In February 2023, the Care for Wild founder and her team were planning for the future of their organization. Care for Wild had recently received a request from a potential international donor to outline the interdependencies for the social, ecological, and organizational aspects of the operation to determine how funding could help strengthen these areas. Care for Wild was a not-for-profit rhinoceros sanctuary based in South Africa that was facing various challenges and opportunities. Over the course of the organization’s first 12 years, Care for Wild had been committed to helping rescue and rehabilitate injured and orphaned rhinos, a species that was at threat of extinction. The founder was aware that a healthy and holistic system approach was needed for Care for Wild’s future. She was now tasked with articulating the complexities and interdependencies between these two areas. Her response to the potential donor’s request would also reinforce the importance of resilience within the organization’s socio-ecological environment.
Jason Kelce, an NFL player and athlete recognized around the world, had built a strong personal brand over the course of his career. He had reinvented himself and worked hard at honing his own personal branding, successively building a successful platform for each venture and staying forward-looking about his future after retiring from football. By 2023, Kelce was at a crossroads. He was not quite ready to hang up his Philadelphia Eagles jersey, and he knew that managing his own personal brand was a full-time endeavour as well. What was the best way to further develop his brand so that it would continue to flourish post-NFL career? What kinds of projects should Kelce take on next?
Bayer Crop Science AG (Bayer CS) was grappling with the critical issue of how to navigate the landscape of relevant technologies for innovation partnerships. The organization's structure was fragmented, with each business unit operating its own tech screening and sourcing processes. To tackle this, the Innovation Sourcing Team introduced InnovationFlow, a digital platform. This platform formed the core of Bayer CS' scouting network, enabling their employees’ efficient external scouting and idea leveraging. The case study centres on evaluating this platform and the emerging challenges during its rapid growth. It showcases the dynamic nature of digital ecosystem development, where technology, organizational change, and effective innovation sourcing intersect.
Following its disastrous market entry into the United Kingdom in 2019, due to immediate backlash from the LGBTQ+ community, Chick-fil-A, the US$16 billion conservative Christian fast-food company, named a new chief executive officer in 2021, Andrew Truett Cathy. By inheriting the privately-held, family-owned empire, Cathy faced a monumental task, made more difficult when he appointed a vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which sparked calls for a boycott from conservative groups and claims that “the company had gone woke.” To make matters worse, Chick-fil-A was in the middle of a worldwide chicken sandwich war, fighting against many competitors, including McDonald’s, Popeyes, and Wendy’s. As August 2023 came to a close, how could Andrew Cathy, newly minted third generation chief executive officer of Chick-fil-A, avoid the curse of wealth destruction and simultaneously fight culture and chicken wars?
J P Landgoed (PTY) LTD (J P Landgoed), a mandarin fruit farm in Limpopo, South Africa, was founded by Cobus Beetge in 2014. The firm grew from a few mandarin trees to a well-established export-oriented company. In July 2021, at the peak of the harvest season, Beetge received an email from the Citrus Growers Association of South Africa. The email stated that although port activities in Durban had resumed and the port was fully operational capacity following looting and riots in KwaZulu-Natal province, the backlog was severe and most cold-storage facilities were at capacity; as such, Durban harbour was not accepting any further consignments. This meant uncertainty for J P Landgoed, with the firm having to deal with confined consignments due to the backlog as well as others scheduled for dispatch from the farm. Beetge called a meeting with his financial manager, Francois Venter, to discuss the issue and come up with a solution.
In summer 2021, School of Rock was a youth-oriented music education company with 291 franchise- and company-owned schools globally. Before CEO Rob Price's hire in 2017, School of Rock's nonconformist rock 'n' roll culture led to variability in teaching styles, educational outcomes, and risks for copyright violations. The previous administration's attempts to standardize curriculum and processes led to friction with franchisees. Price smoothed over the tension by better listening to franchisees and clarifying core policies while giving franchisees freedom in certain areas. One of Price's major initiatives was the Method App which provided a structure to empower and guide work at the school branches, featuring nearly 100 show programs and 1,000 copyright-compliant song choices tagged with the associated skill levels, musical concepts, and corresponding show programs. When the app launched as a minimum viable product (MVP) in October 2019, it struggled to gain traction. Some franchisees felt the MVP's functionality was flawed; others worried that the app threatened their pedagogical independence. Price's team considered several options to increase adoption: a listening tour to communicate the app's value and collect feedback for improvements; an exclusive marketing campaign for schools with a minimum level of app usage; and incentives based on School of Rock's balanced scorecard that measured performance and other metrics. Which one or more of these options would drive app adoption without reigniting tension between franchisees and the corporate office?
Set in January 2020, this case explores the journey of Praful Chandawarkar, the founder director of Chiranjeev Restaurants and Foods Private Limited, and his core team as they transform their business. After a successful career as an investment banker, Chandawarkar, and his wife, Cheeru, a highly talented chef, decided to pursue their passion and embark on the journey of entrepreneurship. In 1997, they established Malaka Spice, a restaurant specializing in Southeast Asian cuisine, in Pune. Over the course of a decade, they expanded rapidly across multiple cities in India. However, Chandawarkar confronted a personal tragedy when his wife succumbed to cancer. This loss made him take a step back to reflect and reevaluate his approach, crystallizing his personal belief that the primary purpose of an enterprise must be the well-being of people. He realized that he needed not only personal transformation as a leader but also a shift in his approach. Seeking the guidance of a leadership coach, he underwent a personal transformation and introduced new work practices to enhance both employee and organizational performance. He placed a strong emphasis on collective well-being and introduced business practices aimed at enhancing the well-being of all stakeholders, both within and outside the organization. The case presents the story of how Chandawarkar and his team changed their approach and work practices, which led to significant changes such as diversification of the group and accelerated growth. The case concludes with the challenge faced by the organization, especially within the context of the hospitality industry, as the threat of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic looms large.
The case is set in August 2022 and traces the transformation of the post office (PO) in Kamathipura, Mumbai. Kamathipura is one of the largest and oldest red-light districts in India. Swati Pandey, a bureaucrat working for India Post-an Indian-government-run postal service under the Ministry of Communications-was the Postmaster General (PMG) of the Mumbai region and was responsible for the over 200 POs spread across the city, including the Kamathipura PO. The commercial sex workers (CSWs) living in Kamathipura faced relentless discrimination due to the stigma around their occupation. Apart from this, most of the women residing in this area had been either forced into this profession or trafficked; therefore, many of them lacked official identity documents and did not understand financial tools. When they did approach banks and other financial institutions to get started, they were shooed away or leered at by the male staff. They had been alienated by the ecosystem of financial inclusion and excluded from it. Pandey was deeply moved by the dire social and financial circumstances of the CSWs, and wanted to transform the Kamathipura PO into a safe space for them, only find solace and support, but also gain education about financial planning.
BYJU'S first entered India's test preparation industry in 2007 with technology-enabled learning, when the market was uncontested, allowing the company to grow steadily until 2015 and achieve unicorn status in the industry in 2017. However, many new organizations started joining the technology-focused learning sector in 2014-15, greatly reducing the market share BYJU'S was enjoying before it was challenged. By 2020, with many new educational technology start-ups in the market, the industry was valued at US$1.43 billion. BYJU'S dominated the market with a 57 per cent share, but the founder knew that the market was no longer uncontested. Therefore, to retain its position as a market leader, BYJU'S acquired firms rapidly. The strategy, however, soon led to financial crises and catastrophic losses. From 2007 to 2015, BYJU'S created high levels of value before switching to a growth strategy of rapid and numerous acquisitions, leading to cash crunches and financial challenges. How could the founder turn his company around to regain the company's early success?
Bayer Crop Science AG (Bayer CS) was grappling with the critical issue of how to navigate the landscape of relevant technologies for innovation partnerships. The organization's structure was fragmented, with each business unit operating its own tech screening and sourcing processes. To tackle this, the Innovation Sourcing Team introduced InnovationFlow, a digital platform. This platform formed the core of Bayer CS' scouting network, enabling their employees' efficient external scouting and idea leveraging. The case study centres on evaluating this platform and the emerging challenges during its rapid growth. It showcases the dynamic nature of digital ecosystem development, where technology, organizational change, and effective innovation sourcing intersect.
Following its disastrous market entry into the United Kingdom in 2019, due to immediate backlash from the LGBTQ+ community, Chick-fil-A, the US$16 billion conservative Christian fast-food company, named a new chief executive officer in 2021, Andrew Truett Cathy. By inheriting the privately-held, family-owned empire, Cathy faced a monumental task, made more difficult when he appointed a vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which sparked calls for a boycott from conservative groups and claims that "the company had gone woke." To make matters worse, Chick-fil-A was in the middle of a worldwide chicken sandwich war, fighting against many competitors, including McDonald's, Popeyes, and Wendy's. As August 2023 came to a close, how could Andrew Cathy, newly minted third generation chief executive officer of Chick-fil-A, avoid the curse of wealth destruction and simultaneously fight culture and chicken wars?
J P Landgoed (PTY) LTD (J P Landgoed), a mandarin fruit farm in Limpopo, South Africa, was founded by Cobus Beetge in 2014. The firm grew from a few mandarin trees to a well-established export-oriented company. In July 2021, at the peak of the harvest season, Beetge received an email from the Citrus Growers Association of South Africa. The email stated that although port activities in Durban had resumed and the port was fully operational capacity following looting and riots in KwaZulu-Natal province, the backlog was severe and most cold-storage facilities were at capacity; as such, Durban harbour was not accepting any further consignments. This meant uncertainty for J P Landgoed, with the firm having to deal with confined consignments due to the backlog as well as others scheduled for dispatch from the farm. Beetge called a meeting with his financial manager, Francois Venter, to discuss the issue and come up with a solution.
In February 2023, the Care for Wild founder and her team were planning for the future of their organization. Care for Wild had recently received a request from a potential international donor to outline the interdependencies for the social, ecological, and organizational aspects of the operation to determine how funding could help strengthen these areas. Care for Wild was a not-for-profit rhinoceros sanctuary based in South Africa that was facing various challenges and opportunities. Over the course of the organization's first 12 years, Care for Wild had been committed to helping rescue and rehabilitate injured and orphaned rhinos, a species that was at threat of extinction. The founder was aware that a healthy and holistic system approach was needed for Care for Wild's future. She was now tasked with articulating the complexities and interdependencies between these two areas. Her response to the potential donor's request would also reinforce the importance of resilience within the organization's socio-ecological environment.
Jason Kelce, an NFL player and athlete recognized around the world, had built a strong personal brand over the course of his career. He had reinvented himself and worked hard at honing his own personal branding, successively building a successful platform for each venture and staying forward-looking about his future after retiring from football. By 2023, Kelce was at a crossroads. He was not quite ready to hang up his Philadelphia Eagles jersey, and he knew that managing his own personal brand was a full-time endeavour as well. What was the best way to further develop his brand so that it would continue to flourish post-NFL career? What kinds of projects should Kelce take on next?
This case features the actual responses of an organizational President who finds himself in the midst of a murder within his organization, which occurred while he was out of town and out of touch. His statements are the case data. Background information at the start of the case describes a leader who was largely uninformed and unaware of deadly internal threats that preceded the murder by nearly a year. Rather than focusing on traditional communication guidelines (e.g., word or delivery choices), attention here centers on inferences, implications, and promises embedded in the President's communications. Verbatim quotes offer opportunities to consider potential assumptions and evaluations of internal and external stakeholders, as well as impacts and limitations to paths forward for the organization and the President.
BYJU’S first entered India’s test preparation industry in 2007 with technology-enabled learning, when the market was uncontested, allowing the company to grow steadily until 2015 and achieve unicorn status in the industry in 2017. However, many new organizations started joining the technology-focused learning sector in 2014–15, greatly reducing the market share BYJU’S was enjoying before it was challenged. By 2020, with many new educational technology start-ups in the market, the industry was valued at US$1.43 billion. BYJU’S dominated the market with a 57 per cent share, but the founder knew that the market was no longer uncontested. Therefore, to retain its position as a market leader, BYJU’S acquired firms rapidly. The strategy, however, soon led to financial crises and catastrophic losses. From 2007 to 2015, BYJU’S created high levels of value before switching to a growth strategy of rapid and numerous acquisitions, leading to cash crunches and financial challenges. How could the founder turn his company around to regain the company’s early success?