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This four-part case outlines the transformation of Alexa Translations triggered by its acquisition of an AI firm. The preface sets the stage, providing information about founder Gary Kalaci's vision and motivation. It also explains Alexa Translations' business model prior to the acquisition of Yappn Inc. Chapter 1 begins with Kalaci's 2016 decision to acquire Yappn Inc. and ends in 2018, when the deal was finalized. Chapter 2 covers 2019 to 2022, a period when Alexa Translations experienced significant growth following the launch of Alexa.ai; it ends with the prospect of a new vision. The third and final chapter provides an update on Alexa Translations as of October 2023. Just one year earlier, the translation industry had braced for yet another significant disruption: the launch of ChatGPT. However, that new technology had benefitted Alexa Translations, positioning it for further growth. Second, in keeping with the strategic role of Alexa.ai, the company would be restructuring its AI side to create a product team consisting of the organization's top talent, who would be tasked with ensuring that the platform remained competitive. Although this news appeared to have been welcomed by most employees, a new junior translator had his doubts.

This four-part case outlines the transformation of Alexa Translations triggered by its acquisition of an AI firm. The preface sets the stage, providing information about founder Gary Kalaci's vision and motivation. It also explains Alexa Translations' business model prior to the acquisition of Yappn Inc. Chapter 1 begins with Kalaci's 2016 decision to acquire Yappn Inc. and ends in 2018, when the deal was finalized. Chapter 2 covers 2019 to 2022, a period when Alexa Translations experienced significant growth following the launch of Alexa.ai; it ends with the prospect of a new vision. The third and final chapter provides an update on Alexa Translations as of October 2023. Just one year earlier, the translation industry had braced for yet another significant disruption: the launch of ChatGPT. However, that new technology had benefitted Alexa Translations, positioning it for further growth. Second, in keeping with the strategic role of Alexa.ai, the company would be restructuring its AI side to create a product team consisting of the organization's top talent, who would be tasked with ensuring that the platform remained competitive. Although this news appeared to have been welcomed by most employees, a new junior translator had his doubts.

This four-part case outlines the transformation of Alexa Translations triggered by its acquisition of an AI firm. The preface sets the stage, providing information about founder Gary Kalaci's vision and motivation. It also explains Alexa Translations' business model prior to the acquisition of Yappn Inc. Chapter 1 begins with Kalaci's 2016 decision to acquire Yappn Inc. and ends in 2018, when the deal was finalized. Chapter 2 covers 2019 to 2022, a period when Alexa Translations experienced significant growth following the launch of Alexa.ai; it ends with the prospect of a new vision. The third and final chapter provides an update on Alexa Translations as of October 2023. Just one year earlier, the translation industry had braced for yet another significant disruption: the launch of ChatGPT. However, that new technology had benefitted Alexa Translations, positioning it for further growth. Second, in keeping with the strategic role of Alexa.ai, the company would be restructuring its AI side to create a product team consisting of the organization's top talent, who would be tasked with ensuring that the platform remained competitive. Although this news appeared to have been welcomed by most employees, a new junior translator had his doubts.

This four-part case outlines the transformation of Alexa Translations triggered by its acquisition of an AI firm. The preface sets the stage, providing information about founder Gary Kalaci's vision and motivation. It also explains Alexa Translations' business model prior to the acquisition of Yappn Inc. Chapter 1 begins with Kalaci's 2016 decision to acquire Yappn Inc. and ends in 2018, when the deal was finalized. Chapter 2 covers 2019 to 2022, a period when Alexa Translations experienced significant growth following the launch of Alexa.ai; it ends with the prospect of a new vision. The third and final chapter provides an update on Alexa Translations as of October 2023. Just one year earlier, the translation industry had braced for yet another significant disruption: the launch of ChatGPT. However, that new technology had benefitted Alexa Translations, positioning it for further growth. Second, in keeping with the strategic role of Alexa.ai, the company would be restructuring its AI side to create a product team consisting of the organization's top talent, who would be tasked with ensuring that the platform remained competitive. Although this news appeared to have been welcomed by most employees, a new junior translator had his doubts.

Mosaic, a multidisciplinary research platform bringing together researchers and academic collaborators, graduate students, industrial partners, and government decision-makers to accelerate innovation and creativity, recently received two proposals. One was from the University of Locarno, an academic partner, to organize a creative workshop; the other was from ExCom Canada, an industrial partner, to organize a co-design session for its employees. Both organizations wanted their workshops to be held the following week, and Mosaic's co-directors didn't know which proposal to accept. Moreover, ExCom's partnership agreement would expire that year, and it wished to discuss its renewal during the co-design session. It was a difficult choice: the co-directors worried that Mosaic would be less able to attract academic partners if it focused too heavily on industrial activities. On the other hand, industrial partners might lose interest if it focused too heavily on academic research. The key question was thus this: how could Mosaic maintain a balance between academic and industry-specific research while sustaining the interest of researchers?

The case tells the story of Familitet, a small social enterprise in Ryazan, Russia, and its CEO, Tatiana Gschwend. In the post-Soviet world, where institutions are still very traditional, Familitet fills certain gaps. By offering classes in family and perinatal yoga, speech therapy, and social skills; organizing workshops on marital and parental psychology, breastfeeding, and anthropology; and offering the support of a midwife, Familitet has made its mark as a trail blazer. The case describes events that took place in 2015, when Familitet was experiencing the impact of the economic crisis caused by Western sanctions. That same year, the company had been approached by a Kazakh company wishing to explore the possibility of opening a franchise - an opportunity that could be advantageous to Familitet both during the crisis and over the long term. Tatiana and her team had to decide how to respond to the crisis by adapting their business model in Ryazan and choosing the optimal business model for the Kazakh market.

This case uses the story of IT-Ration, a small firm based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to enable students to conduct an in-depth analysis of the founding manager, the firm, and the industry so as to make a strategic growth decision. The story unfolds in 2009 at a time when IT-Ration was at a crossroads - should it continue to focus on the Quebec market or go into the U.S. in order to grow? Remaining in Quebec meant that the business would face problems related to limited market size. However, a move to the U.S. would also bring its share of challenges. The entrepreneur had to weigh the pros and cons in order to make an informed decision.

The case presents the ongoing geopolitical struggle between China and Japan. The essence of the China-Japan conflict lies in the struggle over natural resources - rare earth elements (REEs) and suspected oil deposits in Senkaku Islands - and related territorial disputes concerning the sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands which are resource rich and near key international shipping routes. Even though quite a few countries in the world possess REEs, China possesses over 95 percent of the industrial production capacity for these elements, thus creating a global monopoly (Humphries, 2010). Most of the global REE supply-chain is controlled by China through the production of REEs on its territory or through the purchase of mineral rights from other parts of the world, such as Africa. As shown in the case, this generates a situation of REE dependency for states such as Japan and the U.S., which are both very influential on the world arena, and which consequently leads to important geopolitical frictions. Moreover, China shows a tendency to constrain its exports of REEs as part of its foreign policy, or as argued by other scholars, as an attempt to meet its increasing domestic consumption geared towards the production of technological items such as cell phones, computers and military weapons. China needs REEs to sustain economic growth, stimulate job creation at home and reduce its vulnerability to fuel shortages or price shocks (Cáceres and Sophal, 2012). The shortage of REEs on the world market creates the problem of rare earth asymmetry, which affects the relationship among countries and firms at the international level. The case depicts the subtleties of the China-Japan politico-economic relations and discusses the involvement of other important actors, such as the US and the EU, in the struggle for resources.