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In addition to Google, LLC (Google) facing multiple litigations around the globe, India’s antitrust watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), had recently launched its own investigation into the company. This was not the first occasion of an antitrust probe being initiated against Google in international markets. The company had already paid an astonishing US$ 9 billion in fines for abusing Android’s dominant position in the smartphone market to boost its dominance in other areas, such as web searching, browsing, and mobile apps. In 2019, Google was in trouble in India, again, for similar reasons. The CCI alleged that Google forced smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and the Google Chrome browser on their devices, thus misusing its dominant position by stopping smartphone manufacturers from opting for alternative versions of its mobile operating system (OS). However, Google strongly denied these allegations, arguing that it had not indulged in anti-competitive practices; rather, it claimed it had promoted relevant market competition.<br><br> Which marketing practices of Google invited the antitrust probe and allegations of abuse of their dominant position in India? Why were competition watchdogs concerned about the growing dominance of Google in the Indian mobile operating software (OS) market? In an oligopolistic market comprising multiple players, why did the CCI consider Google to be a dominant player in the Indian mobile OS market? Could Google do something to avoid antitrust lawsuits and allegations of abuse of dominance in the future?

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?

With businesses struggling and with marketing efforts toned down for the foreseeable future during the COVID-19 crisis, it’s hard to build a brand. But you can still support your brand’s reputation through thoughtful leadership and treating people right. And since the reputation of your brand—not to mention your personal leadership and the culture of your company—hinges on how you operate during difficult times, best practices in corporate communications have never been more important. Make sure you let all concerned know how deeply you empathize with their personal challenges and show genuine gratitude for their contributions. If you’re forced to cut salaries or break other employee commitments, a sincere apology can go a long way. However, being an inspirational leader is about more than grand gestures or rousing speeches. Think way outside the box to find creative ways to join your team in their day-to-day efforts. Encourage your people to stay connected, stay healthy, and have fun. The need for open and transparent communication, of course, is just as vital with customers and partners as it is with employees. Be honest in every interaction. If products are going to be delayed, let customers know right away. The business world needs leaders who work side by side with their people, who share tough news with compassion and empathy, and who make transparency their top priority.

Holding a massive beer festival brought the Chinese city of Qingdao and Tsingtao Beer Co. Ltd., China’s most famous beer brand, direct economic benefits and public awareness. However, through the Qingdao International Beer Festival—a natural advertising opportunity—foreign beers benefited as well. To date, Chinese beer brands held less than half of the high-end Chinese beer market. China levied no tariffs on beer imports, which increased the market competition. Were the objectives of Tsingtao Beer and the local government fully aligned with regard to the annual festival? Was the beer festival helping one more than it helped the other? Did it help Tsingtao Beer’s competitors? Should the Qingdao International Beer Festival work to recapture or emphasize some of its own cultural uniqueness?

Transformational leaders challenge the status quo, provide a vision of a promising future, and motivate and inspire their followers to join in the pursuit of a better world. But many of these leaders also fit the American Psychiatric Association classification for narcissistic personality disorder. They are grandiose, entitled, self-confident, risk seeking, manipulative, and hostile. This article reviews the literature on narcissism and shows how what we think of as transformational leadership overlaps substantially with grandiose narcissism. As grandiose narcissists can appear as transformational leaders, it is important to distinguish between what leadership scholars have characterized as "transformational" and these "pseudo-transformational" candidates.

Design thinking has made huge inroads in organizations today and has been widely popularized as one of the most effective approaches to complex problem solving. However, the prescriptive models to design thinking that are now widely used by "nondesigners" in the business world are criticized for their detachment from users, poor execution, and tendency to converge on safe solutions. This article examines the efficacy of using crowdsourcing as an underpinning technology for executing design thinking by nondesigners to alleviate these issues. It advances a generative model of complex problem solving with theoretical as well as practical implications.

In April 2018, the owner of Express Bike Works (EBW), an Indian start-up that provided automated motorcycle washing, among other services, was planning to expand his business to various locations in South India, such as Udupi, Chennai, and Bangalore. He needed to decide whether to expand through self-owned stores or franchise stores and wondered how to select appropriate store locations. His objective was to come up with an expansion strategy that would maximize his payoff.

In April 2019, the chief executive officer of Dubai-based Diamond Developers, reflected on his company's progress in developing a business model based on sustainable living. In December 2015, The Sustainable City in Dubai had welcomed its first residents. The project had become a success story, both commercially and in terms of building a vibrant community of 3,000 residents from 60 countries, who were living a lifestyle characterized by social, environmental, and economic sustainability. After this initial and significant success, the chief executive officer wondered how to replicate the concept, both locally and internationally, to grow the company and to maximize the company's contribution to sustainability and to the fight against climate change.

This case focuses on the political economy of ethanol policy in the United States and Brazil. The cases outlines policies put in place by the governments of the United States and Brazil to bolster the ethanol industry and the role of politics and interest groups.

In mid-2018, the president and chief executive officer of Siemens Canada was examining his options in executing Vision 2020+, a growth plan developed by the company's headquarters in Germany. One of the cornerstones of the plan was digitalization, both internally, among the company's sprawling manufacturing operations, and externally, among the company's industrial customers. How could Siemens Canada, as a North American subsidiary of a large multinational enterprise, add value to the global plan? And to do so, what skills and competencies would Siemens Canada need to acquire locally?

Following the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, the US government set out to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement, threatening to revoke it if a new favourable deal was not reached with Canada and Mexico. Among other demands, the United States wanted to increase its access to Canada’s protected dairy markets and was calling for the Canadian dairy supply management system to be dismantled. But the health of the Canadian dairy industry depended on supply management. In negotiating the new agreement, Chrystia Freeland, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada, needed to consider the balance of domestic interests in supply management with Canada’s international trade priorities.

This note introduces how supply and demand frameworks can be applied to understand distortions in the economy.

Established in 2014 by a group of five friends in the Czech Republic, Behavio Labs was a consumer behaviour analytics company that launched the popular product Minute. The Minute digital application accurately measured respondent views and expanded employee engagement to help companies make the right decisions when launching new products, or to improve employee working conditions. By 2018, Behavio Labs had achieved considerable success in the Czech Republic with this product, but it wanted to expand globally. The company developed built-in scalability in the fully digital Minute product for international application. To determine which markets to enter, the founders planned to evaluate 29 countries across Europe, as well as the United States. It had to develop criteria to assess the most suitable countries for market entry, identify the most attractive customer segments in these countries based on revenue potential, develop a strategy for entry, and determine the typology of potential partnerships.

Windmill Microlending, was established in 2004 by a group of community activists who saw the need to help Canadian newcomers restart their careers. The organization offered microloans to help pay the costs of reaccreditation and training. The organization’s first chief executive officer was hired in February 2017, and by September 2017, she had formulated a new vision for the organization that would address three goals: growing the number of clients and the number of loans, increasing clients’ success and their job placements, and maintaining the loan repayment rate. She also needed to address whether Windmill Microlending should expand into other cities and provinces and how to diversify the organization’s funding sources and revenue streams to generate more operating revenue and loan capital to support the required growth. She needed to present her vision and strategy at the next board meeting and ensure the board was onside.

Serge Belamant was the founder and chief executive officer of Net1 UEPS Technologies (Net1), a US$600-million company that had a contract with the South Africa government to pay social grants to the poor. The contract was controversial from the start and was under scrutiny through multiple legal challenges and three different investigations, including by the US Securities Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice. When Belamant discovered a paper describing a conspiracy theory alleging that he and Net1 were involved in a form of corruption known as state capture, he believed he could be the victim of a disinformation campaign and wondered what to do.

Instructor Spreadsheet to accompany product 8B20M066.

Spreadsheet to accompany product 9B20M066.

In early 2019, the general manager of Little Short Stop Stores, a chain of local, family-owned convenience stores in southwestern Ontario, Canada, was projecting a loss for that year. The loss was due in part to a provincial minimum wage increase to CA$14.00 that came into effect on January 1, 2018, increased from $11.60 in 2017 and $11.40 in 2016. Before this change, the store chain had been exceeding the average industry growth rate by 5 per cent for the previous five years. The general manager had to determine how to respond to mitigate the revenue loss and to ensure the company remained competitive in the future. The company was already operating efficiently and competitively, so the focus would be on increasing revenues. The company was further constrained by its revenue mix. Two-thirds of its revenue was generated by tobacco products and lottery tickets, which had prices set by regulatory bodies. The general manager was open to considering all options for future growth. However, he was constrained by the family firm’s preference to avoid long-term debt and expansion beyond its current geographic boundary.

Shubam Goldiee Masale Private Limited was a family business established by two childhood friends in 1980 in Kanpur, northern India. In 2004, second-generation family members began joining the business. With the arrival of the new generation, the company started renewing its business operations. The two founders divided specific management roles and responsibilities of key departments among second-generation family members, although control of the company’s overall operations remained with the founders. By January 2019, the company had grown steadily to employ over 4,000 people and become associated with more than 1,500 distributors, selling its products across various locations across India. The management team, which consisted of all family members, wanted to make the company a leading brand in the Indian spice market by taking advantage of new growth opportunities. However, the founders wondered if the company should consolidate its position in the existing products and markets, or venture into uncharted territories.