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Approximately 150 million people in North America and Western Europe now work as independent contractors, most of them in knowledge-intensive industries and creative occupations. The authors studied 65 of them in depth and learned that although they feel a host of personal, social, and economic anxieties without the cover and support of a traditional employer, they also say they chose independence and wouldn't give up the benefits that come with it. Many of these workers have created a "holding environment" for themselves by establishing four connections: (1) place, in the form of idiosyncratic, dedicated workspaces that allow easy access to the tools of their owners' trade; (2) routines that streamline workflow and incorporate personal care; (3) purpose, to create a bridge between personal interests and motivations and a need in the world; and (4) people to whom they turn for reassurance and encouragement. These connections help independent workers sustain productivity, endure their anxieties, and even turn those feelings into sources of creativity and growth.

A global hotel company that has just completed a large merger is debating whether to retain all the brands that came with the acquisition. The company CFO argues that it would be possible for each of them to have its own "swim lane," and that the result would be $200 million in annual cost savings; greater negotiating power with online travel agencies; and the ability to boost both revenue, by cross-selling brands, and occupancy rates, by leveraging a larger reservations system. Others argue that streamlining the brands will enable more resources to go to the most successful ones. With commentary from Noah Brodsky, chief brand officer at Wyndham Vacation Ownership, and the private equity consultant Annick Desmecht.

The actress turned activist discusses her early career, how she dealt with sexism, and the importance of resilience.

A global hotel company that has just completed a large merger is debating whether to retain all the brands that came with the acquisition. The company CFO argues that it would be possible for each of them to have its own "swim lane," and that the result would be $200 million in annual cost savings; greater negotiating power with online travel agencies; and the ability to boost both revenue, by cross-selling brands, and occupancy rates, by leveraging a larger reservations system. Others argue that streamlining the brands will enable more resources to go to the most successful ones. With commentary from Noah Brodsky, chief brand officer at Wyndham Vacation Ownership, and the private equity consultant Annick Desmecht.

A global hotel company that has just completed a large merger is debating whether to retain all the brands that came with the acquisition. The company CFO argues that it would be possible for each of them to have its own "swim lane," and that the result would be $200 million in annual cost savings; greater negotiating power with online travel agencies; and the ability to boost both revenue, by cross-selling brands, and occupancy rates, by leveraging a larger reservations system. Others argue that streamlining the brands will enable more resources to go to the most successful ones. With commentary from Noah Brodsky, chief brand officer at Wyndham Vacation Ownership, and the private equity consultant Annick Desmecht.

Mysore Ghee Store (MGS) produced and marketed ghee (clarified butter) in the city of Hyderabad in India. Most of its ghee sales were B2B to businesses like restaurants and sweetmeat makers that used it for food preparation. Decreasing B2B market margins and increased packed ghee sales to end users through the retail market prompted Satish Kumar, MGS's current owner, to enter the B2C market. He tied up with More (pronounced `moray'), a national retail chain for supplying packed ghee in October 2013. MGS's packed ghee was also made available across multiple retail channels ranging from independent mom and pop stores to regional/local chains' retail outlets and e-retailers. Packed MGS ghee sales through the various retail channels were somewhat encouraging. In April 2016, MGS was looking at two sets of issues. The first was how to proceed with the brand building driven marketing communication effort. The second was to rethink the strategic options in front of MGS and assess the need for and viability of a new strategic direction for the company.

This is part of a case series. The case describes the turnaround of the Belgian bank KBC under the leadership of Johan Thijs in the period 2009-2016. The case is made up of three parts - A, B and C. KBC (A) describes the situation in July 2009 when Johan This was promoted to Managing Director (MD) of the Belgian subsidiary, by far the biggest and most important unit within KBC Group. The timing is a bad one for the bank - it had just been rescued through a multibillion euro bailout by the Belgian government and the bank is on the verge of bankruptcy. Morale is at an all-time low, employees feel betrayed and are demotivated and the euro crisis is about to hit the European banking sector just when banks throughout Europe are trying to respond to the financial crisis of 2008. Johan Thijs inherits a total mess in Belgium and the case describes the facts he faces and asks the question: 'What should he do in the Belgian Unit?' At the same time to becoming MD of Belgium, he becomes member of the Group's Executive Committee (ExCo) and the case also raises the question: 'What can Thijs do as a member of the ExCo to prevent the bankruptcy of KBC Group?'

Supplement to case LBS109. This is part of a case series. The case describes the turnaround of the Belgian bank KBC under the leadership of Johan Thijs in the period 2009-2016. The case is made up of three parts - A, B and C. KBC (A) describes the situation in July 2009 when Johan This was promoted to Managing Director (MD) of the Belgian subsidiary, by far the biggest and most important unit within KBC Group. The timing is a bad one for the bank - it had just been rescued through a multibillion euro bailout by the Belgian government and the bank is on the verge of bankruptcy. Morale is at an all-time low, employees feel betrayed and are demotivated and the euro crisis is about to hit the European banking sector just when banks throughout Europe are trying to respond to the financial crisis of 2008. Johan Thijs inherits a total mess in Belgium and the case describes the facts he faces and asks the question: 'What should he do in the Belgian Unit?' At the same time to becoming MD of Belgium, he becomes member of the Group's Executive Committee (ExCo) and the case also raises the question: 'What can Thijs do as a member of the ExCo to prevent the bankruptcy of KBC Group?'

Supplement to case LBS109. This is part of a case series. The case describes the turnaround of the Belgian bank KBC under the leadership of Johan Thijs in the period 2009-2016. The case is made up of three parts - A, B and C. KBC (A) describes the situation in July 2009 when Johan This was promoted to Managing Director (MD) of the Belgian subsidiary, by far the biggest and most important unit within KBC Group. The timing is a bad one for the bank - it had just been rescued through a multibillion euro bailout by the Belgian government and the bank is on the verge of bankruptcy. Morale is at an all-time low, employees feel betrayed and are demotivated and the euro crisis is about to hit the European banking sector just when banks throughout Europe are trying to respond to the financial crisis of 2008. Johan Thijs inherits a total mess in Belgium and the case describes the facts he faces and asks the question: 'What should he do in the Belgian Unit?' At the same time to becoming MD of Belgium, he becomes member of the Group's Executive Committee (ExCo) and the case also raises the question: 'What can Thijs do as a member of the ExCo to prevent the bankruptcy of KBC Group?'

This case relates the genesis and evolution of vision centres (VCs) for primary eye care at Aravind Eye Care System (AECS). AECS, based in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is the world's largest eye care provider. The case is based in 2014, exactly a decade after the first vision centre was opened, and evaluates the role of VCs in Aravind's outreach ecosystem. Community outreach programmes were an integral part of Aravind's model from the start and formed a central part of its vision of taking eye care to the community's doorstep. For many years, community outreach at Aravind was done through eye camps held in remote rural locations. Eye camps had worked extremely well for a long time. However, eye camps were not a perfect solution to Aravind's outreach goals for many reasons. Vision centres evolved as a way to address some of the shortcomings of eye camps, and both these outreach methods were employed in parallel. This case focuses on Aravind's vision centres and how they evolved over a decade, how they compare with the eye camps as a vehicle to attain Aravind's goals, and the opportunities and challenges ahead.

In October 2017, the first ever commercial flight landed on St Helena, one of the world's remotest islands. There had been delays building,certifying, and opening the airport due to unforeseen wind conditions. Now that weekly commercial flights had finally begun, how should the island's Economic Development Board approach the next phase of the long-term strategy to boost St Helena's economy through tourism?

This is a three-part, disguised case series. In June 2009, Diana Zanzi was hired by Ventoso Ship Supply, an Italian sailboat manufacturer, to help them understand their boats' puzzling selling patterns. Zanzi was informed that sales rates for two higher-end boat models were especially odd. Despite one's superior technical specifications, speed, amenities, and overall value-for-money, their higher end models were hard to sell. However, a lower-quality boat was sold at an astonishing rate. Existing survey work conducted by the company only served to confirm the rational assumption that customers generally preferred more technically advanced sailboats; as such, the survey would not solve the mystery. Tasked with solving this mystery, Zanzi was given the contact information for Ventoso's roster of potential customers and asked to conduct her own interviews to discover what could possibly explain customers' preferences when acquiring sailboats. Zanzi was told that consumers may not be consciously aware of how they choose sailboats, and so she needed to figure out a good method to understand these unconscious preferences. In part A of the series, the reader is faced with the task of designing a test that might reveal buyers' sailing-related thoughts. For instance, what should Zanzi ask consumers to understand their implicit and unconscious perceptions of the ideal sailboat? More importantly, the reader is invited to consider when and why such a tool is needed. In other words, what marketing technique should we use when consumers don't seem to be fully aware of their decision process?

This is a three-part, disguised case series. In June 2009, Diana Zanzi was hired by Ventoso Ship Supply, an Italian sailboat manufacturer, to help them understand their boats' puzzling selling patterns. Zanzi was informed that sales rates for two higher-end boat models were especially odd. Despite one's superior technical specifications, speed, amenities, and overall value-for-money, their higher end models were hard to sell. However, a lower-quality boat was sold at an astonishing rate. Existing survey work conducted by the company only served to confirm the rational assumption that customers generally preferred more technically advanced sailboats; as such, the survey would not solve the mystery. Tasked with solving this mystery, Zanzi was given the contact information for Ventoso's roster of potential customers and asked to conduct her own interviews to discover what could possibly explain customers' preferences when acquiring sailboats. Zanzi was told that consumers may not be consciously aware of how they choose sailboats, and so she needed to figure out a good method to understand these unconscious preferences. In part C of the series, the reader is tasked with interpreting multiple levels of data (including selected stimuli covering multiple senses, consumer-generated adjectives linked to those stimuli, and word clusters of shared meaning composed of those adjectives) that resulted from Zanzi's interviews. What does this data indicate about consumers' preferred sailboat qualities and, more expansively, how Ventoso can effectively market its sailboats across different cultures? This discussion again allows the professor to talk about various market research techniques.

This is a three-part, disguised case series. In June 2009, Diana Zanzi was hired by Ventoso Ship Supply, an Italian sailboat manufacturer, to help them understand their boats' puzzling selling patterns. Zanzi was informed that sales rates for two higher-end boat models were especially odd. Despite one's superior technical specifications, speed, amenities, and overall value-for-money, their higher end models were hard to sell. However, a lower-quality boat was sold at an astonishing rate. Existing survey work conducted by the company only served to confirm the rational assumption that customers generally preferred more technically advanced sailboats; as such, the survey would not solve the mystery. Tasked with solving this mystery, Zanzi was given the contact information for Ventoso's roster of potential customers and asked to conduct her own interviews to discover what could possibly explain customers' preferences when acquiring sailboats. Zanzi was told that consumers may not be consciously aware of how they choose sailboats, and so she needed to figure out a good method to understand these unconscious preferences. In part C of the series, the reader is tasked with interpreting multiple levels of data (including selected stimuli covering multiple senses, consumer-generated adjectives linked to those stimuli, and word clusters of shared meaning composed of those adjectives) that resulted from Zanzi's interviews. What does this data indicate about consumers' preferred sailboat qualities and, more expansively, how Ventoso can effectively market its sailboats across different cultures? This discussion again allows the professor to talk about various market research techniques.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 718438.

This case documents the ongoing efforts by Alaska Airlines to enhance its efforts to become more customer centric by empowering its employees using a service framework. It explores how the airline starts with a completely hands-off approach to empowerment in which employees are encouraged to do whatever it takes to please customers. An economic downturn leads them to swing the pendulum the other way and develop a rules-based framework with strict guidelines. Ultimately, they settle on an intermediate model in which employees are given "freedom within a framework." This forces them to try and shift from a rules-based to a principles-based culture. The case explores not only what they did but also how the framework was rolled out. All this seems to be working until they acquire Virgin America in 2016. Virgin too espouses customer centricity and front-line autonomy but does so in a different way. The dilemma now is blend the two cultures that are both trying to achieve similar goals but do so quite differently.

This case on Qwikcilver and Woohoo analyses the development of the Qwikcilver gift card processing business, its various challenges in evolving the primary B2B business model and how the firm has introduced the Woohoo platform to help with direct customer connect. It begins with the efforts of the founders in identifying a green field opportunity, how they go about bringing in the initial customer base and then the case delves into the different developments that have shaped the firm's evolution. The case helps develop an understanding of the gifting market in India, the challenges of building a sustainable business in this sector and how the firm compares with the rest of the competition worldwide. It highlights how a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model could increase resilience to competition by bringing in a new side in the form of direct connect with customers who buy or redeem gift cards, thus transforming from a pipeline business to a two-sided platform business model. The case is used to teach the basics of pipeline and multi-sided platform business models, the different actors in the platform business and the concept of network effects. It should help the students appreciate the differences between the pipeline and platform business models, and how a platform business model can bring in additional competitive differentiation as compared to a pure SaaS approach by increasing switching and multi-homing costs for the customers.

This case on Qwikcilver and Woohoo analyses the development of the Qwikcilver gift card processing business, its various challenges in evolving the primary B2B business model and how the firm has introduced the Woohoo platform to help with direct customer connect. It begins with the efforts of the founders in identifying a green field opportunity, how they go about bringing in the initial customer base and then the case delves into the different developments that have shaped the firm's evolution. The case helps develop an understanding of the gifting market in India, the challenges of building a sustainable business in this sector and how the firm compares with the rest of the competition worldwide. It highlights how a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model could increase resilience to competition by bringing in a new side in the form of direct connect with customers who buy or redeem gift cards, thus transforming from a pipeline business to a two-sided platform business model. The case is used to teach the basics of pipeline and multi-sided platform business models, the different actors in the platform business and the concept of network effects. It should help the students appreciate the differences between the pipeline and platform business models, and how a platform business model can bring in additional competitive differentiation as compared to a pure SaaS approach by increasing switching and multi-homing costs for the customers.

Set in 2016-17, the case describes the evolution of the Hindi movie industry, popularly called Bollywood, in India. Specifically, the case focuses on an exogenous shock that occurred in 2000 when the Government of India formally recognized Bollywood as an 'industry' through a policy change. This change ushered in the corporatization of Bollywood which, in turn, affected the industry's structure. Keeping production companies at center stage, students must analyze whether and how corporatization changed the bargaining power of different stakeholders vis-à-vis production companies. The analysis also helps evaluate how the industry might evolve in the future.