Case A explores Goldman's corporate strategy and growth, charting its history from when Marcus Goldman moved to the US and launched a commercial paper business in 1869. It follows the firm's expansion in terms of its products/services, and its growth via acquisitions and alliances. Throughout the 20th century it built a reputation for innovation as a leader in M&A advisory, but remained firmly focused on investment and wholesale banking (the B2B side). Subsequently, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and a period of underperforming on the stock market, Goldman pivoted to retail banking in search of new growth and more stable sources of income. How effective its strategy would be remained to be seen. Case B explores how Goldman Sachs built the capabilities to enter consumer finance - a whole new market. Whereas others entered the market through acquisitions, alliances, or internal development, Goldman began by recruiting talent and gradually building a consumer business internally, then adding a combination of bolt-on acquisitions, partnerships, and further internal initiatives. The case ends in 2022 with the question: Did Goldman Sachs choose the right strategy?

Case A explores Goldman's corporate strategy and growth, charting its history from when Marcus Goldman moved to the US and launched a commercial paper business in 1869. It follows the firm's expansion in terms of its products/services, and its growth via acquisitions and alliances. Throughout the 20th century it built a reputation for innovation as a leader in M&A advisory, but remained firmly focused on investment and wholesale banking (the B2B side). Subsequently, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and a period of underperforming on the stock market, Goldman pivoted to retail banking in search of new growth and more stable sources of income. How effective its strategy would be remained to be seen. Case B explores how Goldman Sachs built the capabilities to enter consumer finance - a whole new market. Whereas others entered the market through acquisitions, alliances, or internal development, Goldman began by recruiting talent and gradually building a consumer business internally, then adding a combination of bolt-on acquisitions, partnerships, and further internal initiatives. The case ends in 2022 with the question: Did Goldman Sachs choose the right strategy?

When IBM set about commercializing its artificial intelligence-driven Watson AI in the healthcare market, its early successes were widely publicized. Senior managers and the media claimed that its diagnostic features would soon surpass those of the sharpest doctors. The case describes the large gap between what was promised and what happened in practice, offering insider insights on why IBM's projects failed. As the corporate commitment to AI escalated in response to successful lab results, cognitive dissonance arose between managers' expectations and what they could actually deliver. How could that have happened? Three reasons for Watson's downfall are explored: 1) The tendency for societal expectations to exceed the actual technical capabilities, leading to a gap in perception between AI in the lab and AI in the field. 2) Overselling of the economic benefits of AI by the salesforce; 3) Failure to secure the cooperation of key stakeholders, notably doctors who were asked to improve the performance of AI but were undermined by claims that AI could outperform them.

MiracleFeet, a US-based non-profit, improves access to high-quality treatment of clubfoot in low-income countries, typically in partnership with public hospitals and local NGOs, by providing low-cost foot braces, training, advocacy, awareness-raising and financial and operational support. It aims to treat 100,000 children by 2024 across 70 countries - half of them middle-income countries. Having succeeded in low-income settings, it now plans to target middle-income countries, starting with the Philippines, convinced it can make an impact by taking a different strategic approach. However, the middle-income segment proves less straightforward than anticipated, even if healthcare infrastructure is more developed and families can cover some of the costs. The narrative follows the non-profit across a decade of development, culminating with the question: what can MiracleFeet do differently to ensure its service offering succeeds in the Philippines, and then rolled out to other middle-income countries?

This case looks at the business and cultural transformation at Microsoft under CEO Satya Nadella, who took over in 2014 when the company had fallen prey to political infighting and the dominance of Windows over all else. The Microsoft veteran drove change from the top, inspiring others with the rallying cry "mobile-first and cloud-first", and inviting a mindfulness teacher to facilitate meetings of the senior leadership team. Open, honest and humble, he toured the company and its customers' offices worldwide, listening and gathering insights. Insisting that new products and services could only be developed if the offering was unique, he unleashed a culture change where staff began to embrace innovation. The case ends in October 2017, amidst glowing reports of progress under Nadella, who personally achieved 145% on the company's 'Culture and Organisational Leadership'goals. Yet there was still work to do - issues such as developing talent, reducing US-centricity, and shrinking the bureaucracy. Could the transformation be capsized by hidden icebergs? Would Microsoft stay on course with organisational learning and innovation once he was no longer at the helm?

ORTA Anadolu, a denim manufacturer based in Turkey that produces jeans for major global brands, is seeking to embrace the movement for a circular economy by redesigning its products and processes. How easy is the task facing director Sedef Uncu? What are the barriers to and enablers for 'circular' fashion?

The case charts the success of Chinese hot pot restaurant chain, Haidilao, from humble beginnings to international expansion, with a focus on how an emotion-based culture is created and sustained to deliver high performance. Chinese hot pot - a blend of meat and vegetables - is boiled by customers in a broth and eaten with a variety of sauces. There was nothing special about the food, but what differentiated Haidilao was the service, which catapulted the company to the number 1 spot in its segment and had diners queueing for up to two hours. The secret sauce was the company's attention to the welfare of its employees, who were encouraged to work hard to progress fast. The culture - that competitors its could not emulate - is explored in the case, including the five-part HR system, welfare system, extended family aspects, and ability to adapt (while retaining key cultural markers). The case also looks at attention to product quality and Haidilao's national and international expansion, asking how far its approach is sustainable in the future.

Mastercard, the global payments company, is known as a leader in privacy by design; senior leaders promote data responsibility and employees follow strict ethical guidelines and robust frameworks to manage and protect data. The company views AI as a significant part of its strategy going forward, using it to fight fraud, improve the consumer payment experience, increase efficiencies and decrease costs in back-end systems. When Mastercard created its AI Garage in 2018, its vision was to become an AI powerhouse. Realizing the special attention AI development efforts need, several leaders in the organization co-created the AI Governance Council and a framework to structure the company's approach to governing AI. The application of this framework led to several significant decisions, including walking away from two acquisitions. Mastercard believes that the combination of a solid Privacy by Design process and additional governance specific to AI - "the AI governance framework" - is the right approach for the long term to maintain consumer trust. Yet, while being a trusted guardian of data with this robust AI governance framework, Mastercard also faces the costs of its high accountability stance - forcing it to make appropriate organizational and managerial choices as well as ensuring that AI governance does not result in a reduction in innovation. The speed of AI integration and need for ethics in data practices will only increase. What does this mean for Mastercard's business model, profitability and innovation capabilities in the future?

The case is about the continuous entrepreneurial transformation, over two decades, of a company in terms of increasingly advanced technologies and international product markets. It describes how Geely, a leading player in the global automotive industry, started in the 1980s with its founder capitalizing on a series of opportunities during the time of China's high growth. It illustrates how Geely has evolved its technological competence from low-end refrigerators to high-end electric vehicles and mobility systems by deploying growth strategies as diverse as organic growth, acquisition, and integration of businesses across countries. In the process, Geely has turned itself from a late mover and imitator to a strategic innovator and pacesetter in an industry that faces disruption in terms of technology and customer behavior. The case details the phases of Geely's development (from fridges to motorcycles, from motorcycles to cars, and from cars to EVs and mobility solutions). It tracks how Geely's founder, Li Shufu, created a highly successful enterprise in a rapidly growing home market and realigning global economy. The case recounts episodes characterized by continuous improvement and by radical departures from standard practices. Li's entrepreneurial attitude to leveraging available resources step-by-step toward successful deployment is important in turning an affinity for innovation into a competitive advantage and to benefit from China's large market, powerful stakeholders and growing income. At the end of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, several large and outsized companies that dominated the headlines about Chinese technology giants had become targets of increasing scrutiny by stakeholders in Chinese society. At the end of the case, students are asked to make a choice: Maintain the status quo of high growth; focus on incrementally increasing the quality of growth; or go for a major change?

At luxury fashion house Maison Chloé, minds were focused on the first collection of new Creative Director, Gabriela Hearst, which was just hitting the stores. Chloé's CEO, Riccardo Bellini, had recruited Gabriela, known for her commitment to sustainability through her own brand, to epitomize the Maison's new responsible purpose. Riccardo, along with Sustainability Director Aude Vergne, had been swift to accelerate Chloé's purpose-led transformation in an industry that materially contributed to the planet's environmental and social problems. They had focused particularly on the social aspects of ESG in order to impact the environmental ones. But the "S" was definitely harder than the "E." The case explores the transformation steps put in place across Chloé's supply chain, design, governance of the sustainability transformation, and B Corp certification application. Transforming in less than two years was a sprint, and the stress had taken its toll. The case closes asking whether the transformation would make a difference: Would lower impact products be welcomed by consumers, and was Chloé doing enough to ensure the continuing desirability of luxury in rapidly changing times? For luxury-focused classes, the case emphasis can be on discovering what it takes to become a purposeful luxury brand.