Royal Enfield has maintained its dominance in the 250-750 cubic centimetre mid-size motorcycle segment in India. After a COVID-19-induced lean patch, the company's unit sales have skyrocketed to an all-time high of 834,895 units in fiscal year 2022-23. The demand for premium motorcycles is growing significantly, which bodes well for Royal Enfield. However, the market leader has been confronted with a big challenge. The alliance between Hero MotoCorp Ltd. and Harley-Davidson Inc. has launched the Harley-Davidson X440-the most affordable Harley-to take on Royal Enfield. Meanwhile, the alliance between Bajaj Auto Ltd. and Triumph Motorcycles Ltd. has unveiled the competitively priced Speed 400. The initial response to the new motorcycles has been overwhelming. What strategic options are available to Royal Enfield to maintain its market lead amid intensified competitive rivalry?
This case explores the unique challenges social entrepreneurs face in balancing social impact and growing their market reach. Jane Bloom, founder of Caring Caps, is passionate about this social cause and built a culture of giving back into the mission and vision of the organization. But operating a non-profit with the goal of growing can create significant strain on a founder and volunteers. The organization in this case provides knitted caps for cancer patients and fully embraces the inclusion of social mission, purpose, and vision into its everyday operations to create a significant social impact of individuals battling cancer.<br><br>Caring Caps has had minimal awareness since its inception in 2013 and is looking to evolve into something beyond a community within a synagogue and to provide its "comfy" caps to more hospitals and cancer centers to reach those in need. One of the biggest challenges is to identify a growth model for Caring Caps to stay sustainable. What should Bloom do to position Caring Caps for future growth? What marketing should she consider?
In late 2020, Harman Singh Arora, the chief executive officer of Gtropy Pvt. Ltd. (Gtropy), a logistics technology provider in the logistics and transportation space, was considering the company's future. Gtropy had disrupted the market with its GPS based fleet management solutions complemented by exhaustive data analytics since it was formed in 2019. The company's quarterly growth was 40 per cent and they had a network of 350+ partners. However, Arora found in customer satisfaction surveys and feedback, that their clients were looking for centralized platforms for making all payments digitally and seamlessly. Arora sets his eye on big-ticket financial technology segment. However, his senior leadership team were not in the favour of moving so fast on Arora's risky and difficult plan. But in this digital world of up or out, it was time to focus on the elephant in the room: Where should they invest its time and resources?
In May 2023, Shake Shack Inc., the New York City-based fast-casual restaurant chain faced an activist’s campaign from Engaged Capital LLC. Citing poor performance compared to industry peers over the 2020–2022 period, Engaged Capital sought three board seats, with its nominees to have industry-specific expertise, to advise Shake Shack’s management team on turning around the multi-unit chain. Shake Shack had a dual-share capital structure with founder, Daniel Meyer, and his associates controlling 85.9 per cent of the voting rights. Meyer and the board had to consider and respond to Engaged Capital’s push for board seats at Shake Shack’s annual shareholder meeting on June 29, 2023.
Over a decade ago, Jazz, Pakistan’s largest data operator, embarked on a transformative journey toward fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within its organizational culture. Spearheaded by the vision of the chief executive officer and supported by a dedicated leadership team, Jazz undertook initiatives to create a gender-inclusive workplace. The organization introduced programs to support married women, women with children, and women returning to work after a career break. Despite significant progress, the leadership and DEI teams at Jazz believed there was more to achieve. In March 2024, Jazz leadership gathered at the Islamabad office to discuss what additional initiatives they could take to further improve the lives and livelihood of women in Pakistan.
In January 2024, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Neha Enterprises (NE), based in Meerut, India, faced challenges in operating his custom pipe-trading business due to declining profitability and resource constraints. NE was a customized pipe trading and manufacturing company that, over the last 30 years, had focused primarily on resolving customers’ problems through customization, precise cutting, and finishing of pipes. It had 900 small and 10 large, specialized customers. After the COVID-19 pandemic strained profit margins, the CEO was exploring new avenues such as offering contract manufacturing for gym equipment, e-rickshaws, and wall beds. Contract manufacturing provided profit margins that were much higher than those earned through traditional pipe customization, but the CEO quickly realized the risk of juggling both a traditional trading business and contract manufacturing. Now, he had to decide whether to disengage from the customized pipe business or continue with contract manufacturing. Should the company standardize or reduce its trading portfolio, form a new contract manufacturing firm, or focus on serving a few medium and large customers?
In February 2022, Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) Investments, the investment management organization that managed funds for the CPP, one of the biggest pension plans in the world, announced a net-zero commitment for its portfolio by 2050. Under its CEO, John Graham, it outlined key actions to get there but pleasing stakeholders on all sides was a tough ask. While some lauded the fund's efforts, others questioned its decision not to set interim emissions reduction targets and to continue to finance fossil fuel firms. In practical terms, executing on the firm's sustainable investing approach meant making appropriately weighed investment decisions daily, a complex exercise. In mid-2023, one such investment under consideration was Aera Energy, a California oil and gas asset transitioning to a green business model-renewables and carbon capture and storage.
Research shows the benefits of good work friendships on personal well-being, productivity, and engagement â€" but our close relationships at work can also create a minefield for leaders if they fracture teams into cliques. Here’s how to build healthy work friendships that enhance collaboration and performance and humanize the workplace.
Hefu Catering Management Co. Ltd. (Hefu) was founded in 2012 as a high-end Chinese noodle chain brand. Its mission was to promote Chinese culture through Chinese fast food on a global scale. In 2018, Hefu experienced significant demand growth. To ensure a steady supply of safe, fresh, and organic foods, Hefu established a centralized kitchen in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, serving 300 restaurants in nearby cities. As Hefu expanded into North and Central China, it faced challenges in delivering fresh food from the centralized kitchen to meet the demands of all its restaurants.
As she prepared for the Hershey Company Investor Day, CEO Michele Buck knew the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI); the importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices; and that EDI within corporate social responsibility (CSR) was key to Hershey's valuable brand image, engaged employees, and effective business relationships. "Children's wellbeing is at the heart of who we are as a company. This goes back to our founder, Milton S. Hershey, who cared deeply about children." However, the company depended on cocoa beans from West Africa and had not yet honoured a 2001 industry-wide pledge to uproot child labour in global supply chains. Hershey was committed to improved practices but had not yet reached its goals. What if Hershey's largest customer in its largest market decided to drop Hershey products? What if socially conscious institutional investors decided to sell their shares? How could the CEO avoid these disastrous scenarios and reassure both customers and investors?
Motorcycle Offsetters, an aspiring startup, provided motorcycle enthusiasts with a platform to offset carbon emissions from their touring activities, contributing to the fight against climate change. Despite rapid growth, the venture faced financial instability. The founder, Andreas Gneist, aimed to devise a marketing and communication strategy to engage decision-makers in organizations offering offsetting services to a substantial motorcycle enthusiast base. Overcoming skepticism among environmental activists and countering the stigma associated with climate change efforts among deniers were pivotal challenges. Addressing these hurdles was crucial for the venture's success and financial sustainability.
In March 2023, the founders of the Strategic Human Resource Leadership Journey were reviewing the program's great success across India since its launch in 2004. The initiative was intended to develop and prepare India's HR leaders for the future. With a strategic business focus, it instilled enduring personal and professional transformations in the program's participants. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 induced unprecedented changes for the program and across the world. The result was a shift toward a mix of physical and digital offerings, referred to as a "phygital" context. The program's architects recognized that there was a compelling need to modify the design of the initiative. In 2021-22, they offered a three-phase hybrid model that aimed to capture the best of both the physical and digital formats. However, participants lamented the lack of emotional connection and opportunities to develop deep relationships. How could the program leverage the new technology of the "phygital" world but sustain the emotional quality of the in-person residential format?
In June 2023, Zerodha, a leading player in India's discount brokerage industry, was at a crossroads. Founded in 2010 by Nikhil and Nithin Kamath, who were avid stock traders from a young age, the company had grown significantly by putting customers first. The pandemic and low-interest environment had provided a strong tailwind to the sector as well as the company, especially in terms of the number of customers and revenues. However, the competition was nipping at Zerodha's heels. Many start-ups offered similar technology interfaces, and some were funded by venture capital. A few were spending aggressively to court customers as well as tech employees. With a debt-free balance sheet built through several years of profitable operations, Zerodha could pursue strategies that required large spending, but the key question was: should Zerodha deviate from its time-tested strategy of being a cost leader and not following the herd in the new post-pandemic environment?
By March 2022, the board of NTT DATA Group Corporation (NTT) had identified “innovation centers” as a critical investment priority of its midterm management plan. NTT, a multinational information technology services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, provided a range of technology consulting services and industry solutions to large business customers. With the success of innovation centers in the US and Europe, NTT decided to explore whether to open innovation centers in countries such as India and China. If so, it needed to determine what capabilities to develop there. Hiroshi Furukawa, head of research and development (R&D) and innovation at NTT, had to identify the new innovation centers’ locations, define their formats, and plan for customer collaboration opportunities.
As the Republic of Indonesia, the largest archipelagic nation in the world, was facing significant challenges posed by climate change, the imperative for immediate attention to the region’s climate issues became evident. Indeed, between 2018 and 2020, Indonesia issued three green sukuks, which were Shariah law-compliant debt instruments resembling green bonds. This case explores the specific approach taken by the Indonesian government to secure vital funding for initiatives aimed at mitigating and adapting to climate change in sectors including energy efficiency, renewable energy, resilience to climate change, sustainable transport, and waste and waste-to-energy management. The case also evaluates critical inquiries into the efficacy of the projects funded by the proceeds of green sukuk issuances in combating climate change.
In 2018, Ali Elsakka, a senior employee in the planning and performance department at a Gulf Cooperation Council country public health care organization, embarked on the development of a new performance measurement system to enhance the organization’s health care services. Elsakka recognized the need to enhance the organization’s performance and decided to create a strategy map based on the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard framework. Through his research, he uncovered common challenges in implementing this performance measurement framework in the health care sector, including inadequate communication, limited employee empowerment, and lack of consensus. Determined to address these issues, Elsakka believed that involving leaders in the development process would enhance their engagement and commitment. He recognized the strategy map as a powerful tool to effectively communicate the organization’s objectives. However, Elsakka faced the daunting task of designing a strategy map for a large health care organization and obtaining the approval of its employees.
Founded in 2013 and acquired by General Motors (GM) in 2016, Cruise was a trailblazer in the autonomous vehicle industry. Cruise had rapidly expanded under the guidance of GM, but this growth was marred by crashes and disruptive interactions with emergency vehicles. By November 2023, the company had become the focus of intense public and regulatory scrutiny following a serious incident in San Francisco, California, on October 2, when a Cruise robotaxi caused severe injuries to a pedestrian. In the aftermath of the incident, Cruise faced significant backlash from regulators and consumers. The California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended the company’s operational permits, and Cruise temporarily halted its driverless operations, shifting to vehicles operated with safety drivers. The co-founders resigned, and Cruise appointed a new president and chief technology officer. What actions should the new president take to prevent such an incident from happening again, regain the public’s trust, and ensure rigorous safety standards and transparent communication? The decisions the company made in the coming months would be crucial in shaping its future trajectory.
In June 2023, SundaySky CEO Jim Dicso considers growth strategies. The software-as-a-service company provided software to create advertising videos, customer service videos, and other videos, like employee training modules, and had begun to pilot a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) assistant.