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Social Entrepreneurship/management of non-profit organizations (and non-government organizations).

Undergraduate/MBA/Executive MBA.

PUKAR is a niche non-government organization (NGO) working on a unique concept of “Right to Research”. It has several themes aimed at democratizing research and broadening access to knowledge among the disenfranchised or the weakly institutionalized groups. The resulting output is disseminated through media such as lectures, Web site, books and newsletters, thus initiating local, national and global debates about future of these groups. PUKAR conceptualizes all projects around this philosophy, which are supported by few specialized funding organizations. Funding organizations, on the other hand, are trying to support many causes aimed at improving the quality of life of citizens of various countries. Thus, PUKAR's growth is constrained by limited funds. Nevertheless, PUKAR has been able to create transformation in the lives of youth who carry out these projects. PUKAR, therefore, faces a continuous challenge of conceptualizing proposals that are meaningful and impactful for the society and to stay true to its core philosophy.

The expected learning outcomes include: to understand the nature of challenges (both strategic and operational) faced by a niche NGO; to analyze how the strategy of an NGO evolves with time; to analyze the impediments of growth for a niche NGO; and to analyze the strategic options for growth and sustenance of an NGO.

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 most suited for the course on Strategic Management.

The case can be used for post graduate management students and executive education participants. It should be used in the section dealing with capabilities of an organization.

Sonalika Group, situated in Punjab, India, started its operations in 1969 by manufacturing agricultural implements and equipment’s. By 1990, the firm graduated into manufacturing tractors. It gradually expanded its wings in countries like Nigeria, Argentina and Brazil and became the third largest tractor manufacturer of India in FY 2012. The year 2005 was a landmark year when it entered the passenger vehicle segment through its subsidiary International Cars and Motors Limited that launched a multi-utility vehicle (MUV) named Rhino. The vehicle was expected to fill up the vacant spot created by the withdrawal of “Qualis”, which was a highly popular MUV manufactured by Toyota. However, the enthusiasm of launching Rhino waned with time because its sales did not pick up as expected. After selling around 5,000 units of Rhino, the company stopped its production as the product had started showing up teething problems. The marketers and designers burnt midnight oil to bring out an improved version of Rhino. This version was christened “Extreme” and launched in 2012. Despite all marketing, sales and service efforts, “Extreme” also failed to take off. The group is wondering when it was so successful in tractors why it has not been successful in passenger vehicle category. It has to work out a strategy to be successful in passenger vehicle segment as well.

Expected learning outcomes are as follows: to analyse the external and internal environment for a business and understand its impact on business decision-making; to understand the relationship between operational capabilities and dynamic capabilities; to identify opportunities and match it with internal capabilities; to analyse the reasons for product failure and identify remedial measures; to understand the process of technology diffusion and thereby strategic planning.

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

Strategic Management/General Management.

MBA/Executive MBA.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) was incorporated in 1937 to operate in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. The first period of crisis was witnessed in 1997/1998 due to the Asian Financial Crisis, MAS reported RM 260 million in losses. The airline recovered from the loss and reported profit of RM 461 million in 2004. However, it experienced another loss of RM 1.25 billion in 2005. This lead to implementation of the Business Turnaround Plan 1 in 2006. The Business Transformation Plan 2 was announced in 2008, but the period of losses hit the airline again in 2011. Overall, MAS has witnessed continuous cycle of losses and profits. Despite the turnaround efforts, the airline does not seem to be recovering; is there a safe landing for the troubled airlines?

The case can be used to illustrate economics and complexities of aviation industry, different business models existing in airline industry, quantitative and qualitative aspects of a turnaround strategy, failure to sustain turnaround efforts, and predicting the future scope for a player in airline industry.

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

Understand the external environment and trends impacting customer preferences. Understanding the elements of customer segmentation and positioning for products such as backpacks and travel luggage. Understand the levers for turnaround management. Qualitative evaluation of an opportunity for investment – greenfield versus brownfield. Developing a marketing plan for growth.

Indian Luggage market has an oligopoly structure with three major brands – very important person (VIP) Industries, Samsonite and Safari Industries Ltd. (SIL), holding around 90% share of the organized market. The market had evolved slowly, with the players offering limited assortment and having limited manufacturing capacities in India. SIL, having been in business for nearly 25 years, had been registering a flat top line. In 2011, the top management shuffle at VIP Industries witnessed the exit of the then MD, Mr Sudhir Jatia. Mr Jatia decided to acquire the majority stake of 56.55% for Rs 29 crores for the struggling SIL. What followed in the subsequent years was the resurgence of SIL to a noteworthy position in the industry. From a merely 2% market share in 2011, SIL went on to hold nearly 16% market share in 2019. This growth in market share, along with CAGR of almost 15% for the luggage market overall, has boosted the revenue of SIL by nearly 10-folds from INR 620m in 2011 to INR 5.73bn in the year 2018. Several reasons had been identified behind the growth of this company, such as – Mr Jatia’s leadership style, focus on profitable stock keeping units, acquisition of other brands, operational efficiency and financial infusion. However, the larger question was that – Will SIL, which had been following a challenger strategy to date, be able to overcome the leaders in the industry? What strategies should it pursue now? And what obstacles can it expect on this anticipated journey of growth?

Undergraduate and post-graduate.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Sports tourism has gained much attention in recent decades due to its socio-economic and environmental impact on destinations. This study at first examines travel motives that might trigger participation in active sports tourism (AST). Further, it compares these travel motives and their impact on participation intention in AST (between India and Poland).

Data were collected online through a self-administered questionnaire in both countries (N = 273 in India and N = 255 in Poland). Descriptive data were analyzed using SPSS statistics 24, and SPSS AMOS 25 was used for testing the measurement model and multi-group analysis.

The results show that in both countries, participants are motivated mainly by travel exploration, social bonding, and stress relief, which are the primary travel motives commonly associated with tourism. However, the significance of these motives varies across both nations. Interestingly, active sports tourists are not motivated by physical strength, self-enhancement, and social recognition.

The study presents a framework to discuss travel motives in Active Sports Tourism (AST). It also describes the motives that influence Indians and Polish citizens' participation in active sports tourism.

Using the extant literature review, this paper aims to explore the relationship between gender, entrepreneurial education (EE) and entrepreneurial intention (EI) in the Indian context, which the authors believe is a novel approach to this research stream. The authors also use career preparedness as a control variable to examine this relationship.

Data were collected from 368 undergraduate students across four Indian universities (one exclusively for female students) through a standard structured questionnaire. Additionally, rather than examining, EI has been treated as a monolithic construct; however, the authors conceptualize it as comprising three different dimensions that include grand vision and risk-taking ability; opportunity exploitation; and ability to persevere. An additional analysis was conducted for the students who reported higher scores for “being well prepared for their careers” through their institutes’ academic programs and communities of entrepreneurs. The authors also interviewed some entrepreneurship instructors, who confirmed the present findings through their observations.

The findings indicate that, essentially, there is a positive relationship between EE and EI. The authors find that male students scored higher for the first two dimensions of EI but not the third. Additionally, the authors used career preparedness as a control variable for additional analysis. The authors observed that students with higher “career preparedness” reported a positive relationship between EE and EI, independent of gender, for all three dimensions of EI. Thus, it may be assumed that if a community of entrepreneurs needs to be developed in India, a focus on career preparedness is critical.

First, given that the present survey reflected a single moment in linking EE to EI (which may be considered a limitation of the study), future researchers might focus on a longitudinal approach. Second, all the respondents are attending urban universities (and, as such, very likely belong to the upper middle class of Indian society). The financial divide between urban and rural India is well known; as such, the results might be different if the sample was drawn from rural and poor India.

The salience/value of this study lies in the conceptualization of EI comprising three sub-constructs to understand the impact of formal EE (with three sub-constructs) on EI. The focus on career preparedness for a female student is a new direction of inquiry with respect to entrepreneurial intention.