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MBA, advanced undergrad, entrepreneurship and technology commercialization classes.

Entrepreneurial diversity, equity and inclusion, medical device innovation, and models of business accelerators.

The first half of the case explores Kathryne Cooper’s professional and personal journey and the ways her life experiences inform the goals she helps set for The West Coast Consortium for Technology & Innovation in Pediatrics (CTIP). As an African-American woman codirector of a medical device accelerator focused on the pediatric market, Cooper was acutely aware of the lack of diversity in the tech industry. The second half of the case explores the medical device market and the need for organizations such as CTIP. Cooper implemented a revised application process and system to encourage applications from underrepresented minority founders. CTIP was in a unique position to support concept stage products and nontraditional founders. The case concludes with a description of seven companies that have applied to join CTIP’s portfolio. Students are instructed to consider, as Cooper, which companies to support and what type of support to offer.

Explore the ways personal backgrounds inform leadership positions. Analyze how ventures are evaluated from a grant-funded accelerator (in contrast to an investment-fund accelerator). Examine the wide range of support that nontraditional founders require in the underserved pediatric market.

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

A model to support diversity of gender and race in entrepreneurship.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

This case covers the framework and process to determine fair value as specified in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 13. It illustrates an instance in which auditors interpret the concept of fair value to be consistent with other principles in standards such as the principle of prudence in the conceptual framework. In addition, a lot of the discussion in the case is applicable to accounting education in any regulatory jurisdictions given the convergence of US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and IFRS 13. In addition, while fair value accounting may have been designed to give investors more useful information, in practise it could involve highly subjective judgement and the resulting implementation may be affected by incentives of different stakeholders. The CK Tang’s case provides an excellent opportunity to discuss incentives of varies parties in determining the fair value in financial reporting decisions. In short, this case could be a good jumping-off point to talk about management and auditors’ incentives in financial reporting in general.

Publicly available information (e.g. financial reporting standards, corporate announcements and reports, news reports) was used as the basis for this case.

The case centres on an iconic Singaporean integrated retailing and property landlord entity: Tang holdings. As part of its succession planning, the company’s founding family decided to take its listing arm, C.K. Tang Limited (CK Tang hereafter), private in May 2006. The Tang brothers, who represented the controlling family, initiated several attempts to delist the company. The minority shareholders of CK Tang were unhappy that the offer price was below the net asset value of the company. The minority shareholders also highlighted that the reported fair value of the flagship Tang Plaza complex understated its highest and best use and might not possibly comply with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 13.

The case can be used for class discussions with undergraduate students or master students in intermediate accounting courses.

Marketing.

Target audience this decision case has been tried and tested in a classroom setting with final-year undergraduate BBA students and postgraduate students studying an MSc in marketing. The specific course in which this case was used was marketing management in China. This case may also be suitable for an undergraduate or masters level courses in consumer behaviour, distribution management or marketing in China. The case covers environment analysis, market segmentation, consumer behaviour and distribution channels.

Skyworth, a Chinese manufacturer of television sets, was faced with some major decisions. Government subsidies on consumer purchases of household appliances had stimulated demand for TV sets especially in rural areas. However, there were limited distribution channels serving rural areas. Large-scale nationwide chain stores like Gome and Suning served mainly urban areas and top-tier cities. These retailer chains were less interested in selling TV sets as their profit margins were lower. How should Skyworth set up its distribution network to take advantage of the growth in rural markets? Establishing its own channel network would involve huge investments that would affect Skyworth's profits in the next few years. Relying on existing retailer chains may not give it the coverage it wanted. Skyworth's brand reputation had also suffered because of poor product quality and customer support. Can the distribution channel network help to improve its brand reputation and customer loyalty? This case highlights how government policies in China can shape the growth of the household appliance market and change consumption patterns.

By studying this case, students will: 1. Examine how environmental factors affect television manufacturers in China; 2. Understand the buying behaviour of rural households for household appliances; 3. Examine distribution channels in an emerging market; 4. Evaluate a company's product portfolio strategy; and5. Suggest segmentation bases for the market for television sets in China.

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

Public management, sustainability.

The case is suitable for undergraduate and masters' courses.

The case is about the dilemma between the lucrative economic profit from swiftlet farming and the invaluable heritage and social wellbeing of the residents in a world heritage city. In 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) issued a letter to the Malaysian government expressing concern over the issue of the swiftlet industry in Georgetown, Penang. Swiftlet farming is a lucrative agriculture sector in Malaysia and is considered one of the key projects under the Malaysian Economic Transformation Program. Yet, this industry posed a threat to the well being of George Town due to its impact towards the city's heritage status. The operation of swiftlet farms in shop houses in George Town not only forces residents to coexist with thousands of swiftlets in the populated city, but also deteriorates the condition of its heritage buildings. A quick solution by the government authorities is needed in order to respond to UNESCO's enquiries. A fair consideration looking at the aspects of economy, environment and society is vital in ensuring the future of the city.

These include: understanding the complex issues of trade-offs between economic profit vis-à-vis the environmental social heritage; understanding and appreciating the conflicting governmental objectives and the way to address the conflicting demands of the stakeholders (NGOs, industry and business association and the general public); identifying and determining ways to align environmental interests with economic interests in order to formulate sustainable solutions; and formulating an action plan and providing practical recommendations to solve the problem.

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

“Starting up a new company” and “development of technology-based venture”.

The target audiences for this study are advanced business or non-business undergraduate students and MBA students taking courses of entrepreneurship, management of innovation and organization theory and design.

Yeayyy.com was a private limited company based in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, a township located about 30 km south of Kuala Lumpur. It was founded by Mr Hazmin in early 2010 with a seed funding of RM150,000 (about US$50,000). By the end of 2014, its core businesses include developing mobile application (app), software and website, as well as conducting information technology (IT) training. The company had developed its own animation cartoon, Oolat Oolit, and had commercialized several mobile app inventions. These mobile apps include a Jawi (traditional Malay writing system) app, mobile games and Facebook apps which were compatible with most mobile operating systems. Since its inception, Yeayyy.com had aspired to follow the footsteps of the internationally acclaimed Malaysian home-grown animation production house, Les’ Copaque, which had produced the popular Upin Ipin series. Similar to Les’ Copaque, Yeayyy.com also planned to commercialize its in-house characters into TV series and to market related merchandises, along with its collaborative partner, CikuTree Studio. However, by the end of 2014, the company’s seed funding had depleted, thus forcing Mr Hazmin to strategize for the company’s future.

Understanding the process of entrepreneurship and technology-based venture development enables case analysts to apply the concepts in many situations involving business opportunities and company development.

CSS:3 Entrepreneurship.

Tourism and hospitality management, strategy, economics and customer service.

Undergraduate students studying hospitality management, customer satisfaction, customer service and economics.

Dubai International Airport is one of the most celebrated airports worldwide. It was constructed by order of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum in 1969 and has developed significantly in all sections over the years. Passenger numbers and profits have increased dramatically and the airport has received many awards from various countries and organizations, contributing greatly to economic and tourism development. Dubai International Airport offers unique services and facilities to customers, including the Airport Medical Centre, special needs services, Dubai International Airport Hotel, transportation, lounges, a children's play area, smoking rooms, Al Majlis services, executive flight services, Ahlan services, a modern baggage-handling system and Dubai Duty Free. The quality of service is one of the significant concerns of an international company, including Dubai International Airport, as a high quality brings many benefits to the organization, such as increased customer satisfaction and revenue. Thus, to maintain a high-quality level and compete with other international airports, Dubai International Airport needs to ensure the development of its service.

This cast study will help understand both the services offered by the airport and their features and understand the concepts of increasing value to customers in lieu of money, the contribution of the airport to economic growth, exceeding customers' expectations, intonation in providing services, some factors of competitive advantages, the application of customer satisfaction theories, the services market triangle and providing a role model to other airports.

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 based on an in-depth interview with Sean Ansett on March 6, 2020 in San Francisco. For a good reference book on the interview method in social science, please see Seidman (2019). Ansett is an alumnus of the Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University. A follow-up interview was conducted on December 13, 2021, via Zoom. The case situations are factual, but the names of the luxury brand, the factory and the Tunisian social auditing firm were disguised. Selected video clips of the interviews are available upon request.

In 2010, Sean Ansett, a social auditor with more than 25 years of experience in promoting workers’ rights in the global supply chain, faced a momentous decision. He was hired by a luxury brand company to conduct a social audit of a Tunisian leather goods factory. During his visit to the factory, he observed the troubling signs of child labor and alarming health and safety concerns in the work environment. Should he report the factory’s situation to the local authority? What should he advise his client, the luxury brand company, to do? Ansett realized that this was not a cut-and-dried decision as reporting to the local authority may affect workers adversely if the factory was closed. This case highlights the ethical dilemmas of human rights in the global supply chain. It also raises critical questions for multinational firms regarding what constitutes an ethical brand and how to ensure effective code of conduct implementation.

This case can be used in undergraduate or graduate business courses or curated sessions and seminars related to corporate social responsibility, ethics and social auditing in supply chain management.

Entrepreneurship, finance, technology and innovation, general management.

This case is suitable for students in finance, entrepreneurship and general management. The case seeks to understand the challenges of funding in technology startups and how they vary from product to service areas.

Availability of capital, short term and long term, is a major constraint faced by entrepreneurs. In India, in the technology sector, services companies have been able to innovate and grow whereas product-based companies that survived the challenges of funding have been scarce. Aluru Karthik Prasanth is presented in the case as a young entrepreneur with passion and drive to pursue the commercialization of an idea he developed during his undergraduate studies in engineering. Leaving behind the beaten paths ofMTech and employment, he decides to pursue MS entrepreneurship at IIT Madras. As he starts with his program, he analyses the challenges faced by previous technology start ups, Karthik has a dilemma – deciding whether to follow a product idea or change his plans to a technology service.

A detailed analysis of the case would help students address the following questions in entrepreneurial decision making: should an entrepreneur in technology in India pursue a product idea or service idea?. What are the pros and cons of each choice in financing? How can an entrepreneur pursue a product idea and minimize his/her risks? How does an entrepreneur's personal attributes influence his/her course? (e.g. family background, need for control) What are the challenges and opportunities in each kind of funding: debt, venture, angel, etc. in the Indian context?

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

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.

After completion of the case study, the participants would be able to understand the challenges in building a sustainable homestay tourism business; develop a positioning statement for La Pinekonez which builds a unique competitive advantage; and outline elements of the business strategy to profitably sustain and grow a sustainable tourism homestay in terms of service offering, pricing, marketing and operations.

La Pinekonez Homestay, located in the beautiful region of Himachal Pradesh, India, is the subject of this case study, which explores both its successes and its difficulties. In August 2022, Arvind, the dedicated sole proprietor of La Pinekonez, grappled with multifaceted challenges, the first being the foray of established hotel chains into the homestay business. As the protagonist, was is in dilemma of preserving La Pinekonez’s unique identity amidst corporate competitors, particularly with regards to differentiating from the expanding hotel chains. The clash between customer expectations for hotel-like amenities and the homestay’s commitment to sustainable tourism presented a crucial challenge. Negative reviews questioning the authenticity of La Pinekonez’s green initiatives heightened the complexity. Adding to Arvind’s predicament were the seasonal fluctuations in tourist inflow and his aspiration to embrace immersive tourism trends. This case study facilitates exploration of strategic positioning, sustainability management and marketing strategies in the dynamic and competitive hospitality industry. It also offers insights into the complexities of balancing differentiation, customer satisfaction and sustainability while navigating the evolving landscape of tourism trends.

This case study is suitable for students of tourism and hospitality management at postgraduate level. The case study can be discussed once the basic concepts of hospitality management and service dimensions are covered.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS 12: Tourism and hospitality.