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Case study
Publication date: 19 October 2023

Ian Macleod, Adrian David Saville and Theresa Onaji-Benson

The study enables students to critique the internationalisation strategy of an African business including elements of macroeconomic analysis, company fit with jurisdictions…

Abstract

Learning outcomes

The study enables students to critique the internationalisation strategy of an African business including elements of macroeconomic analysis, company fit with jurisdictions, non-market strategies and mode of entry.

Case overview/synopsis

Roland van Wijnen was the chief executive officer of Pretoria Portland Cement Company Limited (PPC), a 130-year-old cement maker based in South Africa. He joined after the business had embarked on an international expansion strategy that had taken the business to countries of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia in a matter of years. This expansion caused the deflation of the Johannesburg-listed company’s share price. The company failed to appreciate a number of success factors in each jurisdiction. The challenges included cultural misalignments, macroeconomic analysis and mode of market entry. The case dilemma involved the choices that van Wijnen faced in re-evaluating the international footprint of the business.

Complexity academic level

Undergraduate or postgraduate level.

Supplementary material

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 5: International business.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 20 January 2017

Robert F. Bruner, Laurie Simon Hodrick and Sean Carr

At three o'clock in the morning on September 10, 2001, Thierry Hautillac, a risk arbitrageur, learns of the final agreement between Pinault-Printemps-Redoute SA (“PPR”) and LVMH…

Abstract

At three o'clock in the morning on September 10, 2001, Thierry Hautillac, a risk arbitrageur, learns of the final agreement between Pinault-Printemps-Redoute SA (“PPR”) and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (“LVMH”). After a contest for control of Gucci lasting over two years, PPR has emerged as the winner. PPR and LVMH have agreed for PPR to buy about half of LVMH's stock in Gucci for $94 per share, for Gucci to pay an extraordinary dividend of $7 per share, and for PPR to give a two and a half year put option with a strike price of $101.50 to the public shareholders in Gucci. The primary task for the student in this case is to recommend a course of action for Hautillac: should he sell his 2% holding of Gucci shares when the market opens, continue to hold his shares, or buy more shares? The student must estimate the risky arbitrage returns from each of these choices. As a basis for this decision, the student must value the terms of payment and consider what the Gucci stock price will do upon the market's open. The student must determine the intrinsic value of Gucci using a DCF model as well as information on peer firms and transactions. The student must consider potential synergies between Gucci and PPR and between Gucci and LVMH. The student must assess the likelihood of a higher bid, using analysis of price changes at earlier events in the contest for clues.

Case study
Publication date: 20 January 2017

James B. Shein

The case opens with Martha Stewart's 2005 release from prison following her conviction for obstructing an insider-trading investigation of her 2001 sale of personal stock. The…

Abstract

The case opens with Martha Stewart's 2005 release from prison following her conviction for obstructing an insider-trading investigation of her 2001 sale of personal stock. The scandal dealt a crippling blow to the powerful Martha Stewart brand and drove results at her namesake company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO), deep into the red. But as owner of more than 90 percent of MSO's voting shares, Stewart continued to control the company throughout the scandal.

The company faced significant external challenges, including changing consumer preferences and mounting competition in all of its markets. Ad rates were under pressure as advertisers began fragmenting spending across multiple platforms, including the Internet and social media, where MSO was weak. New competitors were luring readers from MSO's flagship publication, Martha Stewart Living. And in its second biggest business, merchandising, retailing juggernauts such as Walmart and Target were crushing MSO's most important sales channel, Kmart. Internal challenges loomed even larger, with numerous failures of governance while the company attempted a turnaround.

This case can be used to teach either corporate governance or turnarounds.

Students will learn:

  • How control of shareholder voting rights by a founding executive can undermine corporate governance

  • The importance of independent directors and board committees

  • How company bylaws affect corporate governance

  • How to recognize and respond to early signs of stagnation

  • How to avoid management actions that can make a crisis worse

  • How weaknesses in executive leadership can push a company into crisis and foster a culture that actively prevents strategic revitalization

How control of shareholder voting rights by a founding executive can undermine corporate governance

The importance of independent directors and board committees

How company bylaws affect corporate governance

How to recognize and respond to early signs of stagnation

How to avoid management actions that can make a crisis worse

How weaknesses in executive leadership can push a company into crisis and foster a culture that actively prevents strategic revitalization

Case study
Publication date: 1 May 2009

Pauline Assenza, Alan B. Eisner and Jerome C. Kuperman

Ann Taylor was founded in 1954, and its classic black dress and woman's power suit were staples for years. In 1995 Ann Taylor LOFT was launched to appeal to a more casual…

Abstract

Ann Taylor was founded in 1954, and its classic black dress and woman's power suit were staples for years. In 1995 Ann Taylor LOFT was launched to appeal to a more casual, costconscious consumer. Under Kay Krill's leadership, the division began to outperform the original flagship. When Krill was promoted to President/CEO of Ann Taylor Stores Corporation in 2005, she was challenged with rebuilding the Ann Taylor brand - (i.e., meeting the “wardrobing needs of the updated classic consumer”) while maintaining the image and market share of LOFT. By mid-2008, an additional problem appeared: the macroeconomic climate was posing considerable uncertainty, especially for retail businesses. Krill was firmly committed to long-term growth. However, given the 2008 situation, what could she do to unleash what she believed was the firm's “significant untapped potential”?

Details

The CASE Journal, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 1544-9106

Case study
Publication date: 1 December 2011

Raghavan Parthasarthy and C. Gopinath

The competitive landscape of the U.S. domestic airlines dramatically changed when the industry was deregulated in 1978. While airline traffic and revenues grew exponentially…

Abstract

The competitive landscape of the U.S. domestic airlines dramatically changed when the industry was deregulated in 1978. While airline traffic and revenues grew exponentially, aided by unfettered market competition and resulting efficiency, airline profitability had mostly stayed lackluster due to cost pressures, chronic oversupply of seats, and intense price-based rivalry to fill seats. Thirty-two years into deregulation, the major airlines were still searching for the Holy Grail that would defend them against industry threats and deliver sustained profitability. This case describes the evolution of the U.S. domestic airline industry over the years, the cost pressures and revenue uncertainties airlines faced at the beginning of 2010, and the strategic options they were contemplating to effectively deal with these issues. The options ranged from shaping the industry structure to achieving differentiation through service offerings. The exact choices they made would determine their survival and long-term success.

Details

The CASE Journal, vol. 8 no. 1
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 1544-9106

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 20 January 2017

Petra Christmann, Jin Leong and Michele Tan

This case can be used in management of international business courses to illustrate the analysis of market attractiveness, the importance of fit between firm capabilities and…

Abstract

This case can be used in management of international business courses to illustrate the analysis of market attractiveness, the importance of fit between firm capabilities and market requirements, and the effects of multimarket competition. It describes the international expansion challenges facing EAC Nutrition, the infant formula division of a Danish conglomerate, in early 2002. Growth in EAC's core markets of Thailand and Malaysia has stagnated and EAC is contemplating three expansion options: entry into India, geographic expansion within China, and product line expansion in existing markets.

Details

Darden Business Publishing Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2474-7890
Published by: University of Virginia Darden School Foundation

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 13 October 2023

Rameshan P.

The case study highlights two strategic angles – that of the business unit (business strategy, profitability, market leadership. organizational culture, operational turnaround…

Abstract

Learning outcomes

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.

Case overview/synopsis

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.

Complexity academic level

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.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 11: Strategy.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 6 February 2020

Barney Jordaan and Gawie Cillié

The case is supported with a teaching note, discussion questions and suggested responses to those as well as verbatim transcripts from interviews conducted with managers and…

Abstract

Supplementary materials

The case is supported with a teaching note, discussion questions and suggested responses to those as well as verbatim transcripts from interviews conducted with managers and others for purposes of a research project after the strike had ended. Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes are as follows: students will be able to critique the approach to collective bargaining of both the company and the union in the case and suggest alternative approaches; identify the steps the company could take to both deal with the aftermath of the strike and develop preventive measures for the future; and advise the company on a series of questions it needs advice on.

Case overview/synopsis

A violent strike erupted after failed wage negotiations. It laid bare deep divisions between African and non-African employees and between permanent employees and those appointed as temporary employees only. It also revealed the mindsets of people on both sides of the conflict, as well as several errors made by management in the manner in which they viewed the role of the union and failed to build strong relations with employees on the shop floor.

Complexity academic level

The case is suitable for students at honours or masters level in conflict studies, dispute resolution, employment relations, human resource management and negotiation.

Subject code

CSS 6: Human resource management.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 1 May 2011

John A. Parnell, John E. Spillan, Marlon R. McPhattar and Donald L. Lester

The decade from 2000 until 2010 was a turbulent time for Toyota Motor Company. The carmaker came under significant criticism from the United States government, consumers…

Abstract

The decade from 2000 until 2010 was a turbulent time for Toyota Motor Company. The carmaker came under significant criticism from the United States government, consumers throughout the world, and media critics amid allegations of poor quality control and vehicle safety concerns. Problems with accelerators and brake systems were found on several of its most popular models, a situation initially exacerbated by the slow and somewhat tentative response from top management. Toyota was accused of not addressing early warning signs that appeared several years before the crisis received intense negative publicity. Toyota struggled to retain the confidence of consumers and governmental regulators, eventually recalling approximately eight million automobiles.

Details

The CASE Journal, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 1544-9106

Case study
Publication date: 20 January 2017

Michael J. Schill and Elizabeth Shumadine

This case examines the April 2007 decision of British music company EMI to suspend its annual dividend as the company struggled to respond to the effect of digital audio…

Abstract

This case examines the April 2007 decision of British music company EMI to suspend its annual dividend as the company struggled to respond to the effect of digital audio distribution on its core business. The EMI case is intended to serve as an engaging introduction to corporate financial policy and themes in managing the right side of the balance sheet. The case contrasts EMI's storied success with artists such as the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, and Norah Jones with its recent inability to succeed in financial markets. In light of takeover threats and restructuring costs, EMI's CFO Martin Stewart must recommend EMI's dividend policy.

Details

Darden Business Publishing Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2474-7890
Published by: University of Virginia Darden School Foundation

Keywords

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