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Case study
Publication date: 29 October 2021

Sarah Boyd and Linda Ronnie

This case is particularly applicable for use in courses on entrepreneurship, people management, and business strategy. It is intended to give students an overview of a succession…

Abstract

Subject area

This case is particularly applicable for use in courses on entrepreneurship, people management, and business strategy. It is intended to give students an overview of a succession planning strategy, and provide insight into the particular challenges facing founders of small businesses as they identify and prepare a successor for the most senior management role. Given the position of Closed Loop as an early mover technology firm in the insurance industry, this case also explores the strategic business considerations. The case therefore offers students detailed, authentic, and practical lessons on leadership through the personal experiences of a founder-CEO in a high performing organisation.

Subject level/applicability

This case is appropriate for students enrolled in postgraduate programmes such as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Executive Education programmes. Although the case learnings are transferrable to more general leadership and change management studies, this case will be particularly useful to students with interests in entrepreneurship, leadership in tech startups, and succession planning.

Case overview

This case tells the story of a small business’ succession plan journey in two parts. Closed Loop is a small insurance software company that is transitioning from a founder-run startup to manager-run company. Case A follows the 55-year-old founder Alex Martin as he performs a measured succession planning analysis that eventually leads him to promote from within the company. Neevan Chattry is the 33-year-old head of business development who has been with the company for ten years and shows promise as a rising leader. Over the course of 18 months, Alex and Neevan embark on a structured preparation and handover process. The case ends in June 2015 with Neevan taking over as CEO and Alex stepping into the role of board chairperson. Case B picks up two years later when Neevan unexpectedly announces that he is resigning as CEO, leaving Closed Loop in a difficult position. In this case, Alex confronts the mistakes he made over the last three years, both during succession planning and Neevan’s tenure as CEO, as well as how digital disruption in the insurance industry affected the business strategy over this period. The case ends with Alex resuming the role of CEO to lead Closed Loop in a reinvention process. Students are left to analyse the decisions taken by the different leaders and how Closed Loop will fair in the future under Alex’s leadership.

Expected learning outcomes

Identify the key components of a strong succession plan, including a careful selection process, mentorship of the successor, communication of the change to internal and external stakeholders, and the withdrawal of the outgoing leader; explore the organisational transitions that companies naturally undergo as they grow and enter different phases of operation and the implications of that change for leadership; discuss the compatibility of different leadership traits, styles, and mindsets with the strategic objectives of the company at different points in time; and provide suggestions and recommendations to owners contemplating succession planning in their organisations.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 6: Human Resource Management.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 20 January 2017

Gregory White, Jeff Borden and Scott T. Whitaker

Jim Reynolds Jr. founded Loop Capital in 1997 as an investment bank specializing in bond sales for municipalities. Ten years later, with thirteen offices and almost 100 employees…

Abstract

Jim Reynolds Jr. founded Loop Capital in 1997 as an investment bank specializing in bond sales for municipalities. Ten years later, with thirteen offices and almost 100 employees, Loop Capital was a national company and had brokered more than $800 billion of underwritings in equity, tax-exempt, and taxable fixed income markets. In the process of building its municipal finance and equity trading businesses, Loop Capital had developed close relationships with a number of government officials, large institutional money managers, and corporate executives. These customers began asking Loop Capital for help with other financial services, leading the firm to build corporate finance, tax-exempt, and taxable fixed-income platforms so it could offer a wider array of investment services. Municipal and corporate finance as well as equity, taxable, and tax-exempt trading were generating positive cash flow. In a field where failures were frequent, Loop Capital was thriving, and Reynolds saw great but untapped potential in the company's future. Over the past several years, Loop Capital had served as financial advisor to several municipalities that wanted to lease or sell public assets such as airports, toll roads, and seaports. Now he confronted several intriguing questions: Should he launch a $700 million infrastructure fund to invest in the types of deals the firm had helped structure? Did it make sense to invest in order to staff, market, and support the start-up of this new fund? If the fund was launched, should Loop Capital commit to the 1% investment likely to be required as the fund's general partner?

Learn how to start a new financial services firm/investment bank venture Learn how an investment banking firm becomes successful at doing a few things well Assess risks of expanding into a new line of business with a different business model Examine differences between investment banking and fund management, and between high-growth entrepreneurship and lifestyle entrepreneurship Examine the significance, if any, of being a minority entrepreneur

Details

Kellogg School of Management Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2474-6568
Published by: Kellogg School of Management

Case study
Publication date: 26 February 2024

Case Center

This case reviews the development of Dianping. After seeing Zagat's unique business model in the United States, founder Zhang Tao found that he could bring it to China and bring…

Abstract

This case reviews the development of Dianping. After seeing Zagat's unique business model in the United States, founder Zhang Tao found that he could bring it to China and bring about local innovation. At the beginning of its establishment, the collection and promotion of comment content was the major challenge for Dianping. At the same time, Dianping faced legal issues. To solve these problems, the review mechanism of Dianping was designed to a certain extent to ensure the fairness of the review. With the advent of the mobile Internet era, Dianping began to develop a new business model. Relying on its high-quality “word-of-mouth” content and mass basis, Dianping launched group buying, online restaurant ordering, and other businesses. Dianping has always been open to strategic partners. Since 2015, Dianping has undergone historical changes, merging with Meituan. Since then, Dianping has continuously adjusted its business and organizational structure to maintain its competitiveness. Gradually, Dianping has changed from an independent business entity into a business unit of Meituan.

Details

FUDAN, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2632-7635

Case study
Publication date: 20 October 2017

Rajeev A., Sandeep Sivakumar and Gopalakrishnan Narayanamurthy

The case specifically discusses the role of stakeholders and non-market forces and how they can potentially influence the strategic choices of firms. Participants need to have…

Abstract

Subject area

The case specifically discusses the role of stakeholders and non-market forces and how they can potentially influence the strategic choices of firms. Participants need to have some basic understanding of non-market forces, and stakeholder theory. The case is suitable for courses on sustainable supply chain management, closed loop supply chain management, reverse logistics, green business, environmental management, strategic management and business in emerging economies.

Study level/applicability

The target audiences for the case are bachelor and first-year MBA students and trainees who are interested in learning the relevance of non-market forces in sustainable growth of an industry and the importance of stakeholder management in the smooth conduct of business.

Case overview

The case study details how the plastic industry in Kerala faces a non-market threat and how it affects the progress of the industry by using the example of Ashiyana Pipe. Though plastic is a unique material by virtue of its reusability and non-perishable characteristics, it has invited a lot of criticism, as there is a wide spread perception regarding its detrimental impact on the environment (such as choking drains, preventing the degradation of solid waste because of its impermeability, etc.). But the reason for experiencing the detrimental impact of plastic can also be attributed to the inability of the supply chain of the plastic industry to reach a closed-loop status, especially in developing countries such as India, as all categories of post-consumer plastic are not reaching recycling plants. Lack of awareness, lack of community participation in proper segregation and aggregation at the source, absence of incentive systems, weak regulations and poor monitoring are discussed as the common barriers hindering the achievement of closed loop status of plastic supply chain. Detailing the barriers, the case study explains the failure of informal and formal recycling markets in Kerala. Finally, the case study proposes a model with involvement of all the key stakeholders to reposition the hate toward plastic into love through recycling initiatives.

Expected learning outcomes

Expected learning outcomes of the case are listed below: illustrate the importance of stakeholder involvement in achieving a sustainable business and to stress the importance of a decentralized approach. Illustrate the relevance of non-market forces in sustainable growth of an industry that has significant impact on the surrounding environment and society. Critically analyze the existing business models (based on market mechanism) and suggest possible improvements and alternatives. Understand the challenges that will be faced while implementing an inclusive model with involvement of all stakeholders to reduce the negative impact of non-market forces.

Supplementary materials

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

Subject code

CSS 11: Strategy.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

Keywords

Abstract

Subject area

Strategic marketing/marketing management.

Study level/applicability

Undergraduate and post graduate courses in the principles of marketing, strategic marketing, strategic management, services marketing and hospitability management.

Case overview

This case focuses on the critical success factors of “Scandic” hotel chain by highlighting its road to becoming the leading hotel chain in the Baltic region. This case covers a wide range of situations in which strategic marketing decisions were made, for example, the Scandic Sustainability Fund, supporting initiatives to promote sustainable social development. Special attention is devoted to how the case company's business philosophy is implemented to identify and differentiate its customers, in order to sustain a customer centric strategy and develop long lasting relationships.

Expected learning outcomes

Following analysis of the case students should be able to: first, understand how marketing strategies can be utilized to effectively differentiate organizations from their competitors by capitalising on distinctive strengths, leading to the delivery of better value to stakeholders; second, understand how marketing strategy deals with the interplay of “the strategic three Cs” (customer, competition and corporation) in better satisfying customer needs; third, appreciate how companies operate within a given environment and the benefits of developing an environmental strategy.

Supplementary materials

Teaching note including lecture plan.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 27 February 2024

Xiangfeng Chen, Chuanjun Liu and Zhaolong Yang

In China, supply chain finance (SCF) has gradually emerged as a new service for the retail industry. This case systematically discusses how JD conducts product design and risk…

Abstract

In China, supply chain finance (SCF) has gradually emerged as a new service for the retail industry. This case systematically discusses how JD conducts product design and risk control of supply chain finance and related financial services, and analyze the impact of supply chain finance on JD's retail operations. The case also analyzes the relationship between JD supply chain finance and traditional financial institutions, and explore the future development of retail supply chain finance.

Details

FUDAN, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2632-7635

Case study
Publication date: 13 June 2016

Peter Moricz and Gyorgy Drotos

Emerging markets, business models, information technology.

Abstract

Subject area

Emerging markets, business models, information technology.

Study level/applicability

This case is designed for MBA groups or students from MSc in Management, International Business, Logistics, Information Systems or Environmental Management programs. It can be covered in courses on Strategy, Process Management, International Business, Process Management, Supply Chain Management and Managing Information Systems.

Case overview

Returpack is a Hungarian company dealing with reverse vending machines (RVMs) that collect aluminum beverage cans, even in crushed form, based on a worldwide technology innovation. All RVMs are online and monitored and managed remotely. RVMs are mainly “fed” by the poorest, often homeless people, who are still motivated by the extremely low (less than 1 euro cent for a can) incentive that comes from the selling of the aluminum waste to recycling smelters. Based on the success of the business model in Hungary, projects were planned in the USA, Austria, Romania, and Turkey in 2013. However, beyond economic, legal and cultural challenges, a dramatic decline in the global aluminum waste prices early in 2014 questioned the return on investment at these projects. Advancements in the material-recognition technologies at waste sorting plants raise further questions.

Expected learning outcomes

Evaluating the business model innovation in the case by combining the different approaches of the business model concept with the knowledge on the recycling industry, the crowdsourcing method and the Internet of Things. Based upon this, students may identify and evaluate options for implementing the business model in and adapting to new markets, also by simulating these changes in a formal (numerical) business model.

Supplementary materials

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

Subject codes

Strategy.

Subject code

CSS 11: Strategy

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 1 December 2009

Devi Akella

Nina, a 30-year old Asian Indian female, joined Morris University in the fall 2006 semester after completing her doctorate. She was an instructor and course designer at this…

Abstract

Nina, a 30-year old Asian Indian female, joined Morris University in the fall 2006 semester after completing her doctorate. She was an instructor and course designer at this historical black institution in a rural town in the southern part of the US. Ninety percent of the students and staff of Morris University (MU) were African-American. MU was committed to the objective of educating African-American youth and the concept of “students first” was one of its core institutional values. Nina's experience teaching an organizational learning course was very unpleasant. Her student evaluations were poor with harsh comments about her and the course. Nina was asked by the department head to prepare a teaching improvement plan for herself.

Details

The CASE Journal, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 1544-9106

Case study
Publication date: 12 January 2022

Jaco Maritz and Mark Peters

The teaching objectives of the case are as follows: to develop an understanding of the scope and complexity of strategy and marketing; to examine what is meant by purpose…

Abstract

Learning outcomes

The teaching objectives of the case are as follows: to develop an understanding of the scope and complexity of strategy and marketing; to examine what is meant by purpose, direction, objectives and consider how these might be set and used; to help students think and act in a strategic way; to give faculty the opportunity to illustrate the strategist’s and marketer’s toolbox, namely, tools and frameworks, such as Porters 5 Forces – The attractiveness of the industry, Porter’s Generic Marketing Strategies, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats analysis, the 4P’s – with a focus on product and distribution. The case is intended for use in MBA and Executive education courses in strategy, marketing and leadership. The case offers relevant experiences and instructive lessons in formulating and implementing business strategies. The case highlights the importance of contextual leadership intelligence and competence in enabling entrepreneurial business activities.

Case overview/synopsis

Tomato Jos (Nigeria) is a large tomato processing business in Kaduna, Nigeria. Nigeria is the second-largest producer of tomatoes in Africa, with Egypt as the largest. The country ranks 14th overall as a world producer. In Africa, and specifically Nigeria, there is a strong push to support small-scale farmers as a source of employment creation, as well as meeting the needs of food security. The CEO, Mira Mehata, is an ex-pat graduate from the USA with strong Agri sector experience. The business has received extensive support from the Kaduna Government as the business has secondary objectives to assist small-scale farmers in the region. Farmers need consistent off takers and reasonable set prices to see a return on their investment and Tomato Jos plays that role of being the middle-man. This results in less wasted produce – the bane of farmers globally. The price for fresh tomatoes is about three times that of processed tomatoes IE in paste or sauce – so that is an added challenge for farmers to see the value in processed tomatoes. The business currently has a 2% Market Share in Nigeria with a target of 10% over the next five years. The business so far has invested three billion Naira and plans a further five billion Naira over the next few years. The business is seen as a high-profile success story with a supportive eco-system with a push from both the Nigerian Government and some major private sector players example Dangote.

Complexity academic level

The case is intended for use in MBA and Executive education courses in Strategy, Marketing and Leadership.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CCS 11: Strategy.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 14 August 2019

Sarit Markovich, Oded Golan and Charlotte Snyder

In March 2017, Oded Golan sat in his technology startup's conference room with his co-founder, pondering the fate of their company, Start A Fire. In just four years, the two…

Abstract

In March 2017, Oded Golan sat in his technology startup's conference room with his co-founder, pondering the fate of their company, Start A Fire. In just four years, the two entrepreneurs had taken an idea that started in Golan's apartment in Tel Aviv and turned it into a company that had raised $3.5 million in venture capital funding and served more than 3,000 of the world's biggest brands using an innovative content distribution and social media management platform that enabled brands to improve communication and engagement with their followers

Details

Kellogg School of Management Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2474-6568
Published by: Kellogg School of Management

Keywords

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