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Upon completion of the case study, the students will be able to find the challenges and underlying structures that cause the problem; the students will be able to identify the dynamic variables and develop the interconnection and interlinkages among the time-delayed variables to build the story of the business case; the students could develop the block diagram and could build the system dynamics model using the simulation software STELLA, and if they do not have the simulation software, even then they could have a mental model to understand the problem well; the system dynamics students can design the policies to make the system better behaved and recommend solutions; and the students could make mind maps and develop the mental model and could recommend solutions and way forward to overcome the challenges and solve the issues.

Tradeasia is a small-scale manufacturing firm that had started its business activities near Sundar Industrial Estate, Raiwind, in September 2007. The company’s prime focus was to buy the potato starch from chips manufacturing companies and, then, extract the potato starch from the waste potato using its own machinery and sell it as a sizing agent to textile mills. Quality characteristics in terms of better millage and enhanced gullibility made it compatible with Rafhan corn-based starch. The major challenge linked to potato starch was its degree of wetness; the potato starch either extracted from rotten potato or procured from the potato chips manufacturing companies had a high degree of wetness and moisture content. Wet potato starch sometimes had more than 60% moisture content, which was really a challenge. Owing to the high degree of wetness, the wet starch was prone to fungus growth, and within hours, the fungus created toxins if it was not dried immediately, and then after 24 h, toxins acquired a black colour, and they became hardened like pebbles. The starch then was unusable even for sizing purposes for textile products. Reduction in the degree of wetness was really a big challenge and demanded prompt action and high productivity of the operational staff to make that product dry for sale purposes. This was the biggest challenge that ended up in huge inventories of wet starch. Capacity constraints and operational inefficiency killed the company’s productivity and affected the company’s profit.

This case study is written and developed for MBA and MS-level supply chain students of the system dynamics course or those studying management of supply chain complexities. This case study discusses the operational challenges while running the business; huge inventories, capacity constraints and inefficiency in production operations were the challenges associated with almost all manufacturing industries. This case study discussed not only why such challenges are appearing in the business but also the solution that resided in the wisdom shared by the employees in the board meeting. An integrated system dynamics model could be used to design the policies to overcome such challenges. Even the block diagram of the model and causal loop diagram could help to conceptualize the problem and explore the way forward.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 7: Management science.

This case study covers marketing concepts, including marketing mix, segmentation, targeting and brand positioning and communication. After completion of the case study, the students will be able to understand the importance of segmentation and targeting; recognize the differences between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customers (B2C) segments; gain knowledge about the points of parity and points of difference while positioning; and examine the elements of a marketing mix.

The case centered around Mr. Ashvinder Singh, founder and director of Uni Style Image (USI), who initiated the polo T-shirt business in 1990 in Okhla, Delhi. The brand expanded across the country, but from 2010, USI faced fluctuating demand due to the rise of online marketing and intense competition from global fashion brands. Revenues dropped massively, leading to a significant downsizing from over 300 employees to just 11 by the end of fiscal year 2016–2017. In 2018, Singh explored the B2B model; however, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 impacted many small- and mid-sized apparel businesses, including USI. In the fiscal year 2021–2022, the B2B segment accounted for 90% of total revenue, but the business size could not cover significant operating expenses. Despite only 10% of revenue coming from the B2C segment, Singh wanted to leverage the online space. In September 2022, Singh closed his factory in Noida, National Capital Region, Delhi. Amid the uncertainty, Singh explored various opportunities in the Indian market. In 2023, he even engaged a consultancy for expertise in marketing initiatives. He had to choose the target segment/s, develop a positioning strategy and create an effective marketing mix with very limited resources.

This case is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students, offering a valuable teaching tool for essential marketing concepts, such as the marketing mix, segmentation, positioning and brand communication. It can be used in both core marketing courses and elective courses like brand management, consumer behavior and integrated marketing communication. The decision dilemma presented in the case enriches the understanding of these concepts, making it a valuable resource for marketing education.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

This case is mainly about the development journey of Tujia, a unicorn in China's accommodations-sharing sector, as well as the development status of the sector. On December 1, 2011, Tujia.com—China's first medium- and high-end vacation apartment booking platform—was formally launched, and it announced the first round of capital injection in less than half a year after its launch. It completed D and D+ round of financing on August 3, 2015, securing $300 million with an estimated value exceeding $1 billion. The completion of this financing round meant that Tujia formally entered the $1 billion club composed of “unicorn” Internet companies. In June 2016, it announced the strategic M&A of Mayi; in October 2016, it announced its strategic agreement with Ctrip.com and Qunar.com for the M&A of their apartment and homestay businesses. The completion of these transactions manifested the matrix with the four major platforms Tujia, Mayi, Ctrip, and Qunar. Since then, Tujia has become the absolute pacesetter in China's online accommodations-sharing sector.

This case is based on primary and secondary sources of information. These sources include interviews with senior executives as well as documents provided by Mondragon and Eroski. The interviews were conducted on-site. In addition, the authors researched the literature on both organizations.

Eroski is the largest of Mondragon Corporation’s coops. Since its founding, Eroski has faced numerous challenges. It has responded to each challenge with out-of-the-box thinking. In response to the pandemic, Eroski become an e-commerce supermarket as well as selectively continuing bricks and mortar stores. As the pandemic is winding down, Eroski is considering how to respond to the “new normal,” which is largely undefined. The question posited at the end of the case is, “Will Eroski be able to hold to its social principles, maintain its unusual governance model and other unusual practices, and survive this latest challenge?”

Eroski of Mondragon is a complex and unusual organization. To appreciate the challenges and how they were overcome by its unique business model, a student must have a minimum background in management, corporate finance and marketing. Thus, this case would fit well into a senior or graduate class on strategic human resource management. It is also recommended for the strategy capstone course usually offered during the last year of a business bachelor’s degree (senior level) to ensure that students are introduced to what Paul Adler refers to as an alternative business model. It can also be targeted for an advanced management course or a strategy course at the MBA and executive levels.

This case replaces UVA-M-0837. It can be used in a variety of marketing and strategy classes to understand how (1) at a macro level, a shift in consumer and environmental factors can impact firm strategy and (2) at a micro level, an e-mail-based marketing campaign designed to address these changes can impact firm-level performance.

The case puts the students in the position of CEO Robert Huth as he is preparing for a board meeting. He had taken David's Bridal from a loss in 1996 to sales of over $1 billion by 2011, but he was concerned about future growth. People were waiting longer and longer to get married and, once they decided to, were spending much less than in the past, so the industry had seen year-over-year declines since 2007. How would David's Bridal establish its brand in the minds of a new generation of brides who shopped, purchased, and decided differently than had brides in past generations?

The case study draws on structured interviews with Rob Chase, Founder and CEO of NewGen Surgical, as well as secondary data sources to analyze the effectiveness of these solutions in mitigating the risks and enhancing the company’s competitive advantage.

This case study examines how NewGen Surgical, a small- to medium-sized medical equipment manufacturer based in the USA, navigates a supply chain crisis caused by post-pandemic (COVID-19) supply and demand distress, trade restrictions, and the US–China trade war in 2022. It outlines the journey of CEO and Founder, Robert Chase, as he started, grew and is maintaining the company and its various challenges. The case study reviews the risks and vulnerabilities of the company, which heavily relies on Chinese suppliers for most of its operations. To address the supply chain challenges, the case study explores alternative solutions such as insourcing, reshoring, diversifying the supplier base, changing safety stock and implementing new technologies. The case can be designed to teach business courses such as global business, supply chain and entrepreneurship.

This case study is intended for undergraduate and graduate students in courses such as global business, supply chain and entrepreneurship. In addition, this case study may be incorporated with modules on learning organizations, knowledge management and entrepreneurship to aid students in comprehending the principles of global sourcing, offshoring and supply chain management.

The case study highlights two strategic angles – that of the business unit (business strategy, profitability, market leadership. organizational culture, operational turnaround, industry structure and competitive dynamics) and the owner (returns, repositioning strategy and funding plan). By the end of this case study, students would be able to understand the changing competitive forces of a dynamic industry; analyse the circumstances leading to a change in the control of a firm from the state to the private sector; understand the logic of acquiring a perennially loss-making firm operating in a volatile environment without a unique strategy; identify a firm’s strategic and operational choices for financial turnaround, return to profitability and regaining market leadership; and learn about the actual strategic realities and choices confronting a troubled business organization in a difficult industry.

When the Tata Group took over Air India on 27 January 2022 from the state that had ownership for 68 years, Air India was under a long spell of poor performance, bleeding losses and unmanageable levels of debt. Unsatisfactory customer service, management issues and competition were the key reasons. Therefore, a crucial question facing the group’s Chairman N. Chandrasekaran was what workable strategy he could use to reposition Air India and make it profitable again so as to recover the $7.5bn of estimated investment involved in the acquisition and turnaround.

This case study is intended for undergraduate and graduate executive education levels in business administration and management and allied subjects, particularly for courses in strategic management, marketing, financial management, turnaround and transformation, mergers and acquisitions and organizational change.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Services Marketing: People Technology Strategy (Eighth Edition) By Pearson, Authored by Wirtz Jochen, Lovelock Christopher, Chatterjee Jayanta, 2017; Service-Marketing: Text and Cases (Second Edition) By Pearson, Authored by Harsh Verma, 2011.

Students will gain an understanding of business models, which has a positive impact on the environment.

This case study intends to help learners understand the concept of segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) in the case of services. The idea of services is different from that of a product as in services; intangible elements dominate the value creation. By exploring the practical scenarios faced by the protagonist, in this case, readers would enhance their problem-solving abilities in similar situations.

Prerna is the founder of Ecoplore, an aggregator cum booking platform for eco-hotels. It onboards hotels only if they are made up of vernacular architecture and maintains at least 33% of greenery on its premises. Listed properties also harvested rainwater, used renewable source of energy, used sustainable options instead of single use plastic, composted organic waste. Most of these properties grow vegetables, fruits and herbs, and the visitors enjoy homemade organic meals. Ecoplore is the only aggregator platform to visit and verify these eco-hotels directly. Ecoplore is an early-stage startup; all customer queries were handled by Prerna, on-call or through a chat box. It included interacting with prospective clients, understanding their requirements, suggesting the most suited options and booking the eco-hotels. Prerna had to spend most of the time interacting with clients. Over time, she comprehended that only a few prospective clients became Ecoplore’s customers, and the conversion rate was low of owing to various reasons like ticket size, clients' age and psychology.

For students: This case is aptly designed for marketing students pursuing Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Master of Business Administration courses to understand and apply STP theory and service marketing concepts.

CCS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The case study has been prepared for management students/business executives to understand electric vehicle (EV) business, business environment, industry competition and strategic planning and strategy implementation.

The size of the Indian passenger vehicle market was valued at US$32.70bn in 2021; it was projected to touch US$54.84bn by 2027 with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of more than 9% during the period 2022–2027. The passenger vehicle industry, a part of the overall automotive industry, was expected to grow at a rapid pace, as the Indian economy was rising at the fastest rate. However, the Government of India (GoI) had put a condition on the growth scenario by mandating that 100% of vehicles produced would be EVs by 2030. Tata Motors (TaMo), a domestic player in the market, had been facing a challenging competitive environment. Although it had been incurring losses, it had successfully ventured into the EV business. TaMo had taken advantage of the first mover by creating an electric mobility business vertical to enable the company to deliver on its aspiration of providing innovative and competitive e-mobility solutions. TaMo leadership had been putting efforts to scale up the electric mobility business, thus, contributing to GoI’s plan for electric mobility. Shailesh Chandra, president of electric mobility business, had a big task in hand. He had to scale up EV production and sales despite insufficient infrastructure for charging and shortages of electronic components for manufacturing.

The case study has been prepared for management students/business executives for strategic management class. It is recommended that the case study is distributed in advance so that the students can prepare well in advance for classroom discussions. Groups will be created to delve into details for a specific question. While one group will make their presentation, the other groups will question the solution provided and give suggestions.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The expected learning outcomes are to understand key frameworks and tools for global leaders through the application of widely used theoretical frameworks on a written business case, understand the role of the leader in a team, apply theories of change to situations to anticipate courses of events and evaluate and apply relevant theory to assess a leader’s character and personality.

Hassan Allam Holding (HAH) was a family-owned Egyptian engineering, construction and infrastructure company managed by co-Chief Executive Officers and brothers Amr and Hassan Allam. HAH experienced significant growth and success, but eventually, it reached a point where its family governance structure could no longer sustain further growth. Amr and Hassan realized this and started planning to transition toward a corporate governance structure. In 2016, they managed to get the International Finance Corporation on board as an equity partner, and this helped propel the governance transition, but they still needed to find a way to convince the family to step back. This case study can help students understand the issues that may occur during a change within an established organization of any size. The case study considers the implications the change may have on the leader, his personality and his character and how it shapes the leader in question as an outcome. This case study has been designed to be used in one or two sessions and can be offered in management or leadership courses at an undergraduate or graduate level.

This case study is intended for graduate and undergraduate students studying a leadership or management course. It can help students comprehend the challenges of a family-owned business and how change is associated with such businesses. The case also considers how leaders are shaped by effectively managing conflict. This case can be considered as Level 1 on a 1–3 scale, as the full description of the situation is given in the case and the task of the students is to analyze the leader and his decisions using various academic concepts and theories (Erskin et al., 2003).

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship