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Marketing, Brand management, Social media marketing, Digital marketing.

The case can be taught in MBA courses and executive education programs.

Dufil Prima Limited is the manufacturer of Indomie noodles and a market leader in the noodles market of Nigeria that exports products to Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Benin Republic. However, the company has experienced a drop in the market share from 78 per cent in 2010 to 54 per cent in 2015. This drop is largely due to rising competition, Nigeria’s economic downturn and the inability to grow a consumer base in Northern Nigeria. Kenneth Iruonagbe, a social media executive of the company, is responsible for developing a social media and digital marketing strategy for the company to increase the market share position by 16 per cent in the next three years. Kenneth is convinced that a growth in the Northern Nigeria market share is critical for improving the market position in the entire country and facilitating the market penetration in the other four countries. A number of options are being considered to address the current problem. Because of the sharp differences in the consumption habits, cultural values and lifestyles of consumers of noodles in the northern and southern parts of Nigeria, the options may be difficult to implement. Dufil needs to engage in the delicate task of crafting a social media and digital marketing strategy that will be consistent with the values of the Indomie brand and yet prevent the risk of brand confusion and alienation on the part of consumers. The company has one month to roll out its plan.

Highlight how cultural branding through social media applies to consumer markets in Africa Explain the fundamentals of brand building and also introduce the concepts of integrated marketing communication, below-the-line, above-the-line, social media and digital marketing. Explain how social media and digital marketing could be used to move consumers from brand awareness to brand loyalty. Explain how to craft social media and digital marketing strategies that are relevant to countries facing an economic downturn. Highlight the lessons from internationalizing a brand across various African countries.

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CSS: 8: Marketing.

The hot breakfast cereal division of Quaker Oats was in serious decline, and the increasing American preference for speed and convenience at breakfast did not bode well for the category. The senior VP overseeing the hot breakfast division has been given an ultimatum by the CEO to turn the company's namesake product line around. She develops a marketing plan, but will it work?

To analyze a mature product category within the context of its competition and consumer trends, and apply several aspects of brand management and marketing strategy to maintain market share in the face of changing consumer preferences and intense competition.

This case is in four parts, highlighting the crossroads at which the protagonist Savita finds herself in and the difficulties she faces in balancing her career aspirations with family responsibilities. A Fellow of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, Savita's dilemmas concern working in a prestigious management institute in Kolkata versus getting a job in Mumbai in order to psychologically and financially support her family and get married; joining her husband in China on his posting versus going to the US on a prestigious fellowship prioritizing her career, and finally, starting a family versus postponing the decision till the couple were together and reasonably settled in their respective careers.

Through this case, students will not only learn about the latest development of this emerging industry, IoT, but also gain a systematic understanding of “ecosystem strategy” and get to know a new corporate growth model called “co-creation”.

This case describes why and how Advantech Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Advantech) has transformed in the age of the Internet of Things. Aware of the ecosystem attributes of the IoT industry and committed to the company’s principle of “altruism”, Advantech strategically positioned itself as an “IoT platform provider” and an “enabler” for IoT applications. After carrying out a reform in terms of internal management, external cooperation, and development model, Advantech has evolved from an industrial computer maker to an IoT solution provider. Since the launch of the “co-creation model” at the end of 2016, Advantech has drawn attention from many excellent companies in traditional industries. With the Internet of Everything close at hand, Chairman KC Liu is well aware there are many challenges to overcome as Advantech strives to build an industrial IoT ecosystem, the “evolution” continues.

MBAs, EMBAs and senior executives.

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CSS 11: Strategy

The learning outcomes are as follows: to understand how technology can be used to create innovative entrepreneurial opportunities; to develop analytical and critical thinking skills to understand organisations, industries and their dynamics; to analyse strategic options for an entrepreneurial organisations and motivate a proposed strategic direction; and to assess the inter-functional requirements for an entrepreneurship to successfully implement a strategy.

UCOOK, a successful emerging economy SME, is confronted with the threat of retail giants (e.g. Checkers and Woolworths) entering the meal kit space. No longer the only “new kid on the block”, UCOOK has to consider a sustainable growth strategy to remain competitive. The case provides the reader with a snapshot of experiences of a meal kit entrepreneurial venture and what it entails for them to grow in the South African milieu. Principally, this case is designed to impart knowledge and stimulate a practical understanding of entrepreneurship and strategic decision-making in the meal kit industry. Additionally, the purpose is to serve as inspiration for business students to see the opportunities that lie within strategically astute emerging market ventures.

The primary target audience for this teaching case is postgraduate business students, especially students of entrepreneurship, strategy and e-commerce. This teaching case is intended to be used as case study in post graduate business programmes such as Master of Business Administration (MBA), a specialist Masters programme such as MM (Entrepreneurship), post-graduate diploma in management (PGDip), as well as selected executive education programmes.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The case will help students to understand the challenges faced by the organisations with respect to implementing social reforms; develop an understanding in creating sustainable solutions to the social problems; identify leadership challenges faced by such enterprises; and understand grassroots challenges of establishing such enterprises in India.

The case deals with the dilemma and challenges of Col. Nirban Singh, in-charge of Midday meal of QRG Foundation at Alwar. The foundation was based on the vision of creating a positive impact in communities through social service. They follow a socially positive agenda and work consistently to contribute to the betterment of the society and its future. Their initiatives revolve around their concerns for the nutrition, health and education of children. It was decided that out of the three programmes on environment, sanitation and the mid-day meal (MDM) for school going children, the later will be the flagship CSR activity of Havells. The programme began with coverage of 1,500 students in 2005. In 2015, ten years since inception, the Havells MDM scheme catered to over 58,000 students from 688 schools every day in the Alwar region of Rajasthan. Till February 2017, Havells has served over 66 million meals to students and impacted lives of millions of Children (Source: Havells). The case illustrates innovative model of automation in food preparation and cooking operations adopted by the company with minimum human intervention, to maintain hygiene and thereby with the help of special vans owned by the company quickly distribute freshly cooked food to schools at lunch time. The case highlights the purpose behind this initiative, challenges that company face in day-to-day activities and the impact of this initiative on the children in Alwar district at Rajasthan. QRG is at the crossroad: Col. Nirban must identify the way forward without compromising on the quality of the services provided. His available options are replicate the programme in the new state, upscale their services in Rajasthan and focus on the existing project and work on the ways to make it sustainable.

The case can be used in both undergraduate and graduate levels in entrepreneurship, management and leadership classes to discuss corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, NGO and responsible business. The case provides practical challenges faced by the social enterprises/NGOs in running the programme, implementing the policies on the ground, replicating and sustaining it. The case can be used in strategy, innovation and ethic classes.

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Management science.

The learning outcomes of this study are to assess the shared value model and elaborate on new multi-stakeholder approaches to business, where the stakeholders include the founders, investors, partners, employees, clients and the surrounding community; to consider the synergies between community development, environmental stewardship, sustainable business practices and the long-term health of organisations and communities, considering these as the new fundamentals of business; to examine the interconnectedness of vision, strategy, purpose and leadership in creating and evolving the shared value model; to explore the relationship between shared value practices and collective well-being, and a specific reference to nurturing transformative experiences through nature, personal development and community upliftment is made; and to assess Grootbos’ ability to translate their purpose and value proposition into a strategy and sustainable vision with a possibility of Grootbos achieving global impact through its evolving model, beyond the founder.

This case study explores the evolution of Grootbos Private Nature Reserve and Foundation, a luxury hospitality lodge and award-winning ecotourism destination, from humble beginnings in the Western Cape of South Africa to a global example of conservation, community, commerce sustainability and transformative experiences. The establishing of Grootbos and its growth and widespread recognition can be attributed to the vision and inspirational leadership of its founder, Michael Lutzeyer. Although much success has been achieved in conservation, community upliftment and individual development of community members within their region, Lutzeyer’s and ultimately, Grootbos’ vision extended well beyond South Africa and aspired to elevate their floral kingdom and model of development and conservation to a global platform of awareness. Although a shared value vision and strategy had transformed the business, placing Grootbos as a leader in transforming their industry and sparking an evolution in the shared value model itself through the interjection of transformative experiences, the larger question remained: How can Grootbos extend the impact, towards people and planetary well-being, beyond the scope of their individual place-based business and their industry? And in terms of the dilemma Lutzeyer and the management team at Grootbos faced: How will this vision and global ambition continue through succession, beyond Luzeyer’s personal drive at the helm?

Experienced leaders within a graduate degree program, executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) or executive education in the areas of leadership development, strategy, shared value and international business.

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CSS4: Environmental management.

The following are the learning objectives of the case study: to address the problem of urban food insecurity. To facilitate the generation of more employment opportunities and women empowerment through self-help groups (SHGs). To understand the transition from the founder to new leadership provided by Ms J Jayalalithaa. To understand consumer perception and preferences for “Amma canteens”. To appreciate how the case study has added to the historical role of soup kitchens. To address the challenges faced by the government on the sustainability and viability of “Amma canteens” post the death of its founder Ms Jayalalithaa.

“Amma Unavagam” is a food subsidisation programme operated by the State Government of Tamil Nadu in India. Under the scheme, municipal corporations of the state are required to run canteens that serve subsidised food. The canteens were first launched by the then Chief Minister of the state Ms Jayalalithaa, who was widely acknowledged as “Amma”. These low-cost canteens will be announced as part of government schemes aimed to support economically disadvantaged sections of society. The scheme had been able to generate employment for thousands of women. However, the success of the scheme lies in the low prices and the cooperative management of all the outlets by the SHGs. The SHGs have been able to run the canteens based on self-governing norms, mutual reciprocity and shared responsibilities. This case study evaluates the role of state-sponsored mechanisms to ensure food security, alleviate food inflation and empower more women in the workforce. Yet, several concerns continue to remain unaddressed. Considering the huge amount of subsidy provided by the state government, the sustainability and economic viability of the scheme are uncertain.

This case study can be used for management students studying the basics of management such as teamwork, motivation, leadership and good governance. They may also study government policies and community intervention programmes for the benefit of society. The present case study will help the students to analyse the concept of women empowerment and social inclusion. The students, before discussing the case, may study and read the socio-economic theory of “community engagement and participation”, the “self-help model” and the related “theory of reasoned action/planned behaviour”.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 6: Human resource management.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to understand and develop the framework for the selection of location; to understand the resource-based theory (RBT) of entrepreneurship and develop the framework for RBT; to project a firm’s growth path in terms of achieving size; to analyze the important obstacles for same; and to calculate and forecast accurate market demand and customer footfall.

Abdul Jabbar Soomro recently quit his corporate job to achieve one of his dreams. He had always wanted to establish his own business venture and to be a successful entrepreneur. After completing his MBA in 2005, he started his career with one of the multinational companies at a very handsome salary. However, after 10 years of a corporate job, he left the job and started his own food venture. He faced a lot of challenges from his family, but he pursued his dream and started searching for the best location. By October 2015, he was all set and ready for the inauguration of his branch. He received a very positive response from market, and the number of customers kept on increasing on a daily basis. The major reasons behind his success were the environment, ambiance and product quality as promised. After two years of successful operations, Abdul Jabbar Soomro was wondering either to start a new branch or to proceed for expansion and better space management at the existing branch. He was unable to accommodate all the customers at his existing space.

BBA

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CSS: 3 Entrepreneurship

In 2015, NESTLÉ India underwent a major crisis as the product which contributed to nearly 30% of its sales had to be taken off the shelves. Maggi—the go-to convenience food for all generations (especially kids and young adults)—which had entered the market in 1983, was banned. With a market share of 70-80% before the ban, NESTLÉ, which got the ban lifted in November 2015, had to undergo the task of winning back the lost market. Over a period of 8 months after its relaunch, the brand regained about 60% of its market back, but the question is how could such brand disaster be avoided in future? The case revolves around a major brand recovering from a brand disaster, and whether they did it well enough or could the situation have been managed better. It also enquires as to what road should be taken forward from here. It notes the action taken by the government against the brand and leaves it to the judgment of the readers if the actions taken against the brand were a little too harsh, solely because MNCs are usually considered a soft target in India. The readers must also understand and analyse the different brand relaunch strategies that were adopted by NESTLÉ and the next steps that should be taken by it.