This case describes the growth strategy of Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) from its inception as a joint venture (JV) firm between GAIL (a state-owned enterprise [SOE]) and British Gas plc (a multinational conglomerate) in 1986. The case covers three distinct periods. The first stage examines the formation of the JV and the challenges faced by the company in establishing its business. The second stage focuses on the consolidation of growth strategies, the company's transformation into a listed company and the eventual exit of British Gas plc. The third phase encompasses the phasing out of monopoly rights and the challenges encountered during the pandemic and beyond. The key objective of discussing this case is to understand MGL's growth strategy to date and determine how the company should strategise for future growth. Should MGL pursue forward integration or backward integration, or remain a pure-play natural gas distributor? Considering the prevailing uncertainties and geopolitics surrounding the energy market, how can the company safeguard its dominant market position? Finally, since the energy sector is heavily regulated and politically influenced, what type of nonmarket strategy should the company adopt to ensure continued growth in the face of new private-sector firms entering the market?

In 2019, Nissan India found itself facing a turbulent market situation as it contested market space against 14 competitors. Some of its recent product launches had not been well-received, and dealers nationwide were sceptical of associating with Nissan. The following year, Nissan appointed Rakesh Srivastava as the new Managing Director of Nissan Motor India Ltd. By the end of 2019, Srivastava had revamped the entire Nissan team and, by early 2020, he began to prepare for what would be Nissan's India market turnaround - the launch of the Magnite in the compact SUV market, one of India's fastest-growing personal vehicle segments. However, soon after the Magnite was conceived, the Covid-19 pandemic set in, and India went into an unprecedented lockdown. The economy came to a standstill, and every part of the value chain from brand communication, product launch, supply chain to customer service was paralysed. Nissan had to make several changes to meet emerging challenges at each step. Through concerted efforts, Nissan overcame hostile market forces and a negative reputation to emerge as the fastest-growing player in the market. It passed the 50,000 units manufactured milestone for the Magnite within two years, which provided a much-needed boost to its declining share and relevance in the Indian market. The case outlines the journey of Nissan Magnite's launch and draws lessons from the product launch.

In 2022, Berger Paints Ltd. (Berger) was one of the leading paint manufacturing companies in India. Despite the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic affecting businesses worldwide, Berger had reported promising revenue and profit figures and indicated strong growth potential for the future. With modest beginnings in 1923, Berger was able to grow to become the second largest paint manufacturer in the country by the 21st century. However, the gap between Berger and the market share leader was still sizable, since the leader also was growing equally. Additionally, defending the second spot (especially in decorative paints) was not easy as the expectation of revival in the housing sector and popular sentiment post pandemic had buoyed many corporate giants including Aditya Birla Group and Jindal group to plunge into the paint market. The competition in the decorative segment was soon to become more intense. Berger needed to choose the right opportunities, and prioritise investments and efforts to continue growing rapidly, while also defending against new entrants. Abhijit Roy, Berger's MD & CEO, wondered where Berger should focus on in the next five years.

The case outlines how the strategy for launching rice bran oil, a less consumed edible oil, was modified with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Tirupati oil by NK Proteins is one of the top 3 edible oils sold in Gujarat. Three months before the launch of the rice bran oil, the director passed away. With pandemic restrictions still in force, there was a change in the management with the next generation taking over. Amidst this chaos, the rice bran oil was launched. Within a year of its launch, it became the market leader in Gujarat. To achieve this goal, the company did three things differently from the competition. First, it focused on affordability and marketed it to the masses unlike their competitors who portrayed it as a premium product for a niche customer base. Second, they weighed on their huge distribution network and created a push product by directly supplying rice bran oil to the distributors rather than going through the traditional via the traders, and third, they positioned the oil as an immunity booster vis-à-vis the heart-healthy positioning adopted by other players. After this successful launch, the next plan of action was to professionalise NK Proteins from its traditional way of working. The new MD, Priyam Patel, felt that this was the only way to expand the business and take it to the next level. But would the personnel working with the company since before Priyam was born be receptive towards the change? Furthermore, the nearest competitor, Fortune, was looking to gain lost ground and thus posed a new challenge. Tirupati had always positioned its product as a healthy and immunity booster oil. With other competitors also highlighting the health benefits of their oil, Tirupati needed to strengthen its competitive positioning. Could a consumer survey provide them insights to evaluate their positioning strategy?

What started as a FMCG distributor in 1967 in Kenya as Export Finance Company, is now a dynamic global conglomerate across 48 countries and 5 continents - Export Trading Group. ETG was taken over by the then CFO Mahesh Patel after exit of the founding stakeholders. It was then when the company shifted its focus to being a key regional player. In the next 35 years, the company grew systematically. Business focus evolved when Patel saw an opportunity in logistics in remote sub-Saharan Africa. This was followed by business expansion with supply chain diversification and significant infrastructure investments. All the different businesses amalgamated under a single group for better operations and ease of scaling up. They were later divided into six separate verticals for better management. Vamara (FMCG vertical) was launched in 2018 as the company moved towards digitalisation - externally and internally. ETG plans to focus on new business opportunities and continue to diversify across geographies and portfolios.

The case describes the international acquisition of the South African firm Beruc by an Indian, family-owned firm, Tega Industries Limited. Primarily a supplier of equipment to mining companies, Tega was a prominent player in the business of selling solutions to consumers in liners, mill liners, screening equipment and conveyors, apart from wear and flow equipment. Ten years after the acquisition, the benefits were not without problems. The issues facing the founder of Tega included declining financials of the subsidiary, labour-related problems, matters related to supply chain, concerns from clients in South Africa and sustained tensions between the local leadership and the corporate headquarters in India. With several changes in the leadership of the South African subsidiary (including Indian South African origin leaders), the ride was not smooth.

This case describes the entrepreneurial journey of two college friends - Anchal Taatya and Abhiram Nukalapati. While studying at IIM Ahmedabad, they saw an opportunity for aggregating credit card discounts and launched a pilot in February 2019 under the name Circles. Circles helped discount seekers and credit card holders to connect and make transactions. Case A outlines their journey until the launch, where they faced the dilemma of choosing between a B2B and a B2C business model. Case B outlines their struggles in launching a B2C product and eventual shutdown of the venture. The key objective of this case is to understand the business formation stage of a college start-up, and how they arrived at opportunity identification. The case is aimed at enabling classroom discussions on the role of trust in platform businesses and how regulations - or lack thereof - can shape the destiny of new ventures.

This case describes the entrepreneurial journey of two college friends - Anchal Taatya and Abhiram Nukalapati. While studying at IIM Ahmedabad, they saw an opportunity for aggregating credit card discounts and launched a pilot in February 2019 under the name Circles. Circles helped discount seekers and credit card holders to connect and make transactions. Case A outlines their journey until the launch, where they faced the dilemma of choosing between a B2B and a B2C business model. Case B outlines their struggles in launching a B2C product and eventual shutdown of the venture. The key objective of this case is to understand the business formation stage of a college start-up, and how they arrived at opportunity identification. The case is aimed at enabling classroom discussions on the role of trust in platform businesses and how regulations - or lack thereof - can shape the destiny of new ventures.

This case describes the evolution of MHFC, a player in the Indian informal housing sector. As a new entrant offering micro home loans to the financially excluded lower income families of urban India in 2008, MHFC had grown to an annual number of 18,000 loans worth INR 8 billion with an average ticket size of INR 0.43 million (USD 6,000). With a 53.5% purchasable equity stake in MHFC, Chopra and his team were left with certain decisions to make. Should the company on-board a new social investor? Or should it bring on the more readily available and capital-rich private equity investors interested in the lucrative prospects of the microfinance housing sector?

The year 2013-14 was very significant for Raychem RPG Ltd (RRL) - a joint venture between RPG group, India and TE Connectivity, USA. The sales were looking up and order book was promising. Newly restructured units were working well and business in new segments was picking up. There were several initiatives undertaken by the CEO in last five years of his tenure. His team had achieved the desired stability and turnaround was successful. A high-growth future in a slowing global economic scenario had to be converted into a more profitable opportunity. However, he faced several questions. Was the strategic transformation journey that he embarked on four years ago complete? Could he have done something different? Which were the areas where the next focus should be? Did RRL have the required competences to succeed in those areas? How would RRL manage the changing expectations of the two JV partners?

Scholars have argued for years that high levels of diversification harm company performance and value creation. But multi-business companies can do quite well. Those that thrive tend to do three things: They limit the number of business models in their portfolio and support them with a cohesive operating model. They tailor the corporate parenting strategy to the needs of individual business units. And they allocate resources according to the role played by each business unit.

This case describes a situation in which Malkit Singh Bal (Bal) partner of Bal Roadlines shares with Mr. Ghura, who was about to be hired as consultant for Bal Roadlines, about the rise in issue of fraud and crime done by the fleet drivers and asked him to help a way out to solve the problem. The purpose of this case is to provide an opportunity to the participants of an MBA or Management Executive Education Programme to step into the shoes of Ghura, a consultant and to explore the options and to select the best possible option to offer a solution to Bal. The context for this involvement is the rise in fraud and crime done by the fleet drivers.