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Learning outcomes are as follows: to understand the need for a small business to expand geographically; to evaluate the business dynamics and challenges faced by an entrepreneur during the business life cycle; and to analyze the geography and create a growth strategy for small business setup in a phase where competition is moving from a moderate to an intense stage.

Polymatic Plastics & Packaging (PPP), a proprietorship firm of Mr Shantanu Kalia at Ludhiana, Punjab, India, was formed in 2016 and is involved in the manufacturing of bubble packing and stretch films. Growing business and competition have created both unique challenges as well as propositions for PPP. While growth in business is encouraging Shantanu to secure more contracts for his manufacturing unit, increased competition within Ludhiana is also creating a dilemma to either compete on home turf with USPs ranging from product quality, pricing and superior turn-around-time or explore additional geographies and expand horizontally.

The case is suitable for courses on entrepreneurship and geography strategy in graduate business programs. The case is also suitable for executive program for budding entrepreneurs seeking to explore specific service/product as a potential business proposition and building their business around it.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

In the wake of the December 2015 Paris COP21 (Conference of Parties), and India's announced renewable energy commitments, Reliance Power is reviewing its renewable energy investments to arrive at a long term strategy for the role of renewable energy in its power generation portfolio and the financing of renewable projects. The case reviews the Indian government's policies to promote renewable energy; the evolution of the renewable energy sector; and Reliance Power's financing of renewable energy investments. The case requires identification of alternative long term strategies and their financing implications. This case serves as an introduction to renewable energy from the perspective of Reliance Power, a large private power generator of the country. These projects also provide a learning opportunity for Reliance Power to deal with fast evolving renewable technologies.

A major barrier for growth of large multi-business unit firms is the inability to resource the critical initiatives to win—both in terms of dollars and people. The underpinning of the challenge involves the conflict between resourcing current cash-generating legacy businesses vs. new initiatives which may not, in the short term, produce positive financial results. Most companies do not have a formal portfolio process to deal with this fundamental issue. Danaka is a fictional company based on real business experiences. The company has strong growth markets as well as markets that are commoditizing. Unfortunately, the latter represent a sizable portion of the company's business. A framework is given that establishes a matrix to analyze the Danaka businesses using their critical financial criteria—cash generation and top-line growth. Projects are divided into four categories based on how they fit into the matrix, and resource allocations are then analyzed. Students discover that the current allocation does not enable Danaka to meet its aggressive growth goals. The case incorporates an interactive spreadsheet model in which students can dynamically change the various resource allocations and see the impact on future top-line growth. The essence of the case is how to manage the resource allocation for a multi-business unit firm when present allocations will not meet future growth goals.

The key learning of this case is that when business leaders set financial goals, they must understand how they are expending their resources. More often than not, significant changes must occur that could be wrenching to the organization. The key learning objectives are: (1) realize the importance of performing a portfolio analysis; (2) discuss the issues involved in making the changes; and (3) understand how to put the decision process in place.

Service innovation, ICT-enabled services, museum, cultural and creative industries.

Graduate-level courses of “Innovation Management,” “Service Innovation,” or “Cultural and Creative Industries”.

In 2006, the National Palace Museum (NPM) in Taipei, Taiwan, announced its new vision “Reviving the Charm of an Ancient Collection and Creating New values for Generations to Come”. In recent years, the NPM has been shifting its operational focus from being object-oriented to being public-centered, and the museum has held not only the physical forms of artifacts and documents but also their digital images and metadata. These changes would inject new life into historical artifacts. In addition, archives as its collections would be given a refreshingly new image to the public and become connected with people's daily lives. Among these endeavors for displaying historical artifacts online and prevailing Chinese culture in the modern age, the key issues are related to digital technology applications and service innovations. The service innovations would be further divided into information and communication technologies (ICT)-enabled ones and non-ICT-enabled ones. These shifts clearly claim that adopting digital technologies and innovative services can bring positive impacts to the museum. The NPM administrative team wants to keep infusing life into ancient artifacts and texts, sustaining curiosities of the public for Chinese culture and history, and invoking their interests to visit the NPM in person. However, to develop for the future while reviewing the past, the NPM administrative team has to meditate on the next steps in terms of implementation of service innovations.

Students will learn motivations of digital establishment and service innovations from the organization perspective and the necessities of technological implementation. Students will understand the difference in innovations between ICT-enabled services and non-ICT-enabled services. Students would be able to understand the process of developing a new service. Students will be aware of challenges the organization would face in developing a new service.

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 as follows: business model pivot, minimum viable product, strategic alliances, return on equity and burn-rate.

HMSolution’s (HM’s) mission is removing arsenic from drinking water. The case tells how HMS pivoted its business model between 2014 and 2015 and its challenge when faced with several growth opportunities. The first possible partner company proposed adopting HMS’s technology through either an alliance or outsourcing. The second company wanted to acquire HMS. However, Margaret – the founder and CEO – managed to find a third option in the form of an important sanitation sewage treatment company in Chile with international presence, with which she could reach a wider territory in her country of origin, as well as in other countries where that company had a presence. This case study presents Margaret’s dilemma of deciding the best course to follow and finding the best fit for her product and the needs of the market.

The instructor can adapt the requirements and depth of the topics addressed, ranging from an undergraduate audience to an executive training audience. Undergraduate courses, namely, entrepreneurship, business creation, administration and strategy. For students of business careers, administration, commercial engineering, industrial civil engineering and industrial engineering. Continuous training, namely, entrepreneurship, business creation, administration and strategy.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Applicable to both undergraduate and graduate courses in managing technology or sustainability.

Technology strategy.

Business Model evaluation.

Sustainable technologies.

In this case study, gas and electric utility holding company Southern Company has embarked on an ambitious experiment to learn more about energy usage at a household level, as well as community scale microgrids. Every minute, 62 homes in Reynolds Landing upload appliance and electrical outlet level data to Southern Company. How can Southern Company use this vast amount of data to promote energy efficiency? Are microgrids a key to creating a more sustainable and resilient energy future? At a higher level, how can microgrids impact or change traditional power generation business models like those used by Southern Company?

1. To explore why companies develop technologies that are counter to current business models.

2. To understand how new technology can lead to new business models for existing businesses.

3. To understand the drivers of company led R&D.

4. To discuss “technology push” applications. Where technology is developed and then a market or markets are sought.

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

Two parts here. The first is looking at sustainable energy solutions such as solar farms and micro-grids. The second is this case challenges students to ask how this research helps the 45% of consumers making less than $40,000/yr.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Principles of Management, in particular, the topics of planning, organizing, leading, controlling, human resource management, and operations management.

The case will be helpful to undergraduate and graduate business school students for learning the subject, Principles of Management.

Vikas Jha, the newly appointed executive producer and CEO of Magic Films, is a troubled man today. At 29, he is also an unusually tired man to lead this social enterprise presently focussing on producing and distributing short films that carry a strong social message. A whole set of problems is plaguing this start up leaving Vikas totally clueless about the future course of action! The case dwells on the challenges of a film production start-up and provides an opportunity for readers to explore creative solutions to management problems.

Critical thinking, creative thinking, communication skills and leadership ability are some of the liberal arts outcomes that the case study attempts to deliver. In addition, it enables students to apply their knowledge and understanding of key principles of management in solving the case problems. Thus, the case also provides transfer ability as an important learning outcome.

Teaching notes. Additional material with respect to film production can be helpful to the students in appreciating the finer aspects of this case, which deals with filmmaking. In this direction, helpful links to useful resources are mentioned in the case study.

Route 11 Chips, a regional potato chip company, is struggling with whether to reduce the number of flavors it markets. Additional flavors add operational cost, but management believes that some of the flavors are important to Route 11's brand image and that trimming the line might damage the brand. Route 11 has also taken a price increase recently and management is interested in finding out if there is additional room to raise prices. To analyze these issues in the case, students have access to five years of data on sales by flavor and package size as well as actual price and margin information (in a supplemental Excel spreadsheet).

Integrated advertising, promotion and marketing communications.

The case has been developed for use in marketing communication as well as strategic brand management courses of MBA and/or PGDM programmes. It high/ights the fact that generating interest amongst customers is not the only task of marketing strategists but conversion of such interest into an effective purchase is what the marketing department should be looking for.

The case takes the students through the journey of Vodafone's marketing communication since its introduction in the Indian market. It gives the reader a briefing as to how Vodafone has grown in the past few years - the changes in communication strategies involved to propagate the product; the integrated marketing communications that have he/ped Vodafone increase its customer base considerably. As mentioned by Marten Pieters, CEO of Vodafone Essar, India is an emerging market and it is necessary for Vodafone not on/y to increase its customer base but a/so to generate revenues. Therefore, his di/emma is how to bring about the perceptual connect with customers which induces them into product usage.

The area of integrated advertising, promotion and marketing communications is an integral part of marketing. It forms the foundation of creating effective marketing programmes that in turn helps develop positive product perception in the minds of the customers. It also helps the student understand the role of customizing the marketing communication according to the target audience and the importance of integrating advertising with not only the promotional activities but also other newer forms of marketing communications. The case has been structured to achieve the following learning objectives: the role of marketing communications in creating and building brand Vodafone; understanding the importance and key elements of Vodafone's Zoozoo ad campaign relating it to Vodafone's communication strategies; and the effect of marketing communication on the customers' perception about the brand.

Teaching notes are available. Please consult your librarian for access.

The student will be able to understand the concept of spotting an opportunity and exploiting the same. The student will be able to comprehend the various challenges faced in the development of a business idea. The student will be able to understand the strategies that need to be adopted to cope with and grow, in a competitive business environment.

Samar Singla, the Chief Executive Officer of Jugnoo, had sensed a business opportunity in auto rickshaw aggregation. He was convinced that being among the initial players in the market of auto rickshaw aggregation, there would be very little competition. He only had to play his cards right, to become the top auto aggregator. As Singla started the business, there were challenges like inducting the auto rickshaw drivers as partners, training them, hiring the right team, putting the right strategies in place and to expand the business. Singla launched and achieved robust growth in the new business, in a short period of time. Soon, however, Jugnoo felt competition breathing down their neck – form cab aggregators who were already dominant players in the cabs aggregation segment, in the large cities. To hedge their risks, Singla added other services such as “Meal” (meal delivery) and “Fatafat” (goods delivery) – as B2C and B2B services. These services, however, had to be closed soon after because of stiff competition from the local players. Singla also adopted the inorganic growth path by acquiring “Sabkuch,” a grocery delivery logistics firm; “Yelo,” a platform that provided online access to businesses and “BookMyCab,” a taxi aggregation company. Faced with tapering growth after an initial steep rise, Singla had to confront a dilemma about the right method of ensuring growth in the face of competition.

Under graduate, masters in business administration and post graduation in the areas of entrepreneurship and strategy.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.