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Sports performance is not the unique ingredient of a sports star's market value. Some gifted players are undermined by weak media exposure while some less talented players who actively engage in social media and attract fans in millions benefit from exorbitant contracts. This research conceptualizes the effect of social media in the sports business and analyzes the recipes that lead to high market value for sports stars. This study uses qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) on a sample of 95 top soccer players in Europe. The empirical results reveal that sports performance and social media activity are both necessary but insufficient conditions for a high market value condition. This research provides a roadmap for managers and sports stars to navigate in the social media arena.

College students are inseparable from their smartphones, and heavily engaged in Snapchat. This social media app allows low-consequence expression: messages disappear within 10 seconds to 24 hours of their receipt, depending on the content. Because college students seem strongly attracted to Snapchat, the implications for brand managers interested in reaching this target market deserve exploration. Four focus groups of self-described heavy users show that this media app allows college students to enter the virtual Snapchatverse and find a sweet spot of acquaintances. The sweet spot is associated with feelings of relatability, inclusion, and effortlessness and has the potential to produce empowering experiences. The verbal protocols of college students suggest that Snapchat is an ideal social media for developing acquaintance brands: brands that aim to make themselves part of an inclusive, feel-good experience or highly relatable acquaintances.

While social media can have significant benefits for organizations, the social media presences and postings of employees can be problematic for organizations. This is especially true when employees have connections to co-workers and managers. Workers posting content deemed inappropriate or detrimental to the organization has led to a significant number of workers being fired for their social media behavior. To avoid such situations, organizations should create social media policies to guide employee content. Organizational implementation of social media policy is on the rise, but serious questions remain as to how to make it effective. One crucial question is how well employees know and understand their employer's policy. In this article, we discuss how to communicate social media policies to workers and help their understanding. To inform our recommendations, we draw on exploratory data from a sample of young adult workers regarding their knowledge of their own company's social media policies.

With the advent of big data, the Internet of Things, cognitive computing, and social media, it is becoming more difficult to argue that one could not have known or at least have considered more alternatives, particularly negative unintended consequences that happen in addition to the intended positive ones. Organizations too often make a decision that will produce a positive consequence and then focus on how to implement it, rarely stepping back to ask ''What else could happen?'' Any decision changes the system in which it exists. The longer the time required to implement a decision, the more systemic changes can alter the effects of the decision on the system. Decisions to implement Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability initiatives usually involve many different stakeholders and may involve systems in which organizations have little expertise or experience. A major negative unintended consequence, even for a CSR initiative, can damage the stakeholders' trust in the organization. This article proposes a 5-step process to answer the question ''What else could happen?'' in order to identify possible unintended negative consequences, thereby helping organizations support their commitment to people, planet, and profit.

High-reliability organizations operate in highly regulated sectors in which the main concern is ensuring the safety of people and goods. Despite high levels of formalization, organizations have to be sensitive to contingent situations and ready to face the unexpected, so the role of the people in command remains crucial. When unanticipated events and contingencies arise, organizational improvisation comes into its own. Improvisation is the deliberate fusion of design and execution in a novel production entailing the cognitive, rational, and event intuitive interpretation of prescribed rules and standards of conduct at various levels of aggregation. Standardization and improvisation are often represented as two conflicting demands rather than as necessarily interdependent; hence, the possible presence of improvisation in high-reliability organizations has been left underexplored. While most of the extant studies on improvisation have stressed the wisdom of improvised choices, not all improvisations are so successful. In this article we illuminate the dark side of organizational improvisation by analyzing the notorious case of the sinking of the Costa Concordia. The case shows how conformity to the formal adoption of standards and compliance to them can provide a shelter under which impromptu adaptation can be pursued, expressing the negative side of improvisation.

Many retail and restaurant companies adopt international expansion as a strategy to take advantage of business opportunities presented by target markets. Common objectives include increasing revenue, escaping a hypercompetitive or saturated home market, entering an emerging or lucrative market, and leveraging domestic capabilities in a bordering country. Success in international expansion is not guaranteed, however; the business world is littered with failures. In this article, we examine the international expansion failures of five service companies that opened physical facilities in a foreign country: Target, Tim Hortons, Best Buy, Tesco, and Walmart. While a variety of factors led to these failures, some common causes have been identified. These include a lack of understanding of the purchasing characteristics of consumers, underestimation of the local competition, supply chain issues, and poor strategic decisions regarding facility location and the rate of expansion. Not all international expansions are failures, though, and herein we also present the success stories of Aldo, Carrefour, and Nordstrom. These companies understood customer preferences and focused on location issues and their supply chains. Based on the aforementioned failures and successes, we offer guidance for companies looking to expand their business operations via a physical presence in a foreign country.

"Telemetrix" is a two-part case study; its parts can be used alone or in sequence. Case A "North-South Exports Lends a Helping Hand to Telemetrix: Mexico or Brazil?" showcases a young analyst at North-South Exports, a small Quebec-based export management firm that helps SMEs with international expansion. The analyst must make recommendations as to the best way for the company's client Telemetrix to rapidly achieve sales in Latin America, and whether to focus on Brazil or Mexico. Case B "Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Outsourcing, or Licence?" focuses on the choice of an entry mode to penetrate a foreign market, in this case, Brazil, and, based on this choice, on the selection of a local business partner. It also addresses the difficulty of developing international supplier-customer relations. Just like Case A, Case B is a decision-making case. The analyst must determine the best entry mode and which partners will lead Telemetrix to success in Brazil and, subsequently, elsewhere in South America.

Supplement to case HEC149. "Telemetrix" is a two-part case study; its parts can be used alone or in sequence. Case A "North-South Exports Lends a Helping Hand to Telemetrix: Mexico or Brazil?" showcases a young analyst at North-South Exports, a small Quebec-based export management firm that helps SMEs with international expansion. The analyst must make recommendations as to the best way for the company's client Telemetrix to rapidly achieve sales in Latin America, and whether to focus on Brazil or Mexico. Case B "Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Outsourcing, or Licence?" focuses on the choice of an entry mode to penetrate a foreign market, in this case, Brazil, and, based on this choice, on the selection of a local business partner. It also addresses the difficulty of developing international supplier-customer relations. Just like Case A, Case B is a decision-making case. The analyst must determine the best entry mode and which partners will lead Telemetrix to success in Brazil and, subsequently, elsewhere in South America.

This case explores the transformation of a company, ComplexAminos, from a failing start-up to a successful organization preparing for a liquidity event. After conducting a six-year turnaround strategy, the CEO needed to decide whether the company should go public or be sold. During the turnaround, the company adopted a roll-up strategy to grow quickly. This case explores such issues as when roll-ups are appropriate and how the CEO gained the funding and board support to successfully implement the strategy.

Sequel to case 713039.

Describes the detailed inner workings of a high performance Formula One (F1) racing team. It shows how Lotus F1 Team has been able to battle bigger rivals in a very fast-moving, highly regulated, and ultra-competitive environment, where winning races can come down to split seconds. The case explores all elements a of their high performance system: strategy, innovation, leadership, technology, engineering, and operations. Emphasis is placed on the interplay of these elements and how they confer competitive advantage to teams. Management dilemmas that are explored: retention of high performing individuals, response to disruptive technological changes, and regulatory design in competitive environments.

Communicating persuasively is a critical skill for leaders of any team or organization. Yet, connecting and resonating with an audience can nevertheless be a challenging task. We outline how to effectively mobilize groups through the power of communication. This note will serve leaders and members of diverse groups as they find their voice to inspire, unite, and engage others through messaging. With multiple examples as a backdrop, we highlight four key components of effective messaging in this note: 1) Structuring Messages and the Persuasive Story Pattern; 2) Appealing to the Audience; 3) Persuasively Communicating through Rhetorical Devices; and 4) Delivering Clear and Captivating Messages.

JF is an Argentine business founded in 2003, engaged in the design, production and commercialization of women's lingerie with high design content. Although the venture initially opened stores in Argentina, the entrepreneur's plans were to quickly become an international company. In 2006, the firm started to export its products. Its main market destinations were Brazil, Dubai, Spain and Japan. By 2011, exports amounted to 65% of the firm's revenues.The country´s economic scenario, favorable for exports in previous years, had now changed. The Argentinian government had started to increasingly resort to instruments to restrict imports with the aim of protecting dollars as reserve currency. In turn, inflation was hitting an all-times-high in 10 years, amounting to an annual 30%. During 2013, JF lost customers abroad, evincing a notorious loss in profitability, plummeting from 30% back in 2009, to 15% in 2013. María Jesús and his partner, Alejandro Dancetti, agreed on the analysis and diagnosis: sticking to the original strategy was no longer viable. Therefore, they had to define the best way to reorient their products to the local market. The crux of the matter was what to do and how to do it. Why not develop a sound strategy for the domestic market? Why not think of a wider range of products to reach other segments? Why not explore the channel of multi-brand stores carrying women´s apparel? Why not launch a more affordable line, a line of equal quality, yet more volume, introducing a more-linear design? For the time being, the foreign market did not look like a feasible option.

Raymond was lagging behind in their customer order fulfillment process due to inefficiencies in their warehouse operations. Further, slotting of stock keeping units to the right bins was not in order. As a result, the warehouse capacity was limiting the company's growth. This case draws lessons about how warehousing technology and scientific warehouse management practices can significantly improve warehouse pick efficiencies and have a positive impact on other business performance indicators.

The case describes the strategy of a large Indian Public Sector Bank (PSB) to enhance financial inclusion and financial literacy of less privileged people located in poorly accessible parts of India. While pursuing the developmental objective 'imposed' by the Central Bank/government, being a listed entity, the PSB had to be mindful of the financial viability of the strategy so as to protect the interest of its minority shareholders. The issues covered are endemic to most developing countries where public enterprises often become instrumentality of the state.

The case focuses on a start-up, The Grommet, which views itself as an intermediary between small and independent makers of high-quality products, and sophisticated buyers that value the uniqueness of the products. The Grommet, initially called Daily Grommet but renamed in 2011, was founded to create a more equitable link between product creators and product consumers. The founders trademarked the term Citizen Commerceâ„¢ as the manifestation of this equitable foundation for merchandising. The two co-founders, Jules Pieri and Joanne Domeniconi, have been serving as the company's CEO and Chief Discovery Officer, respectively. The company grew steadily but slowly during its first years. The case's main protagonist is Ray Hallare, who finds himself responsible for ordering decisions for the upcoming December holiday selling season. As preparation, students are asked to develop an ordering and inventory strategy for Ray. The discussion in class then commences as an inventory case, and it successively expands to a broader and broader view of the business model itself and the challenges and opportunities that growth creates for this start-up.

From 1980 to 2010, frequent flyer programs (FFPs) had evolved from simple customer reward programs to independent profit-generation business models. The airline industry had seen enormous success with FFPs, which had become businesses of their own. In June 2014, however, United Airlines announced that as of March 1, 2015, it would move from awarding miles based on distance flown to awarding miles for dollars spent per ticket, following in the footsteps of Delta Air Lines. According to the new mileage accrual plan, most United Airlines passengers would earn fewer reward miles. Many customers saw this change as a significant devaluation of award miles and complained about United Airlines' new policy. Who benefited from the revenue-based FFPs and how would the new program affect the behaviour of United Airlines' customers? Should American Airlines also adopt the revenue-based FFP?

Ramé Hemstreet, vice president for operations and chief sustainable resource officer at Kaiser Permanente, is thinking about climate change and how he can improve the health of the community by fighting it. As a healthcare organization, Kaiser Permanente knows well that fighting climate change can decrease rates of asthma and other respiratory ailments, spread of infectious diseases, heat stress, and injuries from severe weather events. Hemstreet is looking to a power purchase agreement to green its operations, but he needs to persuade executives and the board of directors.

Saksham Wealth Solutions P. Ltd. (Saksham), founded in 2005, was an investment company that survived the challenges of the Indian wealth management industry and the ups and downs of the financial market. Saksham's success was due in part to a strategy of building trust with clients and educating them about the nuances of creating wealth through various financial instruments. Transparency, assistance, timely advice, and a goal-oriented approach were considered the company's essential services. In 2008, the company turned down a purchase proposal from top international bankers who valued Saksham at three times its annual profit. Ten years later, Saksham was four times bigger. If a similar offer were made, should Saksham take it?

Screen Microtech Inc., a capacitive touch screen manufacturer, had seen significant growth over the past year: it had moved its manufacturing plant, expanded operations, built a larger client base and seen an unprecedented increase in sales. Its chief executive officer was preparing an initial public offering that could lead to a significant bonus and stock shares for himself and for the company's chief financial officer. This could be enough to induce them to secure improved financial results through any means necessary. Certainly, it could bias their approach to accounting policy choices. Was the company's accounting ethical? Did it feature earnings management or earnings manipulation? What was the difference between the two, if any? What was the effect of such accounting practices on the financial markets?