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The research methodology used for this case study follows a comprehensive approach, combining both primary and secondary sources to ensure a well-rounded understanding of the subject. Primary sources include in-depth interviews with the founders of the company, providing valuable firsthand insights into their experiences and decision-making processes. Multiple company visits were also conducted, enabling a closer examination of the operational aspects and allowing for a more holistic perspective on the case. Complementing these primary sources, secondary sources were used, consisting of a diverse array of articles from leading journals, newspapers, magazines and other reputable sources. These secondary sources offer a broader context and perspective, enriching the case study’s content and ensuring a robust foundation for classroom discussion and analysis.

True Elements was a clean health food brand that emerged from the vision of Mr Sreejith Moolayil and co-founder, Mr Puru Gupta, who recognized the potential of promoting healthy foods in India inspired by the health-conscious lifestyle that they observed during their work tenure in China. The co-founders began their entrepreneurial journey in 2011 with “Healthy World” kiosks inside IT company campuses in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. However, early challenges surfaced as the target market narrowed. Undeterred, the founders sought innovative solutions to expand their reach and created “True Elements” – a brand that resonated with health-conscious consumers given its positioning as a clean and minimally processed food brand devoid of chemicals, preservatives and added sugars. True Elements excelled in the online market and catered to a few offline markets. To sustain and augment their success, the entrepreneurs sought a strategic partnership and succeeded with Marico Ltd. However, challenges remained on the horizon. One was the need to appeal to a new target group: the 25–45 age group with a lower monthly income of INR 30,000. Another pressing question was exploring the entry into the modern trade sector.

This case can be taught in undergraduate and post-graduate business management programs for marketing, strategy and innovation and entrepreneurship related courses. Apart from that, this case can also be discussed in incubator programs as cases highlighting entrepreneurship can facilitate discussions among early-stage founders, providing practical insights and lessons for their ventures. This case also can be discussed very effectively in management classes for working executives.

The readers will gain practical insights on the key attributes of a women entrepreneur, the role of innovative product design and usage, the core challenges and opportunities and the strategies to overcome entrepreneurial hurdles in the Moonj handicraft business.

The case is about “Rekhaakriti”, a handicraft artisan-oriented firm, which deals in the business of selling handicrafts items like traditional wooden toys, Moonj baskets, rice bowls and vermilion boxes, in both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) markets. Incorporated as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in the year 2014, “Rekhaakriti” was founded with the purpose of preserving, promoting and advancing the Moonj handicraft. Throughout its formative years, the organization experienced several organizational and operational challenges and got almost on the edge of collapse. The dilemma that surrounded Rekha Sinha, a key founding member of “Rekhaakriti”, was whether to carry or dissolve the organization. But, after much contemplation, she decided to convert the organization to a sole proprietorship firm in the year 2017. However, the restructuring decision was also proving to become less effective in attaining the objectives for which the firm got established. This led the owner, Rekha Sinha, to further dug deep to identify obstacles (both internal and external) that impede her firm’s expansion and growth. This case narrates Rekha Sinha's intricate entrepreneurial path in building an innovative handicraft organization and explains how she overcame the overall organizational and operational obstacles. The case provides the context for students to assume the role of protagonist and explore creative strategies for overcoming market obstacles through upskilling, design intervention and product innovation.

The case study is intended for the students pursuing their graduation and post-graduation courses in business, management studies, marketing and entrepreneurship. The case also provides suitable insights to management trainees and executives.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

This video case study exercise uses excerpts from the movie Patton and the HBO series Band of Brothers to juxtapose two military leaders (General George S. Patton and Lieutenant Dick Winters) as they face strikingly similar situations – each interacts with a subordinate experiencing “battle fatigue” (a.k.a. shell shock, PTSD) during the Second World War. Patton appears to lack emotional intelligence (EI) as he apparently loses control and strikes a soldier he believes is demonstrating cowardice. Winters, on the other hand, takes a much different approach when dealing with a subordinate in a similar situation. This case exercise is designed to augment assigned theoretical readings and increase student conceptual and practical insight into the construct of EI.

The analysis of film and biographies is based on historical figures.

The case is best used with undergraduates in management or leadership courses who may lack the contextual background to discuss certain aspects of leadership. Specifically, the case is designed to explore the elements that comprise EI as well as how EI may affect a leader’s effectiveness. The case study can also be used to challenge common conceptions of how EI may manifest and to discuss the potential “dark side” of EI.

This case study exercise centers on the concept of EI, with an emphasis on providing a robust understanding of the concept, including how context may come into play and how EI may have a “dark side.” The exercise could also be used to facilitate discussion of multiple topics normally covered in undergraduate management or leadership courses such as personality, perception and attribution, authentic leadership, toxic leadership, transformational leadership and motivation.

At the end of the session, learners are expected to be able to evaluate the detrimental impact of stress on blue-collar workers’ well-being in Attainer Engineering Sdn Bhd; develop effective strategies to improve stressful conditions experienced by blue-collar workers in Attainer Engineering Sdn Bhd; analyse and select appropriate approaches that can help maintain the motivation levels of blue-collar workers in Attainer Engineering Sdn Bhd; analyse the impact of Attainer Engineering Sdn Bhd’s extensive investment in training new blue-collar workers, alongside the subsequent high turnover rate, on the decline in sales and profit; identify the critical changes that the managing director should have implemented to prioritize employee retention among blue-collar workers at Attainer Engineering Sdn Bhd; discuss the strategic implementation of mechanization, specifically in the context of automating repetitive processes, as an innovative solution to address the challenges faced by the ship repair and maintenance service industry heavily reliant on blue-collar workers in emerging markets; cultivate thoughtful debates on ways to keep blue-collar workers in the shipping repair and maintenance industry, as well as active learner participation and group interaction; develop learners’ analytical and critical thinking skills by guiding them through the analysis of a real-world case study in the shipping repair and maintenance industry, concentrating on the difficulties and potential solutions for blue-collar worker retention; and equip learners with practical knowledge and insights on implementing effective human resources strategies for retaining blue-collar workers in the shipping repair and maintenance industry, emphasizing the conversion of theoretical concepts into workable solutions.

This teaching case study centres on Attainer Engineering Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian conglomerate that bestows ship repair and maintenance services. Regrettably, the corporation has been subjected to a decrease in profitability and productivity owing to its high turnover rate of blue-collar workers. The ship repair and maintenance service industry is accountable for delivering comprehensive repair and maintenance services to ships, including their engines, hulls, machinery and other related components. The fundamental aim of this case study is to ascertain the rudimentary factors that contribute to this issue and foster effective strategies to enhance the motivation and retention rate of blue-collar workers in the ship repair and maintenance service corporation, using appropriate management theories, models and concepts. The case study brings to light the importance of discovering the most suitable approaches to retain blue-collar workers in the corporation to improve its profitability and productivity in a highly competitive market. This teaching case study will be beneficial for students and practitioners who want to grasp the disputes associated with retaining blue-collar workers in the ship repair and maintenance service industry and learn how to apply management theories, models and concepts to address these disputes effectively.

This case discussion would be highly suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate university students who are pursuing their studies in management or related fields and are eager to delve into the nuances of the ship repair and maintenance service industry. Furthermore, trainers from both private and public agencies who are keen on gaining a deeper understanding of the issues pertaining to retaining blue-collar workers in this particular industry and devising result-oriented strategies to tackle these concerns would also find this case discussion immensely helpful.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 6: Human resource management.

The case will offer insight to the students regarding the idea generation and development of a viable sustainable venture. It will promote the understanding of students regarding SDGs and how SMEs can contribute towards their attainment. They will learn to develop the action plan for a green business venture and understand how each of the business activity in each phase of value chain contributes towards environmental, economic and social sustainability.

Rana Waseem, a young business graduate started a small ecopreneurial venture to offer sustainable food from raw material till disposal in developing nation context named as Dhuaan ‘n’ Dukhaan (D ‘n’ D) in Sargodha, Pakistan. He had an aim to create a model of business that not only supports the local economy in terms of offering decent employment but also promotes a food business that generates nutritional self-sufficiency as per the triple bottom line concept. This case gives an exploratory insight into the actual sustainable operations that have survived eight months successfully and on the path of growth without profit being the sole aim. D ‘n’ D has benefited the lives of people in Sargodha by offering job opportunities, a decent wage, healthy food at affordable rates, reduction in diseases, reducing food wastage and efficient resource usage with a positive impact on the environment.

The case is suitable for undergraduate and post graduate students studying entrepreneurship and small business management.

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

Entrepreneurship.

This case is designed for teaching entrepreneurship at master’s level. Depending on students’ interests and exposure levels however, it can be applied to teaching undergraduate entrepreneurship courses that are taken after at least the two basic entrepreneurship courses.

Nigeria’s tomato industry is one of the most dysfunctional in the entire nation’s economy. Although the country is West Africa’s largest tomato producer, nearly half of the produced tomatoes rot on the way to the market, which makes Nigeria heavily reliant on imported tomato paste. Amidst growing concerns among stakeholders of the need to address the dysfunction of the tomato industry, Tomato Jos emerged as the earliest social impact venture in the tomato paste industry. Nigeria’s changing macro-economic conditions clearly call for a tomato processing industry and the entry of Tomato Jos is well timed. Within a span of two years, the company successfully raised $600,000 in equity, debt and grant financing that has catered for start-up expenses and expansion to 150 hectares of farmland. The company plans on raising an additional $25m to cater for their planned Stage III growth. Amidst growing excitement over the entry of Tomato Jos in the industry with a social enterprise, Africa’s top business tycoon, Aliko Dangote, announced entry into the tomato processing industry with a major tomato processing facility in the same region as Tomato Jos. The Dangote Group of companies is seen as very tough competition to contend with, due to their sheer size, political leverage and financial capital. This case study primarily teaches how multiple aspects of start-up entrepreneurship may be handled rather than being taught separately as is often the case in mainstream business education. Entrepreneurs in the field rarely confront real challenges in this way. This case study introduces a practice of teaching a collection of key aspects of entrepreneurship, their nuances and inter-relationships in an integrated fashion.

The overarching objective of this case is to teach students how to interpret the shifts in industry position resulting from the entry of an important competitor within the larger context of growing a social venture. At the end of the case study analysis, students will be able to analyze the effects of changing forces and conditions in a country’s business environment on a start-up social enterprise; interpret the shifts in a venture’s industry position after the entry of an important competitor; identify appropriate funding sources and financing strategies to fuel the growth of a social enterprise; identify areas of a start-up’s business model that need improvement and/or iteration to support faster growth; and develop an effectuation-based strategy for a growing venture.

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.

Prayas is a unique healthcare initiative, launched in India by Sanofi-Aventis, a French multinational pharmaceutical company, with the objectives of updating the medical knowledge of doctors in semi-urban and rural areas, bridging the gap between diagnosis and treatment, and making available quality medicines at affordable prices. This case discusses the evolution of the Prayas model from its inception to its current state, and the company's business strategies around it. Cognizant of the success of Prayas, many competitors of Sanofi-Aventis are actively developing and implementing similar models. The company's top management team has to respond to the competitive threat.

Impact investing, Social enterprise.

MBA, EMBA, Executive Education.

Zoona mobile money: investing for impact details a slightly altered version of the real events that occurred in late 2011 with the series A round of investment in Zoona, a mobile money business in Zambia. The focus is on the decisions that have to be made by the management team of a socially innovative tech start-up (Zoona) providing mobile money and financial services to previously unbanked consumers in Zambia.

By the end of this case, the student should be able to: understand the basics of term sheets and be able to perform a high level analysis and comparison of two distinct term sheets; identify investor objectives, ultimately recognising the general differences between private equity and venture capital investors; identify and weigh the costs and benefits of term sheets, as well as identify negotiating points and necessary trade-offs in the investment process; and identify and understand the “soft” benefits of investors and weigh these in relation to a term sheet analysis.

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 1: Accounting and Finance.

The teaching case study is based on a (real-life) complex organizational and strategic context, and several bodies of literature may be used to interpret, analyze, explore and discuss alternative solutions. Among several relevant theoretical basis are (educational) leadership, strategy, institutional change, organization, practice orientation of education and organizational learning. The Instructors’ Manual gives suggestions as to how the case may be used in teaching and gives references to relevant literature.

The teaching case study is based on participatory action research. The narrative of the case is based on empirical observations in form of a research diary recording events, dialogues and discussion with colleagues and organizational leaders during a five-year period. The case study is based on real proceedings. But, the narrative is generic, and names are anonymized, and organizational contexts and events are disguised. Any similarities to real institutions are coincidental.

The case tells the story of Birk Grimson (PhD), a professional who returns to academia after many years of business practice in the private sector. He is struck by how different the work ambience is in academia and how bureaucracy and a rigid organizational structure seem to quell innovation, resulting in resistance to systematic learning, organizational development and strategic change.

The teaching case study is appropriate for business, organizational or administrative students at master’s, PhD level or executive education. For students with other disciplinary educational backgrounds (such as engineering, education or health care), some basic knowledge of organization and management or alternatively relevant experience is recommended.

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

The case’s resolution will inspire students to engage in critical analysis of the hurdles encountered by Madhubani Paints amid the pandemic. It will prompt them to dissect cause-and-effect chains stemming from decisions made during this period, fostering a mindset of critical thinking and problem-solving. Additionally, it aims to cultivate a profound comprehension of the Indian entrepreneurial landscape, highlighting the pivotal role of micro-enterprises and women entrepreneurship. Furthermore, it will task students with brainstorming inventive solutions to the specific challenges faced by Madhubani Paints, particularly focusing on differentiation strategies and enhancing customer engagement in the online marketplace. The case highlights the strategic utilization of digital avenues for business expansion, showcasing how Madhubani Paints not only persevered through a challenging pandemic but excelled, securing 35% of its revenue through digital channels.

Madhubani Paints was a micro-enterprise in the small town of Darbhanga (India) that traded hand-painted products. The protagonist had a strong interest in Madhubani painting, and her enthusiasm led her to establish her own micro-enterprise. This case study highlights the protagonist’s journey towards entrepreneurship and what were the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the case study showcases how micro-enterprises leverage digital technologies to improve their business performance. Through this case study, students will be able to learn what the contribution of an entrepreneur is to the development of our society and will understand the fundamental concept of marketing and entrepreneurship.

The case study can be used in management for the course of marketing and entrepreneurship and is appropriate for post-graduate students. Discussion would be the most appropriate method for teaching this case study. The students would need to understand the concept of marketing mix, segmentation and targeting and the basics of marketing strategy to ensure effective learning.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS3: Entrepreneurship.