個案總覽

Eco Cookstoves (EC), an American social enterprise teamed up with the ZSB Foundation in 2007 to reduce indoor air pollution. This case describes EC's strategy of developing custom high-performance cookstoves for the base of the pyramid (BOP) households and its expansion into Honduras and Mexico that began in 2011. The social enterprise was successful in opening an assembly plant in Honduras in 2014 by partnering with the Honduran Government. While the government programs enabled EC to partner with a local non-profit to distribute free eco-friendly planchas to Honduran customers, such programs did not exist in Mexico. So, in 2015, EC had to decide which foreign entry strategy was right for the Mexican market. This case gives instructors the unique opportunity to discuss environmental sustainability issues, apply the Triple Bottomline framework in the context of international entry strategies, and effective social innovation to mitigate indoor air pollution and climate risk.

With a passion for coffee inspired by her experience overseas, Grace enrolled in a coffee school to learn how to roast her own coffee. With the business skills she had obtained during her MBA program, Grace, along with two partners (Mr. Wang from Beijing and Chester Shen from Shanghai), was exploring the possibility of opening a coffee shop in Shanghai in 2014. This case gives students the opportunity to evaluate Grace's entrepreneurial intentions, capabilities, and passion in addition to assessing competitive conditions in the coffee industry in China and make a recommendation to the protagonist regarding her proposed café in Xujiahui mall location.