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Shopee has become the largest e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia as of early 2022. Led by CEO Chris Feng, Shopee began its expansion beyond the region to the Americas, Europe and India. India is expected to surpass the U.S. to become the second largest e-commerce market in the world by the 2030s. Shopee entered the Indian market in mid-2021 to harness the opportunities stemming from favourable technological, socio-cultural, political and economic environments. Shopee consistently deployed its resources and capabilities from its playbook of strengths to catch up with incumbents such as Amazon India, Walmart-owned Flipkart, Tata Group and Reliance Industries. However, Shopee faced severe challenges - logistical issues, consumer distrust arising from rampant e-commerce fraud, difficult transition to digital payments, cut-throat competition, suspicions over its indirect ownership structure for market entry, resistance from local retailers and a tough legal and geopolitical landscape. CEO Chris Feng had had a tough choice to make - whether to stay or to go. Just months after entering India, Shopee announced in March 2022 that it would be closing its Indian operations. This case shed light on the trade-offs of this market exit and offers insights into international expansion to emerging markets amid environmental uncertainty.

Spreadsheet to accompany product W27116.

The state of Uttar Pradesh was India’s leading producer state of mentha. The state’s small and medium-sized enterprises and trade entities were involved in the processing, distillation, crystal manufacture, and export of mentha. After 2017, there had been a deep decline in mentha oil futures trading, which wiped out liquidity and led to several market participants withdrawing from the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX). The MCX had long been a market leader in commodities, supporting futures trading in precious metals and bullion, energy, and a few agricultural commodities—notably, mentha oil. The senior vice-president and head of business development and marketing at the MCX was exploring ways to promote liquidity and raise the volume and turnover of mentha oil futures trading. Having contributed to a brainstorming session with the product development team based on the findings of a 2020–21 stakeholder study of the mentha market, he now had to integrate his domain knowledge and trading expertise with the insights gleaned from the stakeholder’s report to devise a strategy for resurrecting the slumping mentha oil futures.

Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.’s UNIQLO brand (UNIQLO) was planning to relaunch +J, its collaboration with the legendary high-end designer Jil Sander in the fall of 2020; however, the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of that year, causing many consumers to spend less on clothes and more on essentials. Just like the first launch of the +J collection in 2009, this launch would once again happen during a global recession. The affordable street fashion brand faced a challenging decision regarding whether to reintroduce the higher-priced collaboration brand amidst this unprecedented situation.

Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.'s UNIQLO brand (UNIQLO) was planning to relaunch +J, its collaboration with the legendary high-end designer Jil Sander in the fall of 2020; however, the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of that year, causing many consumers to spend less on clothes and more on essentials. Just like the first launch of the +J collection in 2009, this launch would once again happen during a global recession. The affordable street fashion brand faced a challenging decision regarding whether to reintroduce the higher-priced collaboration brand amidst this unprecedented situation.

Stemina Lubricants (Stemina) was an automotive lubricant manufacturer in Udupi, Karnataka, India. All Stemina products were a blend of high-class base oil and imported branded additives. Stemina competed with leading brands-one that was strong in the market and at mechanics' locations, having leveraged its consumer brand equity and strong advertising support to win over mechanics and dealers, and another that had a strong presence in the forecourts of gas stations in India. Customers looking for oil changes at gas stations were likely to purchase these company brands rather than a local brand, and Stemina faced an uphill battle to establish itself in a market with such entrenched distribution. How could this small business, with few resources for branding and distribution, successfully establish itself in the market?

In March 2020, Evolko Systems Private Limited encountered several strategic and operational effects resulting from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The private health care technology company, which was based in California, United States, used artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide products and services to India’s health care market. The company’s chief executive officer had to mitigate risk from the pandemic using his company’s business model and value offerings. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a lockdown order effective across all of India to slow the progress of the virus, affected some of the company’s key business elements and had a macroeconomic impact on its operations. The chief executive officer’s challenge was to explore all options to continue the business operations and to determine how to transform its physically interactive business model to one with little or no physical contact with clients.

In early December 2014, the senior team of Pudong Science and Technology Investment (hereafter, Pudong S&T) gathered in the offices of their chairman, Dr. Xudong Zhu. Before competing its cross-border acquisition of Montage Technology, Pudong S&T-wholly owned by the Chinese state-had to reduce the government's risks in this investment. To Zhu, the best option seemed to be mixed ownership: that is, involving private shareholders in the business. But was he right? And even if he was, how should it be done?

In March 2020, Evolko Systems Private Limited encountered several strategic and operational effects resulting from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The private health care technology company, which was based in California, United States, used artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide products and services to India's health care market. The company's chief executive officer had to mitigate risk from the pandemic using his company's business model and value offerings. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a lockdown order effective across all of India to slow the progress of the virus, affected some of the company's key business elements and had a macroeconomic impact on its operations. The chief executive officer's challenge was to explore all options to continue the business operations and to determine how to transform its physically interactive business model to one with little or no physical contact with clients.

Maison Singulier was an online vintage furniture and home goods store founded in October 2020 and based in Montreal. Since its inception, Maison Singulier had succeeded in building a loyal customer base across Canada and the United States. Despite the early success of Maison Singulier, the founder realized that she could increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the store’s marketing communications if she adopted a more systematic approach to its marketing strategy. Although she had a good understanding of the typical Maison Singulier customer, she wanted to have a more formal definition of her target segment so that she could fine-tune Maison Singulier’s marketing communications. Having enlisted the services of a local market research company, by the end of June 2021, Maison Singulier had the information it needed to redesign its marketing communications strategy to effectively reach out to the selected consumer segments. It was crucial for the future of the company to successfully manage this period.

Maison Singulier was an online vintage furniture and home goods store founded in October 2020 and based in Montreal. Since its inception, Maison Singulier had succeeded in building a loyal customer base across Canada and the United States. Despite the early success of Maison Singulier, the founder realized that she could increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the store's marketing communications if she adopted a more systematic approach to its marketing strategy. Although she had a good understanding of the typical Maison Singulier customer, she wanted to have a more formal definition of her target segment so that she could fine-tune Maison Singulier's marketing communications. Having enlisted the services of a local market research company, by the end of June 2021, Maison Singulier had the information it needed to redesign its marketing communications strategy to effectively reach out to the selected consumer segments. It was crucial for the future of the company to successfully manage this period.

In January 2011, China-based Joyson Automotive Group (Joyson) acquired Preh GmbH (Preh), a German manufacturer of high-end automotive components. While Joyson had lower capabilities in areas such as management and engineering, it was able to ensure a successful acquisition of the more competent firm Preh after years of careful planning and relationship building. Joyson had grown over 14 years to become a US$10 billion manufacturing company by continuously acquiring more capable firms. The acquisition of Preh would make the two companies powerful players in the global automotive parts supply market and promised to provide Preh with financial resources and access to the lucrative Chinese automotive market, but only if the Chinese and German companies could be integrated successfully. How could Joyson’s management team ensure a successful integration of a firm with superior management, soft skills, and technical capabilities?

In January 2011, China-based Joyson Automotive Group (Joyson) acquired Preh GmbH (Preh), a German manufacturer of high-end automotive components. While Joyson had lower capabilities in areas such as management and engineering, it was able to ensure a successful acquisition of the more competent firm Preh after years of careful planning and relationship building. Joyson had grown over 14 years to become a US$10 billion manufacturing company by continuously acquiring more capable firms. The acquisition of Preh would make the two companies powerful players in the global automotive parts supply market and promised to provide Preh with financial resources and access to the lucrative Chinese automotive market, but only if the Chinese and German companies could be integrated successfully. How could Joyson's management team ensure a successful integration of a firm with superior management, soft skills, and technical capabilities?

Since 1978, Spain had struggled to control unemployment. The country's labor law was protective of employees hired long-term and companies used temporary contracts as buffers. In 2012, amid economic recession and a 23.6% unemployment rate, a center-right government of Mariano Rajoy passed a reform to liberalize the labor market. The authors of the labor reform argued that it helped to close the current account deficit and recover from the recession. Critics of the reform instead argued that it increased job precariousness and impoverished employees. Others believed that even more flexibility was necessary. In January 2021, Spain was governed by a coalition between the socialists and the extreme left-wing electoral alliance Unidas Podemos, led by the populist left wing party Podemos. Both the Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, also the socialist party leader, and Pablo Iglesias Turrión, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Social Rights and the head of Podemos, had promised to repeal the labor law in the electoral campaign of 2019. But not all ministers in the cabinet shared the same view. In addition, the government was applying for funding from the EU to help the Spanish economy to recover from the recession that followed the COVID-19 pandemic. But to unlock the €140 billion in grants and loans from the EU COVID-19 fund, Sanchez had to present a convincing plan of structural reforms to boost the economy and address its structural problems. Would the EU Commission approve Spain's recovery plan if the 2012 reform were to be repealed? What should Sánchez's government do?

Since 2000, Infineum International Limited had been expanding rapidly throughout the Asia Pacific region. The company launched its inclusion and diversity program in 2009, which saw strong progress after 2013, when the company established its inclusion-first vision. From 2016 on, numerous inclusion and diversity activities were held to generate involvement and feedback from the locally engaged inclusion and diversity champions. In February 2020, the company’s global talent and learning manager shared his concerns about the company’s future inclusion and diversity journey. He had devoted time and energy in the past few years to organize activities through town hall meetings, leadership training workshops, and the company’s intranet, but hoped to make the inclusive approach even more meaningful in the future. What kind of measures should they apply to assess what they have done so far? To what extent should human resources actions be aligned with the inclusive culture? More importantly, would the current model of inclusion and diversity be sustained in the future?

Since 2000, Infineum International Limited had been expanding rapidly throughout the Asia Pacific region. The company launched its inclusion and diversity program in 2009, which saw strong progress after 2013, when the company established its inclusion-first vision. From 2016 on, numerous inclusion and diversity activities were held to generate involvement and feedback from the locally engaged inclusion and diversity champions. In February 2020, the company's global talent and learning manager shared his concerns about the company's future inclusion and diversity journey. He had devoted time and energy in the past few years to organize activities through town hall meetings, leadership training workshops, and the company's intranet, but hoped to make the inclusive approach even more meaningful in the future. What kind of measures should they apply to assess what they have done so far? To what extent should human resources actions be aligned with the inclusive culture? More importantly, would the current model of inclusion and diversity be sustained in the future?

In this interview, the second in MIT Sloan Management Review's Leading With Impact series, Urvashi Tyagi discusses her role as CTO at ADP with coach and consultant Chris Clearfield. She also describes ADP's systems-first approach to its payroll and HR solutions business and shares what she has learned about creating a healthy corporate culture and evaluating employee performance.

With a fine division of labor across different countries, the global value chains use global sourcing and combines developed countries' know-how with developing countries' low-cost labor to produce lower-priced and higher-quality products, bringing benefits to all parties joining the global value chains. This case, which is based on Foxconn, a major supplier to Apple and other global technology giants, enables students to understand that several forces are challenging and reshaping these global value chains. Foxconn, officially known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, plays an important role as an electronics manufacturer in the global supply chains. The company manufactures different parts in multiple locations to lower costs and offers good quality and competitive prices. Foxconn's main manufacturing plants are all located in China, but Foxconn is under pressure from major US customers such as Apple to move production facilities to other countries. Many factors that are reshaping the global value chains, such as the US-China trade war and COVID-19 pandemic, all have affected Foxconn's operations and forced Foxconn to adjust its strategies. This case sheds light on the risks of global value chains. It provides an opportunity for students to discuss how a company can be affected by global value chain restructuring, especially the US-China trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic, and what strategies a company might adopt to cope with global value chain restructuring.

Trichloroethylene, or TCE, was a chemical used by tens of thousands of businesses in the United States. It was an affordable tool for many. Yet, TCE had been associated with important health risks, including cancer and autoimmune disease. TCE potentially posed other risks as well: some researchers argued that low doses of TCE caused deformities in fetal hearts, while others argued that there was not enough science to back up this claim. Over twenty years, a vigorous debate encompassing academic, government and industry voices played out around just how toxic TCE was. The American chemical industry and TCE end-users used lobbying to advocate for their positions. A loose coalition of activists, academics and journalists promoted their own, different, perspectives on TCE. Developments in the TCE story were often communicated to the public through investigative reporting, a field of journalism facing economic crisis. The U.S. government and its Environmental Protection Agency were responsible for assessing TCE's toxicity, leading to secondary policy decisions around how the chemical should be regulated. Yet, by the end of 2020, controversy remained around whether successive governments had been untowardly influenced by special interests in their TCE decision-making. Which stance should the Biden administration take in regards to TCE? More broadly, which broader lessons could be drawn from the TCE case? In particular, should the influence of lobbying on regulations and policies be constrained in any way?

When you're seeking to advance your career--by joining a different company or moving into a new role with your current employer--it's important to think strategically about not just what you want but how to get it. In this article the authors draw on their work coaching executives and their cross-cultural research to propose four steps that can help you prepare to negotiate. First, think broadly about your long-term career goals instead of focusing narrowly on the offer at hand or the question of pay and benefits. Second, be mindful of what type of opportunity you're asking for--something standard, an unusual arrangement for yourself, or a chance to take your organization in a new direction--and tailor your arguments accordingly. Third, arm yourself with the necessary information to reduce ambiguity about what's possible and with whom to negotiate. Fourth, connect with people who can be helpful in making your case, and approach negotiations as an opportunity to enhance your working relationships. If you follow these steps and set career targets that are specific and realistic, you're more likely to chart a path to success.