In late 2019, the Mississauga, Ontario–based NetDynamic Consulting Inc. (NetDynamic) faced intricate challenges related to aligning and standardizing enterprise resource planning (ERP) processes on a global scale in a large multinational enterprise while simultaneously safeguarding the distinctive operational nuances specific to each of the company’s local subsidiaries. <br><br>NetDynamic had undertaken the challenge of integrating the operations of its client, SodaStream Canada, into a unified ERP system. SodaStream Canada was a subsidiary of SodaStream International Ltd. (SodaStream), headquartered in Israel. While SodaStream was part of the food and beverage multinational PepsiCo Inc. (PepsiCo), it was also a multinational in its own right, with 10 global subsidiaries under its purview. NetDynamic’s leaders needed to make crucial decisions regarding how to roll out the new ERP system, how to efficiently address end-user concerns, and how to learn from the ongoing integration to serve future clients better.
In March 2021, the founder of Hampstead Tea, a specialty-tea processor based in London, United Kingdom, found herself at a crossroads. Since 1995, the founder had been exporting packaged tea to countries in the European Union (EU) as well as selling it locally in the UK market. But effective December 31, 2020, the United Kingdom had exited the EU; in 2021, companies in the two regions could no longer buy and sell goods freely across their borders. Uncertainty had gripped the flow of trade during the first three months of the new year. In March 2021, the founder was examining three options going forward: (1) divest the EU operations and focus on the UK market; (2) continue to cater to both the home market and the UK market, as before; and (3) relocate to a geography within the EU to focus on EU markets. The case offers a useful and engaging way of presenting to students the principles of effectuation as it relates to business entrepreneurship.
A business world characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) presents many leadership and governance challenges to businesses large and small. Smaller family firms, in particular, need to demonstrate resilience both in navigating changes that arise from VUCA conditions and in staying firm on the core purpose with which their enterprises were founded.<br><br>Cases A and B present the approach of a family firm based in Toronto, Canada, that manufactures and markets industrial vacuum systems. The cases provide an opportunity for instructors to convey the trials and tribulations faced by the founder and his successor in building a purpose-driven organization and in staying on the committed path of responsible leadership and governance.
A business world characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) presents many leadership and governance challenges to businesses large and small. Smaller family firms, in particular, need to demonstrate resilience both in navigating changes that arise from VUCA conditions and in staying firm on the core purpose with which their enterprises were founded.<br><br>Cases A and B present the approach of a family firm based in Toronto, Canada, that manufactures and markets industrial vacuum systems. The cases provide an opportunity for instructors to convey the trials and tribulations faced by the founder and his successor in building a purpose-driven organization and in staying on the committed path of responsible leadership and governance.
In June 2022, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Worn Again Technologies (Worn Again), a polymer recycling technology company based in London, United Kingdom, was examining the way forward with a new technology that the company had developed and fine-tuned. The technology had been tested successfully at the company’s demonstration plant in Switzerland and was capable of processing fifty thousand tons of material per year. The CEO now needed to find new markets where the technology could be set up and scaled for commercialization.
In March 2021, the wholesale distributor of home décor products SBO Distributors Ltd. (or SWISSBO), based in Vancouver, Canada, was considering an opportunity for strategic analysis. The firm was at a crossroads in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic had led to a setback in the company’s revenues and margins—seemingly, a temporary setback. The wholesaler was now facing a make-or-break dilemma that involved a new growth opportunity to move up the value chain toward retailing.
The chief technology officer of a leading pharmaceutical distributor in the US is facing a crossroads. Driven by the company’s mission of “reimagining healthcare,” his team has just conducted a pilot of blockchain. Having designed the blockchain and tested it in real-world conditions, the team is now keen to use it in the company’s supply chain. As the team leader, the CTO is grappling with how to move forward. How can he ensure he chooses the right business partners for incubating blockchain technology at Cardinal? And how can he ensure he chooses the right business processes for implementing blockchain technology?
In February 2022, Spotify Technology SA (Spotify), a global music and podcast enterprise headquartered in Sweden, reached an inflection point. Six weeks prior, the company had uploaded a routine podcast by Joe Rogan, one of its celebrity content creators. During that podcast, a virologist Rogan had invited to the show made controversial remarks on the way policy-makers worldwide had been handling the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The virologist also made medically false statements about COVID-19 vaccines. Outrage from the scientific community followed in the form of an open letter, with multiple battlefronts quickly unfolding thereafter. How would Spotify deal with the situation in the immediate term and plan a strategy for the long term? Could Spotify convert the crisis into an opportunity?
In September 2019, Mircom Technologies Limited faced a serious crisis after sustaining a ransomware attack. The medium-sized manufacturer based in Toronto, Canada had been offering smart building solutions for almost two decades. The attackers encrypted all of the company’s data, halting all business systems and processes that relied on information technology, including email, voice-over-Internet phones, manufacturing, billing, shipping, and receiving. The company was suddenly unable to conduct basic business operations. The attackers demanded a large payment in bitcoin in exchange for a decryption key that would allow the company to access its data. Over the next several weeks, Mircom Technologies Limited faced unforeseen challenges in its attempt to recover its data, negotiate with the attackers, and eventually find a way to successfully restore normal operations.