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The learning outcomes for this case study are as follows: learning outcome 1: evaluate the environmental context of Youth Employment Service (YES) and ascertain whether YES is a social enterprise. Students will provide an analysis of what is happening around the business, and why addressing youth unemployment is an urgent matter to address; learning outcome 2: apply basic financial principles to evaluate the basic profit and loss statement of YES. In a business management class, students need to recognise the importance of applying basic financial principles to ensure the financial sustainability of a business. Therefore, the objective is for students to evaluate the basic profit and loss statement in the case’s exhibit. The focus is not necessarily on the numbers, but rather on the insight that students will gain into the organisation’s strengths and development areas; and learning outcome 3: create recommendations by considering the exploitation of existing opportunities and the exploration of new opportunities to innovate. Students should understand the principles of organisational ambidexterity and provide suggestions on how they can be used by organisations to reshape their desirable future.

On 31 March 2022, Leanne Emery Hunter, the chief operating officer of the YES, was considering how YES could increase their impact. Hunter considered how to convince more corporations to sponsor their efforts in creating work experiences for South African youth. In addition to exploiting these efforts that they were already involved with, YES could explore new opportunities to increase their impact, such as focusing on the community hubs and the innovative products they were developing. Expanding YES’s community hubs to serve as support to the youth would require a capital investment in technology and specific skills within the next six months. Hunter, therefore, faced the dilemma of managing the tensions between focusing on YES’s existing offering, which had a social impact, while paying attention to secure their future by focusing on the financial sustainability and expansion of YES. Its ceremonial inauguration in March 2018 was ushered by President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, followed by its registration in October 2018. YES was challenged to look for new ways of creating a proactive growth strategy. YES had a social mission to address youth unemployment, students will, however, need to ascertain whether YES is a social enterprise. The case shares financial results and students have an opportunity to calculate profit and loss and offer recommendations on the financial viability of YES while fulfilling their social mission of contributing to youth employment. Students must give recommendations to resolve the dilemma of Hunter in managing the tension between their existing social impact and the future financial sustainability of the business.

The case is suitable for post-graduate courses in business management in business administration programmes.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

There is little published information available in the area of youth programs and social entrepreneurship in underrepresented communities. However, there are many idealistic entrepreneurs in the community; the case describes the experience of one such individual. Case analysis and the Instructor’s Manual are based on standard theories and techniques in organizational environmental and strategy analysis, as well as information and approaches regarding nonprofit functioning.

This case was prepared from primary sources, based on interviews with the founder. The name of the organization was disguised but the location and the founder’s name were not.

Growing up in a rough neighborhood, Darnell found refuge in an after-school program, which he credited for several positive values. As an adult, he felt a strong desire to give back to the community he had grown up, and still lived in. Thus, was launched MoveAhead, a fitness-based after-school program similar to the one he had participated in. However, as was common for many social entrepreneurs, Darnell struggled to overcome severe lack of capital and to deal with operational issues. Now, MoveAhead had reached a critical and existentially important point, when a strategic decision had to be made.

This is a decision case. It discusses the difficulties faced by a social entrepreneur who had a strong drive and conviction but little capital. The case describes a strategic turning point for one such organization. It can be used in business and management courses at the undergraduate level. It would also be relevant to a course on (social) entrepreneurship. The level and analysis required of students and discussion questions used can be adjusted depending on whether the course is introductory or more advanced, such as strategy.

This case is about a food brand with franchisee stores which has implemented a brand change initiative in the Indian emerging market.

This case is suitable for MBA level students in courses like strategic brand management, marketing in emerging markets and retail management. Issues relate to brand name change management, building and securing channel cooperation in brand change, channel peculiarities in emerging markets and franchisee institutional support systems in emerging markets like India.

The case documents the process followed by Switz Foods Private Limited (SFPL) in planning for and implementing a “brand-name” change across its 150-plus stores retailing fresh bakery products. The switch away from a 20-year-old food brand that had carved out a place in the popular culture of the community in Kolkata was risky. While opinion inside the organization was divided on whether to use mass media to communicate the brand-name change to its customers, the company finally decided to rely only on in-store signage and product packaging. SFPL took into confidence the franchisee retail store owners, a key stakeholder group with whom it enjoyed a long-term trusted business relation, and relied on their support to implement a smooth transition. It shows how in the context of the bazaars in transition economies, trust-based business relations and word-of-mouth reputation can often provide frugal managerial alternatives.

The three main learning objectives are: planning for a brand name transition, which includes three parts: generating consumer insights and using the data to aid decision-making in choosing a brand name and developing a brand campaign; overcoming network or business partner resistance/uncertainties associated with a brand name transition; managing customer perceptions before and after brand-name transition. Second learning objective included understanding risks in a franchisor–franchisee relationship. Third included appreciating the significance of trust-based relationships in managing transition economies.

CSS 8: Marketing.

Paul Hamann was senior vice president of The Night Ministry, a Chicago-based not-for-profit organization. In October 2003 he received a phone call from the wife of the Reverend Tom Behrens, the founding president and the public face of the organization. She told Hamann that Behrens had suffered a massive stroke and that doctors were unsure of his prognosis. Behrens had been walking the streets of run-down Chicago neighborhoods since 1976, looking for people in despair, listening to their needs, and offering them a helping hand and a consoling presence. In the intervening twenty-seven years, he had built The Night Ministry into a well-known organization that helped thousands of adults and youth every year. No succession plan, if one existed, had ever been conveyed to senior management. Now Hamann was unsure when or even if Behrens would be able to work again. If Behrens returned to work, would he be able to continue to lead the organization? If not, who would lead The Night Ministry going forward, even if it were just for the near term, and who would make that decision? How would the community and major donors react to a new leader?

Understand Founder's Syndrome and why it is unique to the nonprofit industry

This case study is intended for an MBA level audience; however, it can be used for upper-level college students as well.

This case's main subject areas include the following: organizational strategy, NGO strategic management, strategy and management during pandemic and women entrepreneurs or women-led business.

This case is about the organizational strategy of the Veronica Robles Cultural Center, an NGO, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The central challenge of this case study is about decision-making for a sustainable future, given limited resources, and thus a great urgency to plan conservatively. The central protagonist of the case is Veronica Robles herself. Veronica is an entrepreneur in both her personal career as a performing and teaching artist as well as the founder and creator of many programs to help spread culture and unite communities, including the Veronica Robles Cultural Center.

Students will learn about entrepreneurial strategy, NGO creation and management, strategy to create social value and organizational management during time of pandemic or widespread crisis.

This case is focused on creating social value through the analysis of a woman-founded and managed NGO. While managing the NGO's strategy through the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, operations must proceed with the utmost level of sustainability. With a focus on the well-being of the community, Veronica Robles Cultural Center (VROCC) needs to find a way to remain relevant in the short term while building out a sustainable organizational structure to succeed in the long term.

CSS 11: Strategy

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

The aim is to make students deliberate on the prospects and challenges of green practices and developing an understanding of the significance of the decision to be taken by marketers and how data can help even in small-sized entrepreneurial decision-making. Upon completion of this case study, the students will be in a position to achieve the following: • Identify factors that are essential for organizations to think of including planet while formulating strategies. • Understanding the significance of research in studying green consumer behavior and the research process. • Interpreting and critically evaluating the survey. • Suggesting measures how to improve the survey so conducted and recommending solutions.

Parsa’s is a case about a quick-service restaurant in an Indian emerging market, which faces the harsh realities of environmental degradation. In a very short span of time, Parsa’s has evolved as a reputed brand – steadily growing with around 16 outlets across different parts of India, most of them in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The Indian subcontinent’s landmass is getting buried under its own garbage with the country adding more than 15 million metric tonnes of waste every day. This unmanageable waste generation, which is piling up, adds to the pollution of land, air and water. To curb this menace, India’s Government came up with a one-time plastic ban on October 2nd, 2019. At Parsa’s, Javeed – its owner, had envisioned in 2018 to transit to greening their business activities. The organization’s greening was providing a unique selling proposition. However, they were still in early transition. Indian market being an emerging one, is yet to adopt green practices. In addition, J&K is no different from the rest of the nation. However, Parsa’s had to now think beyond the plastic ban, which was mandatory to all and this strategy will no more provide a competitive advantage. Both the partners were unsure whether the consumers were ready or they need more awareness. Javeed, a management graduate, suggested to conduct a survey in the Kashmir region as their quick-service restaurant had a good holding in most of the districts of Kashmir.

This case is most suitable for graduate and post-graduate level program, ideally in the following courses offered: • and in areas of marketing research, where the students can develop an understanding of how research can help marketers in studying consumer behavior • in strategic management concerning a bigger ambit of sustainability; this case can cover the issues about decisions regarding going green strategies.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

In this case, lessons from the Chicago Benchmarking Collaborative illustrate key principles of collaborative action and the importance of using data to achieve SMART goals.

In 2015, the Chicago Benchmarking Collaborative (CBC) was a network of seven agencies in Chicago, Illinois, serving 12,000 low-income residents. Each of the agencies had early childhood, school-age children, and adult education programs. At the prompting of the Chicago Community Trust, they came together to (1) benchmark their education programs outputs and outcomes; (2) learn and share best practices through developing a common set of metrics and measurements and implementing these measurements into a case management software system; and (3) share the costs of the case management software system to be used for program evaluation and continuous quality improvement.

Three aspects of CBC are particularly noteworthy. First, there are no joint program activities or clients among these agencies. Their exchange is limited to sharing data and other information. This makes CBC distinct from collaborations formed to begin a program or to advocate for a policy. Second, the group requires each agency to enter data on a timely basis and to set SMART goals based on the data reports. The agencies are held mutually accountable for their work to achieve their own SMART goals during the year and report on progress. Third, CBC used monetary incentives to ensure that data entry and SMART goal action remained a priority for each agency.

On completion of the case, the students will be able to understand the concept and importance of sustainability; understand how triple bottom line can help a company make a transition towards sustainability; evaluate the tensions between the three pillars of triple bottom line approach; assess the role of circular economy model as opposed to the conventional linear model in the transition of a company towards sustainability; and understand the sustainability challenge in an emerging market context.

Despite the promising growth potential of the plastics industry in India, it is faced with sustainability challenges owing to its detrimental impact on environment. To preserve the environment and human kind, the government made a bold announcement in 2018 to eliminate the use of highly polluting single-use plastics (SUPs) in the country. Amid this growing sustainability threat against plastics and the fall in demand of SUP items, this case illustrates that Sandip Patel, the plant manager of Cello Plastotech, is entrusted by the CEO with the responsibility of adopting a triple bottom line approach encompassing its three pillars, that is, people, planet and profits, as a response to the sustainability challenge. The strategic rethinking towards adopting sustainability required Patel to face the challenge of striking a balance between the three pillars of triple bottom line while also taking some valuable insights for plastic waste management from the circular economy model. While making a transition to sustainability, he needed to evaluate different options like stopping the manufacture of SUPs and look for alternatives, use of biodegradable raw material which was expensive but environment friendly or manufacture such durable plastic products that would replace SUPs.

The case is aimed at teaching the topic Triple Bottom Line approach in the courses of business strategy and sustainability in under-graduate and post-graduate level courses in the discipline of Management. It can also be used as a supplementary reading in courses like Corporate Social Responsibility and Circular Economy. In emerging markets’ context, these topics are generally taught to MBA students in courses like strategic management, sustainable business and business ethics.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Management fundamentals, public management, social responsibility, strategy.

This case may be used in undergraduate courses on management fundamentals, public management, social responsibility, or strategy. Also, it is useful for strategy courses in MBA level and MA in development practice.

In 1997, Corporación Picacho con Futuro (Picacho), a second-tier community organization created with the support of Fundación Social (FS) at Medellín's Comuna 6, stands at a crossroads. After promoting community development in the area for over ten years, FS announces that it will be withdrawing its financial support in the following year. As a result, self-sustainability mechanisms and strategies must be sought and formulated in preparation for FS' departure. The Corporation's accomplishments over its collaboration with FS were noteworthy: 16 grassroots organizations working together in one of Medellín's most violent districts proved the social fabric woven by Picacho. The young people who engaged in its projects had become examples of cohesion and civil resistance to armed groups' and drug-dealing networks' recruitment efforts. The Corporation's communication projects safeguarded these youths, providing them with a means to escape conflict. Would that all go down the drain without FS' support?

The intended focus of the case is to help students to understand: third sector organizations' complexity and structure; the notion of social value (how this value is created and measured); sustainability challenges facing social ventures, and, particularly, how to manage tensions between social and economic value creation in social organizations; support ecosystems for social ventures, and management strategies associated with base-of-the-pyramid businesses, introducing the concept of inclusive business.

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 case study takes students through basic principles and applications of entrepreneurship theory as demonstrated by the story of Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). The case further demonstrates the significance of communicating a rallying vision in a change management situation. The case further allows the students to evaluate the concept and implication of entrepreneurial leadership thereby enhancing creativity and innovativeness in a firm.

An area that has had little interaction in the study of entrepreneurship is within the development and humanitarian agencies. This is a case study on Entrepreneurial Habits in the KRCS. The leadership of KRCS combined different entrepreneurial actions that were able to deliver commercial goals in a not-for-profit organization. The final overarching consideration was the sustainability of the changes implemented over a period of time.

Graduate level.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.