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Ramco Systems Limited (Ramco) was a leading information technology (IT) product company and a pioneer in India, where the majority of IT companies were focused on services. It created three world-class products that drove its growth: a cloud-based enterprise resource planning system, a human capital management system, and aviation software. In 2016, the company was enjoying impressive growth, making profits, and acquiring new clients from around the world. At this point, the chief executive officer had to decide how to balance more rapid innovation with product stabilization. He needed to build structures, processes, and a corporate culture that would enable Ramco to continue to grow. At the same time, he needed to consider the ways new technologies were changing clients' requirements for newer product features-such as the use of mobility or cloud computing. Should the company adopt a mobile-only or mobile-also strategy? Should it incorporate features from social-media platforms as product features? Should it provide its products via software installed at clients' premises, or should products be available on the cloud, via software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscriptions?

This case describes a situation in which Vivek Vyas and Vimal Popat conceive an idea to start an online obituary advertising platform. Vyas and Popat then discuss the possible ways to start an online obituary advertisement platform. The purpose of this case is to provide an opportunity to step into the shoes of Vyas and Popat and explore the best possible option to offer an alternate solution to print obituary advertisement. The case provides the context for students to examine alternate options for the print obituary advertisement amidst lack of entrepreneurial experience of Vyas and Popat.

In June 2013, redbus.in, a bus ticketing website, was acquired by the Ibibo Group, a subsidiary of South Africa based internet and media firm Naspers Ltd, for USD 135 million. Soon after signing the deal, Phanindra Sama - CEO and co-founder of redBus, went for a holiday to London along with his parents. Sama remained incommunicado during the 10 day trip by not acquiring a local number and not accessing his emails. During Sama's absence, senior management team of Alok Goel and Satish Gidugu at redBus along with three mid-level managers submitted their resignation. Apart from employees of redBus, the Ibibo takeover team was also 'foxed' as desperate calls and emails to Sama elicited no response. This case examines the chaos created due to Sama's absence and helps in understanding the issues when a technology start up is acquired.

This case depicts a managerial problem faced by Tradition and Trust, a traditional sweet and snack manufacturer, which is 100-year old family business manufacturing, retailing and exporting sweets, snacks and other confectionery products. Like other traditional sweet and snack manufactures, the company is facing the challenge of consumers' shift towards 'healthy snacking'. Moreover, brands like Haldiram's and Bikanerwala are posing a tough competition to the traditional sweet manufacturing brands. In recent years, the brand has witnessed a decline in sales. In view of the challenges posed to brand, the Chief Marketing Officer, wants to understand the various factors influencing decline of sales and find ways to redesign the strategy for sustaining its current position in the market. The case is written to illustrate how six fundamental steps of conducting a marketing research can be used to address a given managerial problem.

Dinesh Agarwal and Brijesh Agrawal ("DA & BA") established IndiaMART with around US$1100 savings in 1996. By 2014, "IndiaMART.com is India's largest online marketplace for Small & Medium Size Businesses". Its revenue for the year ended March 2014 reached US$32 million. "The company offers a platform & tools to over 1.5 million suppliers to generate business leads from over 10 million buyers... (It) has over 2600 employees located across 40+ offices in the country". In keeping with its growth plans, the company evaluates various capital raising activities from time to time, including public or private placement opportunities. Factors that would benefit the company's valuation include a strong track record of year-on-year growth, a sustainable revenue basis from diversified product categories, a strong, huge, and active user base, and a solid conversion rate of buyer- leads to revenue dollars for its suppliers. The downside, though, is that the company has not been generating operational profits for five years since 2010. From scratch to US$32 million revenue, DA & BA have led the company's many evolutions; what are the major considerations in building the present business model? How do they ensure the development of strong networks in every product category of the multiple-sided platform? One criticism of IndiaMART's weakness is easy replicability - what is the founders' response in mitigating risks presented by this weakness? What should IndiaMART do to attract a fair valuation?

Headquartered in Pune, India, Cybage was one of the plethora of players in the Indian software and information technology ("IT") services sector. Nevertheless, Cybage had enjoyed a double-digit growth rate in the past few years, compared to the industry's growth rate of 14.9% in 2011. Could Cybage's growth be attributed to the general expansion of India's knowledge economy, or had Cybage developed a set of capabilities that differentiated the company from its peers and drove the company to expand from a handful of IT practitioners to a company with a global footprint of nearly 4,000 professionals? What were Cybage's differentiators and how did they become the company's core competencies, allowing it to make headway despite competition from top-tier Indian IT companies?

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Central Parking Services (CPS) with headquarters located in Bangalore, India provided parking solutions at various malls, office buildings, airports, residential apartments, hospitals and so on throughout India. In 2013, Poornima, Director of new initiatives at CPS, wanted the company to take a strategic direction toward using analytics to strengthen its operational decisions. The company was growing exponentially and with that came the challenge of managing the high pressure of growing demand, clients' expectations as well as driving end-customer satisfaction. The company was struggling with operational issues such as demand supply gap and waiting time at the entry and exit gates of parking lot. Pricing and manpower planning are two important decisions CPS has to make to ensure profitability of the company.

After reaching the limits of its successful expansion in the United States in the early 1990s, Walmart sought growth opportunities in markets abroad. This case describes Walmart's attempts to replicate its successful U.S. business model in Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Central America, China, South Korea, Japan, Germany, the U.K., and Africa. Students reflect on the mixed results of these ventures and identify elements in the company's location choices, times of entry, and modes of entry that may explain the outcomes observed. They then formulate a set of recommendations for Walmart to maximize its chances of success when the company expands into India in 2013.

Yamato Transport, Japan’s leading parcel delivery company, experienced internationalization and geographical diversification issues. When it launched its operations in Singapore in 2010 with a view to further branching out into Southeast Asia, the company faced challenges owing to different cultural and social landscapes, difficulties penetrating a small and saturated market, and problems hiring manpower aligned with the company’s business model. The key success factors for Yamato Transport in Japan and their applicability in Singapore are analyzed. What will it take for Yamato Transport to succeed in Singapore when pitted against the mighty SingPost?

Yamato Transport, Japan's leading parcel delivery company, experienced internationalization and geographical diversification issues. When it launched its operations in Singapore in 2010 with a view to further branching out into Southeast Asia, the company faced challenges owing to different cultural and social landscapes, difficulties penetrating a small and saturated market, and problems hiring manpower aligned with the company's business model. The key success factors for Yamato Transport in Japan and their applicability in Singapore are analyzed. What will it take for Yamato Transport to succeed in Singapore when pitted against the mighty SingPost?

Stefan Konrad is the head of South Asia and Middle East business for the consultancy Leman Highlander, headquartered in New York. He's concerned about employee turnover in the Mumbai office, where the firm's star performer, Vijay Kumar, is doing a great job of attracting clients but also of alienating employees. Two years earlier, on one of Stefan's regular visits to Mumbai, he asked Vijay about some consultants who had abruptly quit. Vijay's response was to storm out of the office and send a letter of resignation to the firm's managing partner--who talked him down and instructed Stefan to keep Vijay happy in the future. But the problems are continuing, and on this latest visit, Stefan gets an earful from some of Vijay's colleagues. He must decide whether and how to raise the issue over dinner that night. Ishan Raina, the CEO of India's OOH Media, and Eric Olson, the global managing partner of leadership consulting at Heidrick & Struggles, offer commentary.

Stefan Konrad is the head of South Asia and Middle East business for the consultancy Leman Highlander, headquartered in New York. He's concerned about employee turnover in the Mumbai office, where the firm's star performer, Vijay Kumar, is doing a great job of attracting clients but also of alienating employees. Two years earlier, on one of Stefan's regular visits to Mumbai, he asked Vijay about some consultants who had abruptly quit. Vijay's response was to storm out of the office and send a letter of resignation to the firm's managing partner--who talked him down and instructed Stefan to keep Vijay happy in the future. But the problems are continuing, and on this latest visit, Stefan gets an earful from some of Vijay's colleagues. He must decide whether and how to raise the issue over dinner that night. Ishan Raina, the CEO of India's OOH Media, and Eric Olson, the global managing partner of leadership consulting at Heidrick & Struggles, offer commentary.

Stefan Konrad is the head of South Asia and Middle East business for the consultancy Leman Highlander, headquartered in New York. He's concerned about employee turnover in the Mumbai office, where the firm's star performer, Vijay Kumar, is doing a great job of attracting clients but also of alienating employees. Two years earlier, on one of Stefan's regular visits to Mumbai, he asked Vijay about some consultants who had abruptly quit. Vijay's response was to storm out of the office and send a letter of resignation to the firm's managing partner--who talked him down and instructed Stefan to keep Vijay happy in the future. But the problems are continuing, and on this latest visit, Stefan gets an earful from some of Vijay's colleagues. He must decide whether and how to raise the issue over dinner that night. Ishan Raina, the CEO of India's OOH Media, and Eric Olson, the global managing partner of leadership consulting at Heidrick & Struggles, offer commentary.