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In 2019, the chief executive officer of Carefirst Seniors & Community Services Association (Carefirst) was sitting in her modest office near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, looking back on 22 years of providing health care services to seniors and other clients in the Toronto area. Demand for its services had been growing steadily, as Canada’s aging population continued to increase in numbers. The 2016 census reported that seniors outnumbered children for the first time in the survey’s history. One in six Canadians was age 65 or older, and this age group was growing four times faster than the overall population. In addition, more than one in five Canadians lived with a chronic disease. With increasing financial difficulties for the Canadian government to meet the needs of its aging citizens, and with a diverse population reflecting Canada’s comparatively open immigration policy, Carefirst was experiencing a changing external environment that demanded a swift pre-emptive response. A recent change in the provincial government had also led to a restructuring of the Ontario health care system. What would be its next strategic move, to ensure that it was better positioned for imminent changes?

In 2019, the chief executive officer of Carefirst Seniors & Community Services Association (Carefirst) was sitting in her modest office near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, looking back on 22 years of providing health care services to seniors and other clients in the Toronto area. Demand for its services had been growing steadily, as Canada's aging population continued to increase in numbers. The 2016 census reported that seniors outnumbered children for the first time in the survey's history. One in six Canadians was age 65 or older, and this age group was growing four times faster than the overall population. In addition, more than one in five Canadians lived with a chronic disease. With increasing financial difficulties for the Canadian government to meet the needs of its aging citizens, and with a diverse population reflecting Canada's comparatively open immigration policy, Carefirst was experiencing a changing external environment that demanded a swift pre-emptive response. A recent change in the provincial government had also led to a restructuring of the Ontario health care system. What would be its next strategic move, to ensure that it was better positioned for imminent changes?

SmoothPay, a 14-people start-up in Canada that offered mobile payment and loyalty solutions, enjoyed initial achievements after its launch in 2014. In less than two years, through industry partnerships and community engagement, SmoothPay grew to have over 100 merchants in its system, with over 5,000 users. However, the future was full of risks and uncertainty: businesses and consumers in Canada were both slow in adopting mobile payments, and, as a small firm, SmoothPay had not yet established brand awareness. SmoothPay's management needed to address several key challenges. How could SmoothPay differentiate itself from its many competitors? What strategic direction should the company take? What market should SmoothPay target to enable sustainable growth?

SmoothPay, a 14-people start-up in Canada that offered mobile payment and loyalty solutions, enjoyed initial achievements after its launch in 2014. In less than two years, through industry partnerships and community engagement, SmoothPay grew to have over 100 merchants in its system, with over 5,000 users. However, the future was full of risks and uncertainty: businesses and consumers in Canada were both slow in adopting mobile payments, and, as a small firm, SmoothPay had not yet established brand awareness. SmoothPay’s management needed to address several key challenges. How could SmoothPay differentiate itself from its many competitors? What strategic direction should the company take? What market should SmoothPay target to enable sustainable growth?