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Razorpay is a four-year-old Indian B2B fintech startup in digital payments which is venturing into digital lending. It aims to simplify digital payment flows involved in acceptance, processing, and disbursement of payments through superior technology and automation. This case details how Razorpay creates value for businesses by offering service convenience in B2B space. Razorpay started as a payment solutions provider, primarily known for their payment gateway. Over time the market for digital payment in India has matured, with multiple providers offering similar products making it difficult for Razorpay to sustain its growth by using technological leadership and service differentiation. To maintain its growth trajectory, Razorpay has launched multiple new products in the digital payment space as well as announced a foray into creating a marketplace for digital lending through launch of Razorpay Capital. The case provides details of the growth of Razorpay and its move from its core strength of payment gateway

The learning outcomes are as follows: understanding the impact on company growth through identification and alignment of stakeholder priorities in a project for SME in an emerging market; analyzing the impact of stakeholder alignment and relationship management on the project outcome; and evaluating the importance of Stakeholder Management for effective Project Management.

The case of ‘Hospedia Medicare,’ a medical device manufacturing company based in India, was started by a family involved in the medical devices business for over two decades. The company began operations in a new avatar and focused on one medical device or product by 2013. The product was designed with quality features to solve customer problems, making the cost relatively high compared to other domestic peers. Creating new product lines or updating the existing product attributes was imperative for the company to attain its growth objectives. The protagonist was dealing with a dilemma involving managing various stakeholders, aligning the project scope to create a growth story for the company in line with its vision and managing the stakeholders by understanding and analyzing their needs, expectations and interest, thus influencing the project outcome. The case can be used by instructors to identify, understand and evaluate the importance of different stakeholders on project outcome or success. Furthermore, it can be used to analyze and critique the impact of stakeholders on project scope, which can affect the long-term sustainability of the company, as different stakeholders have different expectations and needs. The case also details how regular communication, collaboration and awareness became essential for the project's success. Lack of an effective engagement strategy at the project planning stage can have risks concerning cost and achieving the overall vision, which creates a positive outcome for all the stakeholders.

The case study can be introduced to graduate and undergraduate students to reflect on and critique the importance of Stakeholder Management in Project Management. It can be used for, entrepreneurship, project management, operations and strategy, particularly emphasizing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 9: Operations and Logistics.

The case fosters discussions on basic concepts of entrepreneurship that include building a minimum viable product before launching a finished product, the importance of doing market research for early-stage startups, challenges in understanding an unfamiliar domain or industry and understanding the dynamics of business to business market.

Team Arnetta’s founders were interviewed in relation to the case. After the initial round of interviews, a product demonstration was given by Arnetta. Follow up interviews were conducted to delve-deeper into the problem while secondary research was conducted to understand the market dynamics and competitive landscape at the point in time in the case.

The four founders of Arnetta Technologies debate go-to-market timing for Integrated Breeding and Research Management Software, a data handling software for the R&D process followed by seed enterprises in India. The founders had spent over US$75,000 on the product development on which they had been working for more than one year. Two of the founders had given up their full-time jobs to work dedicatedly on the venture. The product was being customized to the requirements of their only client. Product development was taking longer than anticipated. To add to the challenges, international competitors had started capturing the Indian market. The founders had two options. First, they could wait and finish the product development before reaching out to their prospective clients – leading to delays and losing out on the market. Second, they could reach out to prospective clients and convince them to use the work-in-progress version of the product – which could turn out to be a deal breaker. The founders had to come to a consensus soon.

The case is intended for students in undergraduate or graduate-level courses related to entrepreneurship, new venture creation, innovation management and business management.

Strategic marketing, Downturn, Optimal utilisation of minimal resources, Consolidating profitability, Focus shift from features to benefits and cost savings.

Management students who have knowledge of basic concepts of management discipline to derive the maximum benefit and understand the applicability; budding entrepreneurs; middle- and senior-level executives in an executive development program; people running family-owned businesses.

In 2008-2009, the Indian manufacturing sector was facing stiff competition from China on account of the latter's ability to provide cheap labour and handle large volumes. The 2008-2009 economic down turn saw consumers cut down on their requirements with manufacturing companies getting fewer orders. Manufacturing companies therefore adopted the principle of optimal utilisation of minimal resources. Millennium Company Ltd (MCL) also succeeded in overcoming the 2008-2009 downturns through a shift in focus during the recession of 2009 from achieving pure revenue to consolidating its profitability. MCL is probably the only company in the world to have extensive expertise in both steam and control instrumentation. The dual expertise allows them to engineer industry-specific systems that focus on energy efficiency and utilities management for sectors as diverse as textiles, food processing, paper, power and chemicals etc. The company shifted its attention from features to benefits, cost savings, and profitability. MCL trained its people as to what to talk to whom. Today, MCL is a leader in India in process efficiency and energy conservation through technology tie-ups and focused investments in manufacturing and research.

The purpose of this case is to enable student managers to evaluate effectiveness of corporate strategies; make the student managers understand the resources–businesses–systems framework and the need for focused connection between these three through appropriate coordination and control mechanisms for a corporate strategy to deliver value; encourage students to apply their knowledge of Turnkey Projects, BCG/Porters/SWOT/Mackensys Model; encourage the students to research and find out how other companies in this field fared and what were the strategies adopted by them to overcome the recession and compete with MCL in a highly competitive market like that of India; and encourage student managers to go on field visits with the institute's help to similar organisations within the same city and if possible get live projects.

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

This case is about “Red”, a cross-border e-commerce platform developed from a community which was built to share overseas shopping experience. With sharp insights into the consumption behavior of urban white-collar women and riding on its community e-commerce advantage, “Red”, a cross-border e-commerce startup, pulled in three rounds of financing within just 16 months regardless of increasingly competitive market. On the other hand, well-established platforms such as T-mall International and Joybuy also stepped in, and their involvement will also speed up the industry integration and usher in a reshuffling period. Confronted with the “price war” started by those e-commerce giants, in what ways can “Red” adjust its shopping experience and after-sales services to enhance the brand value and sharpen its edge?

The purpose of this study is to describe how Zoom became the tope video conferencing service across the globe.

This case was developed from secondary sources including industry reports, academic, newspaper, periodical sources, company annual reports, social media sites and company websites. This case has been classroom tested with undergraduates in a strategic management course as a capstone course.

The case study describes the rapid growth of Zoom Communications Inc., a San Jose based publicly traded video conferencing company founded in 2011 by Eric Yuan. It illustrates the competition in the online meeting solutions industry in late 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown. To explain how Zoom became the top video conferencing service across the globe, the case highlights the attractiveness of the market and the competitive advantage of Zoom over its rivals. Students can evaluate the internal capabilities and competencies of Zoom as well as identify key challenges in the external environment for sustaining Zoom’s competitive advantage.

This case study is suitable for strategic management classes for upper-level undergraduates and at the graduate level for MBA and/or master students. It prepares students to discuss core concepts in strategy, such as competitive strategy and competitive forces that shape strategy.

Marketing, marketing communication and business strategy.

Graduate level and some core courses in undergraduate level.

The case describes the evolution of a start-up company, Great Sports Infra Pvt Ltd, which had acquired the exclusive dealership of the largest artificial sports surface products company – FieldTurf Tarkett. Great Sports Infra was started as a small business with a capital of INR 5 million, by Mr Anil Kumar who had won the exclusive license to sell the FieldTurf brand of artificial turf in India and the SAARC region. FieldTurf was a well entrenched brand for playing surfaces in several developed countries around the world. The size, scope and consumer base of the Indian market was vastly different from the mature markets in which FieldTurf was a well established brand. Anil had to find a market for the product in India which was a classic context of “existing product entering a new market” – in this case an emerging market. Identifying new markets and targeting them with a relevant marketing mix and communication mix were the dominant challenges faced by Anil. Having developed the market in India, he now faces competition from cheaper manufacturers and limited growth in the sports infrastructure. The students must deliberate on current strategies and suggest strategies for the future growth of the product in this market.

• Challenges of an established brand entering a new market in the emerging economies. Using Ansoff's matrix to identify the nature of challenges.

• Understanding positioning strategy.

• To understand how to extract IMC strategy from business strategy.

• Targeting each segment differently but keeping the message consistent following the principles of principles of IMC, i.e. harmony, consistency and synergy.

• Understanding the role of 6Ms in designing a communication plan.

• Understanding how to identify appropriate media mix.

• Understanding the holistic IMC framework.

Challenges of an established brand entering a new market in the emerging economies. Using Ansoff's matrix to identify the nature of challenges.

Understanding positioning strategy.

To understand how to extract IMC strategy from business strategy.

Targeting each segment differently but keeping the message consistent following the principles of principles of IMC, i.e. harmony, consistency and synergy.

Understanding the role of 6Ms in designing a communication plan.

Understanding how to identify appropriate media mix.

Understanding the holistic IMC framework.

Teaching notes.

Pebble Technology Corporation (Pebble) was an early entrant into the smartwatch industry. Pebble’s Founder, Eric Migicovsky, began thinking about creating a smartwatch in 2008 while still an undergraduate engineering student. After selling about 1,500 prototype watches, he was accepted into Silicon Valley’s prestigious Y Combinator business start-up program. Finding it difficult to attract investors, Migicovsky launched a crowdfunding campaign that raised a record-breaking $10.27m on Kickstarter. The case concludes shortly after Apple’s unveiling of its soon-to-be-released Apple Watch. The case provides an opportunity to evaluate Pebble’s various strategic options at the time of Apple’s announcement.

The authors observed over 30 h of video and audio recordings of speeches, interviews and other events involving Pebble’s founder, other Pebble executives, investors and competitors. These recordings are all publicly available. Whenever possible, the authors also reviewed the Twitter feeds, Facebook sites and personal websites of Pebble’s top executives over time. Similarly, the authors followed Pebble’s official website, corporate blog and Kickstarter campaign websites. The authors also drew from numerous media reports. Due to the public nature of the data, no company release is provided nor has any information been disguised in any way.

The case is designed for both undergraduate and graduate students for courses in strategic management.

Micromax is an Indian consumer electronics company which began by selling mobile phones. In early 2014, Micromax ranked third in the mobile handsets category in India, behind Nokia and Samsung. The case is set in 2014, a watershed year for Micromax. It has to make decisions related to the future direction of the company. There are various options available, such as expanding into other consumer electronics and consumer durables categories, expanding outside India, etc. Micromax had recently introduced premium smartphones, and there had been a gradual shift in its target segment from rural to more upmarket consumers. Micromax aspired to be considered among the best brands in the world; however, the company was unsure of how to move forward. Its leadership had to decide on the right positioning for Micromax.

The case is positioned in the domain of building, managing and communicating corporate reputation. It discusses the entry of Lenovo in the Indian market where the company faced reputational challenges. Definition of a corporate reputation strategy which was aligned to the overall strategy of the company, helped Lenovo traverse difficult terrains. The case would be relevant for courses on corporate reputation, communication and strategy.

The case is targeted at MBA students, corporate and PR professionals. The case can be used for MBA courses or management development programmes on corporate reputation, communication, and strategy.

The case brings out key elements of entry into an emerging market flooded with international, well-positioned players and discusses the entry of Lenovo in the Indian market where the problem was compounded by perceptions of Chinese origin. How does Lenovo bring about a turnaround in positioning, building, communicating and managing reputation, how does it steer stakeholder opinion in its favour? Will Lenovo India be able to replicate the success model in China? The case presents the challenges and discusses the strategies adopted by Amar Babu, MD Lenovo to bring about a change in the existing perceptions of stakeholders.

To discuss strategies for building corporate reputation.

To critically examine and analyze the strategies adopted by Lenovo India to build reputation and gain market share.

To analyse links between strategy generation and reputation management.

Teaching notes are available, please consult your librarian to access these.