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In 2016, Reliance Jio Infocomm (R-Jio) was a late entrant in India’s overcrowded but growing telecommunications (telecom) market. By 2019–20, the wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) was India’s number-one telecom company in terms of both profits and market capitalization. The industry’s incumbents were expected to retaliate against the new entrant; however, they could not compete against R-Jio’s heavily discounted offerings. Within six months, R-Jio had achieved its goal of attracting a subscriber base of 100 million. Although R-Jio intended to remain a leading player in India’s digital future, could it sustain its run of success? Would R-Jio be able to leverage its present and future investments and manage risk sufficiently to achieve its optimistic objectives? India’s telecom industry faced a dynamically changing and technology-driven future. How could R-Jio ensure it continued to play a leading role in India’s telecom industry?

In 2016, Reliance Jio Infocomm (R-Jio) was a late entrant in India's overcrowded but growing telecommunications (telecom) market. By 2019-20, the wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) was India's number-one telecom company in terms of both profits and market capitalization. The industry's incumbents were expected to retaliate against the new entrant; however, they could not compete against R-Jio's heavily discounted offerings. Within six months, R-Jio had achieved its goal of attracting a subscriber base of 100 million. Although R-Jio intended to remain a leading player in India's digital future, could it sustain its run of success? Would R-Jio be able to leverage its present and future investments and manage risk sufficiently to achieve its optimistic objectives? India's telecom industry faced a dynamically changing and technology-driven future. How could R-Jio ensure it continued to play a leading role in India's telecom industry?

In 2016, Fair and Handsome, a skin-whitening cream produced by Emami Limited, led the men's fairness skin cream category in India, with a market share of 60 per cent. In late 2017, however, the company faced both a public backlash and an adverse court decision about its marketing of the product. A growing movement called Dark is Beautiful was galvanizing support against companies that portrayed fairer skin colour as a means for both personal and professional fulfillment. The company had also appealed a lower court's decision to ban the company's use of skin whitening in its advertisements. Since the product was earmarked for significant growth in the next five years, the company needed to develop an immediate response. What should it do?

In 2016, Fair and Handsome, a skin-whitening cream produced by Emami Limited, led the men's fairness skin cream category in India, with a market share of 60 per cent. In late 2017, however, the company faced both a public backlash and an adverse court decision about its marketing of the product. A growing movement called Dark is Beautiful was galvanizing support against companies that portrayed fairer skin colour as a means for both personal and professional fulfillment. The company had also appealed a lower court's decision to ban the company's use of skin whitening in its advertisements. Since the product was earmarked for significant growth in the next five years, the company needed to develop an immediate response. What should it do?

Cipla Global Ltd. (CGL) is a real-life, undisguised decision case. CGL is one of India's top pharmaceutical companies. Thanks to India's process patent regime (1970-2005), Dr. Yusuf Hamied, the company's chairman, managed to catapult the company to its position as a leading generics manufacturer. However, in 2005, India changed its Patents Act to make it TRIPS compliant. Faced with Western pharmaceutical companies' 'evergreening', CGL became a prominent crusader against multinationals. It fought and won patent cases in Indian courts. On the other hand, the government of India took advantage of the TRIPS provisions to authorize Indian companies to manufacture copies of patented drugs without the patent holder's permission. This infuriated Western pharmaceutical companies because they saw this provision as an infringement on their rights, which would lead to decreased revenues. As a consequence, they started lobbying their respective governments to put pressure on the Indian government. The case ends with a dilemma about the best course of action for CGL going forward, given the various options offered by the industry, on the one hand, and the ambitions of its chairman, on the other.