In May 2022, Ethiopian social entrepreneur Berhanu Gebeyehu had to decide on next steps for his clean drinking water business, Brightwater Ethiopia (Brightwater), which he had begun in 2019 in the southern town of Dilla. Ninety-six per cent of Dilla’s households had reported on surveys that the clean water available in the town was inadequate for their needs and that school-aged girls regularly missed class because they bore the burden of collecting water, often from unsafe sources. Following two successful years of business, during which Gebeyehu had striven to contribute to the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) by providing clean drinking water and boosting gender equality while also making a profit, Gebeyehu now wanted to reduce his business’s dependency on the foreign non-governmental organization (NGO) that had helped fund and set up the business. He was also considering expanding his social enterprise’s model across Ethiopia as well as developing a capability that would deliver clean water in plastic bottles.
Arconic Inc. was a lightweight-material engineering firm that supplied the aerospace, automotive, and commercial transportation industries. Elliott Management Corporation was an activist investment firm that held a minority investment in Arconic Inc.. The two companies were locked in a public disagreement on how to generate acceptable financial returns for investors. At a shareholders' meeting on May 25, 2017, all shareholders would be able to vote on the four nominees that would become members of Arconic's new board. In the weeks leading up to the annual shareholders' meeting, the tension between the Arconic board and Elliott Management continued to build.
In 2018, the board of directors of the German utility company E.ON SE was presented with a deal for an asset swap with a major domestic competitor, RWE AG. The deal was meant to help the competitors cope with uncertainties and challenges caused by the ongoing transformation of the utility industry in Europe. In the proposed deal, a recently created RWE-spinoff, innogy SE, would be disassembled with the assets going to E.ON. Because RWE still held a 76.8 per cent stake in innogy, the transfer meant that E.ON could gain full control over innogy's assets. In exchange, RWE would gain a minority investment in E.ON and some other assets. A deal, if approved, would be a surprise to the stock market. Should E.ON's board approve it?
In the first quarter of 2019, A.T. Kearney Inc.’s managing partner had to find a strategy that would help the company move into the top tier of the world’s management consultancy firms. The new leader was only the ninth managing partner in the firm’s history, having succeeded the previous leader one year earlier. He was a member of the firm’s board of directors and had previously led the company’s global Communications, Media & Technology practice. He had also been named one of The Top 25 Consultants by Consulting magazine. After his appointment as managing director, he announced that A.T. Kearney Inc. would continue to be committed to helping its clients with their biggest and most important challenges. However, the firm faced a major challenge of its own: how to become a US$2 billion management consultancy titan as quickly as possible and compete against the industry’s giants. A.T. Kearney Inc. had to determine what would be the best option for the future of the company.
In 2016, the managing director of innogy Consulting GmbH (iCon), an international strategic consulting firm based in Germany, had many reasons to be delighted. The company had risen to second place in an annual ranking of internal consultancies after successfully expanding into four new countries. He now pondered new challenges and directions for iCon, after having led RWE Consulting—the predecessor to iCon—since 2007. As an internal consulting department within the RWE Group (RWE) in Germany, the consulting unit mainly conducted information technology implementation and project management within RWE. Although the managing director had led the consultancy unit into new geographic markets and toward new external clients, iCon faced many challenges, including tough competition in the external management-consultancy market. How could iCon take steps to compete away from home?
The Cattier family had been active in the Champagne region of France for over 250 years. Starting out as growers of grapes, they moved into champagne production, initially for local consumption. By 2017, the Cattier company, which had reached 35 full-time employees, engaged in related diversification activities on multiple fronts and internationalized its market. Cattier was selling its champagne to markets such as the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The company also created new product formats, developing signature branding and packaging. Cattier also partnered with fashion houses, bistros, and an international distributor owned by the American rap artist Jay-Z. However, Cattier faced a multitude of challenges in 2017. There was fierce competition in the home market, while sparkling wine consumption was down in all key European markets. Rising protectionism and the possibility of raising trade barriers in key export markets also created new risks. These challenges were compounded by the fact that harvest conditions for producing vintage wines were unpredictable. Cattier was considering using further diversification to manage these threats. However, how would diversification address Cattier’s problems?
In October 2017, the first ever commercial flight landed on St Helena, one of the world's remotest islands. There had been delays building,certifying, and opening the airport due to unforeseen wind conditions. Now that weekly commercial flights had finally begun, how should the island's Economic Development Board approach the next phase of the long-term strategy to boost St Helena's economy through tourism?
A senior manager at Ergonomica Consulting was under pressure to demonstrate to her client Solltram Hotels that the hotel's investment in LED lighting would provide a payback. Winning the client's buy-in would lead to an extension of the contract with the client, development of a new specialist practice area within Ergonomica Consulting, improvement of the manager’s chances of promotion, and the cementing of her reputation. However, at a critical moment, the manager discovered that a previously hidden error in her main spreadsheet, which contained over two million data points, had resulted in her overestimating the cost savings for the client. Should she conceal the mistake and win the important contract, improving her chances of promotion? Or should she own up to the mistake and risk losing the account, her promotion, and her reputation?
In June 2016, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the United Kingdom-based Time Out Group PLC (Time Out), had just taken the company through an initial public offering, raising much-needed capital for investment and growth. Time Out, which provided consumers with information, tickets, and access to theatre, concerts, and events, as well as food, drink, and cultural experiences in its Time Out Market, had reported significant losses in 2014 and 2015. However, there was momentum in new market areas, and the recently launched Time Out Market in Lisbon, Portugal, had seen revenue growth of 67 per cent between 2014 and 2015. Now, with £59 million to invest, the CEO had to lead the company back to profitability. He needed to balance foreign direct investment in physical Time Out Markets with digital transformation of the company’s offerings. At the same time, he had to find ways to reinforce the new organizational culture he was building at Time Out as a way to help fulfil his corporate vision of Time Out as a disruptive force.
In July 2014, the managing partner and co-founder of Netherlands-based Expatica Communications B.V. (Expatica) received tragic news. His close friend and business partner had been travelling on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine. The two partners had worked closely together at Expatica for over 15 years. Three days after receiving the news of his friend’s sudden death, the surviving partner found himself alone in his office trying to work out how to cope with the situation and, in particular, how to deal with the employees who were due to return to the office the next day. How should he prepare himself for the next morning? How should he approach the meeting with the employees, and what should he say? What actions should he take regarding the firm in the short and medium term?
By August 2015, Berlin-based advertising technology venture Roq.ad had grown from a chance encounter between its two co-founders to become a revenue generating operation with 18 full-time employees in Germany and Poland -- in just 10 months. Their goal was to develop new cross-device, user-recognition technology that would enable advertisers to accurately target consumers across a range of devices such as personal computers and peripheral devices. Roq.ad’s co-founders had decided from the beginning not to seek out venture capital and instead to retain tight control of their business. Given the lead time needed to develop technology, they had also decided to use an industry-standard agency model for generating revenues that would be used to fund the development of technology and the eventual launch of the program. As Roq.ad approached the end of its first year in business, the co-founders faced an important strategic challenge: How could they successfully transform the company from its initial mobile-advertising agency model to become Europe’s number one provider of cross-device, user-recognition technology?
Elon Musk, the CEO of the U.S.-headquartered Tesla Motors (Tesla), was considering how the company should enter the Chinese market. Less than a year earlier, Tesla had exited Singapore after disappointing results only six months after entering that promising market. There were several questions that the company would have to answer in order to formulate an appropriate entry strategy for China. First, could the company learn from its experiences in the United States and Singapore and apply this learning to China? Second, was it the right time to enter the Chinese market? Finally, how could Tesla prevent a repeat of the Singapore experience in China? There were several questions that the company would have to answer in order to formulate an appropriate entry strategy for China.
The vice-president and general manager for Michigan Plastic Inc.’s Shelby Division (Shelby) is faced with various options. Shelby specializes in thermoforming plastic gasoline tanks for global automotive companies such as General Motors, Ford and Toyota. The vice-president is looking at ways to restart growth at Shelby, a division that has been the subject of a turnaround effort from 2007 to 2010. In fact, the vice-president has committed to his chief executive officer to double sales in the next five years. This case looks at the competitive environment – competitors and the state of technology – and the vice-president's challenge in selecting the growth option.
The Hongxin Entrepreneur Incubator, located in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, has experienced tremendous growth between 2001 and 2013. Its founder and president has received widespread acclaim as he has helped to launch and turn around more than 100 local companies, both start-ups and more developed enterprises. He now plans to develop and grow the incubator by setting it up as an online platform that would connect and support an alliance of entrepreneurs on a scale never seen before in China. As he looks forward to taking it in this new direction, he wonders how he can ensure continued success and maintain his philosophy of caring for the community of entrepreneurs while maximizing profits.
As multinational enterprises expand operations in emerging economies, identifying and responding to unique marketing challenges may require strategy that focuses on local adaptation and global integration on a country by country basis. In March 2014, Tesco PLC (Tesco), the largest retailer in the United Kingdom and the third largest supermarket group in the world, has signed an agreement with Trent Hypermarkets, the retail division of the Tata Group, a leading Indian business conglomerate, for setting up a 50:50 joint venture (JV) in Indian retail. Tesco is committed to investing £85 million (US$110 million) as its share of capital. As it gets down to the basics of operating the JV, the management of Tesco, head quartered in London, United Kingdom, is facing three major dilemmas: How should Tesco sustain the advantage of being the first global multi-brand retailer to be allowed to invest in India? How should it fine-tune its tried and tested global business model to suit Indian retail? How could the company avoid the kind of failure it had experienced in the U.S. market, which it exited in April 2013?
While internationalization may present growth opportunities for Canadian small businesses, the challenges involved can be daunting. In August 2013 the founder and president of Maynooth Natural Granite was trying to decide whether he should expand his small business internationally. He was satisfied that he was able to turn his gravel pit into a well-recognized supplier of washed decorative rock in Ontario. However, the president was concerned that his success could be short-lived, as Ontario had a saturated gardening market. As he explored new international opportunities he must decide whether he would be able to replicate his success in the new markets while balancing the responsibilities of his Canadian business interests and his family life.
The world's leading documents company is in a transformation mode. From being a provider of cutting-edge technology products for decades, it is moving towards providing product-service combinations. As a person driving this enterprise-wide change, the head of Xerox Innovation Group (XIG) is facing two specific issues. How should XIG become more customer-centric? How should the company build new competencies to provide consistent services across devices and locations for each customer?
In mid-April 2013, the chief executive officer of Tesco PLC, the world’s third largest global retailer headquartered in London, United Kingdom, must explain to shareholders his decision to close down the operations of the fully owned subsidiary, Fresh & Easy Neighborhoods Market Inc., in the United States. Following a December 2012 strategic review that reported that the subsidiary was not delivering acceptable returns, operations have already been discontinued and a buyer is being sought. Although the focus on fresh food to ameliorate the health care costs of obesity in the United States was a driver for establishing the subsidiary, the effects of the 2008 recession discouraged consumers from paying the higher costs of fresh food. Is exiting the United States the right decision for Tesco? How should the process of exit be managed? Are there any takeaways from the U.S. operations that Tesco can apply elsewhere in its global strategy?
Coca-Cola has announced the opening of its first bottling plant in Burma in almost 60 years. Since 1962, Burma has been a closed and isolated country and under military rule. As a result of the military’s steady relinquishing of control over the government, Burma has begun opening its doors to international trade and investment. However, political instability is still very high and economic development is far from secure. Furthermore, although a framework agreement between the U.S. and Burmese governments has been signed, a bilateral investment treaty to provide protection for Coca-Cola’s direct investment is not yet in place. How should Coca-Cola pursue its strategy in Burma?
Philips NV, a multinational organization based in the Netherlands, is facing strategic dilemmas. The company has been in the middle of a transformation involving a shift in focus from lighting and health care products towards consumer products and services when a financial meltdown, triggered by a crisis in the U.S. housing market, leads to a credit crunch in financial markets. Countries that have traditionally sustained the demand for Philips merchandise — e.g., the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and France — have been witnessing a decline in key indicators of economic growth. Philips’s revenues and margins are under pressure. Remedial actions are required to ensure that the company is on track to reach its own growth targets. The case deals with two dilemmas: How should Philips deal with the credit crunch in the short term? How should Philips come out of it as a robust company in the long term?