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In the late 1990s, multinational retailing giant Tesco selected joint venture with the Samsung Group as its market entry strategy into South Korea and created a new brand, Homeplus. Subsequently, the management of Homeplus implemented various policies aimed at localizing the business while also introducing business practices from Tesco’s british headquarters. It invested in growth and diversification through large discount stores offering an “all in one spot” shopping experience, small-sized super-supermarkets, private brands and online shopping. At the same time, the Korean retailing industry had become much more dynamic as competition intensified between various types of market players, including strong competitors affiliated with local business groups. Homeplus needs to rethink its position in a highly challenging market environment.

The co-founder and CEO of StarTech.com is reviewing his firm’s strategic plan, including an aggressive target of $150 million in sales in three years. To achieve this goal, the company needs to leverage its knowledge to develop a meaningful presence in Europe. The challenge is to identify the best way to go to market, given country and regional differences in how people buy computer parts. The company can capitalize on several favourable trends: the economic weakness in Europe, which prompts consumers to extend the life of their electronic equipment; the lack of a European direct competitor; and the company’s ability to self-finance the venture.

The owner of Aradia Fitness London had just completed her TRX suspension training instructor’s course and was contemplating how she could bring the TRX suspension program to her fitness studio. TRX suspension training utilized suspension equipment aided by gravity and body weight as a way to increase strength and flexibility. The owner knew the TRX program would be a perfect complement to her studio’s classes, but she was unsure how best to implement the new program. She had some big decisions to make regarding the marketing plan and operational details for this new class.

The founder and CEO of Veranda Brands, a designer and marketer of home furnishing products, is preparing to coach three department managers so that they are ready to work well in a growing organization. Through staff layoffs, the company (founded in 2002) survived the 2008 financial crisis and actually increased the founder’s personal investment. The company has since grown to $8 million in sales and its staff has grown to 50 employees (2012). To continue this growth and progress to the next level, the company’s top employees need to function at a higher level which can be reached through targeted coaching.

In early January 2009, the newly hired head of Business, Strategy & Development, Cash Equities at Hudson Bay Bank (HBB) was analyzing how his group could increase revenues after the market meltdown of 2008. His analysis specifically focused on a business segment known as high-frequency trading, in some ways a controversial revenue stream, whereby traders take advantage of split-second price differences to earn a profit. Although U.S. firms had been using this technology for years, the Canadian landscape had only just become hospitable to the concept. This business segment could represent an attractive new source of revenue, but the financial services industry had seen dramatic changes since 2007, calling into question many of its foundational policies and procedures. Will high-frequency trading provide the innovation that HBB was seeking to grow revenues?

The founder of a water purification, packaging and distribution company in Ghana, Africa, faced some operational issues. Demand has increased for the company’s water sachets, but the founder needed to develop strategies to increase the firm’s current operational capacities to meet this demand. He and the operations manager needed to determine how the company can position itself as a successful high-growth company in a developing and sometimes uncertain Ghanaian economy.

The significant growth of offshore analytics business process organizations over the last decade has raised important issues for the management of corporations seeking to take advantage of the opportunities that such organizations offer. Retaining an offshore analytics business process organization appears to offer a convenient path to advanced analytics, but management needs to understand that the benefits of “offshoring” analytics come with costs and should think carefully about the components of analytics that can and should be outsourced and how this process is managed.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Indian Management Issues and Opportunities Award, European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>The Embrace case series provides an engaging context to understand social innovation, by taking students through a sequence of critical decisions from opportunity analysis and market feasibility study to formulating a competitive strategy and developing business models for growth. The focus of the case is on an innovative idea to solve the problem of a high number of fatalities in premature births in rural India, and the potential for an affordable product. <br><br><br><br>The case is structured as a four-part series:<ul><li><br>Part A: Opportunity Identification. The setting is an MBA classroom where five teams have been given five ideas and the students are asked to match each idea to each team. The focus is on how to identify and evaluate an appropriate opportunity given a unique entrepreneurial team, its composition, and its prior experience. Often, entrepreneurs discount the critical role that team-task fit plays in subsequent success.</li><li><br>Part B: Market Feasibility Analysis (9B13M005). The social problem associated with neonatal care in rural India is presented and the economics of providing reasonable care for premature babies is discussed. Is it possible to find an affordable and profitable price point, and make the project sustainable?</li><li><br>Part C: Competitive Strategy (9B13M006). The students are taken through an external analysis of the potential competition. This calls for a close analysis of what the competitive advantage of the venture is and whether it is sustainable. It forces the students to consider other available neonatal care options in the market, as well as to think about the IP issues they could face.</li><li><br>Part D: Building the Business Model (9B13M007). The team must decide between manufacturing the product in-house or outsourcing to vendors. Also, issues of distribution and sales require consideration.</li></ul>

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Indian Management Issues and Opportunities Award, European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>Part B of a four-part series, which also includes 9B13M004, 9B13M006 and 9B13M007.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Indian Management Issues and Opportunities Award, European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>Part C of a four-part series, which also includes 9B13M004, 9B13M005 and 9B13M007.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Indian Management Issues and Opportunities Award, European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>Part D of a four-part series, which also includes 9B13M004, 9B13M005 and 9B13M006.

The case focuses on the profitability of the Indian aviation industry and explains how Indigo Airlines, a new entrant in the Indian aviation space, registered profits within three years of its inception while its competitors continued to struggle with losses. The case demonstrates how a firm incorporating innovative business practices can not only survive but also earn abnormal profits. The strategies adopted by Indigo Airlines to reduce its operational cost and enhance its revenue are discussed in the case. The case also explores whether the profits earned by Indigo are sustainable in the long run and focuses on the changes in the competitive positioning of Indigo Airlines as it switches from the position of a low cost player to a hybrid player in the aviation industry.

This three-part case highlights the strategic decision-making and growth management challenges in the suddenly liberalized Kenyan dairy industry. Following the 1999 collapse of the nation-wide distribution system on which small-scale dairy farmers in Kenya relied to reach the market, the resulting gap in the value chain between supply and demand created an opportunity for one entrepreneur. Cool Pastures Dairy was later founded in 1999 and rapidly expanded in an atmosphere of not only little competition but also corruption and lack of infrastructure, especially poor roads, limited banking, and almost non-existent cell phone accessibility. Although the company considered various alternatives to expanding, the business was overcome by problems with inefficient or corrupt retailers and accountants, as well as the owner’s lack of business experience, and went bankrupt. When conditions improved as the government invested in infrastructure, the entrepreneur considered restarting his business. Is this a viable enterprise in light of improved conditions? Which expansion alternative should the resuscitated company pursue? The B case 9B13M045 discusses managing corruption and the C case 9B13M046 re-considers the business model.

Part B of a three-part series. See 9B13M044 and 9B13M046.

Part C of a three-part series. See 9B13M044 and 9B13M045.

The co-founder of a Kenyan microfinance institution was troubled. Although his company had experienced great success in the past three years, it faced cash flow problems in June 2012. The co-founder had exhausted his personal resources and seeks an investor, local or international banks, or a process improvement program to ensure the company’s long-term success. The co-founder needed to evaluate his options and propose a solution to the other board members.

Spreadsheet for students.

The Brooklyn Warehouse, a popular restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is cramped for space because of its popularity within its neighbourhood and as a tourist destination in the city. The restaurant is a private company with two shareholders, one of whom is not involved in operations. Because of the economic downturn, the risky nature of the business and the fact that it has been open only four years, the owners are having trouble securing financing for their expansion plans from their bank and other conventional lenders. However, while negotiating a renewal of their lease in late 2011, their landlord offered to pay for half the cost of building a patio to increase the size of the restaurant. To raise the other half, the owners turn to crowdfunding as a method of raising capital through social media by tapping into their community of friends, family and loyal customers. In return for their donation, which may vary from $100 to $2,500, sponsors are offered various packages, including free meals, a company T-shirt and their name listed on a wall of honour. However, little is known about the appropriate accounting or tax treatment for money raised in this manner. The owners had heard horror stories about businesses that used innovative ideas to raise funds only to have fines and penalties levied by government agencies for income tax and sales tax or even by the Securities Commission for improper accounting. The owners turn to their accountant for advice.

A buy-side analyst for an investment company that has a company-specific, fundamentals-based investing philosophy is considering whether to include a small-cap Canadian company engaged in commodity streaming contracts in the mining sector as a significant investment. The analyst must first learn what commodity streaming involves to better understand whether the company has a viable business model. He also has to research the copper and natural gas industry outlooks. He must then develop a net asset value model to determine an appropriate valuation for the company.

Louis Vuitton, the flagship group within Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), had contributed to the stellar growth of the group in 2010 and 2011. But, there were clouds on the horizon. Was the recent growth sustainable? What steps should Louis Vuitton take to address upcoming challenges? This case takes the student through the challenges a global company faces as it tries to grow a business that is based on one of the most valued high-end brands in the world. The case reveals the fundamental strategic tension between what a firm needs to do, given the competitive environment, what it can do, given its resources and organization, and what leaders want to do, given their fundamental motivations and beliefs, which shape the way they see the issues.