CIC engages in "guerrilla warfare," offering free or highly discounted rates in order to get its empty offices filled before the opening day of its St. Louis branch. Opening day is a huge success, and CIC St. Louis grows rapidly, even opening a second building. In the following years, it ramps up its expansion efforts and opens new branches or begins the expansion process in multiple cities around the country and the world, as well as expanding its Boston/Cambridge offerings and beginning the expansion process in new cities. CIC is now considering how to improve their expansion operations, while also trying to figure out how fast they should be moving.
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd holds the rights to the Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska. The mine is the largest copper, gold, and molybdenum deposit in the world. However, the deposits are situated under the world's most profitable and sustainable salmon fishery which supports many impoverished Native Alaskan communities who rely on the fish for their livelihoods. Extracting the minerals may harm the salmon fishery, affect a largely unspoiled landscape, and disrupt local communities and culture. But there is uncertainty surrounding these potential risks. Northern Dynasty must choose the best public engagement and transparency strategy to ensure a smooth approval process for the proposed Pebble Mine operation.
Nonprofits are facing a growing challenge to retain donors. At a time when acquiring a new donor is three times as expensive as retaining an existing donor and donor attrition stands at an all-time high, nonprofits are looking to increase the lifetime value of their donors. This case presents a new means by which nonprofits can induce donors to give today and commit to giving in the future. The positive results of a low-cost, high-yield experiment conducted at GlobalGiving, one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the United States, demonstrate how seemingly small increases in the numbers of recurring donors can have a significant impact on revenue, allowing nonprofits to have an even greater philanthropic impact. This case allows for discussions on how field experimentation on crowdfunding platforms can help with the development of new business approaches and how those novel approaches can be implemented in a way that would satisfy multiple stakeholders, ranging from donors to large and small charity partners.
In January 2016, the owners of a family farm near London, Ontario, Canada, wanted to evaluate the financial status of their business. After 30 years in farming during a period that had seen dramatic changes in the agricultural industry, the couple was beginning to think about succession planning for the farm that had been passed down to them from previous generations. The couple wanted to evaluate how well they had managed the farm's cash throughout fiscal 2015 and would use this analysis to help them determine the long-term stability of the farm's operation in preparation for this succession plan.
In 2014, KT Corporation, one of South Korea's leading telecommunications companies, successfully mapped each point of a customer's interactions with the company. This was done by a team whose function was to identify customers' pain points, known as critical quality parameters. The customers' experiences were clustered into key areas of contact and customer satisfaction in each area was assessed, allowing quality innovation to be experience-based. Identifying customers' unmet needs and developing innovative solutions were already leading to dramatic improvements in customer experience. However, more work needed to be done, especially in encouraging staff to take actions for improvement.
The Renault KWID was successfully launched in India in the entry-level car segment as a new competitor for the Maruti Suzuki Alto, the largest-selling passenger car in the country. By August 2016, the market leader's market share had fallen to 40.6 per cent from 48.5 per cent earlier that year, while the Renault KWID gained a market share of about 19.8 per cent. Despite the KWID's remarkable success, however, Renault's strategy for the future needed to consider two major issues: competitive strategy for market leaders versus market disruptors, and product portfolio analysis and performance. Renault also needed to consider the threat other new entrants might pose. Should the company create a strategy to manage new entrants that might follow Renault's own successful launch? Renault also had to consider the strength of its portfolio. Was it likely to generate more successful launches in the future or was the KWID just a rare occurrence?
In September 2015, the manager of Hind Oil Industries (HOI), a small edible oil manufacturer in Asansol, West Bengal, was challenged by a dilemma in pricing strategy. HOI had seen the price of mustard seeds, its primary raw ingredient, rise steeply because of harsh weather conditions in the previous harvesting season. HOI would need to raise the price of its product significantly in a price-competitive market dominated by larger companies. The manager wondered if he could increase the price of his only product, Maa mustard oil, to cover the substantial increase in production costs without suffering a loss in total revenue earned. If so, what would be the optimum price under various scenarios related to his competitors' expected price hikes? Could HOI's price be raised even if the competitors decided against raising their prices?
In June 2015, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) India was considering its future in the Indian telecom market. MTS India, a global telecommunications (telecom) brand, had been operating in the country since March 2009. It had gone through difficult phases marked by India's regulatory regime and the global economic crisis. Although the Indian telecom market had immense potential, MTS India's success was stifled by a lack of telecom resources and in the inability to successfully manage the macro environment. Over the years, the company had adopted multiple strategies to drive business growth. However, due to the incompatible telecom ecosystem, including technology and devices, the company was not able to achieve its intended objectives in India. The chief executive officer was evaluating several strategic options in light of intense competition and a geopolitical crisis faced by MTS India's parent company in Russia.
In January 2016, the owners of a family farm near London, Ontario, Canada, wanted to evaluate the financial status of their business. After 30 years in farming during a period that had seen dramatic changes in the agricultural industry, the couple was beginning to think about succession planning for the farm that had been passed down to them from previous generations. The couple wanted to evaluate how well they had managed the farm’s cash throughout fiscal 2015 and would use this analysis to help them determine the long-term stability of the farm's operation in preparation for this succession plan.
In September 2015, the Volkswagen Group (VW) was in a state of flux. Its reputation was taking a severe beating in the auto industry and among consumers. The United States Environmental Protection Agency had accused the company of tampering with its EA 189 diesel engines to clear emissions tests. The engines, fitted with a “defeat device,” met the stringent emission levels and higher fuel efficiency standards set in the United States. The defeat device controlled emissions during laboratory testing and driving so that they remained within permissible limits; however, during actual on-the-road driving, the nitrogen oxide emissions were up to 40 times higher. VW’s admission of the intentional manipulation severely dented its value chain, affecting market share, brand image, internal/external stakeholders trust, and supply chain operations. In the wake of the scandal, the company faced the challenge of organizing a product recall and reconceptualizing the VW brand identity.
In September 2015, the manager of Hind Oil Industries (HOI), a small edible oil manufacturer in Asansol, West Bengal, was challenged by a dilemma in pricing strategy. HOI had seen the price of mustard seeds, its primary raw ingredient, rise steeply because of harsh weather conditions in the previous harvesting season. HOI would need to raise the price of its product significantly in a price-competitive market dominated by larger companies. The manager wondered if he could increase the price of his only product, Maa mustard oil, to cover the substantial increase in production costs without suffering a loss in total revenue earned. If so, what would be the optimum price under various scenarios related to his competitors’ expected price hikes? Could HOI’s price be raised even if the competitors decided against raising their prices?
In November 2014, an intern at Top Dog Wealth Management in Brisbane, Australia, was assisting with a market evaluation and company evaluation for Medibank Private Limited (Medibank). The upcoming Medibank initial public offering (IPO) was set to be one of Australia’s largest and was expected to generate more than AU$4 billion from shareholders who were keen to own a piece of the country’s largest private health insurer. Because the intern was new to the deal, her supervisor gave her access to his notes and directed her to use Bloomberg terminals. As she read through this material, the intern pondered some important questions: What was Medibank worth? Which valuation methods should she use?
In 2014, KT Corporation, one of South Korea’s leading telecommunications companies, successfully mapped each point of a customer’s interactions with the company. This was done by a team whose function was to identify customers’ pain points, known as critical quality parameters. The customers’ experiences were clustered into key areas of contact and customer satisfaction in each area was assessed, allowing quality innovation to be experience-based. Identifying customers’ unmet needs and developing innovative solutions were already leading to dramatic improvements in customer experience. However, more work needed to be done, especially in encouraging staff to take actions for improvement.
In June 2015, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) India was considering its future in the Indian telecom market. MTS India, a global telecommunications (telecom) brand, had been operating in the country since March 2009. It had gone through difficult phases marked by India’s regulatory regime and the global economic crisis. Although the Indian telecom market had immense potential, MTS India’s success was stifled by a lack of telecom resources and in the inability to successfully manage the macro environment. Over the years, the company had adopted multiple strategies to drive business growth. However, due to the incompatible telecom ecosystem, including technology and devices, the company was not able to achieve its intended objectives in India. The chief executive officer was evaluating several strategic options in light of intense competition and a geopolitical crisis faced by MTS India’s parent company in Russia.
The Renault KWID was successfully launched in India in the entry-level car segment as a new competitor for the Maruti Suzuki Alto, the largest-selling passenger car in the country. By August 2016, the market leader’s market share had fallen to 40.6 per cent from 48.5 per cent earlier that year, while the Renault KWID gained a market share of about 19.8 per cent. Despite the KWID’s remarkable success, however, Renault’s strategy for the future needed to consider two major issues: competitive strategy for market leaders versus market disruptors, and product portfolio analysis and performance. Renault also needed to consider the threat other new entrants might pose. Should the company create a strategy to manage new entrants that might follow Renault’s own successful launch? Renault also had to consider the strength of its portfolio. Was it likely to generate more successful launches in the future or was the KWID just a rare occurrence?