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Case explains how female leaders are more concerned about social issues the industry in which they operate could resolve. Obo-Nia, CEO of Vodafone Ghana, showed concern for resolving the digital divide in Africa and offered a collaborative solution. The case also suggests how female CEOs invest in strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) that could create a competitive advantage for firms. The case also discusses gender diversity issues in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) field and how Vodafone Ghana’s CEO tried to enhance gender diversity in the telecommunication sector and Vodafone. Obo-Nai did not emphasize gender diversity from a CSR perspective but believed in a business case for gender diversity, as an increase in participation of women in the STEM workforce could help the telecommunication sector innovate faster and resolve the digital divide challenge while also empowering women working from the informal sector.

What is the significance of a digital divide and the societal role of the telecommunication sector; Why female CEOs are more concerned about CSR and how CSR makes not charity but business case; Why female CEOs are more inclined toward collaborative strategies and how stakeholders are involved in collaborative strategies for reducing the digital divide; Exploring various strategies for enhancing gender diversity in the STEM field and the significance of gender diversity in the STEM field.

The case is about the challenges faced by Patricia Obo-Nai, the first female CEO of Vodafone Ghana, to bridge the digital divide in Africa while doing so in a profitable manner. Obo-Nai was an engineer by profession and won several awards as she rose to the post of CEO in Vodafone Ghana in 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she took several corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, such as making internet service freely available in certain schools and universities so that education could continue. Obo-Nai also emphasized gender diversity within Vodafone and urged other telecommunication players to focus on gender diversity from a social responsibility perspective because it was essential for innovation. Under Obo-Nai’s leadership, Vodafone itself launched several new products. She called for a multistakeholder collaborative approach to bridge the digital divide and to make 4G internet affordable in Africa. Obo-Nai collaborated with competitors like MTN Ghana to enhance Vodafone Ghana’s roaming services.

This case is intended for undergraduate or graduate-level business and management courses, especially international business and society, CSR and leadership courses. Graduate students in public policy may also find the case compelling.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS5: International Business; CCS10: Public Sector Management

The fundamental concepts in strategic management including vision, mission and setting objectives, external and internal environment analysis, SWOT, stakeholders in strategic management, deliberate and emergent strategy and strategic leaders have been addressed through the case.

The case was developed using primary data gathered from observations, interviews and the experiences of the authors at Chimanbhai Patel Institute of Management and Research (CPIMR) and published sources.

This case is about CPIMR, a management institute in Ahmedabad, India, which was required to recraft their vision and mission statements in light of the compliance requirements of the All India Council for Technical Education and the other challenges including new skills requirement especially because of Industry 4.0 changes and competition in the business education market. The case examines the external and internal environment challenges faced by the institute director and the emerging issues: how should CPIMR recraft the vision and mission? What could go wrong? How to make them actionable? How to disseminate them? The case would help the participants to understand the process of external and internal environment analysis, formulation of the vision and mission statements, their key purpose of informing stakeholders and setting objectives. The case also encourages the participants to put themselves in the position of the director for undertaking the process of recrafting the vision and mission statements of the management institute in the event of a strategic change. While the case setting is that of a management institute, it might also be useful for discussion in other organization settings.

Course: Strategic Management Level: Post Graduate Level.

This study enables to critique the development of a sustainability strategy brand; integrated reports, sustainability reports, usage of safe internet and online learning skills to reduce inequalities and increase stakeholders’ values.

Digi Telecommunications (Digi) has been publishing annual sustainability reporting in line with Global Reporting Initiatives since 2009. Albern Murty, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Digi, the largest player in the mobile telecommunications industry in Malaysia by the number of subscribers, decided to establish a responsible business brand known as Yellow Heart in 2018 to better serve their stakeholders demand. There was a low stakeholder understanding of Digi’s sustainability efforts and societal impacts. Digi’s Sustainability department aspired to make Yellow Heart the best industry practice for continuous improvements by making Responsible Business commitment one of the main pillars of the company’s strategy and vision. Yellow Heart was linked to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)10 on reducing inequalities by focusing on Digital Inclusion and Resilience to increase safe access opportunities, provide marginalized communities with opportunities to pursue interests in digital learning pathways and create a more sustainable digital future for all. The case study illustrates the sustainability management at Digi and the planned migration from sustainability reporting to integrated reporting to build trust in the business with all the stakeholders. The case dilemma involves the challenges that Philip Ling Oon Hun, the Head of the Sustainability, faced in deciding the SDGs to focus on and measuring and reporting their outcomes to contribute to the greater good, not only in pure business terms but also to society at large.

This case is appropriate for undergraduate or graduate-level programs in Accounting, Corporate Governance and Strategy Implementation.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

The case is related to strategy of innovation, strategic marketing and brand valuation.

The case consolidates techniques and methodologies of businesses that demonstrate use of technology and innovation to attain competitive edge. It is appropriate for Master's, executive level programme and advance specialized courses of strategy and entrepreneurship. Introductory classes on basics of strategy and information technology will be value add for students.

In the growing digital era of virtualization, the businesses are depended on technology to facilitate their multiple operations. Virtual events of conference and exhibition provide broad opportunity to connect and collaborate in real time across the globe. The case discussion applies to potential use of virtual platform as a collaborative tool to achieve business objectives. This case highlights the strategic decision making by an IT company – VSL, regarding product migration and services diversification. It focuses on considering the appropriate strategy of innovation and to make the right decisions. Strategy of innovation and marketing techniques applied by VSL management to sustain in the competitive environment describes the essence of the case. The case is written with the objective to enhance user conceptual understanding through VSL brand valuation and international strategic alliance with 6Connex.

The case familiarises the students with the complexities and challenges involved in a real business environment and put emphasises on the role of played by management for effective decision making. The case helps students to comprehend the relevance of innovation to achieve competitive edge. The case provides an opportunity of exposure to students so that they can understand the key elements of efficient marketing, strategy of innovation and brand valuation. (Elaborate teaching objectives are appended in the teaching note.)

Teaching notes.

Following are the learning outcomes: to understand how the tools and frameworks of strategic analysis can be applied to understand the evolution of value creation and capture in the FMCG industry; to analyze the core competencies of a company and understand their relevance in this fast-changing industry; to understand how to evaluate the pros and cons of a certain strategy and business model; and to develop strategic recommendations.

The case series traces the developments in China’s FMCG industry from the early 2010s to 2017, in general, and the efforts of Beijing WinChannel Software Technology Co., Ltd. (WinChannel) and its affiliated company, Huixiadan, in their attempt to apply new digital technologies to transform the traditional trade channel, in particular. The decision point of Case A, in early 2015, is how WinChannel can help improve the reach and efficiency of the traditional trade channel and wonders if the emerging online/mobile B2B FMCG platforms are the right solution for the increasingly digitized FMCG retail industry in China. The decision point of Case B, at the end of 2017, is how could Huixiadan’s business model be sustainable and what it should do to withstand the competitive threats even as it tries to exploit opportunities in the traditional FMCG industry in China.

It can be used with MBAs, EMBAs and senior executives.

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: 11: Strategy.

International business or International marketing.

The case is recommended for undergraduate and graduate courses in the fields of international business and international marketing. The aim is to show students the problems that a family business in the animation industry faces while growing and internationalizing. Specifically, the case discusses the entry mode selection and market selection challenges faced by an emerging market company in the comic book and animation industry to operate overseas and compete with entertainment giants such as Disney and DC Comics. The case enables the instructor to discuss international market selection theories and evaluate entry modes. For graduate students, the international market selection can be further developed by using more robust concepts such as psychic and cultural distance.

This case examines the trajectory of a pioneering company in the comic book and animation industries, and in the licensing of trademarks in Brazil. Mauricio de Sousa Productions was founded in 1959 and is considered to be one of the most successful cultural producers in the country. According to a leading Brazilian public opinion research agency, 97 per cent of Brazilian children and 96 per cent of their parents are familiar with the Monica and Friends characters. As one of the main players in the publishing market, with 86 per cent of market share, Mauricio de Sousa Productions has a product portfolio that goes beyond Monica and Friends comic strips: the company’s show on the Cartoon Network ranks third in audience viewing in the country and the company has produced animated movies, books, shows and games. However, despite its experience in publishing comic books in several countries, Mauricio de Sousa Productions (MSP)’s worldwide operations have not been as profitable and sustainable as expected. Aiming at expanding its global presence, MSP’s top management decided in 2014 to review the company’s internationalization strategy and operations to enhance the firm’s performance.

The case highlights the key factors facing firms when expanding from an emerging markets. Students are expected to discuss and evaluate options, thus developing their knowledge and decision processes related to family-owned business challenges and opportunities, international market selection theories and international market entry mode. Developing strategies to face challenges as those presented by competitors such as Disney should bring opportunities to students to think outside models and weigh risks. Finally, the case gives students opportunity to base their decision processes and evaluations on logistics problems as well as psychic and cultural distances. It also compels the students to appreciate the various challenges involved in exploiting international market with animation content and intellectual properties as a service.

Company presentation to use in the discussion introduction can be found in: www.monicaandfriends.com/content/video.php

CSS 5: International business.

A senior analyst has recently completed an on-site visit to the Las Vegas properties of MGM Mirage. She must value the enterprise after her preparation of projected financial statements. Assumptions for these statements come from a combination of standard account relations delineated in the case and from specific company projections that must be gleaned from MGM's MD&A. This case introduces students to pro forma financial statements and their relevance to cash flow and earnings-based valuation. Tools relevant to spreadsheet modeling can also be introduced. The case precedes MGM's announced acquisition of Mandalay Bay Corporation in 2004.

At the end of the case discussion, the students should be able to: evaluate the factors influencing entrepreneurship in an African context; discuss the relevance of developmental entrepreneurship in an African context; assess an enabling environment and ecosystem for stimulating entrepreneurship; analyse and resolve practical issues in starting a business under challenging conditions; understand how accelerator programmes work in an African context; appreciate how partnerships can be leveraged to foster entrepreneurship; evaluate relevant business models and their challenges to grow enterprises; and understand the social entrepreneurship journey of a founder.

In March 2019, Elena Gaffurini, managing partner of DEV Mozambique (DEV), sat down to evaluate the business. DEV, based in Maputo and launched in 2015, was a consulting and services company supporting entrepreneurial development in Mozambique, by training and supporting small businesses in agricultural-related sectors to improve food security. Gaffurini – a self-proclaimed purpose-driven person – now questioned whether DEV’s impact on social and economic development was significant enough to justify the effort she and her team put into it and whether DEV should reconsider its current business model to create more impact.

Postgraduate: MBA and Executive Education.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

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

Retailing.

Undergraduate and Master's level business and management courses.

This case looks at the second largest oil company in India (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)) and examines an innovative services marketing concept that they introduced into the market in India for the first time, namely, one-stop truck shops. These new format truck-stops were targeted at the highway-based truckers in India who earlier had to stop off at multiple locations to eat and re-fuel increasing their on-road time and reducing their efficiency, much to the chagrin of their truck-fleet owners.

Students will be expected to build their knowledge of retailing in developing markets using the example of BPCL as a learning tool. The case examines differences in consumer behavior in developed vs developing markets, paying particular attention to the required need to differentiate the retail approach to suit the market.

Teaching note (with photographs).