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The case covers several topics such as social entrepreneurship, social innovation, green startups, their marketing and growth. The learning outcomes are as follows: identify the characteristics of social entrepreneurs; learn about the concept of social innovation, its challenges and opportunities; apply the concepts environmental sustainability to possible growth strategies; and evaluate the different growth opportunities available to the company in the region.

The case tells the story of a recently established technology and agriculture startup, Schaduf, founded in Egypt. Their concept mixes tradition with technology to improve the quality of life for city dwellers. Research and development (R&D) plays a big role in this company’s success. Schaduf uses the concepts of soilless farming to grow rooftop crops for low-income households. The company also provides aesthetic solutions for businesses and homes to increase their green spaces. Driven by a desire to transform the monochrome city to a green paradise, two Egyptian entrepreneurs founded Schaduf, an urban micro-farming and eco-friendly venture. The founders of the startup, brothers Sherif and Tarek Hosny, are in the process of expanding their business. They are faced by the dilemma of staying true to their original business concept in developing markets or pursuing other lucrative ventures in more affluent economies. This case offers learners insight into the growth strategy of a social enterprise that relies heavily on R&D to stay ahead of the game. Learners should evaluate the different growth strategies available to the company.

The case can be used for senior undergraduate students and at the graduate level in MBA, management, innovation, entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship programs.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Solar energy is on a rising trend internationally and in India. The government target of 100 GW solar capacity by 2022 from the present 12 GW is providing a major push for growth in India. However technological development and market competitiveness are pushing down the prices of solar power. The CEO of Amplus Solar has to deal with these challenges to ensure faster growth. He is analysing various options such as expanding the market to include customers who may not be as credit worthy, expanding to foreign geographies, diversification into providing energy efficiency and other services, and entering other markets such as Renewable Energy Certificates, carbon trading, etc.

The learning outcomes of this study are to identify and discuss ways in which energy consumption in a residential educational institute can be reduced by improving demand-side energy management for sustainable development; summarise the challenges that an institute faces in transitioning to a more environmentally friendly mode of operations concerning energy management; illustrate the difference between operating expense and capital expenditure methods used for solar rooftop projects from the perspective of Goa Institute of Management (GIM); and analyse different project proposals for solar rooftop power generation energy using capital budgeting techniques.

Dr Ajit Parulekar, director at GIM, was evaluating the steps taken over the past few years for sustainable energy management to understand their impact and consider ways in which to take the environmental sustainability agenda forward. One of the projects that he was considering was the rooftop solar power plant. GIM had received proposals from several different vendors and evaluated three proposals out of these. He needed to decide on the capacity of the rooftop solar power generation and the type of contract that he should get into for the implementation of the project. This case study describes the differences and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of all the mentioned models with respect to GIM.

This case study is suitable for post-graduate level management students, as well as for undergraduate-level finance and management students.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS4: Environmental management.

This “mini-case” summarizes the beloved Chicago Cubs' many years of futility and remarkable turnaround in the early teens of the twenty-first century. Central to the case is the concept that despite being an incredibly popular, billion-dollar franchise holding a special place in the hearts of Chicagoans for more than a century, the organization's sale from the Tribune Company in 2009 to the Ricketts family effectively required a full reboot of the company's infrastructure, akin to a startup or to a “carve-out” situation popular in the private equity world. The case resonates because the brand is easily recognizable in an industry with the unique dynamics of professional sports, and yet the company's situation features similarities to any lower-profile organization trying to build or rebuild its SG&A infrastructure from scratch.

This paper aims to sensitize learners to some of the ethical and public relation issues involved in decision-making with specific reference to the educational field.

This case brings out a dilemma faced by the school management of Vidyalaya School, Karnataka, India in responding to a notice issued by the State Government to pay a huge compensation and to re-absorb a teacher who was rendered physically challenged owing to an accident within the school premises. The case is set in the milieu of a self-financed, private education industry during the period 2013-2018. This is a case in “Strategy formulation” and “Ethical dilemma” involved in the field of education in India. A teacher was permanently injured and confined to a wheelchair in an attempt to rescue a child attempting to jump off the school building and end her life for having obtained low marks in a test paper. While the school management was initially sympathetic and paid her medical bills and full salary purely on humanitarian grounds, they discontinued this support-line after about two years. The teacher filed a complaint with the Disability Commission, a grievance redressal body of the Government of Karnataka, India. She demanded re-absorption into the job, payment of salary arrears and reimbursement of all the subsequent medical bills incurred abroad totaling Rs 15.5 million, which is unaffordable for a school of that size. The management is faced with a situation where they cannot accept such a huge financial liability as well as accept a wheelchair-bound teacher who would not be able to discharge her duties. The school was briefed by legal experts that there exists no law that specifies either compensation or re-absorption into the job in a situation like this. At the same time, to fight the case purely on legal grounds and deny her a decent livelihood would impact the image of the school as being inhuman to a lady who had actually tried to help the school in the name of humanity. The management is caught in a dilemma on the course of action they must take – to fight the case legally or to accept the demand on humanitarian grounds.

This paper is suitable for Undergraduate or Graduate students of 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 11: Strategy

The learning objectives (or expected learning objectives and outcomes) are to be achieved by linking them with particular concepts, theories and models. These include conducting a situational analysis of the social business, namely, Lilly Apartments’ Welfare Association; explaining the characteristics and mindset of the leadership, particularly the social entrepreneurial leaders; analysing the conflict among the team members; and designing strategic solutions for combating crises and attaining operations’ effectiveness.

Lilly Apartments’ Welfare Association Karachi was registered under the Act of 1860 of the Government of Pakistan. The members established this Association to oversee the affairs of the maintenance of the apartments, including the provision of utilities, particularly water, sanitation, lifts, generators, parking, security and a park with a small play area for children. The front-burner issue of the Association consisted of mis-governance (causing underperformance), including maintenance of buildings within apartments; recovery of funds from the past executive committee (EC) members due to their massive corruption; managing defaulters’ issues (i.e., the members who did not pay their monthly maintenance fees) and deficiency of funds; inefficient and corrupt practices of the majority of the employees, including one manager and two supervisors; and task-related and personal conflicts between the leadership members. The EC of the Association was elected every year and presently it had only four months left. The research design used for this case study involved conducting 12 interviews, four each involving EC members, former EC members and senior residents, which were analysed to learn the challenges and achievements of the Association. Moreover, pertinent records of the Association were reviewed. The canons of research ethics and soundness were applied.

This case study is suitable for the students of social entrepreneurship or strategy or strategy and leadership. The study level is for graduates in management science, including MBA and EMBA students. This case study is suitable for teaching at any point but ideally near the middle or end of the aforementioned courses.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The case provides an opportunity for participants to step into the shoes of Doshi and plan a way to expand Vardhman Envirotech (VE) business by either entering the government segment or by undertaking international market expansion. In doing so, participants should understand the existing strategy by taking into consideration the aspects regarding the manner in which VE’s Injection Recharge Well differs from the existing recharge well solutions. VE lack of experience in government segment, as well as international markets provides an interesting context for the case discussion wherein participants have to examine the positives and challenges of both expansion opportunities and decide the way forward.

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

CSS3: Entrepreneurship.

This case describes the growth of ReNew Power during its first decade of operation. Sumant Sinha, a first-generation entrepreneur and former banker, founded the company, which grew from a modest generator-cum-developer of wind energy-based electricity to one of India's largest companies in the renewable energy sector. With the entry of large, well-funded players such as Tata Power and Adani Green into the Indian renewable sector by the end of 2020, Sinha had to make a strategic decision: should ReNew continue to organically scale up its presence in an increasingly competitive yet expanding Indian renewable energy sector, should it diversify geographically, or should it pursue emerging opportunities for vertical or horizontal integration within the sector? The case provides an opportunity to discuss how alternative business models and competitive scenarios may facilitate or inhibit the growth of a player in the renewable energy sector.

The case study “PVR Limited at a Crossroads” has been designed with the requirements of strategic management. The learning objectives are as follows:

• Situational analysis – understand the global and Indian media and entertainment industry PESTEL.

• Strategic planning – internal and external environmental analysis – strength, weakness, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis helps in achieving the strategic plan.

• Strategy development – to accomplish the turnaround plan, various alternatives are developed; choosing from the possible alternatives is a part of strategic planning.

PVR Limited (PVR) is the largest premium film exhibition company in India. In their annual report for 2019–2020, Chief Executive Officer Gautam Dutta acknowledged, “It was the first time in our more than two-decade history that we witnessed over 100 million patrons entering our premises in a year”. However, with the onset of Covid-19 pandemic in January 2020, things changed for the entertainment industry in India. There were fears of an eminent third wave and the detection of a new Covid-19 variant, Omicron, added to these fears. Being a major player in the game, PVR felt the impact. And even when the business started to reopen, social distancing remained a concern and ticket sales were impacted. Over-the-top viewership rose dramatically at the cost of the multiplex. The lockdown halted film productions worldwide, leading to a shortage of content. Other revenue streams, such as food and beverage, convenience fees and advertising, also came to a halt. Given the circumstances, Dutta was facing the twin dilemma of how to bring customers back to cinema in a post-pandemic world without in any way compromising the security of its patrons and keeping costs under control while investing in social distancing, safety measures and entertainment infrastructure to enhance the cinematic experience.

This case was written for use in Strategic Management classes at the undergraduate and MBA levels. It can be used in both management studies and executive development programs. It is suitable for courses on strategic management and strategic planning focusing on a turnaround strategy. Additionally, the case could be used in consumer behaviour courses in management as the focus of the case is well aligned with discussions related to change in consumer behaviour.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

International Business Management, Global Business Strategy and Human Resource Management

This case is suitable for Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program, specifically in human resources management, business strategy and international business management courses.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to figure out the appropriate staffing approaches for the foreign investment projects; to understand the challenges that companies face when they expand in the foreign market; to understand the different foreign markets entry modes.

The Nayel and Bin Harmal Investment Co. LCC. is an experienced company that owns a hotel chain with three properties in the UAE. In 2011, it decided to invest in Africa and build a new hotel – Ayla Djibouti Hotel – in Djibouti. The hotel’s construction is nearly complete. This has urged Bashar Al Tamimi to begin devising a staffing strategy for the hotel. Of particular concern is Djibouti’s lack of manpower with hospitality qualifications and expertise. Consequently, Al Tamimi must grapple with some difficult questions: Should he hire staff with the appropriate international hospitality experience? Or should NBHI invest in the human capital in Djibouti and train Djiboutian people to operate the hotel? Which strategy or approach will lead to the most successful and profit-making outcome for Ayla Djibouti

This case is suitable for Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program, specifically in human resources management, business strategy and international business management courses.

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 5: International Business.