This case portrays the entrepreneurial journey of two academic scientists who spent much of their careers addressing the problem of substance use disorder (SUD). Warren Bickel, a psychologist with a deep understanding of behavioral economics, had what he believed to be a valuable approach to fighting opioid addiction. It complemented clinical and pharmacological therapies that were the current standard of care. The case describes the journey that he and his colleague, Lisa Marsch, took to bring this digital therapy to the market. The context is one in which the offering is an avoidance product for may consumers, in a product category of interest to the public health sector, and relies on a indirect payment model. Market structure, technological development, partnership options and organizational structure uncertainties abound, making this case an excellent vehicle for students to learn tools and methods associated with opportunity identification and elaboration. The Learning Plan offers a method for identifying the full spectrum of uncertainties and managing them proactively.

This case portrays the entrepreneurial journey of two academic scientists who spent much of their careers addressing the problem of substance use disorder (SUD). Warren Bickel, a psychologist with a deep understanding of behavioral economics, had what he believed to be a valuable approach to fighting opioid addiction. It complemented clinical and pharmacological therapies that were the current standard of care. The case describes the journey that he and his colleague, Lisa Marsch, took to bring this digital therapy to the market. The context is one in which the offering is an avoidance product for may consumers, in a product category of interest to the public health sector, and relies on a indirect payment model. Market structure, technological development, partnership options and organizational structure uncertainties abound, making this case an excellent vehicle for students to learn tools and methods associated with opportunity identification and elaboration. The Learning Plan offers a method for identifying the full spectrum of uncertainties and managing them proactively.

In times of crisis, organizations face a dilemma: How should they balance between minimizing losses and surviving financially, and acting for the benefit of all stakeholders and of society at large? In theory, managers should balance between multiple demands, forgoing short-term profits to address human needs when necessary. But in practice, managers may face challenges in balancing demands during a crisis. Combining the stakeholder-agency and compassion perspectives in the context of crisis management, we present the compassion-centric behavioral agency in crisis (CCBAC) framework to address this theory-practice gap. We suggest three levers for organizations and policymakers to encourage this behavior from organizations: developing and using technological and innovation capabilities, paradoxical leadership behaviors, and employee well-being and generosity programs. Organizations benefit from the CCBAC framework because they become better positioned to maintain their long-term competitive advantage and positive organizational identity while contributing to the needs of society. Policymakers benefit from incentivizing such organizations because they serve as an intermediary to achieve outcomes for society at large. Throughout this article, we use the COVID-19 pandemic, responses to mass shootings, and other example crises to highlight the tension and opportunity within our "both/and" approach. We conclude that organizations can be compassionate even as they pursue profit and efficiency in the long run.

Beyond Wireless (BW) is an IoT remote temperature monitoring equipment and services company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. At the time of writing the case, Ian Lester, BW's CEO, is exploring approaches to growing the organization. The case demonstrates the strategic, operational, cultural, and technological challenges with scaling IoT businesses, particularly in low and middle-income countries. The case specifically examines: 1. The benefits and challenges of leveraging existing technology infrastructure to grow a business beyond a single offering 2. The expansion of IoT services to multiple industry verticals 3. The design of digital platforms to achieve demand-side economies of scale The case asks students to suggest strategies for growing BW considering the state of the company and its technologies, competitive challenges, and opportunities to transforming its business model and serving new market segments.