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Kia Motors India (Kia) had tasted success in India within a year of the launch of its product Seltos. Kia's managing director and chief executive officer was quite happy with the sales figures for Seltos, the mid-sized sport utility vehicle (SUV) launched in August 2019, and was fairly confident that Kia's compact SUV Sonet would follow the same path. Kia's positioning strategies had worked very well thus far, and the company had been able to cultivate a brand image of a premium automaker whose products were considered aspirational. However, Kia's competitors seemed to have learned from Kia's success in realizing what worked for Indian consumers and were starting to launch new variants of existing models. In the face of this competitive onslaught and slowing economic growth in India, the chief executive officer had to formulate strategies that would keep Kia's growth trajectory on track. Could his understanding of the dynamics of the SUV segment in India enable him to frame effective positioning and growth strategies that would continue to work for Kia?

Homemaking had been a centuries-old industry that supplied a variety of services to customers, from more commoditized tasks such as cleaning and laundry to specialized tasks such as elderly care, and prenatal and postpartum care. In China, this industry had traditionally been fragmented and associated with limited innovation. Homeking At Home Information Technology Co., Ltd. (HAH), a company founded in 2010, set the goal of transforming China's home services industry in the digital age. Using an Internet-based operating model and a digital-first mindset, the company sought to reinvent homemaking, and grew from a startup into a leading player in the homemaking market in China. To sustain its success, the company needed to continually evolve.

A team of analysts at Nedbank Group (Nedbank) had generated a solution to an important client-centered issue, but the solution was not welcomed by the operations team. A business executive at Nedbank created an opportunity for the creative design team and operations team to collaborate. A solution was successfully implemented in 2019 and the executive and analysts' team leader were summoned to present their ideas at a business banking executive committee meeting to demonstrate how their initiatives supported the bank's strategic direction. Would the executive committee agree to invest capital in new ways of work to move the bank forward on its digital strategy?

In September 2019, the founder of a personal emergency response systems (PERS) company reached a pivotal point with her business. She had created the ORA device, a customized hardware and software product, intending to disrupt the growing PERS industry while helping to improve the lives of older adults and their caregivers. But while the product and the company received considerable positive feedback and publicity, sales had not met the founder's expectations. The founder brought plenty of experience, skills, and innovation to her business, and also identified an important new market segment for her product. Still, she was aware that technology start-ups were notoriously challenging to start, grow, and maintain. The founder felt that she had reached the end of the line for her business and had to make a decision about its future. She had to identify opportunities and threats in the market and determine if the company had a sustainable competitive advantage. She also had to decide whether to focus entirely on the new segment she identified or make a new strategic move and raise another round of funding for growth. Alternatively, she wondered if she should instead sell the technology, or the entire company, and resume her executive position in the financial industry.

In 2019, the head of leadership development for Anglo American plc (Anglo American), a global mining conglomerate, was reviewing the two years she had been working with the human resources (HR) leadership team to establish the company's international Leadership Academy. Her task was to determine leadership development solutions that supported Anglo American's strategy and to recommend how to resource, identify, develop, and retain the diverse talent pool required to achieve the company's business objectives. She had gone to great lengths to ensure the Leadership Academy's offerings underpinned the organization's strategic imperatives. She now pondered how to assess the impact of the Learning Academy. Was the human resources leadership team looking at and measuring the right things?

Imperfect Foods is a grocery delivery company providing lower-cost items that may have aesthetic shortcomings and would typically be discarded. Despite its laudable anti-waste goals, Imperfect Foods has received significant pushback from the sustainability community. Critics are concerned that the for-profit organization is diluting its goal of reducing food waste by incentivizing overproduction. The director of public affairs for the company must soon deliver a communications strategy to Imperfect Foods' executive team that addresses critics' claims that the company is harming the environment by commoditizing "ugly" foods and working closely with industrialized farms that can profit from overproduction. The case presents a robust opportunity for students to debate whether or not a private company can focus on purpose and profit simultaneously.

Etsy, the online seller of handmade goods, was founded in 2005 on an almost utopian ideal-a responsible, caring company that offered individual crafters a place to sell their wares, a wholesome alternative to companies that sold mass-manufactured products. The company grew substantially-though unprofitably-under the freewheeling leadership of two early CEOs. In 2015, Etsy went public and was forced into a new arena, beholden to new stakeholders who demanded financial success and accountability. Unable to contain costs, the company teetered on the precipice of being bought out by private equity firms. In came a new leader-Josh Silverman-with a mission: to save the company financially and, in the process, save its soul. This case examines the strategic, financial, organizational, and purpose-driven turnaround Silverman and his team led at Etsy. The turnaround not only greatly bolstered Etsy's finances, but also improved its social and environmental impact and helped the organization truly live up to its ideals. This case examines the circumstances that led Etsy to require a turnaround, how the turnaround was executed, and what challenges still remain.

This case explores the competitive war between Snap, Facebook, and TikTok in 2021. The strategic focus is on Snapchat: how should it respond to the emergence of TikTok, and how should it compete with the dominant competitor in its space - Facebook. The case examines the history of Snap, its emerging threat from TikTok, and its on-going struggles to become profitable in the shadow of intense competition from Facebook, and especially Instagram. Looking at strategy from the perspective of Snap CEO, Evan Spiegel, the case asks whether Snap should seek new demographics to grow the user base, explore alternative business models such as WeChat, differentiate itself with augmented reality, or focus on privacy to distinguish itself from the competition. The context of these strategic choices is how do you win in a world with strong network effects and much larger competitors.

Focal Systems, with fresh new Series B funding and more new orders than it could handle, believed its novel out-of-stock detection system would prove the sweet spot in the automation of traditional brick and mortar retail stores. Small cameras on store shelves could automatically log any products in need of resupply, but also order the items to restock, saving store managers valuable time each day. Stores would see lower labor costs but also would benefit from a more efficient resupply system. The competition for automation in retail was stiff, and becoming more intense. How could Focal convince retailers to give its innovative technology a try-and could the company fend off the competition?

This case explores the major considerations involved when choosing the most suitable listing market. In August 2020, Shanghai Lujiazui International Financial Asset Exchange Co Ltd, better known as Lufax, filed a confidential application to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for initial public offering in August 2020. The news stirred up heated discussions in the market, as Lufax was obviously of Chinese background. US-Sino relations had been experiencing more and more tensions. Even the US securities regulations had turned against US-listed Chinese firms. Amid this backdrop, is the US market the right choice for Lufax to go for an IPO? The market wonders if Lufax made a wise choice on the listing venue. The case seeks to highlight the considerations of Lufax in deciding on a jurisdiction to be listed in. Every venue has its own listing requirements and should fit differently for firms with different intentions and characteristics. Through the case, students will grapple with the step-by-step practical questions concerning the comprehensive list of considerations for choosing the suitable listing market and conduct an analysis of the suitability of the US market as Lufax' listing choice, compared to the market in Hong Kong and mainland China.

In March 2020, Zach Sims, co-founder and CEO of online education platform Codecademy, prepared for a meeting with his Chief of Staff Kunal Ahuja to discuss the company's goals. Codecademy billed itself as the largest online resource for computer science literacy and programming skills in the world. It had 45 million active users in 190 countries learning to code by taking its online courses. Ahuja had engaged the leadership team, product managers, and others to outline strategy, with an eye to assessing the venture's longer-term growth prospects and financing needs. The business had only recently started to focus on monetization. It was early innings, but the company had doubled revenues year on year, it was cashflow positive, and the team was hitting its targets. However, 2019 had been a challenging year, including departures of several key members of its leadership team. Much of Sims' time late in the year was spent on recruiting to fill open roles, and dealing with inbound interest from investors. From Ahuja's perspective, the company was "growing up" after the success of its first paid product, Codecademy Pro. But many managers were experiencing burnout given the numerous organizational changes, the grueling work to meet aggressive growth targets, and a host of new processes. How should Codecademy pursue monetization, and how would this decision determine the timing and outcome of its next financing round?

In mid-2020, Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber) acquired Latin American-based mobile application Cornershop, which delivered online grocery purchases to the consumer's home. The operation involved technology firms based on multisided platforms. Uber, which focused on the intermediation of passenger transport, had expanded to businesses such Uber Eats for the delivery of restaurant meals, while Cornershop's focus was the purchase and delivery of supermarket products. Recently, Walmart had attempted to acquire Cornershop, but Mexico's antitrust authorities would not authorize the acquisition. Uber's acquisition of Cornershop involved important managerial challenges. What were the main sources of value? Should the two companies be managed separately or as joint units? Would Walmart have been a better fit for Cornershop? What was the best strategy to grow in this multisided business space?

Xiaomi India Private Limited (Xiaomi India), a subsidiary of the Chinese smart phone company Xiaomi Corporation, controlled a major share in the Indian market. However, its dominance was threatened by geopolitical tensions between India and China. The two countries shared a 4,000 kilometre border and a history of dispute over the border's actual demarcation. Tensions brewing over the international border during early 2020 precipitated an armed clash between Indian and Chinese troops at one border post that resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. In response, the Indian government issued orders for companies to declare the identity of products made in China, with a preference for products made in India. A consumer boycott of Chinese products was also posing a threat to the Xiaomi brand's market leadership position, while competitors saw an opportunity to expand their market share. How could Xiaomi India overcome the current negative environment and prepare for similar potential conflicts in the future?

Student spreadsheet to case W21256

On February 20, 2020, the executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Input Capital Corporation, the first agricultural commodity streaming company in Canada, was reviewing a capital stream contract that one of his associates had prepared for Sustainable Farms Inc. and submitted for his approval. One important consideration was the rate of return expected from the contract and the risks involved. The executive called a co-op student to his office and assigned her the task of calculating the internal rate of return, or effective yield, on this capital stream contract. He also hinted at an alternative way to assess the profitability of the contract, which was to estimate the contract's mark-to-market value.

We are moving toward a new work operating system that will deconstruct work into tasks/projects that may be assigned not only to employees but also to machines and contingent workers in talent marketplaces. This shift has profound implications for leaders. Some will increasingly act as project managers, while top-level leaders will gain new challenges in orchestrating an increasingly fast-moving style of working characterized by continual change and a lack of hierarchy.

Research into companies building workforce skills to compete in a tech-driven future finds that the most committed demonstrate a set of best practices for learning and development. These emphasize alignment with an organization's strategic direction, and flexibility in execution.

Set in July 2020, this case talks about ZENXIN Organic (Zenxin) - an organic farming company of fresh produce in Malaysia, and traces its evolution using the brick and mortar retail supply model in a nascent market where customers liked to "see and feel" fresh produce before purchasing them. Zenxin used a 'Farm to Fork' approach to expand its brick and mortar retail business to become the largest supplier of organic produce in Southeast Asia. The company acquired more farmland to increase supply, widened its produce variety to include a selection of 200 products with affordable price points, established supply partnerships with more than 100 supermarkets, opened 12 brick and mortar retail stores, and an agro-tourism recreation park under its brand name. Zenxin ventured into delivering organic produce online in late 2018, about a year before the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced millions of consumers to switch to online mode of purchase for their daily needs. While Zenxin was presented with the opportunity of tapping on this demand through its recently launched ecommerce platform, its digital marketing strategy to sell its products was still evolving. The company had implemented an improved ecommerce website, an updated Google My Business profile and social media accounts to build brand awareness and drive online sales, and seen some positive results. However, it was still struggling to build a strong, regular, online customer base. The firm's CEO, Sengyee Tai, wondered how he could further improve on Zenxin's digital marketing and e-commerce marketing strategies to attract more customers.

As world-renowned chef Franck Giovannini contemplated his future and the future of The Hôtel de Ville Restaurant, he wondered how would he handle the transition of leadership at the restaurant when it came time for him to step down. The Hôtel de Ville Restaurant was the first restaurant ever to earn three Michelin stars under four consecutive chefs. How did Giovannini and his three predecessors manage to maintain the restaurant's status through these transitions, which were both planned and unplanned? What steps could Giovannini take to give his eventual successor the best chance for continuing the restaurant's legacy of excellence?