groups' and drug-dealing networks' recruitment efforts. The Corporation's communication projects safeguarded these youths, providing them with a means to escape conflict. Would that all go down the drain without FS' support?

The intended focus of the case is to help students to understand: third sector organizations' complexity and structure; the notion of social value (how this value is created and measured); sustainability challenges facing social ventures, and, particularly, how to manage tensions between social and economic value creation in social organizations; support ecosystems for social ventures, and management strategies associated with base-of-the-pyramid businesses, introducing the concept of inclusive business.

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This case applies a stakeholder analysis to examine the trade-offs between the firm’s strategy and the interests of different stakeholder groups. A PESTEL analysis supports an evaluation of the firm’s situation. Consumer behavior theories on psychological ownership and territoriality offer a framework for analyzing the conflicts that arise from the inhabitants’ protests.

This case relies on secondary sources, including news reports, social media sites and company websites. This case has been classroom tested with undergraduate students in a strategic management course in January 2019 at the University of Cologne, Germany.

In November 2016, Google announced its intentions to rent a building in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin to open a Google Campus, a business incubator for tech start-ups that would offer entrepreneurs support, workshops and access to networks. Following the announcement, dissatisfied local communities organized protests, in which leaders complained that “It is extremely violent and arrogant of this mega-corporation, whose business model is based on mass surveillance and which speculates like crazy, to set up shop here” (Business Times, 2018). Berlin’s Government supported the Google Campus plan; inhabitants rejected it with fierce and persistent protests. In face of this challenge, was it still possible for Google to continue its plans in Berlin?

This case qualifies for use in strategic management classes at undergraduate and MBA levels. Its focus aligns well with stakeholder analyses, PESTEL analyses and business strategy. In addition, for courses on organizational communications or public relations, this case provides a way to explore the relationship between Google and its stakeholders, especially protesters, in detail. Moreover, this case is well suited for consumer research and public policy courses (e.g., transformative consumer research) centered on discussions of territoriality.