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In late May 2023, Sarah Merino, the newly appointed manager of the Customer Insights group at Travelogo-an online travel booking platform-initiates a comprehensive analysis of clickstream data to understand the varied behaviors and needs of their users. In preparation for the upcoming marketing strategy meeting, Merino and her team delve into the extensive customer data collected by the platform as users search for flights, aiming to understand search patterns, trip characteristics, and clicking and purchasing behaviors. This deep dive is to identify distinct customer personas and actionable insights that will shape Travelogo's marketing strategies. The case provides students with a hands-on exploration of the fundamentals and benefits of customer segmentation, fostering an understanding of how to create detailed buying personas from complex data for strategic marketing purposes. Additionally, the case emphasizes the critical need for effective collaboration between decision-makers and data science teams, underscoring the importance of clear communication to ensure that data analytics are precisely aligned with business objectives, especially when crafting sophisticated strategies to engage and cater to a varied customer base with a deep understanding of their preferences.

AI development can consume large amounts of energy, leading to growing concerns about the climate impact of this emerging technology. The authors explain how tactics such as rethinking how much training data is required and reusing already-trained models can reduce energy consumption and lower the resulting carbon emissions from artificial intelligence initiatives.

The control of the state-run airline Air India was handed over to Tata Sons on January 27, 2022, by the Government of India. Air India had returned to Tata Sons with a severely dented reputation, being known for bad service, frequent delays, and flight cancellations. Therefore, rejuvenating Air India would be a daunting task. Some industry experts felt that the takeover of Air India was the best chance the airline had of a commercial revival; others were not so optimistic. Despite the lingering skepticism, the chief executive officer of Air India was confident of an effective turnaround. He wanted to capture 30 per cent of India's domestic aviation market in the next five years and brand Air India as the carrier of choice for passengers worldwide. He wanted Air India to compete against world-leading airlines such as Emirates and Singapore Airlines. However, he had some questions to resolve. What strategies should Air India adopt to undergo such a drastic brand repositioning? Could Air India revitalize its brand and become a leader among the world's top airlines?

MedfirstIndia Trading Private Limited was a privately owned e-commerce start-up in India. The firm's goal was to establish a first-of-its-kind medical devices e-commerce platform catering to various underserved market segments, such as small hospitals and independent medical practices. The firm relied primarily on digital channels for branding and customer outreach. However, the founders did not have a structured data-driven decision-making strategy in place despite the wealth of data flowing in through web analytics. In 2018, after three years of operations, the firm closed its doors. The case highlights the challenges of strategizing and managing the digital marketing operations of an e-commerce start-up.

The iconic American fast-food chain Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. (Checkers & Rally's), headquartered in Tampa, Florida, found early success through its streamlined layout and operations. Nevertheless, it had financially struggled prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, impelling it to reflect on its existing strengths and to take strategic steps amid the pandemic to make an impressive recovery. In 2023, armed with newfound confidence from its previous successes, the company confronted the challenge of understaffing in the nation's fast-food industry. How could Checkers & Rally's CEO address the labour shortage? Could robotics and automation give the company an edge?

Rebel Foods (Rebel) was the world's largest internet restaurant company, with 45 food brands and 450 kitchens in 10 countries. As Rebel scaled up, they were gradually venturing into the business-to-business (B2B) space by partnering with other food brands. Their transition to a B2B model, although necessary, had some challenges. As their reliance on third-party food delivery partners continued to drive up costs, Rebel considered how to better integrate their supply chain. However, their food delivery partners provided greater brand visibility. In Rebel's one-kitchen many brands model, would they be able to leverage technology and automation to scale up and expand successfully?

Reeling from the economic effects of closures wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, the Walt Disney Company (Disney) was at a pivotal junction. Even though COVID-19 case counts were rising in Florida, the state government had announced numerous reopening measures and guidelines for theme parks and resorts, indicating the state's desire for businesses to start returning to "normal." On May 21, 2020, the Universal Orlando Resort-one of Disney's major competitors in theme parks-announced that it would be following the guidelines and reopening on June 5, 2020. Consequently, Disney had to decide when and if to reopen its Walt Disney World Resort, also based in Orlando, despite rising case counts.

The case follows innovations by Drishti, a start-up company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision to provide manufacturers with granular process data on manual assembly, giving them a system-wide view into their manufacturing operations. The firm was founded in 2016 by Dr. Prasad Akella, Dr. Krishnendu Chaudhury, and Dr. Ashish Gupta, who all had extensive experience in industrial process automation. They prioritized the value of enhancing human potential in an increasingly automated world. Noting the limitations of traditional manufacturing line performance evaluation and process improvement, Drishti Technologies presented new capabilities for real-time monitoring and performance improvements. This case is about entrepreneurs creating a new software in an established industry. The case also describes the core functionality and solutions developed from the new software, value provided to customers, and the strategic business model choices faced by the leadership in moving from start-up to scale.

In November 2023, the board of OpenAI, one of the most successful companies in the history of technology, decided to fire Sam Altman, its charismatic and influential CEO. Their decision shocked the corporate world and had people wondering why OpenAI had designed a governance structure that made such a decision possible. In the last year, the company had introduced ChatGPT, the fastest growing app in history, and achieved a valuation of almost $90 billion. Altman had become the public face of AI and was instrumental in making the remarkable progress possible. Over five chaotic days, the company went through three CEO changes, had 90 percent of its employees almost move to Microsoft, and saw five of the six original members of the board resign and be replaced by two new members. The extraordinary high-stakes saga brought together the combustible mixture of idealism, capitalism, and power in the context of different world views of the promise and peril of the AI revolution. The case traces the history of modern AI, OpenAI's groundbreaking developments, its wrestle with the dual forces of commercial success and ethical responsibility, and finally its dramatic leadership upheaval. By highlighting the challenges of balancing advancing AI technology with protecting humanity's interests, the case offers a comprehensive exploration for educators in leadership, strategy, technology, ethics, and governance.

Rex Geveden and Robb LeMasters, CEO and CFO of BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT), were concerned that investors and analysts did not fully appreciate the company's transformation from a nuclear reactor provider to the US Navy and Canadian utilities to a multi-product line firm across some of the most compelling growth areas in the nuclear power and propulsion end markets. They aimed to convey this shift and highlight growth opportunities during Investor Day 2021. The executives wondered whether they successfully communicated BWXT's transformation journey and if the market would value the company accordingly.

Over the course of the 20th century, most of the world's major multinational corporations framed their mission around Milton Friedman's famous mantra: that the sole purpose of the firm is to maximize its shareholders' profits. Recently, however, growing numbers of for-profit firms have embedded and embraced missions that go far beyond profit maximization or commercial gain; missions that include some of the world's greatest and most complex challenges: mitigating climate change, for example, advancing economic mobility, ameliorating racial or gender injustice, and attacking global health challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet these are still for-profit firms, operating as commercial entities rather than government bureaucracies or non-profit organizations. So how, then, are they meant to operate? What can these firms measure and reward if profits are no longer their only goal? And what must these firms do differently if they truly seek to change the world? The principles described in The ICARUS Principles: What It Takes to Tackle the World attempt to answer these questions, and to sketch out the characteristics that distinguish more typical firms from those that are actively aiming to tackle massive societal challenges. Based on the first letters of these characteristics, we have assembled a list of six principles and refer to them as "the ICARUS Principles."

In 2023, sustainable investors faced several challenges. The first was the lack of access to standardized and vetted environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data, and equally, the interpretation of this data into investment-useful insights. Reducing reliance on third-party-generated ESG ratings was also an issue. Another challenge was mitigating the risk of greenwashing. Finally, sustainable investors were also under pressure to stay focused on maximizing financial returns. PortageBay, a sustainable analytics platform that leveraged AI to aggregate and analyze ESG data, was founded to solve these problems. As the platform grew, two clients approached PortageBay for help in ascertaining whether they should include Amazon and Goldman Sachs within their climate and gender-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF), respectively. The founders delved into PortageBay's suite of tools to answer their questions.

In 2023, Deion Sanders, known as "Coach Prime," became head football coach of the University of Colorado Boulder (CU). Sanders was tasked with leading CU's struggling football program, which had only achieved one winning season in the last 15 years, back to glory. Many were excited by the idea of having the two-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame inductee as CU's new head coach, but several questioned whether he had the experience and leadership needed to turn around a team in a highly competitive conference, as he only had two years of college coaching experience. In addition, some wondered whether his "old school" leadership style, which required a high level of discipline and personal accountability, would be effective on today's student-athletes, while others questioned whether his approach was sustainable.

Fawn Weaver, as a Black woman and industry outsider in a capital-intensive, highly regulated, competitive and male-dominated spirits industry, successfully overcame numerous obstacles to launch a premium American whiskey brand, Uncle Nearest in 2017, which became the fastest growing and most awarded whiskey brand in America. By October 2023, Weaver announced the company's plans to expand into cognac to support her vision of building the next major conglomerate for alcoholic beverages. However, she still heavily relied on capital and needed to convince new investors that her plans for cognac would yield success.

In the late 2010's, 5G emerged as a new standard in communication technology. 5G was designed to enable ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), massive machine-type communication (MMTC), and enhanced mobile broadband (EMBB) (see Exhibit 1 for a detailed explanation), all while reducing power consumption by 90%. Whereas previous generations of mobile standards such as 2G, 3G, and 4G were deployed by mobile network operators (MNOs) such as AT&T and Verizon and provided broad coverage, the emergence of 5G technology saw the emergence of organizations building their own private 5G networks to provide coverage for a specific building or area.

Two years later, on September 7, 2023, Verizon officially launched their Private 5G network, Verizon's Managed Private Wireless Solution, across all 30 NFL stadiums for the 2023 season. The Managed Private Wireless solution underwent an initial pilot during all five international NFL games in the 2022 season, encompassing the deployment and management of private wireless technology, testing and coordination, and in-game operational support, persisting through the 2023 pre-season. Verizon's Private Wireless network provided on-field, full in-game support for coach-to-coach communications. According to Kyle Malady, CEO of Verizon Business, "In every NFL stadium, coach-to-coach communications will run on a dedicated Managed Private Wireless Solution." The introduction of this solution in NFL stadiums for the 2023 season was lauded by Gary Brantley, Chief Information Officer at the NFL, as a "significant milestone" in the collaboration between Verizon Business and the NFL, affirming the commitment to enhancing and innovating the in-stadium experience. How would the NFL navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by this technological leap? Adopting a Private 5G network introduced a multifaceted dilemma, forcing the NFL to weigh the potential benefits against the risks and uncertainties associated with this initiative. As the NFL navigated the balance between enhancing fan engagement and managing the intricacies of technology adoption and network management, it created a narrative that demanded exploration. The decisions made by the NFL in this context would not only influence the in-stadium experience but also have far-reaching implications for the future of sports broadcasting and fan interaction. Did the NFL correctly navigate its intricate web of challenges and decisions faced by the league and member clubs? Did the NFL correctly unravel the complexities and strategic considerations at the intersection of sports, technology, and fan expectations?

Eric Hughes, advertising sales manager at Regional Broadcast Network (RBN), needs to avoid a takeover by increasing revenue from ad sales. Currently, ad plans are created for advertisers by combining ad spots from a fixed inventory of shows, making an effort to meet requirements such as a preferred split of prime/non-prime shows and views (impressions) in target demographics. Ad plans are priced using rate cards (RCs) based on industry norms, and are often discounted to meet budget requirements. Revenue is not usually optimized using this system because the RCs do not accurately reflect the value of inventory. In this case, Hughes first creates a model that allocates available inventory (i.e., 30-second ad spots) across 10 representative plans. He performs an optimization calculation that recreates the sequential allocation that his salespeople generate when advertisers approach the network one at a time. Next, he creates a model that optimizes the allocation of ad spots across all plans, assuming all customers request their plans at the same time. Hughes realizes that the bid prices revealed in the sensitivity table of the second model can also be interpreted as the opportunity cost associated with one incremental ad spot in each show. When the sequential allocation model replaces RCs with bid prices, which are dynamically adjusted for remaining inventory and expected future demand as each new customer arrives, the resulting revenue is closer to the value produced by optimizing all plans simultaneously. In the B case, "TV Advertising Pricing at Regional Broadcast Network (B)," Hughes uses the full historical sales dataset to conduct a multivariable regression analysis and better understand what drives the price of a plan. Students are challenged to create their own analysis and rationale, and to develop a guide for pricing each advertiser's plan. This case set presents emerging best practices in maximizing revenues in the ad industry.

Spreadsheet Supplement for Case UV8868

Eric Hughes, advertising sales manager at Regional Broadcast Network (RBN), needs to avoid a takeover by increasing revenue from ad sales. Currently, ad plans are created for advertisers by combining ad spots from a fixed inventory of shows, making an effort to meet requirements such as a preferred split of prime/non-prime shows and views (impressions) in target demographics. Ad plans are priced using rate cards (RCs) based on industry norms, and are often discounted to meet budget requirements. Revenue is not usually optimized using this system because the RCs do not accurately reflect the value of inventory. In this case, which builds on "TV Advertising Pricing at Regional Broadcast Network (A)," Hughes uses the full historical sales dataset to conduct a multivariable regression analysis and better understand what drives the price of a plan. Students are challenged to create their own analysis and rationale, and to develop a guide for pricing each advertiser's plan. This case set presents emerging best practices in maximizing revenues in the ad industry. Students are given supplementary Excel workbooks containing sample data and use the Solver module and regression analysis to complete the assignment. This case set is suitable for use when teaching pricing analytics, decision analysis, statistics, quantitative analysis, or operations management. It may be used with a graduate, undergraduate, or executive education audience.

Spreadsheet Supplement for Case UV8872