In October 2022, the chair of Hancock Prospecting Pty. Ltd. was negotiating a sponsorship partnership worth AU$15 million with Netball Australia, which was $7 million in debt. Netball Australia had just announced that Donnell Wallam would join the national team as the third ever Indigenous Australian player on the Diamonds team. However, in 1984, the founder of Hancock Prospecting Pty. Ltd. had stated on national television, “I would dope the water up so that they [Indigenous Australians] were sterile and would breed themselves out in the future.” This made the proposed partnership particularly controversial. Wallam and other players raised concerns about the proposed sponsor, considering the founder’s racist statement. In addition, some players wondered publicly if taking money from a fossil fuel mining organization would be consistent with the association’s environmental values. The sponsorship deal raised a considerable amount of media and public attention. Wallam stated she was only interested in playing netball at the elite level to make her Indigenous community proud, but some observers were accusing her of putting the critical $15 million sponsorship deal at risk. What would be the best way forward for the partnership between Hancock Prospecting Pty. Ltd. and Netball Australia?
In October 2021, the founder and chief executive officer of Microsign Products Ltd. in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India, was planning to expand the company, but wanted to ensure consistency for employees with disabilities. The company was planning to increase its list of products and expand its market by partnering with foreign companies. Despite his expansion plans, the founder wanted to continue his company's mission to "Able the disabled." He had been committed to social responsibility since launching the company in 1987 by hiring individuals with disabilities. He was now wondering if he needed new employee policies to support his vision of hiring people with disabilities into mainstream workplace positions and promote career growth for his employees. How would his expansion plans affect the company's work culture? How could he be sure to retain the "family" workplace model he had always promoted?
PeriFerry is a pioneering social enterprise working toward creating sustainable livelihood opportunities and inclusive workplaces for transgender persons in India. Originally located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, PeriFerry has upskilled 320 transgender persons and sensitized more than 30,000 employees about their inclusion in the workplace. PeriFerry's founder and chief executive officer, Neelam Jain, does not believe in an extravagant showcase of effort. Instead, since she founded PeriFerry in 2017, her approach was that when transgender persons wished to transform their lives, they could locate and reach out to PeriFerry via the internet and various social media platforms like LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or Instagram or meet on-ground community representatives. But Jain is looking forward to PeriFerry's next five years and contemplating whether this approach will be relevant to scale social impact. Alternatively, Jain is considering adopting a proactive stance in reaching out to transgender people. This could involve extending its geographical coverage to include other cities in India and introducing a diverse range of services to provide holistic support for transgender persons. The new approach will allow PeriFerry to scale wide by reaching out to more trans people who are dispersed in various geographical locations in India who find it difficult to locate PeriFerry due to a lack of technological amenities. But Jain would also have to figure out the resources and capabilities required to scale its social impact. Jain must determine which strategy PeriFerry should pursue in the next 23 years.
Strategy is as much for nation states as it is for companies, a point clearly demonstrated by El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele. Bukele set out to shift El Salvador from a violent red ocean of gang violence and low growth to a blue ocean of growth, prosperity, and hope as well as the start of reverse migration. The once 'homicide capital of the world' has emerged as the 'bitcoin capital of the world' and a worldclass surfing destination - gangs eradicated, peace restored after decades of violence, tourism flourishing, FDI and GDP on the rise, and citizen's earnings and well-being improved. And while some of Bukele's actions have been criticized by international organizations and media, El Salvadoran citizens' response: Bukele secured a landslide re-election victory in 2024 with 84% of the vote from across the political spectrum. The case illustrates how with a shift in perspective, strategic logic and actions, differentiation and low costs can be achieved to break out of the red ocean at a national level. It also demonstrates how, by identifying and leveraging factors of disproportionate influence, a major strategic shift can be executed fast while conserving resources. The case discusses Nayib Bukele's shift in the country's national strategy and challenges students to assess the pros and cons of the strategic shift he has forged for the country. It also asks students to reflect on possible alternative solutions to the dire national situation the country faced as the 'homicide capital of the world,' which had persisted for decades prior to Bukele.
The case showcases a variety of innovations at Ganga Hospital, a trauma care center located in Coimbatore, India. These innovations have helped the hospital handle large patient volumes. The DNA of innovation at Ganga is traced to the enterprising mindset of the founders and their sons. Trauma surgeries rely on precision. The case depicts the fallout of a clinical complication on the patient as well as the treating surgeon. By investing in technologies like computer-assisted 3D navigation, the directors have created a conducive atmosphere for consultants to safely undertake challenging surgeries. The principle of patient-centricity governs all activities at Ganga. The case elaborates on the factors helping the diffusion of these innovations.
Our names are important parts of our identities, and in the workplace, their mispronunciation can damage our sense of belonging and feelings of psychological safety. But saying someone name correctly is an accessible practice that can promote inclusion and belonging in at work. The authors offer advice on how to handle such situations gracefully, whether you are the one who unsure of how to pronounce someone name or someone whose name is often mispronounced.
Akshali Shah, the promoter of Parag Milk Foods, was excited about the success of her brand, 'Pride of Cows,' which, despite being super-premium, was growing fast in the Indian market. The other two brands- 'Gowardhan' and 'Go' brands were performing well. However, her mind was continuously distracted with the thought of scaling up and 'What next for Parag Milk Foods (PMF)'? The Indian dairy market had been primarily about liquid milk and was highly commoditized due to a lack of differentiation and premiumization. She had to make decisions on how to scale up. Should the company introduce more products or consolidate the existing ones?
The accounts manager at the Commercial Bank of Canada, was reviewing a loan application from Pasquale's Pizzeria, located in Sarnia, Ontario. The business owner was ready to expand his family's business to London, Ontario, having requested a $300,000 long-term loan to finance the renovations and equipment to begin operations in London. They also requested a $20,000 line of credit to help fund the day-to-day operations of the business. The restaurant had never requested a loan of such magnitude, nor had the business undergone an expansion in its lifetime. With COVID-19 changing the food delivery landscape, the accounts manager was confident in his ability assess whether or not Pasquale's was ready to take on this expansion plan.
Serena Khan, a fictional analyst at an investment management firm, was tasked with evaluating a potential investment in Robinhood Markets, Inc. in March 2023. Known for its sleek interface and zero-commission trades, Robinhood aimed to "democratize finance" by making investment products widely accessible. The company saw a surge in users during the COVID-19 pandemic but came under fire for its role in the meme-stock craze and its revenue model based on payment for order flow. Robinhood had struggled since its 2021 IPO as the number of active users declined and shares fell over 80% from their highs. This case encourages students to explore key themes relevant to a broad range of fintech companies and provides an opportunity to discuss the role of wholesale market makers in trade execution, the economics of PFOF, and the gamification of investing.
Several firms worldwide that attempted to penetrate the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) with digital service innovations have encountered disappointing returns. This article explores what capabilities firms should develop and how they should nourish them for value creation at the BOP. Using the multiple-case method, this study inductively derives persuasion, co-creation, adaptation, and self-sustainability as essential capabilities. Cumulative maneuvering of these capabilities resulted in a sand cone model. Both established incumbents and digital natives benefit from this model, which enables them to safeguard their digital offerings while penetrating or expanding within BOP markets.
Founder Duncan McIntyre developed an innovative service-based business to electrify transportation fleets for school districts and scale through public-private partnerships while contributing to climate change solutions. The case covers the rationale for electric school buses, the leadership of its founder, its growth from one customer to many over five years, and relationships with multiple stakeholders in a complex system. Highland Electric Fleets contracted with school districts in the U.S. and Canada to supply and service electric school buses, offering to lower costs for the districts, even those who were not climate action supporters. Ancillary benefits included providing power back to the electric grid, reducing the use of fossil fuels and emission of greenhouse gases, and cleaner air for children. But just as McIntyre was envisioning expanding to electrify other transportation fleets, supply chain challenges leave McIntyre with the dilemma of how to deal with the possible defection of its largest customer because of buses failing to be delivered in time.
In late November 2023, OpenAI's new board of directors took stock of the situation. The company, which sought to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI)-computer systems with capabilities exceeding human abilities-was looking to regain its footing after a chaotic leadership and governance crisis that played out a week earlier. The previous board had stunned observers by firing CEO Sam Altman and removing him from the board for unspecified reasons. Days later, Altman was back as CEO, directors resigned, and a new three-person board formed with Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo, the only continuing director. The new directors faced an urgent set of issues-around OpenAI's governance, how to build out the board, AI ethics and safety, and their relationship with a CEO one of them had helped fire. Their quandary was complicated by OpenAI's unique mission to create AGI to benefit all of humanity and by its unusual structure as a non-profit controlling a for-profit entity. The AI it sought to develop had the potential to be world-changing-for better, or for worse-and the world was watching closely as the board sought a path forward.
In January 2024, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Holdings Inc. (Ben & Jerry’s), a subsidiary of Unilever, was facing several critical decisions. It had been over a year since the company had been sued by its independent board about the company’s decision to sell its Israeli business to a long-time licensee in that country. That situation was resolved with the court ruling against the independent board. However, guiding principles had to be developed to prepare for similar situations in the future. Specifically, the Ben & Jerry’s management team had to work with its independent board to help avoid such incidents from reoccurring. Ben & Jerry’s also had to achieve a balance among the perspectives and demands from various stakeholders, which were sometimes in conflict with each other.
HelpSeeker Technologies, a Calgary-based technology startup, employed technological innovations such as digitization and artificial intelligence (AI) to address social welfare solutions, facilitating swift access by its users to crucial resources like psychological aid, medical services, and housing. HelpSeeker confronted a significant challenge: reconciling its identity as a technology firm with its commitment to societal betterment. In October 2023, facing the need to expand and monetize its services, the company grappled with the delicate task of scaling without compromising its core mission of addressing pressing social issues.
<p align="justify">By early 2022, Zhongguang Yiyun Supply Chain Management Co. Ltd. had spent six years developing its supply chain management (SCM) and supply chain finance (SCF) platform, ToTrade. The platform collaborated with multiple banks and focal companies to provide integrated SCF services to over 1,000 upstream and downstream small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in China’s Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai Provinces. But the site of competition in the Chinese SCF market had shifted from a single company’s SCF capability to its integrated SCF network. Therefore, it was crucial for ToTrade to establish a robust financial supply network in order to enhance the implementation and development of its SCF services. As the volume of ToTrade’s SCF service increased, the company faced key questions: How could ToTrade develop its network to further support its SCF development? And how could the platform effectively evaluate its SCF service performance to better guide this development?
As Chief Executive Officer Maya Kambeitz sat in her Calgary office preparing for the upcoming mid-2018 board meeting, she considered a potential growth strategy for Norfolk Housing Association (Norfolk Housing) that would align with its core values: to offer inclusive and affordable housing, and to maintain financial stability in 2019 and beyond. Norfolk Housing was a social enterprise registered as a non-profit corporation in Calgary, Alberta, offering rentals of affordable and priced-to-market apartments in shared buildings. Kambeitz wanted the board to consider whether or not to acquire another building, ideally near the current locations, to expand their operations. The increased number of units would improve operational efficiency through economies of scale and serve more people, aligning with the social enterprise’s dedication to both long-term financial sustainability and social purpose. However, expansion would require financing and support to acquire and manage the new building, which could put Norfolk Housing’s financial sustainability at risk.<br><br>The challenge was to achieve Norfolk Housing’s purpose to expand and provide affordable housing to more Calgarians while also maintaining long-term financial stability, which ensured that current tenants would not lose their homes if the association failed. Kambeitz had learned about Riley Park Place, a property with 24 units that was for sale. The location was close to their current properties and its acquisition had potential. However, there were some questions about whether the opportunity aligned with Norfolk Housing’s purpose and financial sustainability.
Based on their extensive consulting and advisory experience in large-scale consulting transformations for various large enterprises, Ramesh Srinivas and his colleagues at Worxogo Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Worxogo) in Bengaluru, India, had launched an artificial intelligence (AI)–based nudge platform called Nudge Coach in 2017 to change employees’ behaviour positively and voluntarily so as to bolster team performance. The platform’s self-learning AI engine had been designed based on insights from behavioural sciences and popular motivation theories. It featured deep-learning algorithms that understood individual motivations and provided personalized coaching tips, appropriate challenges, and rewards. The platform was presented as a coach that could help employees manage their performance.<br><br>By 2023, Worxogo had garnered numerous clients and accolades for its platform’s novelty and efficacy in improving employee performance and organizational outcomes. However, Worxogo had implemented its platform predominantly for a limited set of functions, such as sales and data-centre operations, characterized by well-defined lead and lag performance metrics. Clients, buoyed by the platform’s success, began encouraging the Worxogo team to extend the nudge-based performance-improvement system to other functions and domains.<br><br>Thus, Srinivas, Worxogo’s chief executive officer, faced a dilemma in August 2023of whether to continue to focus on Nudge Coach’s limited existing functions or to explore appropriate nudge-based outcomes for tasks without clear lead and lag performance indicators. His other challenge was to determine how organizations and individuals could measure the effectiveness of nudges in improving performance without clear short-term outcomes. Which approach would Srinivas take to respond to these challenges?
Adam Shapiro and Graham Duncan launched East Rock Capital, LLC in 2006 with a seed investment from Stuart Miller, executive chairman of Lennar Corporation. East Rock managed long-term assets for high-net-worth families, primarily working with external managers who had proven themselves at larger firms and had recently launched firms of their own. This approach allowed the organization to build a network of small and mid-size investment firms that it viewed as a source of investing edge. Shapiro considered how East Rock should approach growth going forward.
"Unintended Consequences of Algorithmic Personalization" (HBS No. 524-052) investigates algorithmic bias in marketing through four case studies featuring Apple, Uber, Facebook, and Amazon. Each study presents scenarios where these companies faced public criticism for algorithmic biases in marketing interventions, encompassing promotion, product, price, and distribution. The case is designed to enhance students' understanding of algorithmic bias in personalized marketing. It encourages discussions on its causes and strategies for detection and mitigation. A key learning is that such bias is often unintentional and can occur without data errors or underrepresentation in the sample. A central theme is the trade-off between optimization and fairness in algorithmic decision-making. Overall, these case studies provide comprehensive discussions on the causes, implications, and solutions to algorithmic bias in personalized marketing, complemented by the technical note "Algorithm Bias in Marketing" (HBS No. 521-020) that accompanies the case.