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Companies often initiate strategic changes to adapt to an evolving environment and/or to improve their competitiveness and performance. In this article, I examine why some strategic changes are fruitful for the companies that initiate them whereas others are not. I propose a framework for understanding the fruitfulness of strategic changes based on their expected impact on competitiveness and likely stakeholder commitment to the changes. I propose that strategic changes are likely to be most fruitful when their potential to enhance competitiveness is high and the stakeholder commitment is likely to be high. At the other end of the spectrum, companies should avoid implementing strategic changes that have low potential to enhance competitiveness and where the stakeholder commitment is low. Being poor strategic choices, these changes may not enhance competitiveness or performance, but, in fact, detract from them. I provide case-based evidence for the framework drawing on strategic changes implemented by Starbucks, McDonald's, and Tupperware and also identify conditions, specifically relating to the decision-making process and corporate governance, under which detrimental strategic changes may be implemented. I also offer a set of recommendations to companies to help them avoid making poor strategic choices.

The development of mobile applications has represented a challenge and opportunity for companies to market their brands and products through a new channel; however, the branded mobile applications (branded apps) currently available in the market are far from perfect and existing app designs do not yet have well established mobile and social features. This article offers systematic guidelines for branded app design by identifying different levels of strategies that should be taken into consideration by companies. We illustrate five business objectives (communication, customer relationship management, sales, product innovation, and marketing research) and identify five types of branded apps (tool-, game-, social-, m-commerce-, and design-centric). Three functional building blocks are proposed to specify how mobile features, social features, and brand mention elements should be incorporated into branded app development. Various examples of branded apps are provided to illustrate relevant best practices in order to guide marketers in improving branded app design.

Managers often struggle to determine why their firm is underperforming relative to its rivals. This article outlines how managers and consultants can use an existing strategy tool, Kim and Mauborgne's strategy canvas, to robustly test whether their firm is underperforming because it is (1) properly executing the wrong value proposition's delivery or (2) failing to properly execute the right customer value proposition's delivery. Once the issues with the firm's value proposition and its delivery activities are correctly diagnosed, the strategic value curve analysis tool assists in developing recommendations to improve the firm's profitability. The article concludes by describing how the authors successfully used the tool to help a consulting client complete a review of its strategy.

Members of the Millennial Generation ('millennials') are strongly attached to their smartphones and engrossed in social media. They frequently post pictures and tweet about the products they like and buy. Consequently, established consumer brands unable to master the use of Twitter and other social media are likely to lose their ability to communicate with this generation. This article reports findings from a study of millennials' Twitter usage and presents the concept of brand entification as the next evolutionary stage of brand personality made possible by this social media. Brand entification refers to a distinct emotional and cognitive attachment between heavy-Twitter-using millennials and the brands they like, and to a unique set of attributions they make toward the brand. Herein, we explain the nature of brand entification, describe how it emerges, and distill some key lessons for brand managers interested in reaching Twitter-using millennials.

U.S. companies spent $5.1 billion on social media advertising in 2013, but a recent Gallup survey revealed that these advertisements had no influence on the majority of U.S. consumers' buying decisions. For social media marketing to be effective, we argue that social media marketing efforts need to be congruent and aligned with the different needs of social media users. To this end, this article presents a typology of current social media services using the following categories: relationship, self-media, collaboration, and creative outlet. We further elaborate on how each type of social media caters to basic human needs, and provide implications for social media marketing based on the need-congruence lens.

Companies can engage with many online social networks and communities to attract customers, disseminate product information, conduct research, and stimulate innovation. However, for these activities to be successful, it is key that consumers at these platforms trust each other and are willing to share their knowledge freely. The study presented in this article assesses what companies can do to encourage members of online communities and marketplaces to share information with others. For this purpose, a netnographic study was conducted of Etsy.com, an online marketplace for handcrafted and vintage products. The study revealed several key findings: companies can stimulate information sharing through activities that build trust and develop a norm of reciprocity; rules and guidelines are helpful to discourage abuse, but do little to stimulate sharing; and companies should give the right example by sharing knowledge themselves. The guidelines that were developed based on these findings can be used by companies that own or manage an online community as well as by those who intend to engage with one.

Sai Marine Exports Pvt. Ltd. (SMEPL) had been in business for 20 years and had established itself as one of the major Indian shrimp exporters, with the United States and European Union as its primary markets. Following unprecedented market conditions due to early mortality syndrome affecting the exports of leading Southeast Asian shrimp-exporting countries in 2009, Indian companies were at a competitive advantage. SMEPL's revenues had increased significantly from 2010 to 2014. Its current markets, the United States and Europe, were lucrative, but SMEPL's chairman feared the risks of concentration in only two markets. Should SMEPL penetrate deeper into the U.S. and E.U. markets or enter new international markets like Japan and China?

Under the leadership of CEO and President Shen Guojun, China Yintai was increasingly committed to philanthropic initiatives. Drawing upon his experience as an entrepreneur and a philanthropist, Mr. Shen saw the urgent need to build bridges between business practices and philanthropy and cultivate a new business culture that incorporated "shared value." The case study documents Yintai's recent collaboration with Peking University on founding China's first masters program of social enterprise management. By training management professionals for China's philanthropy sector, Yintai and Mr. Shen expected to bring about revolutionary impact in the long run and change the face of China's philanthropy.

The pivotal role played by Intel in the development of the semiconductor industry, from the company's founding in 1968 and focus on semiconductor memory products (SRAM and DRAM), through various innovations in microprocessor technology, and leading to the introduction of the 286, 386, and 486 microprocessors is described in this case. Intel's internal ecology of strategy-making-its strategic leadership culture and style of decision making-is described at several key moments in the company's history when strategic decisions related to the entry and exit of several business lines internally competing for resources profoundly influenced the company, and the marketplace. This case draws upon cases and research papers concerning strategy-making at Intel Corporation written between 1989 and 1994.

The case highlights the key features of the domestic Indian aviation industry in terms of its growth potential and contrasts this with the operational challenges. The exhibits hold significant information which students can analyse to get a deeper understanding. First, a discussion about the attractiveness (or not) of the Indian aviation market can be carried out. This will help to position Singapore Airlines as a new entrant and discuss its competitive advantages vis-a-vis local players. Some students might focus on the parallel entry of Air Asia, a leader in the low-cost aviation arena, with the same potential local partner - the Tata Group. This will allow for a richer discussion and enable decision making on the question posed in the case - to enter the highly competitive Indian aviation market or not? This abridged case has been designed for use in either MBA or executive classes where advanced readings are not possible. It can also be used as a standalone case to explore Porter's 5 Forces and STEEP frameworks in the context of the Indian Airline Industry without a detailed discussion of Singapore Airline's strategy specifically. As a short case, it can be read in-class in approximately 10 minutes.

Having just emerged from bankruptcy protection, Air Canada faces a corporate restructuring. Many of its assets, including its frequent flyer program, Aeroplan, offer ways to raise cash to stabilize its balance sheet and return capital to its shareholders. Frequent flyer programs have been core marketing tools for airlines since their launch in the early 1980's. Aeroplan represents an important asset for Air Canada as both a strategic and a financial resource that provides rewards through its lucrative frequent flyer program and allows it to reap the financial benefits of its relationship with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) Aerogold credit card. On the other hand, as Aeroplan is diversifying away from the airline and travel industry into a broader loyalty program, its resource requirements, organizational needs, and desire to control its cash flow are not necessarily aligned with those of Air Canada. Air Canada must decide how it should divest Aeroplan and what kind of relationship it should have with Aeroplan after that divestment. What corporate and business relationship would best suit all parties concerned: Air Canada and its shareholders, on the one hand, and Aeroplan and its commercial partners on the other?

The logistics analyst at Spartan Building Products, a large, national distributor of building materials, needs to prepare a report analyzing the company's logistics practices. Management is particularly concerned about the high cost of servicing customer deliveries. Students are asked to evaluate factors contributing to the logistics problems at Spartan, including freight costs and the sales mix. Students will analyze the cost implications of supporting a broad product line and servicing customer orders that have a small dollar value.

This note was written as an updated version of "The Early-Stage Term Sheet" (UV2526) and may be used in its place. In seeking funding for an early-stage company, the entrepreneur and investor will confront choices about the amount, terms, and conditions of the financing. These terms are usually set forth in a term sheet that contains a host of provisions designed to protect the value of an investor's capital. These terms define the investor's rights as a holder of a senior security to common stock and are designed to secure the investor's ownership position, provide the right to monitor and control important company decisions, and facilitate exit from the investment. The note focuses on a few key aspects of these terms-antidilution, liquidation preference, dividends, control rights, and redemption-all of which are widely regarded by practitioners as having the greatest ability to affect the economic returns for the parties involved in an early-stage investment. Although not meant to be exhaustive, the examples offer a perspective on how a term can be worded in order to confer differential rights between the parties.

In mid-October 2007, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the TSX Group was contemplating his strategic options. In March 2009, a decade-long non-compete agreement between the TSX Group and the Montréal Exchange would expire. Under this agreement, the former had been the sole exchange for trading senior equities in Canada while the latter had the monopoly on exchange-traded derivative contracts. Afterwards, both exchanges would be able to compete directly in their respective businesses. The CEO believed a merger between the two Canadian exchanges made strategic sense, especially given the current merger wave globally, but his counterpart had rebuffed his advances. What was the best way to bring his rival to the bargaining table? Should the TSX Group make a hostile bid? How much of a premium for shares should be offered?

The Friends of Western Buddhist Order, an organization dedicated to spreading the teachings of Buddha in modern context, started a giftware company called Windhorse, with a two-part vision of making work a context for spiritual growth and raising money for charity. After operating for more than 20 years, Windhorse experienced challenges in keeping up with its rapid business growth. To bridge this gap, the company recruited non-Buddhists to the organization; however, many of the Buddhist members felt that the purpose and meaning that had bonded the members to the organization was fading. As a result, an increasing number of Buddhists started leaving the organization, while many new members were unwilling to work for the low remuneration. Was it viable for such a value-based organization to continue to pursue financial prosperity?

WoodBarn India was a construction company specializing in wooden houses and buildings. The company had worked primarily for business-to-business buyers but was fairly successful in earning a good reputation. However, to make profits, WoodBarn needed to tap into the Indian middle-class housing market, which was largely dominated by brick-and-mortar houses. The major challenge was to educate consumers and break the existing mindset that wooden houses were non-durable. Additional challenges related to procurement since the required raw material was not available in the domestic market and obtaining the same increased the final price of the product.

The Vanca, an online apparel brand and supplier to online retailers ("e-tailers") has achieved a fair degree of success by focusing on quality, innovative designs, "fast fashion" and a strong network with its customers. Management is looking to grow the business further; however, there are challenges such as uneven sales across some of its product ranges, maintaining its competitive edge and the threat from private labels being introduced by the industry's three largest e-tailers. The Vanca's chief executive officer, a successful entrepreneur, has called a meeting to consider these challenges and to prepare the company's next growth model.