In 2014, Merrick Pet Care saw an opportunity to enter the oral pet care category by introducing dental brushes for dogs. Although its close connections with retailers allowed the company to place the product on the shelves, the product sales were lackluster, and the initial entry was deemed unsuccessful. The brand had to decide whether or not to continue devoting resources to the oral pet care category. If the answer was yes, the company had to find out how to succeed in the face of the initial unsuccessful launch.
In May 2021, Claire Reid, the founder of social enterprise start-up Reel Gardening, spoke about her ambitious ten-year plan to help secure nutritious food for impoverished people in South Africa and elsewhere in the world. Reel Gardening produced and sold a paper strip packed with seeds and fertilizer. Although the company had grown significantly, it had to manage the dual mission of social contribution and financial sustainability. The company had to determine whether expansion would shift it away from its social mission. Should Reid pursue an ambitious growth strategy, or should she keep the company small, grow it slowly, and focus on the larger social impact? Going forward, how should the company manage its growth, both strategically and financially?
The case describes the founding, development, and scaling of Antler, an early-stage investment platform that invests in entrepreneurs pre-team and, in many cases, even pre-idea. The case explores the economics of venture capital investing at such an early stage and the various challenges and opportunities to build a platform that not only systematically selects the right founders, but also allows them to build teams and access resources needed to succeed. The case allows for a detailed look at these issues through the lens of two founding teams that were selected for Antler's early-stage investment programs but have very different assessed quantitative and qualitative factors that may impact their future success. Through analyzing these two opportunities for Antler, important issues are surfaced in how to combine analytics with human judgment as Antler's senior leadership looks to scale their investment platform both in terms of number of founding teams and across multiple countries.
In May 2021, Claire Reid, the founder of social enterprise start-up Reel Gardening, spoke about her ambitious ten-year plan to help secure nutritious food for impoverished people in South Africa and elsewhere in the world. Reel Gardening produced and sold a paper strip packed with seeds and fertilizer. Although the company had grown significantly, it had to manage the dual mission of social contribution and financial sustainability. The company had to determine whether expansion would shift it away from its social mission. Should Reid pursue an ambitious growth strategy, or should she keep the company small, grow it slowly, and focus on the larger social impact? Going forward, how should the company manage its growth, both strategically and financially?
On January 4, 2021, Mike Patriquin was contemplating the tumultuous year of 2020 and the impact it had had on operations at Hell’s Basement Brewery (HBB), the first brewery to open in Medicine Hat, Alberta, since the early 1900s. Recent events both within and outside the brewery had affected his business. Management had recently restructured financially after buying out some of the original partners, and the remaining owners and management were still dealing with the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The brewery had also had some unexpected media coverage. Patriquin was considering the next steps for HBB given the volatile nature of the industry in these unprecedented times.
Dr. Jay Jayson, an orthodontist, had recently completed renovating the waiting area of his office and now needed to decide whether he should also renovate the treatment areas. He considered the advantages and disadvantages of his current clinic setup: he thought that the reception environment was comfortable, and that the patients felt confident in the treatment and process, but he was concerned about the impact on patients of any delays in care. He also realized that he had one new patient consultation room that could be pulled into service as a treatment chair. Would hiring more registered dental assistants help him treat more patients? Was there another way to see more patients without renovating the office?
Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.’s UNIQLO brand (UNIQLO) was planning to relaunch +J, its collaboration with the legendary high-end designer Jil Sander in the fall of 2020; however, the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of that year, causing many consumers to spend less on clothes and more on essentials. Just like the first launch of the +J collection in 2009, this launch would once again happen during a global recession. The affordable street fashion brand faced a challenging decision regarding whether to reintroduce the higher-priced collaboration brand amidst this unprecedented situation.
Dismissing all the hype around the metaverse would be a mistake. Metaverse marketing strategies do not need Mark Zuckerberg to be on track to become the future norm, perhaps a lot sooner than some brand managers might think. After all, when it comes to interacting with consumers, the metaverse experience has already taken things up a notch. This article provides six mistakes to avoid when planning a metaverse strategy. Mistake 1: Assuming the metaverse is far away. Mistake 2: Trying to dominate. Mistake 3: Assuming the metaverse will reflect real-world structure. Mistake 4: Focusing on transactions (in fact, the metaverse is also about creating new consumer connections, cultural relevance, and community clout). Mistake 5: Failing to seize the opportunity to drive stakeholder capitalism. Mistake 6: Equating the metaverse to NFTs. Ultimately, the evolution of the metaverse will bring together today’s disparate and fragmented ecosystems, allowing businesses to connect with consumers and solve problems in revolutionary new ways. We’ll soon see how far things go in 2022. But whatever happen this year, the writing is on the virtual wall—and it says the winning brand strategies for the metaverse will not take a business-as-usual approach.
Steak ’n Shake, one of America’s oldest and most iconic fast-food chains, was founded in Normal, Illinois, in 1934. When Biglari Holdings assumed control of Steak ’n Shake in August 2008, the company was struggling and incurring losses of approximately US$100,000 per day. To turn the company around, the new owner implemented an aggressive pricing-discount strategy marketed as “4 under $4” that offered any of four different meals for under $4. The strategy worked. Steak ’n Shake went on to post seven consecutive years of same-store sales increases. However, in 2016, sales began to drop, and the company posted five consecutive years of declining store sales. The price-discounting strategy may have been critical in reversing the company’s fortunes, but had it also led to Steak ’n Shake’s current issues? Should Biglari Holdings consider raising prices of menu items? Would customers accept paying higher prices after being accustomed to Steak ’n Shake’s traditionally low pricing strategy?
"Gender Equality in Business: 100 Years of Progress?" traces the history of women in management from the early 20th to early 21st century through analysis of Harvard Business Review's coverage of women and gender. The case identifies six distinct phases in the evolution of women's opportunities and barriers as well as attitudes toward professional women. It explores when and how concepts like equal pay for equal work, sexual harassment, female leadership, and the 'mommy track' influenced organizational approaches to hiring and promoting women. Ultimately, it accounts for tremendous progress made in women's status in the workplace but notes that gender parity has not yet been achieved. What will it take for gender gaps to close as the 21st century continues?
This case is the first of a three-part series that follows the managerial, strategic, and communication decisions of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) or Clean India Mission, the flagship program of the Government of India to eliminate the practice of open defecation (i.e., not using a toilet) from 2014 to 2019. As of 2014, 550 million people in India practiced open defecation. This problem posed a massive public health hazard and economic drag for the country. Written from an insider's perspective, the cases center on the decisions made by a new Secretary of India's Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, who was hired to implement the SBM - focused on changing the behaviour of over 500 million people from open defecation to the usage of toilets. Case A sets the stage for addressing open defecation in rural India and discusses the human resources and strategic challenges to implementing SBM from the vantage point of the new Secretary. It ends with strategic dilemmas related to what the new SBM team should do once they had sized up the challenges to eliminating open defecation by 2019. The case provides an opportunity to deliberate the managerial and strategic decisions of a globally relevant public behaviour change and rural infrastructure development program as well as different forms of public sector implementation in the Indian context.
This case is the first of a three-part series that follows the managerial, strategic, and communication decisions of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) or Clean India Mission, the flagship program of the Government of India to eliminate the practice of open defecation (i.e., not using a toilet) from 2014 to 2019. As of 2014, 550 million people in India practiced open defecation. This problem posed a massive public health hazard and economic drag for the country. Written from an insider's perspective, the cases center on the decisions made by a new Secretary of India's Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, who was hired to implement the SBM - focused on changing the behaviour of over 500 million people from open defecation to the usage of toilets. Case B discusses the start-up challenges for SBM, including implementation in India's complex federal system, workplace culture, and the deep-rooted behaviour of open defecation in rural India and the managerial and communication strategies formulated to address them. The case concludes by framing the difficulties and challenges faced by the mission as it got scaled up.
This case is the first of a three-part series that follows the managerial, strategic, and communication decisions of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) or Clean India Mission, the flagship program of the Government of India to eliminate the practice of open defecation (i.e., not using a toilet) from 2014 to 2019. As of 2014, 550 million people in India practiced open defecation. This problem posed a massive public health hazard and economic drag for the country. Written from an insider's perspective, the cases center on the decisions made by a new Secretary of India's Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, who was hired to implement the SBM - focused on changing the behaviour of over 500 million people from open defecation to the usage of toilets. Case C discusses the team's strategy to promote sanitation behaviour change, accelerate progress in states with particularly recalcitrant rates of open defecation, and monitor progress at a national scale. A key theme is how the team employed methods unconventional for a historically low-profile government ministry, including personalized attention to certain states, harnessing the power of stardom to communicate key messages, and continuing to leverage political commitment from the Central (Federal) government. The case ends with a sense of achievement but outlines the issues that could threaten the sustainability of the gains made in toilet. Readers are challenged to analyse how lessons from SBM could inform public policies for eliminating open defecation in other countries.
On January 4, 2021, Mike Patriquin was contemplating the tumultuous year of 2020 and the impact it had had on operations at Hell's Basement Brewery (HBB), the first brewery to open in Medicine Hat, Alberta, since the early 1900s. Recent events both within and outside the brewery had affected his business. Management had recently restructured financially after buying out some of the original partners, and the remaining owners and management were still dealing with the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The brewery had also had some unexpected media coverage. Patriquin was considering the next steps for HBB given the volatile nature of the industry in these unprecedented times.
Dr. Jay Jayson, an orthodontist, had recently completed renovating the waiting area of his office and now needed to decide whether he should also renovate the treatment areas. He considered the advantages and disadvantages of his current clinic setup: he thought that the reception environment was comfortable, and that the patients felt confident in the treatment and process, but he was concerned about the impact on patients of any delays in care. He also realized that he had one new patient consultation room that could be pulled into service as a treatment chair. Would hiring more registered dental assistants help him treat more patients? Was there another way to see more patients without renovating the office?
Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.'s UNIQLO brand (UNIQLO) was planning to relaunch +J, its collaboration with the legendary high-end designer Jil Sander in the fall of 2020; however, the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of that year, causing many consumers to spend less on clothes and more on essentials. Just like the first launch of the +J collection in 2009, this launch would once again happen during a global recession. The affordable street fashion brand faced a challenging decision regarding whether to reintroduce the higher-priced collaboration brand amidst this unprecedented situation.
Steak 'n Shake, one of America's oldest and most iconic fast-food chains, was founded in Normal, Illinois, in 1934. When Biglari Holdings assumed control of Steak 'n Shake in August 2008, the company was struggling and incurring losses of approximately US$100,000 per day. To turn the company around, the new owner implemented an aggressive pricing-discount strategy marketed as "4 under $4" that offered any of four different meals for under $4. The strategy worked. Steak 'n Shake went on to post seven consecutive years of same-store sales increases. However, in 2016, sales began to drop, and the company posted five consecutive years of declining store sales. The price-discounting strategy may have been critical in reversing the company's fortunes, but had it also led to Steak 'n Shake's current issues? Should Biglari Holdings consider raising prices of menu items? Would customers accept paying higher prices after being accustomed to Steak 'n Shake's traditionally low pricing strategy?
In July 2019, J.Crew Group Inc., a multi-brand, multichannel specialty US clothing retailer, was investigating a launch within a new apparel category. The company's marketing research manager had been tasked with interpreting trends and market potential within the industry as well as primary customer research, to recommend a new product line that would increase revenues. She saw three main potentially viable options in the rental, resale, and athleisure markets. Using a mixed methods approach, the research manager would need to provide the chief marketing officer with her recommendation regarding a new product line for J. Crew Group Inc..