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This case is set in February 2016, when Paris Baguette (PB) has just been declared the winner at the most prestigious baking competition in the world held each year in Paris. PB had started operations in 1945 with a small bakery in Korea. By 2014, it boasted of 3,200 outlets in South Korea, and another 200 plus outlets across China, USA and Southeast Asia. Buoyed by its international appeal, the company entered France, opening its first store in 2014 and the second store in 2015. Positioned as a 'premium health conscious brand', PB quickly found resonance with the French by diligently following traditional baking standards, suitably localising the innovative menu and offering a café-style service. Its success in France was paving the way for further expansion into other European markets. This was significant given that the Korean domestic market was intensely competitive and heavily regulated against corporate bakeries - so future growth in all likelihood could only come from the international operations. The question now is to decide the appropriate strategy for the bakery brand when entering other European markets. Which country or countries should it go to after France? Should it leverage on its selling proposition of 'French-ness', or should it find a staple bread specific to each European country and replicate the strategy followed in France?

The Birch Benders case follows the story of Matt LaCasse and Lizzie Ackerman as they embark on a journey to make the world's best pancake mix. Through their trials and tribulations, the readers learn of the nuances involved in crafting an immaculate pancake recipe and then developing a business around it through effective branding, packaging, and distribution strategies. They realize that to scale the company successfully, they must retool their sales strategy. The case details LaCasse and Ackerman's search for a new VP of Sales, as well as a discussion on what the ideal candidate might look like.

Dooly County Doughnuts (DCD), a south Georgia based doughnut shop, faces capacity issues as its sales continue to grow. As its doughnuts continue to increase in popularity, DCD must gain a better understanding of its current operational capacity. The DCD case captures three key concepts: capacity analysis, batches/setup times, and Little's Law. In particular, the case works well as a first time introduction to Little's Law. This case is suitable for an undergraduate or MBA introductory operations course, and works well as exam case. The material fits particularly well in a course module on process analysis. An example sequence could include: Pancho's Burrito (OM-1555), NoBull Burger (OM-1479), Dooly County Doughnuts, Czech-Mate (OM-1390), and Stonehaven (HBS 696-048). The material could be complimented with activities such as the face game and a teaching note on process analysis (e.g., OM-1556).

Organizational design is one of the basic building blocks of control, because it reflects the division of resources and the assignment of responsibility throughout the firm. In particular, each organizational unit headed by a manager can be considered a responsibility center.

Armarium, a two-sided online platform that offered consumers the opportunity to rent the most coveted, current season high fashion clothing and accessories from the top global luxury brands, had emerged from its first sales season with two distinct customer segments: the High Net Worth (HNW) woman and the High Earner, Not Rich Yet (HENRY) woman. As it began to scale its operations, it had to decide which customer segment was the more desirable target market and how to refine the company's value proposition to maximize value creation for both consumers and the luxury brands that supported the business model. The jury was still out on whether a rental model could attract higher income women who could afford to buy luxury brands and whether it could support the $400 rental price points Armarium would need to charge for its one-of-a-kind pieces with retail values that could reach as high as $15,000. The two founders faced significant scaling challenges, from how to establish guardrails around curation of the collection to go-to-market distribution channel strategy and customer acquisition strategy.

Filip Kowalski, a senior manager at the pharmaceutical company Healthgen, leads sales for the firm's Polish division. While pitching Healthgen's products, he develops a relationship with a director of a regional health fund who also runs a private foundation. After a natural disaster, Healthgen- at the request of the director- donated products to help during the crises. After Healthgen wins an important contract, the media alleges that the donation was made to secure support of the regional health director. Were the efforts to boost company sales and support public health a donation or a bribe?

The June 2017 news that e-commerce giant Amazon was paying $13.7 billion for organic supermarket chain Whole Foods precipitated a broad sell-off in the shares of grocery retailers and suppliers. Behind the precipitous declines lay recognition that Amazon's bold move into brick and mortar assets offered transformational opportunities. Amazon could gain expertise in perishable product sales and procurement, plus access to 30 million well-off shoppers and 463 grocery stores in key U.S. markets. Whole Foods could absorb Amazon's technology and process expertise to modernize and reduce its operating costs, which were among the highest in the industry. For grocery retailers and suppliers, the deal portended increased competitive pressures in a saturated market. As 2018 dawned, all parties were assessing the deal's implications. Had the stock market overreacted to news of the deal? Why was Amazon buying Whole Foods? What were the long-term implications of the deal for the food value chain?

A Somali fisherman stands on a beach in early 2011, considering his options: should he embark in his tiny fishing vessel, or join a nearby pirate crew? His war-ravaged country, entering its twentieth year of civil war, was in the midst of a famine that had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and piracy had recently become the country's greatest claim to fame, securing ransoms to the tune of millions of US dollars in one of the poorest corners of the global economy. Why had piracy become such an attractive option for Somalis? Why did some even consider it "just," and how could maritime trade be made safer again?

A Somali fisherman stands on a beach in early 2011, considering his options: should he embark in his tiny fishing vessel, or join a nearby pirate crew? His war-ravaged country, entering its twentieth year of civil war, was in the midst of a famine that had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and piracy had recently become the country's greatest claim to fame, securing ransoms to the tune of millions of US dollars in one of the poorest corners of the global economy. Why had piracy become such an attractive option for Somalis? Why did some even consider it "just," and how could maritime trade be made safer again?

On the evening of 3 August 1914, British Foreign Secretary Lord Edward Grey contemplated whether to advice King and Parliament to declare war on Germany in the wake of the country's invasion of Belgium, or to stay out of what quickly was becoming a world war triggered by a royal assassination in Sarajevo. Over the past century, the said world had become woven together in ways never before seen, and a truly global economy had emerged that many believed forever would banished the possibility of war altogether. But could trade really assure perpetual peace, and what ultimately mattered most; interest, or principles? The case considers the lessons to be had from the rise and fall of the last great period of globalization.

Senior management must make a decision for how to grow their search fund to reach the final margins for investors.

This case explores the strategy of OCP Group, the 95%-state-owned Moroccan firm charged with managing the North African country's vast reserves of phosphate. Phosphate was one of the most vital macronutrients for plant health, along with nitrogen and potassium, and Morocco had about 75% of known worldwide reserves. In 2017, under the leadership of Dr. Mostafa Terrab, OCP was halfway through a $20 billion industrial transformation program aimed at increasing its industrial capacity, improving cost efficiencies, and boosting long-term competitiveness. The program involved moving OCP beyond mining and exporting raw phosphate rock-its traditional focus, which it performed at a relatively low cost-towards greater production of phosphoric acid and finished fertilizer products. In the next phase of the program, OCP planned to ramp up its focus on fertilizer production, especially for markets in Africa, where fertilizer historically was underutilized. Terrab and his team saw an opportunity to nurture and meet fertilizer demand by creating products tailored to the needs of African farmers. This case provides background on Morocco, the fertilizer industry, and OCP Group's past, current, and envisioned strategy and operations. With this context, students are invited to consider how aggressively OCP Group should pursue downstream integration (and specifically its Africa strategy), as well as how OCP can best leverage its competitive advantages and utilize Morocco's phosphate reserves to its-and Morocco's-benefit.

In the venture capital (VC) industry, firms often co-invest with other peers in syndicated deals. This process is a form of investment alliance that generates networks of VC firms and start-up companies. Despite the prominent role played by syndicates, our understanding of the circumstances under which syndicates can improve a venture's performance remains limited. This book intends to fill this gap and explore the performance dynamics surrounding networks in the venture­capital industry. It also introduces interested readers to network studies and methods. Chapter 1 investigates the effect of the portfolio companies' network on the performance of the start-up. It distinguishes between connections in the same or different industries, it examines how different ties lead the focal investee company to better performance, namely, the achievement of an IPO or an M&A event. This chapter contributes to the VC literature by showing that other network attributes beyond network centrality should be considered for explaining the performance benefits of certain networks.

In the venture capital (VC) industry, firms often co-invest with other peers in syndicated deals. This process is a form of investment alliance that generates networks of VC firms and start-up companies. Despite the prominent role played by syndicates, our understanding of the circumstances under which syndicates can improve a venture's performance remains limited. This book intends to fill this gap and explore the performance dynamics surrounding networks in the venture­capital industry. It also introduces interested readers to network studies and methods. Chapter 2 studies the impact of the focal VC firms' network structure on the performance of the VC investor. Different syndicates lead to different network structures that, in turn, offer different performance benefits to the focal investor.

In the venture capital (VC) industry, firms often co-invest with other peers in syndicated deals. This process is a form of investment alliance that generates networks of VC firms and start-up companies. Despite the prominent role played by syndicates, our understanding of the circumstances under which syndicates can improve a venture's performance remains limited. This book intends to fill this gap and explore the performance dynamics surrounding networks in the venture­capital industry. It also introduces interested readers to network studies and methods. Chapter 3 examines the impact of investment syndicates' composition on the performance of the syndicates. It provides a holistic picture of conditions under which syndicates are advantageous to the focal actor.

In the venture capital (VC) industry, firms often co-invest with other peers in syndicated deals. This process is a form of investment alliance that generates networks of VC firms and start-up companies. Despite the prominent role played by syndicates, our understanding of the circumstances under which syndicates can improve a venture's performance remains limited. This book intends to fill this gap and explore the performance dynamics surrounding networks in the venture­capital industry. It also introduces interested readers to network studies and methods. The Conclusion summarizes the remainder of the book. It highlights contributions to the alliance, entrepreneurship, and network literatures, and it offers guidance to practitioners. In particular, it suggests that firms should choose partners carefully because these partners influence network structures and the investment alliances established. From the start-up's perspective, although VC is an important source of financing, VC-backed start-ups often fail or lack the traction necessary to achieve an exit. Start-ups should thus approach prospective investors considering not only their capital, status, and potential to add value but also considering the network that these investors can offer.

In this case, students step into the shoes of a brand manager at UK-based online peer-to-peer lending company Zopa as she decides whether or not to recommend that the company undertake a brand redesign. Students are provided a brand design worksheet to help them understand the component parts of brand strategy and brand design and to help structure their assessment of Zopa's current brand. They are then challenged to consider if, to what extent, and how Zopa's brand design should change as a function of the company's brand strategy. Finally, they will learn a set of best practices, or guidelines, for approaching brand redesigns.

In 2016, the German utility RWE undertook a carve-out in which substantial parts of the company's assets and liabilities were offered to the general public as part of an IPO. The case describes the developments in the German energy landscape that led RWE to this unusual move. The case also examines how investors responded to this carve-out in terms of the valuations attached to RWE and the new subsidiary.

On January 16, 2015, the director of the public affairs division of Uni-President Enterprises Corp. (Uni-President) reflected on growing safety concerns in the food industry. At the time, organizations operated in an uncertain environment, marked by varied suppliers of raw materials, changing government policies and regulations, and shifting consumption choices. As business environments grew ever more uncertain, the likelihood of a product crisis increased. The food industry was especially vulnerable, and large food manufacturers confronted difficult situations in which their hard-won reputations could be destroyed by a single crisis. Even with its strong track record and reputation, Uni-President could not have avoided the consequences of a 2014 food scandal. Although Uni-President had survived the recent spate of food safety crises, more would be likely to come. Was Uni-President's crisis management approach sufficient, appropriate, and effective? What should Uni-President do going forward?

In 2016, the deputy general manager of operations at DVMS Power Electronics Private Limited (DVMS) in Gujarat, India, was faced with a problem at the company's transformer plant. In recent years, amidst growing demand, the company had experienced low manufacturing capacity and was often unable to fill customer orders. Various stakeholders expressed their concerns about failing service levels. The deputy general manager was considering additional capacity as an option, but simply adding such capacity might negatively affect DVMS' cost structure. He needed to consider the various short- and long-term options that would best benefit the company. He assigned the company's summer intern the task of collecting the required data regarding the manufacturing of transformers at DVMS: the specified number of machines and workers, the processing time, and the monthly demand data for transformers. He needed to prepare a report that identified weak areas and suggested possible ways to expand capacity.