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“I think I would like to write a case. What do I do now?” The purpose of this paper is to answer this often-asked question by presenting a useful guide for case writers which examines the entire process of case writing beginning with the initial idea and proceeding through required stages leading to the publication of case studies. Further, this guide seeks to emphasize that case writing is a form of research, not just story telling. Ultimately, the increasing interest of scholars in researching, writing, and publishing pedagogical cases provided the impetus for this paper. The four major case writing processes identified in this paper include ideation (idea generation), creation (crafting the case study), application (creating the Instructor’s Manual), and publication (publishing the case). Each of these four processes is presented in detail including examples, pitfalls, and resources. This work is intended to assist novice, as well as experienced, case authors who seek advice on crafting and publishing pedagogical cases in refereed journals. Resources presented in this paper should be helpful especially for aspiring and as yet unpublished case writers.

The paper is based partially on archival research, but most of the content is based on the substantial experience of the authors.

The paper is relevant for upper-level undergraduates as well as graduate students interested in pedagogically based research.

Knowledge management strategy.

Small and medium organizations providing technology solutions.

This case presents the developments in BATOI, as it intends to proliferate its services and offerings. BATOI offers an enterprise-class cloud computing platform along with a set of software applications, a business social network and different online information and service portals catering to large audience at the global level. The organization focuses on customer satisfaction as an integral part of the value chain. The case presents the knowledge management (KM) initiatives that were introduced in BATOI as a part of the organization's strategy for growth and acquiring new customers. Based on the business goals of BATOI, the KM-related goals were identified as part of designing the KM strategy. Designing of the KM strategy further assisted BATOI to retain competent employees, and along the way, addressed the major concern of attrition that plagues many established organizations. To conclude, some of the future concerns of BATOI are indicated at the end of the case. The analysis of the case takes into account the KM challenges faced by BATOI and the necessary steps in successfully implementing a KM strategy in an organization.

The objective of this teaching case is as follows: to understand how KM is central to an organization's growth strategy; to appreciate the importance of KM in technology-intensive organizations; to understand the process of deriving the KM goals from the over arching business goals of an organization; and to comprehend the challenges associated with implementing KM strategy for the first time in an organization.

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

Management, Information technologies.

Courses at the senior university level in social and organizational sciences.

This case aims to observe modes, levels and specific problems in application of information technologies in informing, information sharing and collaboration as important aspects in ensuring quality in control of the processes that occur at school. Some deficiencies in application of information technology within these processes have been identified and alternatives to solving them have been offered. The discussion concerning the solutions was performed according to the parameters that were singled out as important in the analysis of the problems. A school that is recognized in Zlatibor region and elsewhere in Serbia for its advanced development tendencies was selected for the case study. The proposed solutions are practically applicable in any work collective.

Modern management strategy in education; the importance of process management in insuring quality of whole management system; the importance of implementation of modern information technologies in school management system.

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 value of the DeLone & McLean model for planning actions before IS design and implementation can guarantee its success.The value of the DeLone & McLean model for IS auditing in critical dimensions of project success, including both hard and soft elements.Information and information systems are essential organizational resources that must be viewed in an interconnected way with the rest of the organization's resources and capabilities that systemically guarantee the achievement of the export objectives.The role of management commitment in the success of voluntary Information Systems.

The case deals with Luis's decision to continue a Competitive Information System project. For his PhD research project, Luis designed and implemented an information system to support the export goals of the business school for which he worked. Three months later, the System obtained positive feedback and user satisfaction but deficient System usage levels. Luis does not know whether to continue with the project or not. If he decides to continue, further steps are needed to increase the System's use for contributing to the export goals.

The case is suitable for use with MBA students and executive education short courses.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 5: International Business.

Entrepreneurship, Corporate sustainability, CSR, Supply chain.

Master's courses: Entrepreneurship, Strategic management.

In 2002, potential risks deriving from emerging normative demands in the CSR debate prompted Axel Springer (AS) to rethink their supply chain strategy for Russian wood. Being one of the first movers in CSR in the publishing business, AS realized that current practices could spark future public discussion that might put pressure on AS, a key player in these supply chains. In early 2002, AS and one of their main suppliers, Stora Enso, started a joint initiative to redesign the supply chain processes in two of the major Russian logging regions to improve their social and ecological performance. Sometime later, other major players in the publishing sector as well as critical reviewers from several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were invited to participate in the design of the new voluntary sustainability initiative called “Tikhvin Chalna project”, the second phase of which was accomplished by the end of 2006.

Learn that organizations (specifically high-brand owners) are responsible for practices within their entire supply chains (social as well as environmental performance).

Explore proactive corporate sustainability, CSR strategies are market but also institutional driven; Strategizing involves forming and transforming the rules, norms and standard models of customers as well as institutions such as NGOs or governmental bodies. Whether the initiator of such strategy is successful in increasing or manipulating demands is dependent on its resources and capabilities as well as on its network position. The case supports students in understanding resources being used to successfully transform or create institutional arrangements.

Discover that the value of a business' relationships and its network position.

Teaching note, Video files

This article, written in case format, has been written to assist the novice case writer in case research and writing. The article covers all aspects of case writing including: idea generation and sources of cases, working with primary and secondary case sources, obtaining client releases, writing the case story line, developing a catchy ‘hook’, using the past tense, providing supporting exhibits, and providing a bibliography for the case. The teaching note (or instructor's manual)is also covered in detail including: an overview of the case, learning objectives, course placement and targeted audience, instructional methodologies, case questions and answers, the epilogue, and the bibliography. Appendix A includes a discussion on case publishing and includes a list of journals and conferences which accept cases.

After completion of the case study, students will be able to identify and discuss ways in which informal financing of the kind discussed in the case study can provide new or different opportunities for access to alternative financing schemes; assess the role of“social capital” in micro and small business development and to understand and apply the role of social capital for female entrepreneurs in the Global South; critically analyse and reflect on the new role of digital technologies in challenging traditional patriarchal social norms and exclusion and ultimately be able to evaluate the role of digital technologies in terms of its practical implications for female entrepreneurs; and understand the role played by socio-cultural and historical contexts in female-owned/managed businesses within informal sectors of the economy. Furthermore, the students should be able to discuss how these contexts provide opportunities or challenges for actionable/robust/relevant business plans for female entrepreneurs.

This case study aims to create a platform for classroom conversations around: context of entrepreneurship in informal economies, challenges of accessing finance, women entrepreneurship, opportunities of digital entrepreneurship and resource acquisition and social capital. Overall, this case study intends to inspire and cultivate additional voices to advance authentic understanding of informal business practices in the financial sector that go beyond traditional formal western settings. This case study is based on a true story relating to the “sou-sou” financing system – an informal financing scheme – originating from West Africa which has been transported to other parts of the world including Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and other parts of Africa. The characters involve Maria, the main protagonist; Eunice, from LAC; and Fidelia from West Africa. With first-hand information from Eunice and Fidelia, Maria learnt about the ideological principles and the offerings of flexibility, trust, mutual benefits and kinship of the sou-sou system and was inspired to integrate digital technologies as a sustainable game changer for accessing microfinance. This case study draws on the contextual understanding of the economy in the Global South as well as the gender-based aspects of entrepreneurship as key aspects of women entrepreneurship and digital entrepreneurship. The sou-sou system is presented as a practical solution to the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the Global South to access finances, and the integration of digital technologies is considered instrumental not only in reinforcing the traditional system but also in transforming the entrepreneurial prospects for these women.

This teaching activity is aimed at postgraduate students in Master of Management and Master of Business Administration programmes. It can also be used for short executive courses, specialised PhD seminars and advanced bachelor programmes. This case study could be taught in the field of entrepreneurship in areas related to technology, gender, women entrepreneurship and financing in the context of the Global South.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship.

Postgraduate and undergraduate.

The case study focussed on the dairy sector in the southern African country of Zimbabwe. It offered an analysis of the management and business development approaches DHL employed in the country’s dairy sector. The narrative detailed how DHL’s commercial performance progressively declined overtime. Several factors including operational inefficiencies, intensive competition, political, socio-economic issues and natural disasters were attributable to its decline. To mitigate DHL’s business development challenges, Antony and his top management’s reprised “restructure, expand and diversify” strategy only achieved inconsistent commercial results. The scale and size of these results unequivocally necessitated radical entrepreneurial methods to turnaround its fortunes. It was indeed a matter of entrepreneurial decisions!

The case study used secondary analysis as its main strategy for generating relevant data. The rationale for adopting the principles of secondary analysis was to take advantage of quality archived data, public and readily available information concerning DHL’s commercial performance. Setting up to undertake secondary analysis for the purpose of DHL’s narrative was less-expensive, and it was less time-consuming when compared to structured interviews and self-administered questionnaires. Hence, it was deemed appropriate for producing a narrative on a company whose archived financial reports and publicly available research information were accessible.

DHL’s narrative is relevant for students studying entrepreneurship, business management and international business at postgraduate and undergraduate levels.

The multi-dimensional constructs of entrepreneurship and strategic management provided the theoretical basis for constructing a narrative about DHL’s business activities in Zimbabwe’s dairy sector. Particularly, the entrepreneurial decision-making paradigm offered some insight, direction and guidance in analysing the strategies Antony and his top management team applied in their planning and management at DHL. Equally, strategic management theories provided useful instructions for exploring business development issues in a rapidly changing business terrain that was presented by the dairy sector in Zimbabwe.

By the end of the lesson students will have had the opportunity to identify the features of an organisation with an entrepreneurial mind set; evaluate the importance of making entrepreneurial decisions in a rapidly changing market such as the dairy industry in Zimbabwe; explore the sort of issues faced by large enterprises in establishing an entrepreneurial architecture; develop an appreciation of the importance of practicing entrepreneurial leadership in rapidly changing business conditions; analyse the importance of developing an effective strategy while considering strategic options necessary to withstand markets such as the dairy sector in Zimbabwe that are characterised with rapid changes.

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 (A) case describes the evolution between 1999 and 2005 of an unusual innovation team within the office of the chief information officer at oil and gas giant BP. This team helped business units conceive, develop, and implement novel, value-added applications for emerging information technologies. The team leader, vice president and chief technology officer Phiroz Darukhanavala (“Daru”), eschewed a large group and venture budget in favor of a small, lean team intimately engaged with BP's business units. The case describes several mechanisms created by the CTO office during its early evolution: “Blue Chalk” events that expanded executives' appreciation of emerging technology capabilities, a network of relationships through which emerging technologies were scouted and vetted, a structured technology transfer process, and annual “game-changer” projects.

The (B) case describes how the CTO office team members in 2011 again solicited advice from their ecosystem of thought leaders and held workshops to significantly enhance their impact. As a result, they began developing solutions for broader, more fundamental business problems that came to be known as Grand Challenges: extremely difficult business problems whose solutions could potentially create hundreds of millions—or billions—of dollars in business value.

After reading and analyzing the case, students will be able to:

• Understand the management challenges associated with realizing the business value of new technologies

• Explore how innovation management evolves as an innovation team learns from its successes and failures and, more importantly, builds a reputation within and outside the company

• Examine a prototypical “advocate” model of corporate entrepreneurial practice

• Explore a leading example of a successful internal innovation program

Understand the management challenges associated with realizing the business value of new technologies

Explore how innovation management evolves as an innovation team learns from its successes and failures and, more importantly, builds a reputation within and outside the company

Examine a prototypical “advocate” model of corporate entrepreneurial practice

Explore a leading example of a successful internal innovation program

This case study concerns self-managed teams (SMTs) and high-performing work stations.

This study is applicable to training, employee satisfaction and developing economy in the society at large.

High-performance work systems (HPWS) are processes in which organizations utilize a fundamentally different approach for managing work in place of the traditional hierarchal approach. HPWS uses an approach that is fundamentally different from the traditional hierarchical or bureaucratic approach otherwise known as the control-oriented approach. The fundamental difference between control-oriented and involvement-oriented approach is in organizing and managing at the lowest level in an organization. The basic purpose of HPWS is to create an organization based on employee involvement, commitment and empowerment. In these kinds of highly involved organizations, employees demonstrate more responsibility and commitments because of high empowerment and have access to information/knowledge and awareness to perform at the highest level. In this case study, the authors make a complete study about the ten pillars of SMTs in Dr Reddy's Laboratories Private Ltd. and the situation of FTO-4 at the Yanam plant and FTO-7 at the Visakhapatnam plant post-implementation of the SMT concept. This paper attempts to demonstrate how SMTs differ from conventional teams, as well as how effectively they contribute to the organization objectives.

To understand HPWS and concept of SMT; to understand how the concepts of HPWS and SMT were implemented in Dr Reddy'S Laboratories in *FTO-4 AND *FTO-7; to understand the key difference between traditional hierarchical systems and SMTs; to find out how continuous process improvement has made SMT initiative an evolving one (from 2002 to 2011); to understand how involvement of different stakeholders has made SMT initiative a sustainable one; and to understand the importance of SMT in this twenty-first century as they lead to a better and brighter future for everyone.

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