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Research methodology.

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At the end of the case discussion, the students should be able to: demonstrate an understanding of the similarities and differences between profit and non-profit organisations; discuss social entrepreneurship as a process-driven set of activities; assess the organisation-environment-opportunity fit of the dilemma facing them; analyse and resolve practical issues in developing structure and systems; diagnose organisational issues facing enterprises wishing to formalise and grow; evaluate how an organisation may achieve both social and profit objectives; and appreciate the trade-offs of adopting a profit-driven approach for social enterprises.

From her office on her farm in the Eden District of South Africa’s Western Cape province, Wendy Crane, who had for many years been involved in the conservation efforts of the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR), drank in the view of the Langeberg Mountains. Her pleasure was a bit diminished by the knowledge that, like so many parts of the GCBR, this area’s environment was under threat. She was preparing for a meeting in March 2017 of the board of the non-profit company (NPC) that sought to initiate and coordinate activities that would achieve the goals of the GCBR. The NPC board members wanted the organisation to be self-sustaining when it came to core costs. To this end, the board had established Gouritz Enterprises as a social enterprise that would be responsible for profit-driven activities which would fund the NPC’s core costs. The enterprise had not yet started work in any formal way, and Crane was not sure if establishing a separate profit-driven entity was the best way of achieving the self-financing goal.

Post-graduate management diploma MBAC.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Marketing management, pricing strategies, zoo management, non-profit organizations.

Difficult. Recommended for courses: marketing, strategy, pricing, customer behaviour, management of non-profit organizations, emerging markets.

The case study deals with the pricing dilemma of the Birch House Zoo located in an Eastern European country. The zoo has implemented capital-intensive developments in the recent years its main attraction the Tropic World included. The organization is managed and subsidized by the city where it is situated, yet the City Council lately expressed that they wanted the zoo to be self-financing by the end of 2011 by finding new source of revenue. In 2009, the operational expenses of the zoo exceeded EUR five million; however, the revenues were far bellow this level. The tariff structure did not change in the last 30 years as pricing always had to be adjusted to the local purchasing power; recent developments and new attractions are only partly priced in at the moment. In the light of the special environment in which Birch House Zoo operates, the director has to initiate key actions that could bring the zoo to the level of breakeven in its operations and make it financially independent.

Ability to create pricing and revenue generating strategies; understanding idiosyncrasies of the management of non-profit organizations regarding this matter; understanding price elasticity issues.

Teaching note.

Dialogue in Darkness (DID) is a global social enterprise, which provides products and services such as workshops, exhibitions and activities in the dark in China. The corporate workshops are designed for companies, institutions and government agencies to provide unique leadership training and some other training in teamwork, communication, innovation and change management. And education workshops are aimed at providing young people with unique leadership training and training in teamwork, innovation and empathy and so on for the educational institutions. Over the past five years, DID, headquartered in Shanghai, has expanded to Beijing, Chengdu and Shenzhen, realizing strategic coverage of East, West, North and South of China. DID achieved break-even within less than one year since its inception. Its sound and healthy development offers an innovative way for the sustainable development of social enterprises.

The case was written based on personal interviews with Jordan Boyes.

Boyes Group, a private real estate brokerage in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, had been growing rapidly. Company founder Jordan Boyes needed to determine where to continue expanding. Saskatoon held great potential in home building, and he wondered if this would be a direction for his company. His real estate reputation was excellent, but he wondered if building homes would jeopardize his current relationships with local builders. He wanted to move fast, to avoid giving up market share to his competitors.

This case was designed for undergraduate and graduate classes in strategy.

The case is aimed at pointing out the basic nuances of entrepreneurship without a profit motive and the challenges faced in the course of achieving the same.

This case could be a part of the Entrepreneurship course in a Post-Graduate Program in Business Management. In case of an Executive Education Program, this case can be used to facilitate issues in Entrepreneurship Development and Non-Profit Marketing.

The present case is a field-based illustrative study on Xplant, a unit set up by Xavier Research Foundation to promote production and selling of seasonal and ornamental plants with accessories to prospective buyers. The uniqueness about the organization was that it was solely governed and run by the students of Biotechnology Course at Xaviers College, Ahmedabad, India. However, in early 2012, it was found that the organization was facing a lot of issues such as competition, lesser demand and lack of motivation of the employees (students). All of which were taking the unit away from achieving sustainability.

Understanding the basics of a new venture and entrepreneurship; understanding the role of the team members in promoting the entrepreneurship venture; role of leadership in entrepreneurship; impact of independence of the entrepreneur and transference of business vision on long-term success of the venture; role of environment in success/failure or entrepreneurial ventures; and problems faced by entrepreneurship ventures.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email subhadip.roy@iimu.ac.in to request teaching notes.

The learning outcomes of this study are as follows:

▪ to bring the appreciation of the complexities involved in managing a mission-driven not-for-profit (NPO) institution;

▪ to highlight the pressures and tensions felt by a mission-driven not-for-profit organization from various stakeholders; and

▪ to appreciate the managerial challenge involved in making a not-for-profit organization financially sustainable while meeting its mission objectives.

The National Institute of Development Management (NIDM), established in 1980 by a group of development professionals, was a mission-driven high-performing knowledge institution focused on professionalizing the management of people’s institutions. From one long-term academic program in 1980 to three in 2019, NIDM came a long way in its journey. For the first five years, the institute offered a stipend to its students in the PGDM-DM program and placed them in village-based organizations. The next 15 years saw a general shift in attention toward the development sector, and NIDM started placing its students in other organizations beyond village-based development organizations. NIDM supported all its activities through funds generated on its own from program fees charged to the students, consulting and training activities. Prof. Sengupta, the Director, faced multiple challenges. He needed to decide what action he could take to keep the 40-year-old institution financially sustainable while remaining committed to the mission of its founders.

This case can be used in courses such a Managing Not-for-Profit Organizations and Management of Dual-Purpose Organizations. The case can be taught to the students of management, development management or agribusiness management programs. This case is also suitable for the faculty development programs participants to bring about the appreciation of managing an institution of higher education. The case requires about 70–90 min of class discussion time.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

This case focuses on social entrepreneurship where social externalities lie behind a commercial activity. It aims to help students understand the ins and outs of social entrepreneurship concept and justify its application or not to “The Good Thymes”. It leads to an in-depth reflection in the strategic management field but within the framework of a social enterprise. It presents a good foundation to help students applying the strategic tools to this particular context. It aims to help master’s students in the business field to explain the concept of social entrepreneurship by drawing out its elements from the case study, identify and list the components of business development and management, design "The Good Thymes" business model and list its value chain and evaluate the future orientation of a company based on its characteristics.

Young, ambitious, in love with his native village "Kfarhouna", in Southern Lebanon, Fady Aziz, a branding specialist living in the capital Beirut, proposed in January 2016, in a friendly discussion, to the priest of the monastery of Saint-Georges to rent him an agricultural land. He aims to have a reason, at the end of the week, to go up in his village with his family. Skeptical to the idea, the priest accused him of "not understanding anything about agriculture" and challenged him to propose a valuable agricultural project likely to make him change his mind. M. Fady Aziz fought to meet this challenge which will allow him not only to reinvigorate his abandoned village but also to reconnect with his origins. He obtained the right to exploit a plot of land belonging to the Monastery of St. Georges. He had the idea of planting thyme and transformed his "hobby" into the outset of a long journey where his products crossed the borders, under a purely artisanal brand: "The Good Thymes". Today, M. Aziz is facing a new challenge: Would he be able to fulfill all these orders and remain faithful to the philosophy that led him to invest in his village without impairing the natural and artisanal aspect of his thyme?

Master in Business.

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CSS 11: Strategy.

The case projects how a women-led social enterprise provides livelihoods through a digitally operated unique micro-entrepreneurship model for the rural artisans of the Indian handicrafts industry, thus bringing about social change through economic empowerment of the community.

To understand how women entrepreneurship is contributing towards livelihood generation and rural artisan empowerment in India. To understand the make-up of a for-profit social enterprise in the Indian Handicrafts Industry, its challenges and solutions through innovative business. To present the mindset and journey of a woman social entrepreneur. To present and understand the growth and scaling up of such unique social ventures. To understand a unique form of the micro entrepreneurship model being built through digital platforms.

The objective of writing this case is to bring out a case of women entrepreneurship in the craft-based industry in India. This case seeks to emphasise on the following learning themes in the area of entrepreneurship: Women entrepreneurship: trials and tribulations. Micro entrepreneurship/rural artisan empowerment. Livelihood generation and upliftment of the rural artisans and revival of dying art and crafts in the Indian craft-based industry. The novel ecommerce and data analytics experience being skilfully incorporated by small enterprises to their vantage and making both the seller’s as well as the buyer’s experience unique. The case highlights how the unique business models of social entrepreneurship through the use of technology bring the digital experience to rural India. Social entrepreneurship. The case narrates the story of a budding social entrepreneur Megha Das who is a textile designer by profession and showcases her journey towards the creation of unique digital platforms which transf

The case has been targeted to be taught in Masters level course in business management/administration, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, development studies, gender studies, design, etc. Its watered-down version can also be taught in under graduate programs in commerce, business management, business administration, fashion and textile designing, entrepreneurship, development studies, gender studies, etc.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship.

The portable solar cooker case is appropriate for upper division undergraduate and graduate students in entrepreneurship, international, strategy or sustainability courses.

xCRUZA, a small industrial design studio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, has experienced limited success and expansion since the company was founded in 2005. Focusing on eco design principles, xCRUZA has maintained an eclectic design mix pertaining to product development in children's toys, medicine, and cleaning products. Challenged by a struggling Argentine economy, a population not focused on environmental concerns, and a general lack of capital availability, the founders of xCRUZA chose to design, develop, market and sell a portable solar cooker. The cooker was originally designed by two of the founders while studying engineering at university. While innovative and award winning in design, xCRUZA's solar cooker has proven to be a challenge to the founders' success both in getting their product to market and fulfilling the mission of the studio.

The learning objectives for the case include: to explore the challenges of an entrepreneurial start-up dedicated to eco design and sustainability principles, to examine market opportunities and consider approaches to selling in dissimilar markets, generate a discussion on strategies that xCRUZA has and can employ, to analyze the mission and direction of xCRUZA. Are they on the right track?

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

The learning outcomes are that at the end of the case discussion, the students should be able to evaluate the drivers of social innovation in an African context; discuss social entrepreneurship as a process-driven set of activities; assess the organisation–environment–opportunity fit when innovating; analyse and resolve practical issues in developing simple and affordable social innovations; appreciate how social enterprises are mission-based businesses rather than charities; and evaluate how an organisation may achieve social objectives and remain sustainable.

SolarTurtle is an award-winning South African social enterprise that manufactures and supplies secure, mobile, solar power stations and kiosks to communities where the electricity grid does not reach. The company converts shipping containers into housings for solar panels to protect them from theft and extreme weather conditions. These units are called “PowerTurtles”. Through the franchise model, the company supplies PowerTurtles to off-grid institutions in rural areas. PowerTurtles are also sold to private sector enterprises and are scalable to suit the energy needs of customers. With the successful launch of the AutoTurtle in 2018 (which folds away the solar panels automatically, where the PowerTurtle requires them to be folded away manually), the company started to develop a new lightweight, fibreglass, solar kiosk with roof-mounted solar panels called the MiniTurtle, and a mobile trolley version known as the BabyTurtle. Now, in 2018, Van der Walt hopes to develop the business to the point where it can sustain itself.

Post-graduate students of entrepreneurship, public governance and social welfare.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.