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In early 2020, during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Google Trends data revealed a surge in the use of the search terms "Corona beer virus" and "beer virus" by users of the Google search engine. A survey conducted around that time also seemed to suggest that consumers were less likely to buy Corona beer, which led various major media outlets to misrepresent the accuracy of the findings regarding consumer beliefs about the association between Corona beer and coronavirus. However, the chief executive officer of Constellation Brands Inc., the Corona brand's distributor, was confident about the brand's performance and did not change the company's plans for a US spring 2020 launch of Corona hard seltzer. Consumers criticized both the poor timing of the planned launch, during the coronavirus pandemic, and various promotions for Corona beer that were considered inappropriate. Constellation Brands Inc. had to consider the effect, if any, on Corona beer sales in the United States. Should the launch of Corona hard seltzer go on as planned during the coronavirus pandemic? How should the company respond to misleading survey reports by some media outlets? Should bar owners in the United States be cautioned against launching promotional campaigns that link the Corona beer brand with the coronavirus?

California-based Vivos Group (Vivos) built and sold luxury bunkers designed to withstand catastrophes. The founder himself had acknowledged that the majority of US residents could not afford them: while competitors offered bunkers with down payments as low as a US$1,300 —which middle-income consumers could afford—Vivos’s $35,000+ bunkers were for the rich. By May 2020, several of Vivos’s bunker properties were sold out, but it was uncertain whether this indicated some permanent change in consumers’ buying behaviour or an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vivos’s founder now faced several challenges: should he focus on constructing more luxury apartment-based bunkers or low-cost, community-sharing bunkers to provide consumers with protection from COVID-19? What aspects of bunker management should he improve, given the criticism that bunker companies had made false claims about the air filtration systems in the bunkers? How could he help Vivos achieve growth in the long run?

Noora Health, an India-based non-profit, through its Care Compassion Program (CCP), which was based on human-centred design principles, aimed to reduce readmission rates and complications after patients were discharged from the hospital. While implementing the program in several hospitals across India, the chief executive officer of Noora Health faced several challenges. These challenges included convincing nurses to train patients' family members in caregiving and increasing the scope and scale of the CCP. By early 2019, Noora Health had successfully implemented the program across 110 hospitals in India. What should the company further undertake to prove the program's effectiveness and enhance its scope and scale?

In March 2019, Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft were grounded worldwide. This was a consequence of two deadly plane crashes within five months in late 2018 and early 2019. In both the crashes, the flawed design of the aircraft led to an erroneous reading of the onboard sensors. This, in turn, activated the stall prevention software of the aircraft, which kept pushing the nose of the aircraft down. Boeing was alleged to have hastily developed the 737 MAX aircraft in response to the Airbus A320neo.<br><br>In August 2019, Dennis Muilenburg, CEO of Boeing, was hopeful that services of 737 MAX could resume within a couple of months. How should Muilenburg deal with the crisis? To what extent should he worry about the increasing competitive rivalry with Airbus?

Beyond Meat Inc. (Beyond Meat), a manufacturer of plant-based protein products founded in 2009 and based in Los Angeles, California, had become a success, despite supply chain and manufacturing issues. However, as competition flooded the market, the firm’s founder and chief executive officer (CEO) faced a number of challenges: Beyond Meat was investing more and more in differentiation and innovation, and even refining the recipe of its bestselling Beyond Burger—something the CEO himself considered risky. Beyond Meat filed for an initial public offering in May 2019, and by the end of July 2019, the company’s share price had increased by over 800 per cent, but analysts considered Beyond Meat stocks to be overvalued given that the company’s increasing revenues and high-priced products had not prevented increasing losses. Still, Beyond Meat was expected to disrupt the animal-based protein industry. What should the CEO do to justify the valuation of Beyond Meat? How should he handle competitive forces? Did his venture hold any potential to disrupt the animal protein industry?

Beyond Meat Inc. (Beyond Meat), a manufacturer of plant-based protein products founded in 2009 and based in Los Angeles, California, had become a success, despite supply chain and manufacturing issues. However, as competition flooded the market, the firm's founder and chief executive officer (CEO) faced a number of challenges: Beyond Meat was investing more and more in differentiation and innovation, and even refining the recipe of its bestselling Beyond Burger-something the CEO himself considered risky. Beyond Meat filed for an initial public offering in May 2019, and by the end of July 2019, the company's share price had increased by over 800 per cent, but analysts considered Beyond Meat stocks to be overvalued given that the company's increasing revenues and high-priced products had not prevented increasing losses. Still, Beyond Meat was expected to disrupt the animal-based protein industry. What should the CEO do to justify the valuation of Beyond Meat? How should he handle competitive forces? Did his venture hold any potential to disrupt the animal protein industry?

In February 2020, the board of directors of the French energy utility company, Engie SA (Engie), terminated the services of the company’s chief executive officer (CEO). Before her departure, this CEO was the only female CEO among the Cotation Assistée en Continu (CAC) 40 benchmark stock market index of firms. After becoming CEO in May 2016, she divested billions of dollars’ worth of fossil-fuel assets and reinvested the proceeds in renewable and energy efficiency services. Her goal was to restructure the loss-making energy company, but the board of directors was not satisfied with her performance. Despite an improvement in the company’s financial performance during her tenure, Engie remained one of the lowest-valued energy utility companies on European stock exchanges. With a focus on renewable energy, Engie’s relative performance continued to suffer. The chair of the company’s board of directors had to determine the cause of the company’s stock market performance and find ways to improve. He also had to consider what other factors, in addition to value creation for shareholders, should be used as a performance measure for the next CEO.

Noora Health, an India-based non-profit, through its Care Compassion Program (CCP), which was based on human-centred design principles, aimed to reduce readmission rates and complications after patients were discharged from the hospital. While implementing the program in several hospitals across India, the chief executive officer of Noora Health faced several challenges. These challenges included convincing nurses to train patients’ family members in caregiving and increasing the scope and scale of the CCP. By early 2019, Noora Health had successfully implemented the program across 110 hospitals in India. What should the company further undertake to prove the program’s effectiveness and enhance its scope and scale?

Primark was a low-cost, fast-fashion clothing retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom. The company's low-priced clothing enticed consumers, but it also attracted criticism for exploitative labor practices in the low-cost economies where Primark's manufacturing was outsourced. However, Primark believed that it created jobs in low-cost economies, and its low prices were the result of efficient initiatives such as no online presence and limited advertising. Experts suggested that the absence of an e-commerce division was a strategic mistake. In October 2019, the company's chief executive officer was challenged with synchronizing Primark's low-cost strategy with its sustainability initiatives and deciding on the company's online presence.

The case discusses the international expansion strategy of The WeWork Company (WeWork), a co-working space company. In the United States and Europe, the expansion of WeWork occurred through greenfield investment; membership focus was on freelancers and entrepreneurs. In Asian markets such as India, where WeWork entered through a joint venture, enterprise customers were the revenue generators. In June 2019, a co-founder of WeWork considered buying the entire stake of its partner in the Indian joint venture. However, given that revenues continuously remained lower than losses, investors doubted the expansion strategy and business model of WeWork. Should WeWork’s pace of expansion be slowed? Can WeWork’s business model be revamped for more profitable returns, and if so, should it?

The case discusses the international expansion strategy of The WeWork Company (WeWork), a co-working space company. In the United States and Europe, the expansion of WeWork occurred through greenfield investment; membership focus was on freelancers and entrepreneurs. In Asian markets such as India, where WeWork entered through a joint venture, enterprise customers were the revenue generators. In June 2019, a co-founder of WeWork considered buying the entire stake of its partner in the Indian joint venture. However, given that revenues continuously remained lower than losses, investors doubted the expansion strategy and business model of WeWork. Should WeWork's pace of expansion be slowed? Can WeWork's business model be revamped for more profitable returns, and if so, should it?

The case discusses how cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin posed a threat to Visa Inc. (Visa). In March 2019, the Kroger Co., a leading retailer in the United States, was planning to accept cryptocurrencies from consumers as a mode of payment. According to Alfred F. Kelly, the chief executive officer of Visa, cryptocurrencies were an inefficient means of retail-related financial transactions, though the company invested in the research and development of cryptocurrency for corporate transaction purposes such as cross-border payments. Should Kelly consider cryptocurrency as a disruptive force in the retail sector? Should she focus more on the retail or the business to business sector for cryptocurrency-based transactions?

In March 2019, Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft were grounded worldwide. This was a consequence of two deadly plane crashes within five months in late 2018 and early 2019. In both the crashes, the flawed design of the aircraft led to an erroneous reading of the onboard sensors. This, in turn, activated the stall prevention software of the aircraft, which kept pushing the nose of the aircraft down. Boeing was alleged to have hastily developed the 737 MAX aircraft in response to the Airbus A320neo. In August 2019, Dennis Muilenburg, CEO of Boeing, was hopeful that services of 737 MAX could resume within a couple of months. How should Muilenburg deal with the crisis? To what extent should he worry about the increasing competitive rivalry with Airbus?

In December 2018, US-based Virgin Galactic LLC (Virgin Galactic), a commercial space tourism company founded by Sir Richard Branson, launched its first successful crewed test spacecraft. The company’s goal was to launch suborbital space tourism in 2019. However, experts and critics voiced concerns that Virgin Galactic’s space tourism program could have adverse environmental and health effects. A prominent astronaut also considered Branson’s space program to be a marketing gimmick aimed at ultra-rich consumers. Branson believed that Virgin Galactic caused less environmental pollution than conventional air travel and with time would become affordable. Could Branson make space tourism a feasible reality in the long term? Was Branson right to claim that space tourism would become affordable over time? Should he pursue multiple business opportunities, such as intercontinental space travel and supporting research and development projects, along with space tourism?

In December 2018, US-based Virgin Galactic LLC (Virgin Galactic), a commercial space tourism company founded by Sir Richard Branson, launched its first successful crewed test spacecraft. The company's goal was to launch suborbital space tourism in 2019. However, experts and critics voiced concerns that Virgin Galactic's space tourism program could have adverse environmental and health effects. A prominent astronaut also considered Branson's space program to be a marketing gimmick aimed at ultra-rich consumers. Branson believed that Virgin Galactic caused less environmental pollution than conventional air travel and with time would become affordable. Could Branson make space tourism a feasible reality in the long term? Was Branson right to claim that space tourism would become affordable over time? Should he pursue multiple business opportunities, such as intercontinental space travel and supporting research and development projects, along with space tourism?

In April 2018, two black customers were arrested at a Starbucks Corporation (Starbucks) outlet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after one of the two men asked to use the restroom while the pair were waiting to meet someone. After a video of the arrest went viral on social media, Kevin Johnson, the chief executive officer of Starbucks, immediately apologized to the men and, further, announced that the company would hold racial bias training across all Starbucks stores in the United States. Johnson was criticized for the presumption that a half-day training session could possibly resolve racial bias issues. Employees also expressed their dissatisfaction with the training program. Johnson also announced an open-toilets policy, which was also criticized, raising several questions: Had Johnson managed the crisis appropriately? How could he make such training effective? Should Johnson change his open-toilets policy? Should he reconsider his decision to conduct such training at the cost of future revenues?

In April 2018, two black customers were arrested at a Starbucks Corporation (Starbucks) outlet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after one of the two men asked to use the restroom while the pair were waiting to meet someone. After a video of the arrest went viral on social media, Kevin Johnson, the chief executive officer of Starbucks, immediately apologized to the men and, further, announced that the company would hold racial bias training across all Starbucks stores in the United States. Johnson was criticized for the presumption that a half-day training session could possibly resolve racial bias issues. Employees also expressed their dissatisfaction with the training program. Johnson also announced an open-toilets policy, which was also criticized, raising several questions: Had Johnson managed the crisis appropriately? How could he make such training effective? Should Johnson change his open-toilets policy? Should he reconsider his decision to conduct such training at the cost of future revenues?

Kanopy LLC (Kanopy) was a video streaming platform that hosted independent and documentary films for educative purposes. Founded in 2008, Kanopy had rapidly expanded to several countries. By 2017, it had more than 3,000 college libraries and several public libraries as subscribers. Although Kanopy’s services were received with much enthusiasm, under Kanopy’s pay-per-view pricing model, libraries soon incurred subscription fees that exceeded their budgets. Kanopy’s popularity became an impediment to growth as libraries cancelled subscriptions or switched to more restrictive models. By December 2019, even though Kanopy’s revenues were increasing, the company’s founder needed to consider how to ensure the company’s continued growth. Given libraries’ constrained budgets, what changes did Kanopy need to make to sell its streaming services to libraries?

Primark was a low-cost, fast-fashion clothing retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom. The company’s low-priced clothing enticed consumers, but it also attracted criticism for exploitative labor practices in the low-cost economies where Primark’s manufacturing was outsourced. However, Primark believed that it created jobs in low-cost economies, and its low prices were the result of efficient initiatives such as no online presence and limited advertising. Experts suggested that the absence of an e-commerce division was a strategic mistake. In October 2019, the company’s chief executive officer was challenged with synchronizing Primark’s low-cost strategy with its sustainability initiatives and deciding on the company’s online presence.

In March 2016, the chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Bank Ltd. (ICICI), one of the largest private sector banks in India, was accused of non-disclosure and exploitation of conflict of interest by an investor. The CEO, who had successfully led the bank since 2009, had been featured in two Forbes lists of the most powerful women in 2017. Initially, the ICICI board of directors supported the CEO for two years, until March 2018, when Indian regulatory agencies including the Central Bureau of Investigation opened investigations. In January 2019, following the findings of an internal investigation report by ICICI, the newly appointed chairman of the ICICI board terminated the CEO over non-disclosure of conflict of interest. The board chairman also demanded the return of all bonuses and stock options received by the CEO since her appointment in 2009. Was the ICICI board chairman right to take strict action against the CEO for non-disclosure of conflict of interest? What could he do to improve governance practices at ICICI?