On is a Swiss SME founded in 2010 in Zurich, Switzerland, by three friends - Caspar Coppetti, David Allemann, and former pro athlete Olivier Bernhard. The startup invented an award-winning running shoe with an outsole that absorbs vertical and horizontal shocks, allowing for both a soft landing and an explosive take-off. Although On was launched as a premium brand for serious runners, it gained a dedicated following among nurses, casual walkers, and trendsetters. The business quickly expanded to the U.S. and Japan, the world's largest running shoe markets, growing from a startup with three founders to an international company that innovated constantly and brought new products to market. To support its growth, it had to recruit the right people, team up with the right partners, formulate the right strategy, and bring the right stakeholders and ambassadors on board. At the end of 2019, On had 500 employees, and its international headquarters and R&D were located in Zurich. In comparison, Nike had over 76,700 employees and Adidas some 57,000. By April 2021, On had increased its staff to 764 and aimed to have 1,000 employees by year-end. But how had this exponential growth affected On's corporate culture, and how could On stabilize its business model and ensure its sustainability in the face of intense competition?
Info Edge is the first Indian Internet company to list on the Indian stock markets (in 2006). It is a widely successful company with many lines of business - it operates a jobs classified (naukri.com), a real estate classifieds (99acres.com), a matrimonial classifieds (jeevansaathi.com) and a higher education classifieds (shiksha.com). Info Edge also has a very successful corporate VC arm, which at different points owned ~50% of Zomato (restaurant listings and food delivery) and Policy Bazaar (insurance comparison shopping). We have related Info Edge's 30-year journey across two cases - Naukri.com (A): the Business of Internet in India and Naukri.com (B): Corporate Venture Capital in India. Both cases have separate teaching notes and are designed to be used either independent of each other in 90-minute sessions, or to be used one after the other in two 90-minute sessions This case examines Naukri.com's fight for relevance in a world that is increasingly being dominated by the three largest Internet aggregators - Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn (owned by Microsoft). It touches upon strategic aspects involving Internet marketplaces and social media networks, which are hotly debated topics in business media and various discussion forums as of 2022, and hence, you should expect strong participation from a typical MBA or executive MBA class
Info Edge is the first Indian Internet company to list on the Indian stock markets (in 2006). It is a widely successful company with many lines of business - it operates a jobs classified (naukri.com), a real estate classifieds (99acres.com), a matrimonial classifieds (jeevansaathi.com) and a higher education classifieds (shiksha.com). Info Edge also has a very successful corporate VC arm, which at different points owned ~50% of Zomato (restaurant listings and food delivery) and Policy Bazaar (insurance comparison shopping). We have related Info Edge's 30-year journey across two cases - Naukri.com (A): the Business of Internet in India and Naukri.com (B): Corporate Venture Capital in India. Both cases have separate teaching notes and are designed to be used either independent of each other in 90-minute sessions, or to be used one after the other in two 90-minute sessions This case examines Naukri.com's internal investments in other online classifieds - 99Acres, Jeevansaathi, and Shiksha, its attempts at vertical integration - Allcheckdeals and Quadrangle, as well as its corporate venture capital arm that makes financial investments in other startups like Zomato and Policy Bazaar. This case touches upon strategic aspects involving venture capital and popular consumer Internet startups in India, which are hotly debated topics in business media and various discussion forums. The case examines the strategic background of venture investments in great detail and ends by questioning the parameters of defensibility of venture funds. The case also discusses Info Edge's investment decision-making framework and valuation framework and examines the differences between financial venture capital and corporate venture capital.
After rising up the corporate ladder to become the first Indian American woman to make partner at Deloitte, Deepa Purushothaman took her career in a new direction, as an author and cofounder of the nFormation community for women of color. In an interview with MIT Sloan Management Review, Purushothaman discusses how women of color experience the corporate world and suggests ways we can all work to combat issues like bias and discrimination in the workplace.
In August 2019 CEO David Craig was considering the likely benefits and challenges of merging his company, financial-markets data and infrastructure provider Refinitiv, with the London Stock Exchange Group. Craig had led a turnaround of Thomson Reuters' Financial & Risk division (F&R), then used investment from a private equity consortium led by Blackstone to carve out F&R from Thomson Reuters and create Refinitiv as an independent company. The carve-out had been successful, but global financial markets were evolving fast. Initial industry reaction to the proposed deal was positive; however some analysts questioned whether it would be approved by regulators and expressed concern over the complexity of integrating the two companies. With the industry changing so quickly, could the momentum created in Refinitiv be maintained in the new combined entity?
This case study follows the career of world-renowned orchestra conductor Marin Alsop. As a gay woman in a blatantly male-dominated (and often sexist) field, Alsop faced significant challenges in her rise to the top of the profession. At virtually every turning point on her unconventional path, Alsop received the message that she should not or could not advance - and yet she did, relying on a nuanced mix of perseverance, self-awareness, and willingness to upend the status quo.
This case study follows the career of world-renowned orchestra conductor Marin Alsop. As a gay woman in a blatantly male-dominated (and often sexist) field, Alsop faced significant challenges in her rise to the top of the profession. At virtually every turning point on her unconventional path, Alsop received the message that she should not or could not advance - and yet she did, relying on a nuanced mix of perseverance, self-awareness, and willingness to upend the status quo.
This case study follows the career of world-renowned orchestra conductor Marin Alsop. As a gay woman in a blatantly male-dominated (and often sexist) field, Alsop faced significant challenges in her rise to the top of the profession. At virtually every turning point on her unconventional path, Alsop received the message that she should not or could not advance - and yet she did, relying on a nuanced mix of perseverance, self-awareness, and willingness to upend the status quo.
This case highlights the multifaceted challenges of sustainability and survivability face by Singapore. Being a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), much of Singapore development is concentrated in a very small area. High population density that is expected to increase puts Singapore in a vulnerable position for sea-level rise. Adding to the woe of small land size, most of the Singapore's land lies only 15 metres above Singapore's Height Datum. To address this complex issue, Singapore must create a new path that balances the triple bottom line (TBL). Tensions between the three bottom lines in managing this sustainable development for Singapore are real. The question is how to manage the scenario of rising sea levels with so many different permutations and considerations. Which reality do you foresee for this little red dot by 2065? How to manage the triple bottom line? How will you evaluate the impacts of measures adopted? What are the measures that Singapore need to carry out to fight against the rising sea level?
This case study follows the evolution of plant-based meat alternatives industry, focusing specifically on the major competitors namely Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. It provides a good snapshot of the way in which the new industry has evolved and the manner in which key industry forces have begun to shape the competitiveness and profitability of this nascent industry. It builds on an analysis of the industry to explore the fortunes of the rising stars in the business and concludes with several key questions about the potential future trajectory of the Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods in the face of new competitors and the defensive strategies deployed by the established meat producers. The case sets up the backdrop for a spirited debate relating to the viability of the strategies of the established rivals versus the emerging new players in the midst of unclear consumer trends and preferences.
In 2019, an investment analyst for a hedge fund firm based in the Bahamas was tasked with evaluating his firm's exposure to the automotive industry. The hedge fund firm held various large positions in the automotive segment, most notably in two equities-Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and Ford Motor Company. The analyst decided to focus on these global industry giants as a proxy for the broader automotive segment. His manager expected an assessment of the industry's prospects, so the analyst had to decide if the past stock performance of the two companies was a fair indicator of each company's and the industry's future. He also had to consider why one company would lose almost twice as much value as the other in one specific period. And why did the stock of the more diversified company experience the steeper decline? The analyst was eager to answer these and other questions, both for his own and his manager's interest.
In 2020, the movie business was turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the closure of theatres. Unable to open their doors, exhibitors had little to no revenue to cover costs, and market analysts predicted that the future for theatre chains, particularly AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC), looked bleak. Then in early 2021, a large number of small retail investors bought shares in AMC. By the July 4th weekend, AMC stock was worth more than 25 times what it had been worth at the beginning of the year. In a post-pandemic environment, could AMC’s chief executive officer, Adam Aron, objectively weigh strategic options to decide what should be the appropriate size and scope of the firm going forward, without being overly influenced by shareholders with shorter time horizons?
In 2016, BlewMinds Consulting LLP was launched as a storytelling consulting start-up with the vision of touching and transforming five billion lives by 2030. One of the two co-founders was already well-known on the LinkedIn social network platform, with more than 600,000 followers. He was also recognized as one of the 25 Top Voices in India by LinkedIn for 2019. The company transformed 725,000 lives directly and 200 million readers indirectly through social media stories, one-on-one training, group coaching sessions, webinars, and speaking engagements, driven mainly by the co-founder’s extensive LinkedIn follower base. However, to realize the company’s vision, several questions remained: How could the co-founders create a community of storytellers within the organization who could effectively establish trust through communication and contribute collectively to the company’s growth? How could they engage a wider audience by effectively leveraging the co-founder’s strategic influencer communication on social media? Should the company continue its bootstrapped business model or should investors be sought?
In 2015, HiteVision Tech Co. Ltd., a leading Chinese enterprise in the research and development and manufacturing of interactive educational flat-panel displays (IFPDs), faced a developmental bottleneck. The general manager of the commercial product department turned his attention from the educational to the commercial IFPD market. In early 2018, during the process of entering the commercial IFPD market, the company encountered a series of channel conflicts, which were resolved by adopting a multibrand strategy. However, after achieving initial success in the commercial IFPD market, the company encountered new channel conflicts. In early 2019, the company was facing a distribution problem and an e-business channel issue. The general manager again needed to find a solution.
Much like the famous philosophical thought experiment, impact investing raises questions about perception, observation, and reality. What is our sense that an investment results in social, environmental, and financial return? What changes can we observe taking place? What is the state of the situation as it exists (perhaps by measurement)? This case study applies this framework to our analysis of the social, environmental, and financial impact of forestry and timberland investment.
At 824 million, Pinduoduo had the most customers in global e-commerce as of March 2021. It had also expanded aggressively into grocery shopping with Duo Duo Grocery, riding on the demands that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, and set its sights on becoming the world's grocer. Despite its formidable progress, the e-commerce platform remained in the red, recording a loss of more than US$443 million in the first quarter of 2021. Its closest rivals, Alibaba and JD, remained hot on its heels, matching its forays into its stronghold of the lower-tier cities in the country. The year 2021 also marked a year of leadership renewal for Pinduoduo. Colin Zheng Huang, its founding CEO and Chairman, had passed the baton of leadership to Lei Chen, a fellow co-founder. Huang's decision to step aside was to focus on figuring out the future of Pinduoduo. He believed research on food and life sciences would remake agriculture in China. How should investors see these moves and achievements by Pinduoduo? Are farming and smart logistics its 'end game'?
In 2015, HiteVision Tech Co. Ltd., a leading Chinese enterprise in the research and development and manufacturing of interactive educational flat-panel displays (IFPDs), faced a developmental bottleneck. The general manager of the commercial product department turned his attention from the educational to the commercial IFPD market. In early 2018, during the process of entering the commercial IFPD market, the company encountered a series of channel conflicts, which were resolved by adopting a multibrand strategy. However, after achieving initial success in the commercial IFPD market, the company encountered new channel conflicts. In early 2019, the company was facing a distribution problem and an e-business channel issue. The general manager again needed to find a solution.
In 2020, the movie business was turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the closure of theatres. Unable to open their doors, exhibitors had little to no revenue to cover costs, and market analysts predicted that the future for theatre chains, particularly AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC), looked bleak. Then in early 2021, a large number of small retail investors bought shares in AMC. By the July 4th weekend, AMC stock was worth more than 25 times what it had been worth at the beginning of the year. In a post-pandemic environment, could AMC's chief executive officer, Adam Aron, objectively weigh strategic options to decide what should be the appropriate size and scope of the firm going forward, without being overly influenced by shareholders with shorter time horizons?
In 2016, BlewMinds Consulting LLP was launched as a storytelling consulting start-up with the vision of touching and transforming five billion lives by 2030. One of the two co-founders was already well-known on the LinkedIn social network platform, with more than 600,000 followers. He was also recognized as one of the 25 Top Voices in India by LinkedIn for 2019. The company transformed 725,000 lives directly and 200 million readers indirectly through social media stories, one-on-one training, group coaching sessions, webinars, and speaking engagements, driven mainly by the co-founder's extensive LinkedIn follower base. However, to realize the company's vision, several questions remained: How could the co-founders create a community of storytellers within the organization who could effectively establish trust through communication and contribute collectively to the company's growth? How could they engage a wider audience by effectively leveraging the co-founder's strategic influencer communication on social media? Should the company continue its bootstrapped business model or should investors be sought?