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To write this case, several research methods were used. Most importantly, field interviews were conducted with employees at Banati foundation. The interviews were held with three different employees at different points in time, including the marketing manager, the executive manager and the head teacher working with the girls at the foundation. These interviews helped provide details regarding the foundation’s culture which is hard to get from secondary sources. In addition to this, one of the researchers was a volunteer at the foundation for 6 months before starting this research and so had strong background knowledge on the workings of the entity. Finally, secondary sources were used to provide accurate historical information and numerical statistics. These sources included the foundation’s website and annual reports as well as newspaper interviews with the Banati’s Chairperson.

This case poses the marketing dilemma faced by Banati Foundation, a non-profit organization (NPO) based in Egypt. Banati has offered child protection services to girls at risk since its establishment in 2009. In particular, the case focuses on the foundation’s strategy and operations in 2020. Since its inception, the foundation has been led by the main founder, Dr Hanna Abulghar. Under her leadership, the foundation flourished and won several international awards. The foundation became a home, a school and a support system to the girls who were once homeless. Yet even though Banati succeeded in improving the lives of many girls at risk, the foundation still sought ways to sustain its funds and to empower the girls to thrive after they left the foundation. As the key person responsible for setting the foundation’s direction and strategy, Dr Hanna faced marketing challenges that include overcoming social stigma, diversifying the donor base and increasing fundraising.

This case is suitable for undergraduate and Master’s students who already have an understanding of the basic marketing principles such as the marketing mix (4Ps)/market segmentation and have taken an introductory marketing course previously. Furthermore, the case presents an opportunity to apply marketing concepts such as segmentation, targeting, positioning and promotion within the context of social and NPO marketing. It is ideal for students studying social marketing, NPO marketing strategy, cause marketing, fundraising techniques and social inclusion.

The case should be introduced after students have been exposed to the following topics: the practice of entrepreneurship, opportunity recognition, market segmentation and minority business enterprise.

The names of the companies and individuals in this descriptive case have not been disguised, with the exception of the solar company representative and his company affiliation. Information was obtained from interviews (i.e. first-hand accounts) with Nikita Floyd, President and Owner of Green Forever Landscaping and Design, Inc., and secondary sources cited.

Nikita, a 50-year old, African American male, had grown his business from a one-person seasonal landscaping business to a year-round landscaping and design business with full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees and an array of services and customer segments. To his delight, he was able to unite his avocation with his vocation. With over 30 years of experience in landscaping and landscape design Nikita was always scanning the landscape for new business opportunities that would align with his company’s mission statement and help sustain Green Forever’s core business.

This case is most appropriate for introductory undergraduate and graduate level courses in entrepreneurship.

This case study focuses on change management and employee resistance when implementing a new initiative. The case may be helpful to students to clarify their understanding of the following: the importance of employee involvement in the change management process in the government sector. Understand how to help employees to deal with change more effectively, maintaining their commitment and bringing them successfully through the change. Understand the importance of communication during the change process. Successful approaches used when implementing change, such as the Lewin model and Kotter 8. The obstacles to change, including resistance and adverse reactions to change and connecting employees, as well as the causes of resistance when implementing a change.

The Crown Prince’s Court is an independent government entity established in 1971, providing support to the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi with the help of almost 300 employees. The Training and Career Development subsection headed by Sumaya Al Saedi decided to initiate an online training and development program for employees. Given that national service, maternity leave and emergency leave had led to working pressure and less training and development for the employees, Sumaya and her team realized that few employees were registering for the course and few of those that did register actually completed their course. Several causes were identified that had led to employees avoiding the online courses. Work pressure and technical issues were among the most salient reasons that kept registered employees from completing the course. The lack of policies at an institutional level to aid changes in training structures reduced the number of employees who felt that they could register for the courses. Therefore, Sumaya and her team had to decide how to attract their employees to online courses and how to support them.

This case study was written for Change Management courses in Bachelor of Business Administration programs. This case examines employee resistance to change when implementing a new system. It can, therefore, be used for undergraduate-level courses. As it concerns employees during the implementation of changes, this case study can be used to help students develop their planning and implementation skills. By focusing on internal departmental challenges, students are introduced to the change process of implementing an initiative and how to deal with employees in the organization.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 6: Human Resource Management.

The case could be used in many courses in the field of business and management, for example, environmental management, strategic management, corporate strategy, green or sustainable marketing and international business.

The case has a difficulty level of being appropriate for undergraduate and postgraduate students. However, in utilizing this case as a required component of business courses at various levels, the authors have discovered a different approaching between undergraduate students and postgraduate students in answering those discussion questions. Undergraduate students have tended to focus on the more conceptual and basic approaching based on understanding the main concepts of environmental upgrading. Postgraduate students have a better application and critical thinking based on a better understanding of the fundamental knowledge and concepts. Accordingly, the case has been developed in a manner that will allow students to realize the importance of environmental issues and analyze the company’s main issues as detailed in the case and then suggest opinions and any ideas for the strategy the company should consider and pursue in future. Furthermore, students should identify several points on the company’s chosen strategies and actions for environmental upgrading.

This case is written in the form of an interview with the Chairman and chief executive officer of VIYELLATEX Group, one of the leading firms which embarked upon environmental upgrading in the apparel industry of Bangladesh and in the world. This is an analytical case and not a decision-making one. The main theme of the case revolves around analyzing what drove VIYELLATEX Group to upgrade environmentally, how the group upgraded, the challenges that VIYELLATEX Group has faced and outcomes of environmental upgrading. Environmental upgrading implies an improvement in environmental performance through changes in technological, social and organizational processes and avoiding or reducing the environmental impacts of businesses. In summary, the VIYELLATEX case is an investigation of a leading company in Bangladesh to implement environmental standards and management practices being part of the apparel global apparel industry governed by global retailers and brand marketers.

The learning outcomes are understanding of “corporate sustainability” as a corporate social responsibility of business philosophy, understanding of key features of the apparel industry in Bangladesh, understanding of the main issues and challenges faced by the apparel firms (suppliers) involved in international business regarding environmental upgrading, understanding of the relationship with primary stakeholders, in particular buyers of apparel firm (defining stakeholders and how to cooperate with stakeholders) and understanding of the environmental upgrading in terms of its drivers, processes and outcomes.

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 4 Environmental Management.

The data for the case is a mix of both primary and secondary data, from the following sources: – personal interviews with the protagonist, Sofana Dahlan; – Tashkeil website; – official documents provided by the company: ■ “Tashkeil – Corporate Brief,” ■ “Saudi National Creative Initiative – Activities Report 2016”; and ■ “Tashkeil Global Company”. – published media sources.

The case outlines the story of Sofana Dahlan (Sofana) (she/her), a social entrepreneur and one of the first few women lawyers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She established Tashkeil as a social enterprise, helping creative entrepreneurs (creatives) with strategic, operational and legal inputs, thus enabling the creative industry in different parts of the Arab world, focussing on Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Her story can be used to inspire students on how a female entrepreneur fought against an extremely restrictive social and cultural environment and achieved her goals. It helps them to understand the challenges faced by women in the context of the Arab world and the key attributes required for them to succeed as an entrepreneur, especially in the context of certain social and cultural barriers. It also helps to understand the importance of resilience in entrepreneurs and to discuss how entrepreneurs can become more resilient.

The case can be used mainly in undergraduate Business Management Programs in courses such as Entrepreneurship, with specific reference to Women Entrepreneurship. The case would be a good fit for courses on Social Entrepreneurship and Creative Businesses.

Research for the case study was conducted using a combination of semi-structured interviews and secondary data sources.

This case traces the international expansion of Sadowsky Guitars’ bass guitar product line. Roger Sadowsky is one of the most respected instrument makers in the world and gained early acclaim for his outstanding repair and restoration work on guitars and basses. Some of his early clients included Prince, Will Lee (The Tonight Show), Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith, Jason Newsted of Metallica, Eddie Van Halen and Marcus Miller. Roger’s reputation and the demand for his instruments led to some customers having to wait for more than a year to obtain the chance to purchase a Sadowsky instrument, while others were unable to do so due to financial constraints. In 2003, Roger made the decision to form Sadowsky Japan to begin the contract manufacturing of more affordable Sadowsky instruments in Tokyo, Japan. As the company grew in size, Roger realized he was becoming more focused on running a business than building instruments. Furthermore, his Japanese partners were only interested in serving the Japanese market. This required him to handle the sales and distribution in the remaining parts of the world. In December of 2019, he announced a new, exclusive licensing agreement and distribution partnership between Sadowsky Guitars and Warwick GmbH & Co Music Equipment KG. The new agreement allowed Roger to continue running the Sadowsky NYC Custom Shop while Warwick would take over building and distributing the Metro instruments and a less-expensive, Chinese-built version of the MetroExpress instruments.

This case is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate-level courses related to marketing and consumer behavior. The case walks students through a real-life scenario when the founder of a well-known musical brand sought to expand internationally as a way to meet growing market demand. Students are asked to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the five key international market entry strategies: exporting, licensing, contract manufacturing, joint ventures and investment (equity/acquisition).

The case works well in the classroom, even if people are unfamiliar with the musical instrument retail industry. Participants are most likely aware of some of the artists and musicians mentioned in the case. Some may also be or know musicians. The instructor should be able to quickly engage participants in a lively discussion about Roger Sadowsky’s vision for his instruments and the opportunities and challenges of expanding product offerings and increasing market share.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Agricultural Trade, Farm Management, Economics of Food Safety

Both undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics.

The pineapple production sector plays a very significant role in the Ghanaian horticultural industry. Production and export of fresh pineapple has been Ghana’s most developed high-value supply chain. However, the introduction of the GlobalGAP food safety standard in 2007 resulted in a fall in smallholder farmers’ participation in exportable pineapple production and subsequently led to declining trends in pineapple exports. The Ghanaian horticultural industry received quite a number of interventions over the years aimed at revitalizing the horticultural export sector and enhancing international competitiveness. However, the pineapple export sub-sector is still constrained with production and market access challenges meaning the sector struggles to survive.

The GlobalGAP standard compliance case is an appropriate way of explaining how smallholder farmers make informed decisions concerning the adoption of new farm practices. The case presents a careful evaluation of technical, institutional and socio-economic factors influencing a farmer’s decision to comply or not to comply with the GlobalGAP standard. Students should be able to apply farm management decision-making concepts and tools such as profit maximization and binary choice modelling techniques to explain a farmers’ final decisions on GlobalGAP standard compliance. This case should enable students to appreciate key factors constraining agricultural export trade performance in developing countries. The case should also contribute to students’ understanding of smallholder farmers’ decisions on food safety standards compliance, particularly GlobalGAP, and the challenges associated with the entire compliance process. Moreover, this case should provide students with possible policy considerations geared towards making food safety standards compliance easier, effective and sustainable in developing countries so as to enhance market access while ensuring food quality and safety along high-value food supply chains.

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 7 Management Science

The learning outcomes of this case are in understanding core concepts of brand management and brand dilution. Assessment of macro-economic risks and proper positioning strategies are the key take-away from this case. The case gives an understanding of how brands are built and positioned, and the pitfalls of poor brand planning and assessment that could lead to brand dilution. The case is useful for highlighting the importance of brand management and the challenges of re-positioning. The discussions would shed light on why it is important to plan and manage spending on marketing for brand building activities, and why brands would suffer when spending is reduced. This case is a teaching case and not a research case. It will help participants assimilate available information in combination with existing academic theories and publications to help develop an accurate assessment and prognosis of the events leading until the point of slicing the case.

Reid & Taylor in 2015 had been reduced to a discounter brand offering extended end-of-season sales when most other competitors have ended their promotions. In the 17 years since its big-budget launch in the Indian market in one of the most memorable brand introductions, Reid & Taylor changed its ambassador twice and repositioned itself thrice. The case would allow participants to delve deeper into aspects of marketing spending, brand management, positioning and advertising effectiveness. The case brings to the fore discussions on marketing, specifically on branding, positioning and its related advertising in the textile sector for a brand that has not been studied in academic literature until the present time. The discussion allows for novelty, involving both forward- and backward-looking assessments and evaluations to help participants better imbibe learnings in brand management and positioning.

The case is suitable for a graduate-level (Master’s level) course in marketing and brand management. This case is suitable for elective courses that discuss positioning and brands.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing

This case presents the dilemma of a multinational oil and gas company, ExxonMobil, as it factors in the ethical issues related to the environment and cultural differences in deciding whether to proceed with building a pipeline in Chad and Cameroon, two of the poorest and most corrupt developing countries in West Africa. The many players in this project included the World Bank--which cofinanced the project and put restrictions into place that would hopefully prevent pipeline-related government corruption in both Chad and Cameroon--and many environmental and human rights groups that warned of potential disaster. The case also covers the environmental and social analysis of the areas that would be affected by the pipeline.

Upon completion of the case, students will be able to reflect the forces, which may disrupt the art industry through Artientifique initiatives and the ability to apply Phoenix encounter method with proactive scanning to remain competitive; create various multi-functional roles as a youth entrepreneur in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) capacity and be able to understand the level and review the competition and business trends from an art industry perspective; analyze how innovation clubbed with sustainability will create a competitive advantage in a circular economy; determine the leadership style most appropriate for MSMEs to indulge in innovation and sustainability in the fine arts business; and design and discover opportunities to promote women’s entrepreneurship in the art industry, especially in emerging markets.

On a cold Friday morning in November 2020, Aisha Mir was in utter confusion written all over her face. She had to decide on a prosperous pathway. Should it be customization or standardization of artwork? Also, whether she should continue investing in the existing in-house supply chain or outsource this to a third party. Being practicing sustainability in her personal and professional life, she had designed her art studio herself by using upcycled materials. While enjoying the pigeons and sparrows chirping and eating grains on her wide windowpane, she looked at the world map with keen interest and imagined herself flying to each country along with her gray and white pigeons. While sitting in Madina city, Saudi Arabia, she was concerned about the expired makeup collection hub being set up in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The collection and the painting processes had to be monitored; the artworks needed auditing, framing and packing before they were shipped to a customer. Centralizing would add unnecessary hassle, and outsourcing needed distribution of authority. Keeping the challenges in mind, she was struggling to find a solution for efficient community engagement.

This case has been particularly focused on undergraduate and postgraduate early-stage level students pursuing business or commerce programs, particularly those studying entrepreneurial and management courses in innovation and sustainability.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.