In 2009, Enbridge announced the Neutral Footprint program to enhance its social licence to operate, increase its corporate responsibility, and in turn improve its corporate reputation through good performance. The program also gave Enbridge an opportunity to provide information about its financial and non-financial performance. By the end of 2012, Enbridge had suffered from unfavourable publicity due to oil spills. It also encountered a great deal of opposition against its proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project. The company's situation was further complicated by the retirement of its chief executive officer who had started the Neutral Footprint program. Enbridge's new chief executive officer and president needed to be convinced of the benefits of the Neutral Footprint program, most of which were difficult to quantify. Would the project be cancelled, continue as is it was, or become even more engrained in Enbridge's culture?
In the fall of 2013, the family-owned Martin Bauer Group, a German-based company and world leader in the business-to-business market for tea and herbal extracts, became interested in the idea of collaborating with the frugal innovation company EinDollarBrille (OneDollarGlasses). The Martin Bauer Group was engaged in multifaceted corporate social responsibility activities, both domestically and abroad. Specifically, it fostered the development and diffusion of frugal innovations, which were affordable products or services developed under strict financial constraints to cater to low-income individuals in emerging markets. These companies usually worked in collaboration with partners. One such frugal innovation company, OneDollarGlasses, created durable, yet affordable, eyeglasses for people in the African country of Sudan, a prime sourcing market for the Martin Bauer Group. The work of OneDollarGlasses illustrated the reasons, motivations, and challenges that innovators often faced within developed and emerging markets when engaging in corporate social responsibility activities. Should The Martin Bauer Group work with OneDollarGlasses? Could the company be helpful and make a meaningful difference to the people in emerging markets by collaborating with frugal innovators like OneDollarGlasses? What benefits would there be for the Martin Bauer Group if they do?
Uber was a technology company that relied on its mobile app and word-of-mouth advertising to reach customers interested in its transportation services. It prided itself on being an on-time, stylish, unique, and modern transportation option. However, in 2014, Uber faced many challenges and questions as an industry incumbent. Could its business model succeed despite being heavily reliant on buyers' willingness to pay a substantial premium in some situations? Could the model be sustained and expanded into cities worldwide? How could the regulations protecting the taxi industry be overcome in so many diverse markets? Finally, how could Uber position its business model in a way that would create entry barriers to keep rivals out of the market?
Paytm enjoyed a position as the leader in India's market for mobile wallets, a digital service that enabled payments to be made through mobile devices. Paytm's major client, Uber, which developed and operated a smartphone-based, ride-hailing app as a way to compete with traditional taxi companies, had initially used Paytm's mobile wallet as the sole payment mode for Uber rides in India. However, in 2015 Uber revised its payment policy by adding a variety of payment options, such as debit cards, credit cards, and the addition of several other mobile wallet providers. Did Uber's strategies and plans represent a major concern for Paytm? Amid such changes in the highly competitive digital payment industry, what strategies should Paytm adopt to expand its own offerings and maintain its position as the market leader? What other options could the company pursue to ensure its sustainability and continuous growth?
The case provides a detailed description of the various significant points in time or company milestones, since the launching of the concept, the growth of the franchise in Venezuela, the internationalization process in Europe, and the development of new formats. Each of these landmarks is an opportunity in itself to explain different elements of the Lean Startup method applied to a franchise. The case's focus, along with the strategic decision or choice of the entrepreneurs must make to channel sustainability, is placed on how to validate and manage some of the alternatives chosen. The experience lived by the Decofruta team is an example of how -empirically- a business may resort to a validated learning approach prior to allocating time and resources to develop something that is only in the minds of its creators. It also pinpoints the consequences of investing time, money and passion in a product or service that does not add value to the customer.
This introduction to the special issue on crowdfunding begins by providing some information about the history and nature of the phenomenon. It then summarizes some of the key advantages and disadvantages of crowdfunding for entrepreneurs and for investors, introducing the various articles in the issue that explore these topics in greater depth. It concludes with some speculations regarding the possible future of the industry and its effects on entrepreneurship, innovation, and inequality.
The expansion of crowdfunding raises two related questions: what type of platform suits each project and how should existing platforms expand? The answer lies in analyzing the field of crowdfunding as a solution to four specific problems: gatekeeping, coordination, inexperience, and patronage. Using an inductive analysis of the largest U.S. sites, this article identifies the range of problems crowdfunding addresses and their performance to date. Crowdfunding succeeds in raising money within and across networks, but efforts to use crowdfunding to educate or to generate recurring revenue are less successful.
While the crowdfunding phenomenon has attracted considerable practitioner and scholarly attention, existing research predominantly reflects a U.S.-centric perspective. This article examines crowdfunding platform creation in 15 European countries. Despite the omnipresent reach of the internet, national boundaries shape the evolution of the European crowdfunding industry. Specifically, crowdfunding platform creation varies across countries and distinct national patterns emerge for crowdfunding activity in general. Moreover, econometric analyses suggest that country-level factors influence platform creation in European countries, with interesting variations across four crowdfunding models: Donation, Reward, Lending, and Equity.
This article focuses on how crowdfunding might democratize the commercialization of innovation as well as financing. First, it examines how crowdfunders decide what effort to support and asks how do crowd and expert decisions differ? Second, it investigates whether crowdfunding democratizes access to capital by asking whether groups that have historically been underrepresented in capital markets gain additional access to capital markets through crowdfunding. Finally, it investigates whether crowdfunding leads to the growth of new firms in the same way that traditional funding does. Taken together, these questions point at a potentially vast alternative infrastructure for developing, funding, and commercializing innovation.
In crowdfunding, rewards can make or break success. Yet reward design, choice, and planning still occur based on availability rather than strategy. To address this challenge, this article provides an empirically derived crowdfunding reward toolbox offering guidance in strategically selecting rewards. Based on a large-scale analysis of successful and unsuccessful Kickstarter projects, this article classifies rewards that are currently offered along eight dimensions. It identifies emerging patterns and derives five strategic core tools and two add-on tools. Finally, it delivers exploratory insights into the relative effectiveness of different tools that can facilitate decision making and strategic planning for entrepreneurs and individuals who plan to launch a crowdfunding project and who seek ways to reward their supporters
Information asymmetry presents a challenge to equity crowdfunding just as in other markets for equity capital. Investors are less likely to finance startups when it is difficult to assess quality. Syndicates reduce market failures caused by information asymmetry by shifting the focal investment activities of the crowd from startups to lead investors. Syndicates align the incentives of issuers, lead investors, and follow-on investors by providing incentives for lead investors to conduct due diligence, monitor progress, and exploit their reputation. Preliminary evidence foreshadows a meaningful role for syndicates in the allocation of capital to early-stage ventures.
A group of experts discuss their thoughts about the current state of crowdfunding, its future, important emerging trends in the field, and the opportunities and challenges facing investors and entrepreneurs in the space. Across the board, these experts highlight the importance of crowdfunding as a means for mobilizing resources. They also maintain that crowdfunding has already emerged as an important force in global finance, one which appears here to stay, but one where we have only begun to see the ways in which it will transform the financial sector.
A 2-party negotiation role play between a search engine startup, YOUReka, and Quantron, a supplier of the subassembly boards used at YOUReka's data centers. At issue is a possible breach of contract. Roles include Role for Quantron (#916035) and Role for YOUReka (#916036).
Climate Corporation is a San Francisco-based data analytics company focused on agricultural applications. It was acquired by Monsanto in 2013. In 2015, Climate's decision support platform was used on 75 million acres of farmland in the U.S.; however, most of those acres were "free" acres. To build a viable business, Climate had to convince farmers to subscribe to and pay for premium offerings. The case describes Climate's technology approach, product offerings, marketing plans, and the competitive environment for "digital agriculture".
In July 2015, PT Trias Indra Saputra (TRIAS), Indonesia's leading welded cable ladder producer, had just won its largest-ever tender bid. The news could get even better if it adopted alternative materials that were potentially more profitable. The production director was tasked with weighing whether TRIAS should fulfill the tender using its traditional supplier or the new materials. While more expensive, the new materials would cut out several production processes and associated costs. However, using the new suppliers presented significant risks. Only two mills, in Korea and Japan, supplied the appropriate material, and both companies presented different prices and import costs. Since TRIAS could be penalized if it did not supply the goods on time, the production manager also had to calculate the likelihood that each company could be delayed in supplying the order and how much that would reduce profits if it happened.
Alexander Cooper is gearing up to lead an expansion strategy for the scrappy and super successful car sharing service, Uber. While the company has not been without its controversy, it is making headway in far off places like India. It is looking to scale its model in India, China, and the rest of Southeast Asia, but is increasingly running into regulatory hurdles. Cooper is forced to think hard about what Uber's expansion strategy should be and how it will impact the company's operations. Uber currently markets itself based on word of mouth, but in markets like China where two companies dominate 99% of market share, this may be unrealistic. What path should this sharing economy company take?
This case is intended for an advanced undergraduate course in finance, accounting, or arts management. It has been used successfully with both business and nonbusiness students. Three undergraduate students decide to start a new a cappella singing group with hopes of producing a CD the following year. The case provides opportunities for students to estimate funding needs, conduct scenario and sensitivity analyses, and use this information to develop strategies to accomplish the group's objectives.