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AWARD WINNING CASE - This case won the Best Teaching Case Studies Award at the Decision Sciences Institute (DSI), 2015. In 2014, as one of the most well-known Taiwanese cuisine brands, Din Tai Fung operated more than 100 restaurants around the world. Attracted by its signature xialongbao (soup dumpling), long queues of customers at Din Tai Fung's storefront were a common sight. Requests for partnerships for global expansion were constantly arriving. Customer feedback from overseas, however, suggested a notable gap in service quality between the overseas and Taiwanese branches. The demand for support by overseas branches had also surged significantly due to the fast pace of growth in recent years. The company's chief executive officer had deferred his plan to open the 10th branch in Taiwan. Nevertheless, plans to open new branches in overseas markets were enthusiastically evaluated by existing partners. Two new potential partnership offers from Dubai and the Philippines were being aggressively pursued. What was the best way to cope with the increasing number of requests for support from overseas branches and to ensure high quality? Should Din Tai Fung approve the two overseas offers for partnership that seemed promising? What was the best overseas expansion strategy?

Founded in 2006, Pacific Drilling was a fast-growing offshore drilling company. From the beginning, the company's chief executive officer was determined to create a unique drilling company by focusing exclusively on ultra-deepwater drilling and technological innovation. By the end of 2014, the company had more than 1,600 employees and was generating US$1 billion in annual revenues. However, the company also faced several challenges, such as being overly reliant on one key customer (Chevron) and the high costs of differentiation. With oil prices plummeting, the company was struggling to acquire new customers. To what extent could the company rely on what it had successfully accomplished in the past, and to what extent would it need to create and adapt to a new strategy?

In late 2012, the owner of the Ratnagiri Alphonso Orchard considered whether or not to purchase information from a climatology firm regarding the probability of unseasonable rains that could have damaged some or all of his family's mango harvest. The owner needed to decide whether or not he should lease the orchard to a fruit merchant or keep the orchard for his family to harvest, despite the possibility of rain. Would the climatology firm have provided helpful information, or should he have made an independent decision? Regardless of whether he purchased information from the climatology firm, what was the best informed decision he could have made?

Shree Balaji Alumnicast Pvt. Ltd. (SBA) was a successful Indian metal recycling company and a pioneer in creating sustainable customer value through its closed-loop supply chain. In 2009, its biggest customer demanded a 15 per cent price reduction on alloys and threatened to withdraw its entire business if SBA failed to meet its demand within a given time frame. This customer contributed a significant share of SBA's revenue and was thus indispensable. SBA could not simultaneously offer a price discount and retain its margins, which were already declining, through its current business and manufacturing practices. The company needed to rethink its strategy in order to maintain its growth trajectory, and find a better way of managing costs.

In the late 1990s, home-based hospital care started to be introduced in the United States and worldwide. This initiative seemed to lower costs, improve quality of care, and have a generally positive impact on patients. In early March 2014, the director of performance improvement at a major U.S. hospital was asked to develop a proposal, including a business case and an outline of a pilot program, for a version of home-based hospital care for the hospital's patients. The director was expected to present his proposal at the monthly session of the health system leadership team on April 30, 2014. He knew that his proposal would have to take into account various factors such as location, medical condition coverage, patient eligibility, the critical data that needed to be collected, the appropriate means of data collection, and the length that the pilot study would need to last. He also knew that his proposal would have to include projected costs and the potential benefits of such a program -- the program had to make financial sense.

In July 2015, the owner of the Anandam Company approached a bank for additional funding to meet the growing requirements of his garment manufacturing firm. The owner was confident about the financial prospects of his firm, with its fourfold increase in revenue and phenomenal increase in profit after taxes over the last three years. In a lengthy discussion with the bank manager, the owner shared the development of his company and the dynamics and growth opportunities of the garment and textile market in India. He believed his firm was performing strongly in a highly competitive industry environment. The bank manager instructed the loan officer to process the loan application as soon as possible and make a decision. Determining the health of the company would involve preparing a trend analysis and a common size statement, interpreting selected ratios, and preparing a basic statement of cash flows. Was the Anandam Company a good candidate for receiving a loan?

The case, set in 2012 and 2013, follows two students enrolled in a business accelerator program who experience the uncertainty of creating an idea from an interesting "sandbox," or broad problem space, (in this case, the construction industry) and then developing it into an innovative idea for a new business. The two students elicit a broad range of feedback from individuals in the construction industry and use that feedback to develop their venture idea. The case is process-focused in that there is not one "right" answer in terms of how the students should proceed with developing their idea. Instead, the case provides an opportunity to practise making decisions based on external feedback.

Alaska's economy had struggled for many years; however, in spring 2014, the Pebble Mine presented an opportunity to revitalize it. There was just one catch; the Pebble deposit was located in the headwaters of one of the richest salmon hatcheries in the world. Corporations, government agencies, and public interest groups clashed during the first few months of 2014 concerning not only whether the Pebble Mine should be developed but also who had the authority to make that decision.

Supplement to case W16178. Alaska's economy had struggled for many years; however, in spring 2014, the Pebble Mine presented an opportunity to revitalize it. There was just one catch; the Pebble deposit was located in the headwaters of one of the richest salmon hatcheries in the world. Corporations, government agencies, and public interest groups clashed during the first few months of 2014 concerning not only whether the Pebble Mine should be developed but also who had the authority to make that decision.

Supplement to case W16178. Alaska's economy had struggled for many years; however, in spring 2014, the Pebble Mine presented an opportunity to revitalize it. There was just one catch; the Pebble deposit was located in the headwaters of one of the richest salmon hatcheries in the world. Corporations, government agencies, and public interest groups clashed during the first few months of 2014 concerning not only whether the Pebble Mine should be developed but also who had the authority to make that decision.

Supplement to case W16178. Alaska's economy had struggled for many years; however, in spring 2014, the Pebble Mine presented an opportunity to revitalize it. There was just one catch; the Pebble deposit was located in the headwaters of one of the richest salmon hatcheries in the world. Corporations, government agencies, and public interest groups clashed during the first few months of 2014 concerning not only whether the Pebble Mine should be developed but also who had the authority to make that decision.

Supplement to case W16178. Alaska's economy had struggled for many years; however, in spring 2014, the Pebble Mine presented an opportunity to revitalize it. There was just one catch; the Pebble deposit was located in the headwaters of one of the richest salmon hatcheries in the world. Corporations, government agencies, and public interest groups clashed during the first few months of 2014 concerning not only whether the Pebble Mine should be developed but also who had the authority to make that decision.

Supplement to case W16178. Alaska's economy had struggled for many years; however, in spring 2014, the Pebble Mine presented an opportunity to revitalize it. There was just one catch; the Pebble deposit was located in the headwaters of one of the richest salmon hatcheries in the world. Corporations, government agencies, and public interest groups clashed during the first few months of 2014 concerning not only whether the Pebble Mine should be developed but also who had the authority to make that decision.

Supplement to case W16178. Alaska's economy had struggled for many years; however, in spring 2014, the Pebble Mine presented an opportunity to revitalize it. There was just one catch; the Pebble deposit was located in the headwaters of one of the richest salmon hatcheries in the world. Corporations, government agencies, and public interest groups clashed during the first few months of 2014 concerning not only whether the Pebble Mine should be developed but also who had the authority to make that decision.

Founded in 2005, UFO Moviez India Limited (UFO) was the largest satellite-based digital cinema distribution company in the world by late 2012. Within a few years of its inception, UFO had established a differentiated platform-based business model that offered benefits to the entire film industry ecosystem of distributors, exhibitors, advertisers, and audiences. The company had spread rapidly to movie theatres across India but was about to face saturation if the growth of new movie theatres was not faster than the company's own growth. Thus, UFO had two choices to increase revenue: maintain its current strategy or explore alternative revenue sources using the same business model. In addition, there was always the threat that a new firm could copy UFO's technology and business model at a lower cost. Thus, UFO needed to devise a strategy to counter competition, while also implementing one of its two options for growth.

Alberto Mora's time as General Counsel of the Navy from 2001 - 2006 greatly influenced his mission to illuminate the policy consequences of torture. Mora's drive to restore the nation's awareness and conscience against torture was gaining traction. Prominent stakeholders, including leaders in the military, government, NGOs and academia, supported his project. Moving forward, Mora knew that he still faced a number of critical challenges. What vehicles could he use to increase the project's reach and restore the nation's understanding of the costs and consequences of torture? How could he ensure that his project would survive the fluidity of public opinion? Perhaps most challenging, he had to collect meaningful data, which meant soliciting politically sensitive information.