By the end of its first season in spring 2014, “Comedy Nights with Kapil” had become India’s top rated comedy television serial in the nonfiction category. Each episode invited celebrities from Bollywood or sports teams as guests to promote their upcoming movies or ventures. The show had developed its target market and had entered the maturity stage of its business life cycle. What might be future value creation business strategies for the show to sustain its audience engagement and ratings? The intent to telecast once a week rather than twice a week upset the broadcasting channel, Colors TV. How would this change impact value creation for all the stakeholders?
Genting, a gaming company that monopolizes the Malaysian market, entered the U.K. gaming market in 2004 and faced competition from established players, different customer preferences across casinos in the United Kingdom, and changes in the British government’s gaming regulations. Genting had to rely on local management to run the business in the United Kingdom, as the market was still new to it. In operating casinos with different but established brand names to cater to different market needs, Genting faced the challenge of creating a single corporate identity. In spite of its challenges in the United Kingdom, Genting Malaysia has seized the opportunity to enter the U.S. market with its unique set of challenges, again through a local acquisition, with the strategic goal of continuous expansion of the gaming business in the United States. Is this the right move for Genting? What are the risks and opportunities?
Between 2010 and 2012, SolarCity experienced tremendous growth in an industry that was generally perceived to be struggling. Many other solar start-ups were failing-Solyndra, which had received a $535M loan from the U.S. government, was the highest profile failure, declaring bankruptcy in September, 2011. Lyndon Rive noted, "Investors have been burned so badly from the solar sector. We've faced that stigma while selling our company to investors." Despite that burn, however, SolarCity went forward with an initial public offering (IPO) in December of 2012 at an IPO price of $8.00 per share. By end of the second quarter, 2014, SolarCity operated in 15 states and the District of Columbia and boasted 140,000 customers. It controlled 36 percent of the residential solar market but had never posted a profit-in 2013 it had a net loss of almost $152 million. SolarCity's growth, however, drove the stock price up, hitting a high of $86.14 in February 2014. The company's continued lack of positive accounting earnings, yet impressive stock returns, left analysts and industry observers wondering: Was SolarCity already making money on installations like the Partnership Flip Model or was the company's share price primarily a bet on the future with lower solar installations costs? This case describes SolarCity's business model and summarizes key issues in the solar industry. It looks at tax equity financing, detailing the Partnership Flip Model which SolarCity used for about two thirds of the funds it had raised by 2014. The Partnership Flip Model is represented in an Excel spreadsheet that students manipulate to understand the implications of various factors.
Between 2010 and 2012, SolarCity experienced tremendous growth in an industry that was generally perceived to be struggling. Many other solar start-ups were failing-Solyndra, which had received a $535M loan from the U.S. government, was the highest profile failure, declaring bankruptcy in September, 2011. Lyndon Rive noted, "Investors have been burned so badly from the solar sector. We've faced that stigma while selling our company to investors." Despite that burn, however, SolarCity went forward with an initial public offering (IPO) in December of 2012 at an IPO price of $8.00 per share. By end of the second quarter, 2014, SolarCity operated in 15 states and the District of Columbia and boasted 140,000 customers. It controlled 36 percent of the residential solar market but had never posted a profit-in 2013 it had a net loss of almost $152 million.
In 2013, Michael Froman, the newly appointed United States Trade Representative, was responsible for leading the U.S. negotiating team in the formulation of the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). During the negotiations, Froman had to adopt a position on the sensitive issue of tariffs on imported footwear. On the one hand, Vietnam, a TPP member country, was America's second largest foreign footwear supplier and was pushing for the elimination of tariffs. On the other hand, U.S. labour unions argued that Vietnam's strength in the footwear industry was based on unfair subsidies and labour practices. Even among U.S. footwear companies, there was disagreement. New Balance, the only U.S. athletic footwear company that produced parts of its shoes in the U.S., was openly opposed to the elimination of tariffs, as their removal could lead to factory closures in the U.S. Nike Inc., however, manufactured all its shoes overseas and was an overt proponent of the abolition of tariffs. Froman had to carefully weigh the arguments of all the stakeholders to determine whether or not to accept the lowering of tariffs on footwear imported from Vietnam and, if he accepted, whether or not to impose conditions on Vietnam.
In early 2014, Sanjay Swamy and Valerie Rozycki Wagoner, respectively chairman and CEO of ZipDial, were discussing the possibility of extending the company's operations to Indonesia and the Philippines, two key markets in Southeast Asia. Having successfully rolled out ZipDial solutions in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka - from their primary market in India - they planned to accelerate expansion into selected markets in the region. Through its proprietary technology platform, ZipDial enabled brands in emerging markets to create, track and manage mobile marketing campaigns, engaging hundreds of millions of consumers who were otherwise unconnected. Building on its user database, the company created engagement opportunities based on user profiles that marketers could leverage to deliver targeted advertising messages. Although poised to take advantage of the continued growth in mobile adoption, the company faced a number of challenges. At a time when India's mobile technology landscape had started to consolidate and new competitors had entered the mobile advertising market, the need to find new sources of financing to support its operations and expansion plans was becoming more pressing. The case traces the evolution of ZipDial since its inception in 2010 as India's first mobile marketing and analytics company. It offers an overview of the latest developments and current strategy, including its approach to bridging the offline-online world through innovative marketing solutions and partnerships with social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
Armed with an air operator's permit, Air Asia, a Malaysian low-cost carrier airline, is preparing to enter the Indian aviation market. AirAsia is known as an aggressive player globally. It plans to use aggressive pricing strategies to revolutionize air travel in India and gain competitive edge in the aviation market through highly competitive operational targets. How will AirAsia India's entry and its aggressive pricing decisions work in the oligopolistic Indian aviation market? How will the barriers to entry affect its operational targets? Will its entry cause a clash in Indian skies and disrupt industry equilibrium? What strategies should AirAsia India pursue in such a market for long-term survival and growth?
Armed with an air operator's permit, Air Asia, a Malaysian low-cost carrier airline, is preparing to enter the Indian aviation market. AirAsia is known as an aggressive player globally. It plans to use aggressive pricing strategies to revolutionize air travel in India and gain competitive edge in the aviation market through highly competitive operational targets. How will AirAsia India’s entry and its aggressive pricing decisions work in the oligopolistic Indian aviation market? How will the barriers to entry affect its operational targets? Will its entry cause a clash in Indian skies and disrupt industry equilibrium? What strategies should AirAsia India pursue in such a market for long-term survival and growth?
This case describes how Codensa, an electricity company in Bogotá and Cundinamarca (Colombia), developed an easy-access consumer credit business model for low-income populations leveraged by the cost structure of its core business. Codensa offered consumer credit to low income populations through the Codensa Hogar business unit, by linking together a value chain of large retailers and manufacturers of household appliances. Codensa entered into this business as part of its commercial branding strategy, contributing its billing structure as credit collection instrument. During the first five years of the program, 95% of the 450,000 people who took out one or more loans belonged to the lower economic strata, and were between 25 and 45 years old. Sixty-six percent of Codensa users were people who did not participate in the formal banking system. After obtaining a credit history with Codensa, 45% of this population gained access to other financial services. Over the course of five years, Codensa Hogar surpassed the US$250 million mark in its credit portfolio, issuing loans up to three times the salary of electric bill holders. Nearly 50% of clients asked for new credit upon completing their payments. In 2006, the unusual growth rates of Codensa Hogar aroused concern among shareholders. If it were to sustain this rate, the surplus from the electric energy business would not be enough. Growth funds should be sought from within the company or from an outside source. However, members of the financial division disagreed. They argued that the funding cost that Codensa had to pay the electricity company should include an analysis of the risks assumed by the company. The difference between the commercial and financial visions posed a variety of challenges for general management. This case may be used in intermediate courses on financial management and strategy, financial strategy and corporate strategy or courses on business models oriented towards a "double bottom line."
This case illustrates the tragedy of the commons through an interactive game to be played by students. At a United Nations world climate conference, students are divided into 10 regional blocs. With less than a day to go and no agreement among the regional blocs in sight, students use data in the case to advise the countries in their bloc regarding the collective level of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions they should adopt. When a last minute carbon tax proposal circulates, students must also recommend whether or not their bloc should sign onto the proposal. This case package includes an Excel Spreadsheet that students can use to understand the impact on Net Domestic Product (NDP) of different carbon emissions levels. Due to the need to work in groups, the case can also serve as an icebreaker.
Ankur Arora Murder Case (AAMC) was billed as the first medical negligence drama coming out of the Hindi movie industry in Mumbai (popularly referred to as Bollywood). Inspired by true events, the film received good critical response even though it was not the routine song-and-dance fare produced by most production houses. The project was beset by certain constraints, both external and intrinsic to the team. The producer of the movie was convinced that he would have a very good product once the hurdles created by legalities and other marketing-related issues were sorted out. His team had created a comprehensive marketing communications plan for the release of the movie to exploit the emotions evoked by such a sensitive subject. The box-office failure of the movie made the producer consider whether his strategy of arranging the finances of a project would work well or whether he should attempt to manage all future projects in their entirety, including production and marketing.
Colorado's 2014 legalization of marijuana for adult recreational (not just medical) use created a new market that entrepreneurs rushed to enter, channeled by regulations that aimed to minimize marijuana's access to minors while not stifling the emergent new industry. The case describes Colorado's initial experience with marijuana legalization and asks students to assess the resulting business opportunities, regulatory efficacy, and public health implications.
This case describes the design and implementation of an IT-multi-sourcing strategy at a large global sportswear company, the adidas Group, which is headquartered in Germany. To help increase the benefits and reduce the risks of its sourcing arrangements, adidas carefully selected two tier-2 vendors to work with its primary tier-1 vendor, a large Indian outsourcing firm that it had worked with closely for over a decade. The management of the multi-sourcing arrangement is posing a number of challenges. The Chief Information Officer is considering a number of options to ensure the continued success of the multi-sourcing strategy, including restructuring the IT group, developing the skills of its staff, and starting a captive center.
Ankur Arora Murder Case (AAMC) was billed as the first medical negligence drama coming out of the Hindi movie industry in Mumbai (popularly referred to as Bollywood). Inspired by true events, the film received good critical response even though it was not the routine song-and-dance fare produced by most production houses. The project was beset by certain constraints, both external and intrinsic to the team. The producer of the movie was convinced that he would have a very good product once the hurdles created by legalities and other marketing-related issues were sorted out. His team had created a comprehensive marketing communications plan for the release of the movie to exploit the emotions evoked by such a sensitive subject. The box-office failure of the movie made the producer consider whether his strategy of arranging the finances of a project would work well or whether he should attempt to manage all future projects in their entirety, including production and marketing.
This case works well to provide experience with developing a revenue growth forecast using time series analysis. Students are asked to run several exponential smoothing models to predict the growth in a high-profile social network's traffic from three years of monthly history. The model students select is used to forecast a stream of future revenues in a pro forma cash flow statement. This case is supported by a teaching note, an Excel spreadsheet, a .csv file, and an R file.
Ledals, one of the premier redistribution firms in the United States, had determined that whenever backorders occurred, the additional trips being made by delivery trucks were killing margins. Therefore, management imposed a new policy, whereby backordered items would be held until the next customer order was received and prepared for shipping.<br><br>This arrangement led to repercussions, with both customers and Ledals' salespeople frustrated with the new policy. Muted at first, but growing in volume, many members of the sales force were clearly disgruntled. What remained was figuring out how much damage was actually being done. Was it simply a predictable resistance to change that would resolve itself in the coming months? If it was a genuine problem, Ledals' management needed to consider what, if any, actions should be taken. Ledals also had to determine whether the problem was with the policy itself or its implementation. Regardless of the cause, management had to make a decision as soon as possible about how to move forward.