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AMÓS Health and Hope was a Nicaraguan non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 2007 to empower rural communities to establish their health needs and develop action plans to solve them. It also supported these communities, following up on their plans and providing guidance to execute the actions planned. Dr. Laura Chanchien Parajón, AMÓS´ Medical Director and co-founder, was working on a funding application to be submitted to the United States' Agency for International Development (USAID), hoping that it would allow the organization to expand its operations in Nicaragua. AMÓS' new project sought to fight diseases transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, like , Zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya. The rate of these diseases among Nicaragua's population showed a growing trend over recent years. Dr. Chanchien had scheduled a meeting for the next day with Dr. Parajón, the organization's Executive Director, to decide whether they would submit the application or not. Dr. Parajón had some qualms about this new project, including whether it would draw AMÓS away from its mission and whether the organization had the capabilities required to execute it successfully.

Nutrivida was a social business created by an alliance between Florida Ice & Farm Co (FIFCO), a Costa Rican beer company, Yunus Social Business (YSB), an organization founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank (the "bank to the poor") and Peace Nobel laureate. This new social enterprise intended to fight malnutrition, focusing specially in children under two and pregnant women living in extreme poverty. To fulfill its mission, Nutrivida developed a line of highly nutritional foods to sell at low prices at low-income neighborhoods in San José's metropolitan area. It also planned to expand its distribution nationwide and, eventually, to other countries in Central America and the Caribbean. By late 2016, Nutrivida still failed to break even and turn a profit. Part of Nutrivida's strategy hinged on product distribution via a "Mums for Nutrition" (MANU, for its acronym in Spanish) network. However, after operating for three years, this channel continued to have minimal sales. Nutrivida's general manager, Anne Marie Nouel, had to determine the steps to take to boost the organization's sales and what to do with its MANU network to make Nutrivida financially sustainable.

The Biodiversity National Institute (Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, hence INBio) was created in 1989 to develop and promote a greater knowledge of Costa Rica's biodiversity, as well as to encourage its sustainable utilization. INBio's activities began with an inventory of Costa Rican biodiversity and, later, expanded to other endeavors associated with bioprospecting, conservation, and the INBio-park, among others. Since inception, the organization had been managed by its founding leader, Rodrigo Gámez. In 2002, the organization designed and launched a four-year strategic plan called "Towards a Sustainable INBio," which sought to introduce several changes, such as organizational structure variations, human resources management improvements, and a planned succession process. The core issue presented by this case revolves around its leader's succession. For 14 years, INBio had been run by Rodrigo Gámez, its leader and founder. As some of the measures outlined in the "Towards a Sustainable INBio" plan were launched in August 2003, Rodrigo Gámez had a heart attack. Piva and a group of Theme Directors took over provisionally. Gámez's health condition forced INBio to accelerate its planned succession process. Piva was asked to conduct an analysis and to present replacement options to the organization's Board. Piva would analyze and submit his findings on the following options: a) hiring an outside candidate, or b) empowering theme directors to manage the organization within a flat and participative structure, led and coordinated by one of them. Based on Piva's analysis and presentation, the Board would then make a decision.

Created in 1991, the ARCOR Foundation had built a reputation for its social investment programs devoted to childhood-related issues as well as for its operations' professionalism and magnitude in Argentina. Virtually since its inception, the Foundation focused on education to help mitigate childhood issues. Seventy percent of its budget was devoted to funding and supporting educational opportunities for very young children. To that end, the Foundation not only focused on program model creation but also on engaging other actors, knowledge building and advocacy for public policies targeted to young children. Its strategic approach also hinged on community work, engaging organizations and, primarily, institutional networks to enhance resources, mobilize actors, and coordinate efforts around public and private actors. Although ARCOR's affiliate in Brazil had, from early on, embarked on several educational, social and environmental actions, it was only in the late 1990s that the Group decided to have the Foundation -based in Argentina- support corporate community initiatives to accompany its Brazilian affiliate's growth. Among other initiatives, the case describes an initiative of cooperation with the World Childhood Foundation Institute and with Fundación Vitae, as well as the replication of ARCOR Foundation's programs in Argentina. There is also an account of a survey to assess corporate social practices so far, which detected a somewhat dispersed and philanthropic approach.

Deals with the concept of how to orchestrate a consistent CSR strategy consolidating many diverse social initiatives started within a business group. The CSU-CCA Group (CSU-CCA) is one of the leading retailing businesses in Central America. The Group includes the Corporacion de Supermercados Unidos (CSU), a supermarket chain, and the Corporacion de Companias Agroindustriales (CCA), in charge of fresh- and private-label product storage and distribution for CSU supermarkets. The CSU-CCA Group was involved in several social programs for both its personnel and other members of the communities in which it operated. Some of these programs were institutionalized, while others were not. In some cases, the Group's involvement had stemmed from a personal initiative driven by one of its employees or managers, although the programs were not aligned to company strategies. By mid-2002, the Group made a corporate decision to articulate its social engagements within its business strategy as a means of becoming more effectively involved in the communities in which it operated. Accordingly, in May 2002, the Corporate Affairs Department (CAD) was created to oversee corporate social responsibility issues and external communications with stakeholders. The CAD reported to the CSU-CCA Board Chairman. Discusses the role of Manuel Zuniga, Corporate Affairs Department Director and Social Responsibility Committee member, who, at the next meeting, will need to propose an overall CSR strategy for the Group, including a recommendation as to which social ventures to support and which not to. He would also need to answer other questions: How should the company draw away from the programs it would no longer support while preventing the alienation of those in charge of them? How should CSU-CCA develop future programs? How should it go about raising personnel awareness of, and commitment to, social programs?

Describes the evolution of AFP Provida, one of the early entrants into the Chilean pension fund system established in 1981. By 1999, AFP Provida was not only the largest pension fund administrator in Chile, but also the largest in Latin America in terms of number of affiliates and the second largest in terms of assets under management, after the Brazilian company Previ. Provida was also the most international firm in the industry. At the turn of the 20th century, Provida's senior management was considering how to extend the company's position in a rapidly expanding international marketplace. Describes the firm's internationalization process in terms of timing, geographic choices, and modes of entry. Also discusses Chilean special conditions for the pension fund industry, including local factors, context for strategy and rivalry, demand conditions, and related and supporting industries. Allows for the discussion of the origins of clusters in developing economies as well as the sources of international competitive advantage. Also provides an interesting evaluation of Provida's strategic choices and the sustainability of its international leadership.