個案資料

In July 2020, the founder and manager of Montreal Community Contact (Contact), a bimonthly community newspaper, was considering strategies to ensure the survival of his business. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that he was sixty-three years old, he worried about what the future of the newspaper would look like if anything were to happen to him. Contact had been running for almost thirty years and had a loyal readership within the Black community in Montreal and a loyal cadre of advertisers, but online media was threatening the newspaper industry, and each year the business just managed to break even. The business’s owner now felt it was important to secure the long-term survival of the newspaper. How should he improve the stability of Contact while evaluating future avenues for the business?

This case is designed for use in senior undergraduate courses in entrepreneurship or small business management. Courses in social enterprises and career management may also find this case useful. This case deals with managing a business in a declining industry that faces threats from the digital world. Technological change poses challenges not only to newspapers but also to other products, services, and organizations, such as those with a social mission and commitment from stakeholders but poor resources. The protagonist of this case also faces choices about entrepreneurial business succession and exit. After working through the case and assignment questions, students should be able to do the following:<ul><li>Identify the characteristics of an entrepreneur with a social mission.</li><li>Describe the challenges of operating in an industry in which there is great technological change.</li><li>Analyze the market and stakeholders for a business.</li><li>Explain some of the challenges in creating business succession and business owners’ exit strategies.</li></ul>

• entrepreneurship
• small business
• owner succession
• exit strategy