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This case study focuses on basic business approaches in the decision-making by considering owners and stakeholders’ perspective in highlighting the related issues in customer service, marketing (marketing mix and product mix), strategy, business management and operational management of the sport business in the private sector of Abu Dhabi. At the end of this exercise, students should have a clear consideration of the following: understanding of the equestrian business products and services elements, description of the marketing mix the equestrian business products and services elements, definition of the product mix approach of the marketing mix in equestrian business management, distinguishing needs of product mix alternative decisions approach in equestrian business management in the private sector and labeling of two main customer services based issues and propose a solution using product mix alternatives approaches (expand/eliminate).

Mandara Equestrian Club (MEC) was the culmination of a dream for Faysal Urfali, a Lebanese entrepreneur, and his wife, who lived in (and loved) United Arab Emirates (UAE) for more than 20 years ago. The dream started in 2012, when the Urfali family was vacationing in Spain. They fell in love with the Arabian breed of horses, famous for their wide, flat forehead, soulful eyes, broad muzzle, erect ears, slender neck and flowing, shining mane. Arabian horses are also renowned for their beauty, loyalty, strength and intelligence. Arabian horses are an intrinsic part of Arabian tradition and heritage, always described in Arabic literature as a sign of pride, courage and dignity, in recitation legends of wars. The Urafalis did not have experience with horses during that period, but that did not stop them from starting an equine business in the UAE, specifically in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Urfali started MEC in Al Rahba City, a small town in the north site of Abu Dhabi, the Capital of UAE. At its inception in 2013, MEC was open only for private use. In 2014, Urfali decided to open the club to the public due to high demand from visitors and horses’ lovers who were visiting the place to see the horses and request horse rides. MEC carries forward Urfali’s passion for Arabian horses, as it specializes in the care and training of show horses. MEC also offers other equine activities and services for both horse owners and horseback riders. In early 2019, Urfali conducted a meeting to assess MEC’s financial statements and discuss daily business operations. The meeting determined that the club was facing several business challenges to address which, it needs some substantial changes in order to maintain its smooth-functioning. Challenges the club faced involved customer relationship management, customer attraction and skill shortages in the industry. Urfali understood that focusing on MEC as a business operation means raising the marker of success to more than just the fulfillment of a dream. Will MEC be able to keep its focus with such changes?

Undergraduate students majoring in Business Management, Marketing and Strategic Management.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy

Leraning outcomes are as follows: demonstrating how companies in the Indian market are using competitive advertising; giving participants an overview of the regulatory framework for advertising in India; highlighting the complexities arising out of the multiplicity of advertising regulations and institutions in India; appreciating the legal and ethical perspectives of advertisements and self-regulation; and evaluating the stance taken by both the parties in this particular case to develop multi-stakeholder perspective.

A recent advertisement by international conglomerate Hindustan Unilever Limited was severely criticized for insulting Indian values by Baba Ramdev, promoter of India's largest Ayurvedic Company selling Indian indigenous and natural alternate medicinal products. It was in a complete reversal of the scenario between 2015 and 2018 when other Indian consumer goods companies complained against advertisements released by Patanjali. Indian fast moving consumer goods sector is witnessing a trend of competitive advertising in which companies are downplaying and criticizing the competitors. Though quite old, this trend caught momentum when Patanjali Ayurved Limited, a new player in the market, started advertising aggressively in 2015–2016. It resulted in many complaints by the aggrieved parties in the industry bodies and different courts of law in India. A part of the confusion comes from the diversity of advertising regulations across different Indian platforms and the absence of a clearly defined institutional framework for resolving such disputes. Consequently, most such disputes land up in the court of law in India. The case study builds an understanding of the legal framework within which companies are governed for brand promotions and creates a contextual ethical dilemma to drive the discourse on advertising through self-regulation in India.

This case is meant to benefit students pursuing a graduate or upper-level undergraduate degree in management or law/business law.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

After reading the case, the students shall be able to explain the concept of insider trading and differentiate between illegal insider trading and legal insider trading, business ethics, financial institutions, financial markets and accounting; to interpret the legal framework for prevention of insider trading; to identify the role and significance of the market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in detecting financial crimes such as insider trading; to demonstrate the association between information, stock trading and stock prices within the framework of efficient markets; and to appraise the ethical dilemma in a family-owned firm, where the family members of the promoter group are alleged to have indulged in a financial crime.

The case revolves around allegations of insider trading against the promoter and the promoter group of the family owned and controlled firm, Lux Industries Limited. On January 24, 2022, the SEBI, the regulator of securities markets in India, accused Udit Todi, the Executive Director of Lux Industries Limited, of engaging in insider trading through a chain of 14 connected parties. Udit Todi was also the son of the Managing Director, Pradip Kumar Todi, and the nephew of the Executive Chairman, Ashok Kumar Todi. In its interim order, SEBI alleged a breach of insider trading regulations by a group of 14 connected entities that had built up long positions starting from May 21, 2021, before the quarterly financial results (Q4) and the annual results of the financial year (FY) 2021 in the equity shares of Lux Industries Limited, with its registered office in Kolkata, India, were announced. Subsequently, they squared off the long positions to make a profit of ₹29.43m. To restore the confidence of the investors, the Executive Chairman, Ashok Kumar Todi, needed to review the matter expeditiously and impartially. Taking into consideration the family ties of the accused, it was not going to be an easy task, yet, it had to be done. The case highlights the role of the regulator, SEBI, in unearthing financial frauds such as insider trading in an emerging market such as India.

Postgraduate programs in management, Executive education programs.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 1: Accounting and Finance

Business environment, international business management.

The case is suitable for students of the business environment, and of international business management.

The case revolves around the reaction of the Finance Ministry of India on Vodafone's tax case and its implications on FDI and the foreign investors who are investing in India. The core issue is the political risk(s) faced by Vodafone even after having won the tax case in the Supreme Court, the highest judiciary body in India. The Government of India has amended the law to bring the tax into retrospective mode and it signifies the impact of political decisions on business organizations.

The case can aid in understanding the effects of changes in a political system and legal framework on the efficacy of business entities; and the importance of, and intricacies involved in, the formulation of political risk mitigating strategies while entering into new markets. The key learning outcomes are: understanding various types of political risks faced by multinationals; assessing the political risks involved in foreign investments; and appreciating the possible mitigating strategies to handle such risks.

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

Strategy/entrepreneurship/international marketing.

This case is recommended for use in courses on strategy, entrepreneurship, international marketing and joint venture for PGDM and Executive programmes.

International Football Academy (IFA), a leading football development firm, is gearing up to expand its operations to a new geographic market, India. The purpose is to further its international growth plans by establishing a lasting presence in developing markets. Their previous stints in China and Indonesia met with huge success. However, there was a stark difference between those geographies and the Indian market, in terms of political system, economic infrastructure, social framework, cultural practices, technological advancements, legal regulations, etc. In a country where 47 per cent of the 1.2 billion population considered themselves football fans (Nielson survey, 2010), it was ironical that the Indian football market remained one of the most untapped and fragmented of its kind. The question for IFA was: “Would India be another feather in our hat?”

The case highlights the key factors facing firms, when expanding into emerging markets. The students are expected to think through the various dimensions to decision-making, which includes Why (expand), Where (which market), When (right time), What (thrust of strategy) and Who (partners). It also compels the students to appreciate the various challenges involved in exporting a product, which is as unique as “football training”.

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

Following successful discussion of this case, students should be able to:▪ understand and apply the principles of effectuation;▪ understand the difficulty of obtaining traditional financing in Latin America;▪ determine the importance of matching new hire and company values, particularly in a small business; and▪ analyze some of the unique problems facing a business at the point of scaling up and provide suggestions for how the protagonist could address those problems.

This case provides an introduction to the Fintech industry in South and Central America, fruitfully combining tenets of the lean startup methodology, effectual principles of entrepreneurship and a novel method of managing personal finances via decentralized vehicles provided through fintech. In addition, Kuiki Credit and its use of fintech represent a compelling example of industry disruption by an entrepreneurial firm. Owing to its unique location, this case provides students with a lens into a part of the world rife with bureaucracy and, in some cases, corruption. The disruption is thus unique in that not only does one view traditional disruption of industry dynamics, but also government policy and cultural mores. This is evinced within the body of the case through direct quotes from founder Ernesto Leal and Eduardo Morán, one of the company’s first employees. This information highlights the market Kuiki Credit pursued, one underserved by traditional financing and thus lacking access to credit.Consistent with effectual entrepreneurship principles, Ernesto Leal, the main protagonist and a Nicaraguan entrepreneur, drew upon his significant corporate experience in financial institutions and as a franchise owner to create a new venture. Kuiki Credit is designed to increase access to capital and disseminate fintech throughout Central and South America, and in particular first in Costa Rica and later in Nicaragua. The case is set in 2018, when Leal faces a scaling issue. Specifically, he wonders how to maintain an entrepreneurial company with high levels of innovation and a culture of continuous improvement despite the need to grow. Near the end of the case, some specific issues relative to culture are briefly reviewed in relation to the sales department and Leal feeling the need to restructure the company, while being encouraged by the board to hit breakeven targets for three consecutive months prior to expanding to new markets.

This case most appropriately lends itself to discussions in entrepreneurship at the junior or senior undergraduate level. To engage in this case most productively, students should have a basic understanding of entrepreneurship, the equivalent of two to three weeks into the semester.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS:3: Entrepreneurship.

As the regulatory system begins to recognize the role of social responsibility reporting, reliable disclosure measures will be required. Issues of transparency, reliability and assurance are likely to arise as securities regulators consider whether and how to require disclosure of non-financial information. Various reporting models are presented in the case to illustrate different ways that these issues can be addressed by privately held and publicly traded corporations.

The case uses the company, Etsy, Inc., which has established itself as a publicly traded, socially responsible corporation. Etsy must decide whether it will re-incorporate as a benefit corporation in order to maintain its B Lab certification. This decision introduces students to the various measures of corporate social responsibility, the interests of the stakeholders of a corporation and the regulatory environment in which socially responsible, publicly traded corporations operate. The case uses only publicly available information.

This teaching case addresses the decision faced by Etsy, Inc. when it became a publicly traded corporation. In order to maintain its certification as a socially responsible corporation by B Lab, it would have to re-incorporate as a Delaware Benefit Corporation. In making this decision, the company had to consider various measures used for corporate social responsibility reporting and transparency and how these might affect Etsy’s stakeholders.

Undergraduate or masters level case that could be used in a business law, commercial law, legal environment or auditing course.

Enterprise, Strategy.

This case study is about a used car retailer in an African country, specifically Ghana. Lessons drawn from the case could be applied in societies which are highly socialised; not individualistic.

Ghana is one of the first African countries to be hooked up to the internet. However, there has been a very slow uptake of “traditional” e-commerce applications due to a number of critical factors including a legal framework, and electronic payment system. Despite these challenges, some firms are making strides to use the power of the internet to enhance their operations. For example, the case firm uses social relationships to sell its first stock of cars and to re-design its website. Other findings and lessons from this case could be applied to similar contexts.

An understanding of how society influences business operations, especially in an African or Ghanaian context. Learners can also draw lessons that could be applicable to enhancing and growing the e-commerce capabilities of offline firms.

Teaching notes.

This exercise describes the competitive dynamics situation faced by two large companies, Colgate – Palmolive and Proctor and Gamble in oral care business. Both of them introduced a tooth whitening solutions and anticipated to sustain their competitive lead. P&G introduced its solution in August 2000 and Colgate followed it in September 2002. This was followed by another introduction by Colgate April 2003. The intensified the competitive battle between the two companies. The participants are required to get into the shoes of either Colgate or P&G to think through a competitive strategy. The case provides information on the estimated demand for tooth whitening solutions, gains and losses of the two companies, R&D expenditure, players in the oral hygiene market and legal framework for complaining to facilitate the analysis of the situation and decision making by the participants. The case can be used in modules on competitive strategy, innovation, and economics of strategy.

Gaining skills in analyzing context during a crisis situation, using a political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental framework understanding strategic leadership engagement with stakeholders to cultivate an environment for emergent change gaining skills in drawing up a strategic communications plan.

On 15 May 2020, Alec Moemi, Director-General of the South African Government’s Department of Transport (DoT), contemplates how his department can use the opportunity that COVID-19 presents to transform the transport system and to maintain relationships with business and the taxi industry beyond COVID-19? The nation was just reeling from a first: the President announced a “lockdown” which meant that all economic activity except “essential services” could operate. Life almost ground to halt and South Africans faced a new reality. No movement out of your property unless it was a medical emergency or if you needed to buy food. The minibus taxi, an economic enabler to millions of South Africans also had to stop operating. The South African DoT had a mammoth task of communicating to a range of stakeholders. However, the most sensitive being the minibus taxi owners, drivers and their related associations. How would they accept the news that they will not have a livelihood for the next few weeks or perhaps even months? Given the nature of industrial shift patterns and need for a more flexible transport system for workers, some organisation’s such as Nestlé contracted private transport services to ensure their staff travelled to work safely. Nestlé also had their own compulsory sanitizing protocols in place to support private transporters.

Postgraduate programmes, including MBA, MPhil Corporate Strategy and Masters’ Public Administration and Executive Education Programmes.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 7 Management Science.