個案總覽

This case illustrates the challenges, particularly cash flow, experienced by a team of entrepreneurs as they deal with startup issues in a coworking social enterprise, Common Ground Coworking (CGC). CGC is located in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador and was created to fill an important gap in the province's startup ecosystem by providing a flexible, affordable workspace for early-stage startups and independent professionals to build their businesses amongst the ideas, inspiration, and support of fellow like-minded professionals. As a social enterprise, CGC was structured similarly to a for-profit business, but its mission was social. Instead of paying dividends to owners/shareholders, profits would be reinvested to support better services/amenities for members. The case is set in August 2014 just four months after CGC's opening, as Executive Director, Jennifer Smith seeks to deal with financial issues that threaten CGS's future. She had to decide what solutions were best to address the immediate and long-term financial issues faced by the organization.

This case is set in June 2016. Ted Lewis is the owner of Holson Forest Products Ltd. (Holson), one of the largest suppliers of lumber on the Northern Peninsula. In 2008, due to increased shipping costs, Holson's largest customer, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Ltd. (CBPPL), decided to stop buying logs from the Northern Peninsula. Following CBPPL's decision, Lewis was forced to diversify his business. In 2011, after a feasibility study confirmed the potential of opening a wood pellet plant to produce finished products for local, national, and/or international markets, a pellet plant was completed in a remote area of the Northern Peninsula. Unfortunately, the lack of nearby port facilities to ship the product to international markets prevented the company from launching full production. In addition, because forested lands on the Northern Peninsula were not certified as sustainable forests, Holson's premium products could not be sold to residential markets in Europe. Lewis was faced with many challenges in an uncertain global market. Lewis needed a strategy that would allow him to confidently launch production of wood pellets. His strategic analysis had to take into account both external markets and internal issues related to resources, operations, marketing, human resources, and the management challenges of sustaining a business in rural Newfoundland. It also had to consider Lewis's values and commitment to the people of the Northern Peninsula.