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The new geopolitical context being created by the Ukraine–Russia war highlights the need for structured approaches to planning and implementing unhooking strategies and developing associated supply chain reconfigurations.

The authors have interviewed six supply chain executives to begin the investigation of the key supply chain risks and disruptions caused by the Ukraine–Russia war.

Initial corporate responses to the Ukraine–Russia conflict were significant, perhaps unprecedented. However, as institutional, corporate and consumer sentiment influence reconfiguration responses, the authors have identified three supply chain pathways that underpin unhooking actions.

The authors selected respondents from each different type of supply chain interaction with the conflict zone (inbound, outbound and within), covering both components/intermediate products and finished goods. Therefore the sample size was small and designed to fit in with the spirit of the pathway initiative.

The authors reinforce the key role of procurement and supply chain management in not just supply but also in downstream markets that can accelerate decoupling and mitigate the associated supply chain disruptions.

The authors observe that supply chains are increasingly being weaponized, as external institutional and consumer influences necessitate companies to unhook from conflict zones, countries, or regimes. They are becoming increasingly intertwined with foreign policy.

The novelty of the contribution to the associated discourse is the perspective that after decades of increasing globalization and geographic dispersion of supply chains, the unhooking effort is not limited to a firm and its internal operations but involves multiple stakeholders. For instance, the full extent of the complex linkages of supply chains, networks and relationships that touch conflict zone geographies must be considered, particularly those that are incompatible with the firm's values and aims, including those of their stakeholders.

The purpose of this paper is to use an eco-friendly service concept framework to demonstrate the effect of credible eco-certification signaling.

The authors examine a cross-sectional data set consisting of 2,481 hotel sites across the US. The authors measure the performance of the operations component of eco-friendly service by operations-driven resource efficiency (ODF), and the performance of the marketing component by customer-driven resource efficiency (CDF). A series of multivariate regressions compare these two resource efficiency measures between credibly eco-certified hotel sites and others.

The results indicate that credible eco-certifications achieve the signaling effect. Eco-certified hotels outperform others in both ODF and CDF measures; and eco-certified hotels still achieve higher CDF after controlling for ODF.

The findings suggest that eco-friendly service design requires not only eco-friendly operations but also a built-in credible signaling mechanism. This mechanism engages the customers in eco-friendly service coproduction and in doing so integrates the operations and marketing components of eco-friendly service strategy through eco-certifications.

This study is among the first to demonstrate empirically the signaling effect of credible eco-certifications in services. It increases understanding of eco-friendly service design and delivery by exploring the role of credible eco-certifications in linking customer benefits with the service organization's strategic intent.

The purpose of this study is to develop a performance measurement system of environmental sustainability in service settings and to empirically examine the relationship between the measured environmental sustainability and operating performance.

This study applies exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to a six‐year panel dataset of 984 US hotels to construct a two‐factor standardized measure of environmental sustainability. The authors then conduct a stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to investigate the relationship between the measured environmental sustainability and the operating performance frontier, considering the impact of operating structure.

Customer behavior and operational decisions are two key drivers of environmental sustainability. There is a positive link between environmental sustainability and operating performance. Operating structure has a significant impact on the operating performance. The performance frontier varies across market segment and location characteristics such as degree of urbanization and climate condition.

The findings indicate that service providers should actively involve customers, and manage both front‐office and back‐office operations in environmental sustainability initiatives. Operating structures that favor the alignment of multiple service supply chain partners' interests contribute positively to performance. The managers should be mindful of varying best‐in‐class performance due to operating unit characteristics such as market segment, and location characteristics.

This study is among the first attempts to develop a performance measurement system of environmental sustainability. The resulted standardized measure of environmental sustainability considers both the revenue and cost impacts in service operations. This research is among the first generation of papers that bring the unique characteristics of service operations, particularly service co‐production, into sustainability research.

Quality management among multiple business units of a large organization is often difficult if each unit is run independently in terms on their quality standards. In this case, participants will discuss how Bukhari Group of Companies should establish a common brand image through standardized quality. Participants should also understand that common brand image for diverse products does not mean identical level of rejection or customer complaints. It should be understood that different markets have different tolerance for product failures. The participants can chalk out the measures the protagonist of the case should be able to take to effectively steer the Bhukari Group to achieve profits and excellence.

The case study is designed to help students understand how the “growth at all costs” attitude can lead to compromised corporate governance in a start-up leading to disastrous implications for all the stakeholders. This case study aims to make students understand the components of the fraud triangle, the impact of financial fraud on various stakeholders, the role of venture capitalist (VC) investors and the importance of good corporate governance in start-ups. The case study presents an excellent opportunity for students to discuss the consequences of ignoring good governance in the pursuit of growth in a start-up. After analyzing the case study, the students shall be able to explain the concept of the fraud triangle and to be able to identify the motivation, opportunity and rationalization of financial irregularities in a start-up; analyze the impact of financial irregularities on various stakeholders; comprehend the business model of VCs and evaluate its influence on VC-funded start-ups; and appraise the importance of good corporate governance in start-ups.

The case study revolves around the confession of financial irregularities made by one of the cofounders of GoMechanic, a start-up headquartered in Gurugram, India. On January 18, 2023, Amit Bhasin confessed to financial irregularities in the company’s financial statements, leading to laying off 70% of the workforce of the company. GoMechanic had earlier raised close to US$62m [1] from maverick global investors including Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, Orios Venture Partners and Chiratae Ventures, and was negotiating to raise Series D financing from the Japanese multinational SoftBank with aspirations to be a unicorn (start-up with a valuation of over $1bn). The confession led to a debate about the consequences of the “growth at all cost” culture being followed by start-ups as well as VCs. GoMechanic was not an isolated instance of a lack of governance in the start-ups. The confession had consequences not only for the GoMechanic but for the entire start-up ecosystem of India, which was the third largest in the world. Bhasin stated that the founders take full responsibility for the situation, and they were working on a plan which was most viable under the circumstances. However, it was not going to be easy to regain the confidence of the investors.

The case study is best suited for senior undergraduate- and graduate-level business school students and in executive education programs in courses such as corporate governance and ethics, private equity and entrepreneurial finance.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 1: Accounting and finance