A successful business executive and avid sailor had been thinking about new solutions to an old problem: safely transporting oil products. In late June 2014, the Canadian government had just approved a pipeline to carry bitumen from Alberta to the British Columbia coast. The immediate reaction from First Nations and environmental groups was extremely negative. Against this backdrop, the executive had put forward a radical proposal to refine the bitumen in British Columbia before shipping it across the Pacific Ocean. Ultimately, he would need a $10 billion loan guarantee from the federal government. In the short term, he needed $150 million to undertake a feasibility study. What, he wondered, was the best way to proceed?

A successful business executive and avid sailor had been thinking about new solutions to an old problem: safely transporting oil products. In late June 2014, the Canadian government had just approved a pipeline to carry bitumen from Alberta to the British Columbia coast. The immediate reaction from First Nations and environmental groups was extremely negative. Against this backdrop, the executive had put forward a radical proposal to refine the bitumen in British Columbia before shipping it across the Pacific Ocean. Ultimately, he would need a $10 billion loan guarantee from the federal government. In the short term, he needed $150 million to undertake a feasibility study. What, he wondered, was the best way to proceed?

The case describes the situation facing Vancity in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, in an environment where monetary policy was being used to stimulate the economy. The immediate decision facing the CEO was whether to raise interest rates on loans to make up for falling interest income. With close to zero per cent interest rates being advocated by the Bank of Canada, the spread between deposit and loan rates had narrowed to unprecedented levels. The situation was complicated for Vancity by its structure as a member-owned cooperative and its strategy of community engagement, as well as by its need to get members to sign consent to the rate change.

In 2008, the acquisition of the General Healthcare Group (GHG) in the United Kingdom had propelled Netcare Limited (Netcare) from a predominantly South African operation into one of the largest private hospital groups in the world. One of Netcare's key long-term goals was to deliver innovative, quality health-care solutions to patients in every continent. Recent South African parliamentary legislation had introduced the potential for regulated pricing and collective bargaining in medical centers, which could change the industry structure and possibly affect Netcare's strategy. As acquisition at home would be increasingly subject to stringent scrutiny from competition regulators, Netcare wondered what the impact of global acquisition would have on executing its strategy. What lessons could be learned from the GHG acquisition, how could those lessons be leveraged for further international growth, and what continent would be best suited to expansion? The case illustrates the international expansion strategies of Netcare, and illustrates the challenges of operating in an emerging market. The ability to overcome these challenges is the basis of a competitive advantage when entering developed markets.