個案資料

In 2022, Manisha Pande, the co-founder and managing director of Village Ways (VW), a responsible tourism company in India, was facing financial challenges which threatened to wipe out her company’s 16 years of growth. VW offered personalized trips within India and in neighbouring countries, fostering the well-being of rural communities while limiting environmental damage. But then the COVID-19 pandemic stopped tourism worldwide and created significant financial setbacks for VW. VW thus needed a new strategy to ease its financial strain, save the business, and preserve the community’s trust. Should Pande stick to her pre-pandemic plan of further expanding VW into other countries, or should she focus on saving the company today? Amid these twin challenges of short-term survival and long-term growth planning, Pande also had to uphold VW’s core values of environmental conservation and responsible tourism.

This case is intended for discussions related to social entrepreneurship, community, sustainable business models, survival strategies for small businesses, risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and responsible tourism. By delving into this case, students can gain critical insights into the strategies employed by successful social enterprises to navigate difficult rural challenges, regulatory challenges, business sustainability, limited resources, global challenges, and intense competition to ensure growth and resilience. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to achieve the following objectives: <ul><li>Identifying the obstacles entrepreneurs committed to social and environmental responsibility must surmount to establish new ventures.</li><li>Applying the theory of ambidexterity to devise strategies that effectively balance short-term and long-term objectives.</li><li>Understanding how a social enterprise’s commitment to its core values and mission contributes to the creation of its unique selling proposition.</li><li>Examining the strategies that enable a social enterprise to succeed amid the challenges posed by a global crisis and the subsequent recovery period.</li><li>Grasping the critical challenges associated with scaling social enterprises.</li>

• Social entrepreneurship
• Responsible tourism
• Covid-19 and business challenges
• Innovative business model
• Advanced marketing strategy