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The context of the case presents an account of how corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiated by Lawrence & Mayo (L&M), a company dealing in optical frames for 140 years, helped to build brand equity, image and identity, creating a strategic advantage against competition. The case had a deep-rooted theoretical association with a theory such as the triple bottom line theory (three Ps: profit, people and planet) on CSR. The case helps to understand and clarify the role of CSR in brand equity. It also gives an insight into the value and culture of L&M, and its impact on various stakeholders, namely, employees and customers.

This case is related to the CSR orientation of L&M and its impact on brand equity. As a brand, L&M is over 140 years old and has a dynamic and trending optics market in India. There is a dilemma in the company around the impact of CSR on brand equity, customer engagement and company goodwill. This case focuses on maintaining and improving brand equity, identity and image through CSR initiatives.

Undergraduate and postgraduate students, essential for students focusing on Marketing and CSR disciplines.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

Kevin McRider, the COO of a fledging research facility, needed to foster an environment where scientists explored the boundaries of the metals, chemicals, polymers and tools used to create innovating medical devices. The freshly-minted PhDs he hired were enthusiastic to design and conduct research projects that bridged their scientific disciplines, in a collaborative workplace, with time allocated to individual projects as well. Effectively managed, their research would help the parent corporation leapfrog over existing or near-future technology.

The problem for McRider was how to get Lintell to realize his vision of a collaborative organizational culture that promoted revolutionary scientific discoveries. His challenges included managerial behaviors that prohibited critical interaction and information sharing, as well as disruptive organizational dynamics he himself had set in motion including pressures to focus only on certain research goals and projects at the expense of creative exploration, and the violation of the psychological contracts McRider himself had created with the scientists during recruitment.

Aster Retail (AR) is the retail pharmacy division of the Aster Dr Moopen's Healthcare (ADMH) Group. The group delivers healthcare services across the Middle East, India and the Far East, with a portfolio of hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres and retail pharmacies. AR, under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jobilal Vavachan, is well known for its people-centric approach, unique culture and innovative human resource (HR) practices. AR has won multiple awards for HR practices, service quality and business performance. In a recent corporate restructuring (2018), “Aster Primary Care” was carved out by combining the group's Clinics and Retail businesses. This case discusses the evolution of AR's HR journey and the challenges associated with integrating culturally diverse businesses without compromising the values of ADMH and its promise, “We'll Treat You Well.”

Emerging Markets.

Undergraduate, Masters.

Pacari Chocolate is the flagship brand of SKS Farms CIA Ltda., located in Quito, Ecuador. The company specializes in organic chocolate production which it sells in Ecuador and exports to other Latin American, European and North American markets. The company began operation in 2002, founded by Carla Barbotó and her husband Santiago Peralta. Carla is the Director of SKS and Santiago is General Manager. The case is set just after Santiago negotiated a deal to supply Emirates Airlines with mini bars to be distributed to flight passengers. Santiago is excited about this new deal, which will provide a new revenue stream, enhance brand image and potentially create new customers. Carla and Santiago pursue excellence with their products, as evidenced by over 160 awards, many globally recognized. However, their mission is also very much social in that they seek to improve the lives of Andean farmers, indigenous peoples and broader Ecuadorean society. The principle author uses this case in a course on innovative approaches to engaging emerging market opportunities, in which shared (social + economic) value and the formation of strong national industries are key outcomes, to be addressed through complementary market and non-market entrepreneurship strategies.

Expected learning outcomes are as follows: to identify the contextual challenges faced by an emerging market firm, and explain what must be done to overcome them; to identify the role of a firm in developing a national competency in an agricultural product industry; to demonstrate the creation of “shared value” and examine how the social mission of a company can reinforce and sustain its economic value creating activities; and to generate and evaluate options for developing international markets when a firm has limited resources to invest in marketing activities.

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 3: Entrepreneurship.

The i-AM Tablet is an evolving gadget in a world of fast-paced technological change. Facing a new partnership with a major customer, the market for the i-AM is about to explode! This case explores the innovative concept of Supply Chain Resilience as the CEO of i-AM, Inc, develops a strategic plan for expansion. This case is based on theory and practices evolved at the Dow Chemical Company.

The expected learning outcomes are to understand the complexities involved in the integration of two carriers with different business strategies and approaches, the merger of two brands with distinct personas and identities and the confluence of two different cultures; figure out the strategic options in front of the Tata Group and how it can deal with various macro- and micro-level business challenges, defy the financial hiccups and manoeuvre the operational complexities to accomplish mission Vihaan.AI; and develop a pragmatic approach to macro and micro business environmental scanning for making strategic business decisions.

In November 2022, Tata Group, the salt to software conglomerate, announced the merger of Air India (AI) and Vistara. This would lead to the formation of the full-service airline under the brand name “Air India”. The obvious reason behind this was the higher recognition, salience and recall of the brand AI as compared with Vistara in the global market. The Tata Group envisaged the brand AI to be a significant international aviation player with the heritage, persona and ethos of the brand Vistara in the renewed manifestation of AI. To realise these goals, Tata Group laid down an ambitious plan called “Vihaan.AI”, which was aimed at capturing a domestic market share of 30% by 2027.

This case study can be taught as part of undergraduate- and postgraduate-level management programmes.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

This case is a sequel to the “IndiGrid: Creating India's First Power Transmission InvIT (A)” case. It describes the deal that would replace the trust's original sponsor, Sterlite Power, with a new set of KKR-led financial investors. It provides an opportunity to discuss the consequences of this change on the new investment manager's outlook for management and future acquisitions. The new investment manager, freed from the limiting interest of the original sponsor, had to search for investment opportunities from the perspective of incoming financial investors, which included the new sponsor. It also provides an opportunity to evaluate the trade-offs in investing in operational utility-scale renewable energy assets by the IndiGrid, which had so far only acquired operational transmission assets in its portfolio.

At the end of the case, a successful learner will be able to:▪ develop sound criteria to guide investors entering into hotel management agreements (HMAs);▪ reconcile principal and agent disputes through the lens of an agency framework; and▪ evaluate the impact of the work environment on employee and organisational outcomes.

Muyiwa, Chairman of Fara Ltd., signed a HMA with Aytello Hotel Group to operate his hotel in Nigeria, the Mélange Abuja. Aytello was an international hotel management company based in the USA. It was a renowned operator with several brands in its portfolio. The Mélange brand was contemporary, upscale and targeted young business guests with an appetite for adventure. It was the first Mélange to have opened in West Africa. A management agreement was signed in August 2016, which meant that Aytello was now responsible for operating the hotel on behalf of its Owner, Muyiwa. On his part, Muyiwa provided the funds needed to run the hotel profitably. However, soon after the opening, the operator and owner showed signs of conflict. Muyiwa began to distrust the operator and intervened directly in operations. The frequent clashes between Muyiwa and the operator soon led to an impasse that made productive dialogue difficult. As relationships soured, Muyiwa needed to make a decision soon. This case study is designed to teach agency relationships in organisational behaviour.

This case study is designed for business leaders on executive programmes and postgraduate students.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 12: Tourism and Hospitality.

Innovation, reverse innovation, frugal innovation and disruptive innovation.

Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Executive Education.

This case describes the strategy adopted by Cisco India to develop the Advanced Services Router 901 (“ASR 901”), which is a next-generation 3G/LTE capable mobile backhaul and carrier Ethernet platform that is deployed at a cellular tower site or business premise to backhaul voice and data traffic into the core of the network. This was part of a larger strategy by Cisco headquarters to understand what could be built in the developing markets for the developing markets, as opposed to products conceived with only developed markets as the focus. Within a time frame of a few months, a team formed from scratch developed the ASR 901, the next-generation global networking technology product that was developed completely – from conception to launch – at the Bangalore site in India. The ASR 901 successfully took on the challenge of delivering all the functionalities and features required by sophisticated telecom clients, while meeting the specific requirements of its customers from the developing markets. ASR 901 was undoubtedly a milestone in Cisco India's indigenous innovation initiatives, and this case discusses the many challenges that had been faced during the process and the actions that had been taken to achieve success during this process.

Through this case, students will understand the concepts of innovation, particularly reverse innovation, frugal innovation and disruptive innovation. They will learn how large organisations have managed to successfully innovate by creating small and independent teams within the organisation. Students would also have the opportunity to analyse and discuss whether the lessons learnt by Cisco, while progressing through the several stages of developing the ASR 901 product, could be applied to similar new initiatives.

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

In August 2005, an investment manager of a hedge fund is considering purchasing an equity interest in a start-up biotechnology firm, Arcadian Microarray Technologies, Inc. The asking price is $40 million for a 60 percent equity interest. Managers of the firm are optimistic about the firm's future performance; the investment manager is more conservative in his expectations. He calls on the help of an analyst with her firm to fashion a counterproposal to Arcadian's management. The tasks for the student are to apply the concept of terminal value, interpret completed analyses and data, and derive implications of different terminal-value assumptions in an effort to recommend a counterproposal. Very little numerical figure-work is required of the student.