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Lumiscape, a manufacturer of high-tech streetlights, has recently decided to switch from a direct sale business model to a subscription service, in which customers would get installation, maintenance, and monitoring software bundled with the product. Part of the reasoning is that customers haven't been extracting all the potential value in their streetlights. Now a customer wants to hugely increase its order--but through a direct sale. With commentary by Scott Burns, of GovDelivery, and Jack Kutner, of Bigbelly.

ISlide is the story of a nascent entrepreneur, Justin Kittredge, who used his experience and knowledge of the athletic footwear market to start his own footwear company, a manufacturer/distributor of customizable athletic sandals known as "slides." The case illustrates many of the concepts of Entrepreneurial Thought and Action-where an entrepreneur starts with the concepts of Who am I, What do I know, and Whom do I know. The founder, Justin, a former Reebok executive and college basketball player, is passionate about basketball and coaching young people. The case illustrates how Justin builds a company in a niche that has not yet been exploited by the big footwear companies.

The Grupo SALA case focuses on entrepreneur Humberto Rodriguez's venture based in Bogota, Colombia. Rodriguez saw an opportunity in the environmental-solutions space when the Colombian government decided to privatize public services. Rodriguez started his venture in 1997 in a 62-square-meter office with an investment of $100,000 by a U.S.-based investor. By June 2015, the time of the case, Grupo SALA operated in three areas-solid waste, dangerous residues, and water and sewer-and had grown at an average rate of 21.3% over the 2002-2014 period. The group drew on three foundations-entrepreneurship, technology innovation and regulatory management, and successful environmental management-and, with 3,270 employees working in eighteen companies, recorded Colombian pesos 256 billion in revenue in 2014 (US$128 million at 2014 conversion rate of 1 Colombian Peso = US$0.0005). After a quick introduction, the case takes the reader through the following six sections: (1) Rodriguez's personal background and approach to risk-taking and entrepreneurship; (2) a window into Grupo SALA's businesses, organizational structure, and ownership; (3) the group's opportunities transforming Colombian attitudes and behavior toward waste, the introduction of containerization, the incineration of hazardous waste, water treatment, and the eventual end game around sustainability and improved lives, spaces, and the environment; (4) Rodriguez's and Grupo SALA's approach to management; (5) the staging of a first "shark tank" to encourage ideas to fuel Grupo SALA's future growth; and (6) Rodriguez's questions for his group regarding the road ahead.

One of the biggest challenges for brick-and-mortar retailers is competing with online-only sellers such as Amazon. The conventional "omnichannel" strategy is to encourage consumers to shop across channels. But few retailers have closely examined the profitability of such efforts, and they typically pay little attention to how far a customer lives from the store. New research led by Temple University's Xueming Luo shows that distance is a crucial variable. Working with a Chinese department store on its coupon strategy, the researchers found that the most profitable promotions coaxed distant online shoppers (ones who lived more than five kilometers away) into physical stores, where they were more likely to make impulse purchases and to buy "experiential" goods such as apparel and makeup. Luring distant in-store shoppers online was actually counterproductive--profits from those customers fell. (Coupons made no significant difference when customers lived close to a store.) Retailers should also consider giving online customers incentives (such as free shipping) to have orders sent to a local store for pickup rather than delivered to their homes, the researchers say. And they should reduce the real or perceived costs of traveling to a store--for example, by locating stores near public transit or ensuring ample parking.

A team of researchers asked executives from 114 companies to describe the leadership style of their CEOs and the culture of their organizations. The responses revealed that the two were often in sync. But as it turns out, that may not be a bad thing, since the firms experiencing mismatches also had better performance.

In 2015, Generation Investment Management celebrated the successful 10-year track record of its flagship Global Equity Fund, which outperformed its benchmark index by over 500 basis points per year. A mainstream investment firm whose founders included former United States Vice President Al Gore and former head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management David Blood, Generation integrated qualitative sustainability factors such as environmental, social, and governance issues with traditional financial equity analysis. Along the way, Generation proved to skeptics that it was capable of building a mission-driven investment firm that prioritized returns and delivered superior results. Generation faced a significant challenge to its long-term investment focus during the global financial crisis in 2008. One of its largest holdings, the Irish industrial panel manufacturer Kingspan Group, saw its equity price drop almost 65 percent in one year. Confronted with this precipitous drop, the Global Equity Fund team decided that it needed to revisit its analytical process and question what, if anything, it had missed. This case provides an overview of Generation's philosophy, culture and organizational structure. It includes an in-depth look at the Global Equity Fund's qualitative and quantitative investment process that utilizes the Kingspan Group investment as an example. Optional Excel spreadsheets are available to enable students to analyze Generation's valuation methodology in greater detail.

Student spreadsheet (1) for case SM257.

Student spreadsheet (2) for case SM257.

Steve Healy, the President of Zimmer Spine, has to transform his organization into a market leader. Zimmer is a major medical device firm, but the Spine division has underperformed and it's core technology did not get the expanded FDA label that had been expected. The case reviews the industry, the competitive landscape, and the potential growth strategies for Zimmer Spine to consider.

Israel enjoyed the highest concentration of technology start-ups in the world per capita. Despite regional instability, the country maintained strong economic growth and was considered a high-tech powerhouse. But not all Israelis benefited. Between the 1980s and 2010s, income distribution had widened. By 2015, 20 business groups -- nearly all family-owned -- controlled one in four listed companies through corporate pyramids. Public anger over the high cost of living, which many believed was due to a lack of competition, led to a series of protests. Some academics and members of the Knesset (Parliament) called for reforms to limit the activities of corporate pyramids.

Nearly all environmental organizations have a similar aim: to stop the degradation of the natural environment. However, the strategies which environmental organizations choose to employ are sometimes starkly different. This case compares the models of two dissimilar environmental powerhouses: Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Active in 100 countries, WWF works with governments, businesses, other NGOs, and communities to set up conservation programs to preserve natural habitat. In contrast, Greenpeace works to campaign for environmental change against governments and corporations and accepts funding only through individuals and foundation grants. Explores the detailed history and business models of both organizations.

In March 2016, Donna Dubinsky (co-founder and CEO) and Jeff Hawkins (co-founder) were struggling with a key question: could Numenta be successful in both creating fundamental technology and building a commercial business? Located in Redwood City, CA, Numenta was founded in 2005 to expand Hawkins' research on the human brain, with the goal of "reverse engineering the neocortex" and then creating machines based on biological principals. Ultimately, Hawkins believed that Numenta could be a catalyst in creating intelligent machines that would lay the foundation for the next generation of computing with potentially broad ranging commercial opportunities.

Jade eServices Pvt. Limited (Jabong), an e-retailer of fashion products in India, regularly had to balance conflicting expectations from its supplier brands and consumers. The discounts that e-retailers had to offer to consumers to generate sufficient sales resulted in brand dilution, which compelled these brands to avoid the online channel. After allowing large discounts on Jabong's website for two years, Puma, a major international sports shoe brand, decided to stop discounting product lines that were contributing to 14 per cent of Jabong's footwear sales. Puma products helped to attract new customers, and Puma's decision had the potential to affect the commercial terms offered by other footwear brands, which would have even more impact on Jabong. Jabong's director of sports apparel knew that he was unlikely to meet the required growth figures without discounts on Puma's products. He needed a new strategy to compensate for Puma's withdrawal of discounting options, and he needed it immediately.

In 2015, many people in southwest Sri Lanka were experiencing severe health problems as a result of poor water sanitation, decaying pumps and pipes, and the resultant unsanitary water. With Sri Lanka's dubious credit record and extremely poor economy, the country's government was unsure of how to raise the US$70 million that was required to build new sanitation plants and replace many aging pipes throughout the region. Would it have to accept the first offer of support or would its long-time allies from other foreign governments come to the rescue? There was little doubt that Sri Lanka would be faced with a number of caveats and conditions as part of any agreement to secure the necessary funding. Furthermore, even if the country could find the funds, would the designated officials use them appropriately without falling prey to corruption? As in any developing country, there were many concerns that needed to be addressed, and very few resources with which to address them.

The purpose of this note is to introduce students to the basic use and vocabulary of Microsoft Excel. Excel is commonly used to do quantitative analysis in business. Students will encounter Excel applications in just about every area of business, including finance, accounting, operations management, marketing, and analytics.

This teaching note provides step-by-step illustrations and practice problems to assist students in learning how to use basic mathematical functions in Microsoft Excel. These functions are the necessary building blocks for many spreadsheet models. This teaching note includes practice exercises, answers, and a supporting Excel workbook for students.

Student spreadsheet for case W16405.

The purpose of this note is to illustrate how to use cell references in Microsoft Excel. References are necessary when using functions and building models. This teaching note provides students with practice exercises and a supporting Excel workbook.

The purpose of this note is to illustrate the use of good modeling practices in Microsoft Excel. An effective spreadsheet model can be a valuable decision-making tool for businesses wanting to improve or expand their operations. To do so, a model must provide information relevant to the decision maker.

The purpose of this note is to introduce the concept of logical statements in Microsoft Excel and to illustrate the use of Excel's built-in logic functions. The note includes practice exercises and their solutions, and a supporting Excel workbook for students.