This series of case studies lift the veil of wellness tourism, a popular but relatively niche market. Case A describes how wellness tourism had become more mainstream in recent years. At the foot of the Alps, there is a low-key luxury resort called Grand Resort Bad Ragaz. The resort Group organically combines the tradition of a family business and Swiss innovation in its strategy. On the one hand, all group-level decisions put the protection of the spring with about 800 years history as a prerequisite, and on the other, the resort group explores business opportunities with an open and creative mindset. However, in Europe, where the market was mature and saturated while the population was aging, how could wellness hospitality businesses stand out? Should Bad Ragaz Group keep focusing on loyal European guests who had already visited multiple times, or should they focus on new guests from Asia, especially China who seemed to be willing and able to visit more frequently and spend more in the future?

It had been one year since Anita Basu joined the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz as the Director of the Medical Center and member of the Executive Committee. Basu believed that the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz differentiated itself from other high-end resorts because of the centuries-old thermal spring and five-star experience that integrated medical treatment and other facilities. However, would the diversification of the facilities lead to the dilution of Bad Ragaz brand? Did the concept of holiday recreation and healthcare services bring synergy or conflict with each other? How would the aging population of Europe affect the Medical Center of Bad Ragaz? Basu read reports that pointed out the huge growth potential of the Chinese and Asian markets, but the past year was her first time seriously considering business development with Chinese customers and partners. It seemed that a direct shift in target audience from Europe to Asia might help Basu to increase the performance of the Medical Center or even the resort, but challenges like lack of mutual trust, legal differences, mismatched expectations, and language barriers had to be taken into consideration as well. Basu had to report to the CEO but hesitated as to whether she should propose a greater focus on Asian guests. If she should, how?

This case mainly describes how Shanghai Phoenix Bicycle Co., Ltd. (abbreviation: Phoenix), with a history of over 100 years, was disrupted and changed after multiple impacts brought on by the Internet and e-commerce, especially the bike-sharing business model and related new technologies. Phoenix evolved over time not only by opening up e-commerce channels, but also by extending its product offering from a single bike to multiple ones through vertical and horizontal diversification. It also formed a strategic partnership with ofo, a bike-sharing company, to participate in the design and manufacture of shared bikes and acquired resources and capabilities that were beneficial to the Phoenix brand's development throughout the process. As the President of Phoenix presiding over its difficulties, Wang Chaoyang had come to realize more and more clearly that the changes brought by bike-sharing to the bike industry would be disruptive. This disruptive change would eventually lead to the redefinition of bike products. And this redefinition would lead to the failure of the traditional business model in the bike industry. As a result, Phoenix had undergone fundamental changes in marketing, products, and manufacturing. However, how should Phoenix respond effectively? What resources and capabilities should Phoenix prepare in order to respond successfully? In July 2019, Wang Chaoyang had been facing these problems for a while.

This case series describes the dilemmas encountered by Shenzhen Chasm Security Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Chasm Security") in its three rounds of funding since its establishment in 2012. As a company with Internet security technology as its core asset, it has five co-founders from three regions. Given the political and economic context of the China-U.S. trade war and the sensitivity of the information security industry, this case series always generates vigorous and enthusiastic discussions. Case (A) focuses on the first two rounds of funding in mid-2016 and discusses various dilemmas faced by the founding team. First, should the equity split among the co-founders be based on instinct or logical rationale? Second, should the company's shareholding structure be more concentrated or distributed? Third, should President Zhi Wang exercise his veto power? Crucially, the judgment on the last question encompasses three other dilemmas: (1) whether to insist on his rationale on market positioning, or swallow his opposition for the sake of maintaining relationships; (2) whether to gain a firm foothold in the Chinese market, or pursue a broad global presence; and (3) whether to chase a high valuation and wealth, or retain company control.

Case (B) is based on the China-U.S. trade war and discusses how this Chinese Internet security company with American capital raises Series C funding in the second quarter of 2018. Should the company seek dollar funding to grow in the global market, or opt for RMB funding to focus on the Chinese market? Of utmost importance is how to deal with a situation where U.S. investors are pessimistic about Chinese security companies, and RMB funds are unwilling to invest in businesses with a dollar funding structure.

Case (C) introduces the latest progress of Chasm Security as of the end of 2018. It then poses a very inspiring question to comprehensively summarize the case series: "If the founders had a second chance, how would the game play out?"

The first Freshippo store opened in Shanghai, China in January 2016. It was not until nine months later that the second store was opened. However, from that point on, Freshippo stepped up its nationwide expansion by opening a new store every six days, on average. By June 2018, Freshippo owned 46 stores in 13 cities and had set a target of operating over 100 stores by the end of 2018. When entering a Freshippo store, customers not only saw an array of fresh produce that reminded them that they were in a supermarket, but they also saw food being prepared, people dining, and meals being packaged and sorted in bags for customers to pick up and take home to eat. Although the number of services were impressive, flaws had started to surface in the evolution of Freshippo’s business model, such as store management issues, poor service, and long wait times for food preparation. Freshippo had to make some decisions regarding expanding and exploring new business models, or instead resolving problems and making improvements. Which option was a higher priority?

The first Freshippo store opened in Shanghai, China in January 2016. It was not until nine months later that the second store was opened. However, from that point on, Freshippo stepped up its nationwide expansion by opening a new store every six days, on average. By June 2018, Freshippo owned 46 stores in 13 cities and had set a target of operating over 100 stores by the end of 2018. When entering a Freshippo store, customers not only saw an array of fresh produce that reminded them that they were in a supermarket, but they also saw food being prepared, people dining, and meals being packaged and sorted in bags for customers to pick up and take home to eat. Although the number of services were impressive, flaws had started to surface in the evolution of Freshippo's business model, such as store management issues, poor service, and long wait times for food preparation. Freshippo had to make some decisions regarding expanding and exploring new business models, or instead resolving problems and making improvements. Which option was a higher priority?

This case mainly illustrates how Freshippo created an innovative business model to cross the online-offline boundary by means of big data and emerging technologies. The reason why Freshippo could cross the boundary was that it combined technologies like mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence to create a new business model based on "omni-channel supermarkets" as well as mobile e-commerce. In this way, it strengthened online and offline interaction anytime, anywhere between consumers and stores. With the arrival of the 5G era, how should Freshippo leverage emerging technologies to evolve into a more sustainable and profitable platform?