Since its opening in Beijing in November 2007 as the first non-profit art center in China, UCCA had been operating with the mission to "promote the continued development of the Chinese art scene, foster international exchange, and showcase the latest in art and culture to hundreds of thousands of visitors each year." For the past six years, UCCA had worked with more than 100 artists and designers to present 87 art exhibitions and 1,826 public programs to over 1.8 million visitors, including many important leaders from all over the world. Given the context of the economic and political environment in the rapidly changing Chinese art market, the founders and senior management of UCCA wondered what they could do to achieve growth and financial viability while continuing to realize their mission.

Discourses on the links between eating, health, and social standing in America have deep roots. As mechanisms of food production, distribution and storage were developed in the nineteenth century, Americans began receiving information about what to and not-to eat, from public and religious figures, scientists, government officials, and food companies. In an increasingly industrializing and urbanizing society, such information translated into consumer decisions that had both economic and cultural antecedents and consequences. Even before the growth in the market for organic, health, and gourmet foods in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, food choices were associated with lifestyle.

The production, valuation, and consumption of contemporary art are guided by cultural and economic forces that play out in primary and secondary markets. Artists seek the attention of art dealers, who, along with auction houses, play a large role in determining what is and is not innovative and important-and therefore valuable-in the market. Museums, collectors, and critics also play a significant role in affecting public perception and valuation of works of art, while ancillary service providers such as advisors, insurers, and private wealth management and financial services firms support the workings of the market.

In 2014, the restaurant Noma, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, was considered to be amongst the best restaurants in the world, and its co-founder, co-owner and chef, René Redzepi, among the most influential chefs. The restaurant was also leading the new Nordic food movement, a movement focused on rediscovering Nordic cuisine and ingredients, which had helped increase the popularity of Danish cuisine. Since 2013 Noma had a new investor, the American Marc Blazer, who joined to help Redzepi increase the restaurant's margins to make it a more sustainable business. But the question was-how? What options really were available?

The case on Randy Weiner explores the tensions between artistic and financial imperatives in a for-profit immersive theater venture. In order to revive the dormant Manhattan nightclub "The Diamond Horseshoe," theater-impresario Randy Weiner created "The Queen of the Night," a hybrid performance that combines food, opera, circus arts, and dance. While "The Queen of the Night" is the latest in a string of productions categorized as "immersive theater," a category Weiner is credited with inventing, it is also more expensive and more artistically risky than anything he has ever done before. Has Weiner finally gone too far, or will he be able to pull this off? This case explores the creation of a market for immersive theater, as well as structures Weiner has created to fund, manage, and create his productions. Additionally, this case examines the psyche of Weiner, a successful artist-entrepreneur, and investigates the role of risk, controversy, and the line between avant-garde and controversial art in creating works that are both financially profitable and artistically impactful.

Created in 1900 by the tire manufacturer Michelin, the Michelin Restaurant Guide was widely considered the international benchmark of food rating, and, by 2013, boasted paper editions in 23 countries, and had recently expanded to the United States and Asia. Paper sales however had dropped, following the emergence of free, online guides, global players, and more broadly, the wider diffusion of the Internet. In 2012, the Guide had launched a new range of services targeting restaurateurs. The Director of the Guide was contemplating developing the Guide even more internationally and on digital formats, but also knew he needed to limit costs.

Ministry of Supply is an entrepreneurial venture in the apparel sector. The firm focuses on a specific segment - 'performance professional wear' - within the sector, specializing in clothes that use fabrics with high-tech performance features (such as moisture-wicking, deodorizing, and temperature control) to make professional attire (button-down shirts, dress pants, etc.) for men. The firm has had success in fund-raising and its innovative product has garnered it good publicity, but the unusual combination of seemingly contradictory features - performance fabrics commonly used in outdoor leisure activities and a professional look and design - in the product has also generated cognitive challenges among consumers. How, if at all, can the firm increase the sales of its products?

Founded in 1995 by Zhang Xin and her husband Mr. Pan Shiyi, SOHO China has developed into a world-class real estate development firm that has consistently delivered high-quality projects known for their cutting-edge designs and investment potential. Despite the tremendous success of the firm, Zhang Xin still looks at the future with great uncertainty. Average residential pricing in China has dropped, as government continues to put downward pressure on residential housing prices through restrictions on the number of apartments a resident is allowed to purchase, and aggressive promotion of affordable housing on the low-end of the market. Zhang Xin wonders what opportunities and threats such market conditions present to SOHO. On the sales and marketing front, SOHO China has historically been geographically-focused only on high-end, design-driven projects in Shanghai and Beijing. As the market became more competitive, Zhang Xin wondered what key strategic decisions in regards to design, financing, and sales the company would need to make in order to maintain its competitive advantage in China.

Atavist, a start-up founded by journalists, publishes enhanced ebook singles as well as the software to create enhanced ebooks. The company is currently engaged in both publishing and software development, but as they raise funding and grow, must decide whether to focus on one or the other.

The French film magazine Cahiers du Cinema contributed to strengthening the characterization of film as art in France. The note provides background information on the magazine's history, on the French film industry and on French film magazines

The Sundance case raises the question of how markets for innovative cultural products can be created and what the role of intermediaries in creative industries ought to be. The case describes the history of the Sundance Institute, which was founded by actor/director Robert Redford to promote independent filmmaking. Started as a "Lab," where independent filmmakers could work on their film projects, the Institute soon expanded to organize the Sundance Film Festival in order to facilitate the exhibition and distribution of independent films, including those not supported by the Sundance Labs. Thirty years after Sundance was founded, its top management team wonders whether the mission of Sundance would be best served by increasing and improving the supply of independent films in the market, or by educating consumers to create an audience for independent cinema.

Chanel, the iconic haute couture house, founded by Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel in 1913, came to embody its founder's philosophy, taste, and style and set a distinctive and influential tone for women's fashion. Coming to prominence during the height of cultural modernity in the 1920s and 1930s, Chanel's designs wrapped high and low cultural references into beautiful yet practical clothing and jewelry for women of Europe and the Americas. In their articulation of clean, classic lines, her designs set a standard for women's fashion and clothing, relevant from 1910 through to the 1960s. She created several iconic but understated staples of many women's wardrobes, such as her signature cardigan and suit, the quilted handbag with a chain-link strap, which left its wearer's hands free, and "the little black dress," all of which continue to be part of women's wardrobes today in some shape and form. Chanel died in 1971 leaving the future of the brand and its leadership uncertain.

The case is useful for teaching students the structure of creative industries and the issues to consider when attempting disruptive innovation and entrepreneurship in these industries.

Moda Operandi is a startup in the fashion industry. The firm organizes online trunk shows of designers' collections, allowing its members to directly order clothes from the collections shown in Fashion Weeks all over the world. Moda Operandi conveys the preorders to the designers and the members receive their clothes six months later. The founders of Moda Operandi - Aslaug Magnusdottir and Lauren Santo Domingo - believe that the firm has the potential to address and eliminate inefficiencies in the fashion industry. While the founders plan to include editorial content on the site, the question is - can Moda Operandi succeed despite removing an essential piece of the fashion industry?