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This case explores the sustainability efforts at Novozymes, the world's largest and oldest producer of industrial enzymes. In 2015, the Danish company became the world's first company known to have crafted a new corporate strategy based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since then, the company used the SDGs as a lens to screen products, business models and partnerships, and prioritized innovation decisions that could deliver extraordinary societal and business impact. This case study asks students to evaluate the success of those efforts and to outline what the company should do going forward.

When faced with the increasing accumulation of its stock by activist investors led by Daniel Loeb's Third Point LLC and the activists' stated objective to replace management and at least some Sotheby's Board members, Sotheby's, the world's oldest auction house, responded with the adoption of a rights plan, also known as a poison pill. Third Point then sued seeking to overturn the plan. The case presents excerpts from the Delaware Chancery Court's opinion on Third Point's motion to enjoin Sotheby's shareholder meeting until the viability of the rights plan could be determined.

In 2013, Eastern Health Alliance (EHA) launched the Neighbours for Active Living programme to reduce hospital readmissions among seniors in eastern Singapore. At its core, 'Neighbours' addressed the health care and social needs of high-risk residents within their homes, while building social support systems around them through community outreach. The case discusses the asset-based approach that inspired the concept as well as challenges such as measuring its effectiveness and the impact on patient outcomes.

The case tells the story of the turnaround of Unilever Philippines (ULP) between 2013 and 2016. The Philippines Leadership Team (PhLT) set a vision to rediscover the greatness of the Philippines by achieving a growth rate of at least 10% a year, becoming a disciplined execution machine so that it could generate consistent results, and connecting with the hearts and minds of the Filipino consumer. The case discusses the key factors that led to the success of the turnaround including the cohesiveness of the PhLT, empowering the extended leadership team, and focusing on the core. ULP crossed the billion euro revenue threshold in 2015 after two years of double digit growth. The case ends with Rohit Jawa, the Managing Director, reflecting on two key questions. First, what needed to change to sustain the growth of the company since "what got the company here may not get it there"? Second, how could he ensure that the positive changes made would outlast the current PhLT?

This three-part case covers the history of Samsung from its origins as a small trucking company to one of Korea's largest conglomerates. Part A, "Drivers of Success, Family Assets and Business Strategy", charts the growth of Korea's the export-led economy after the end of Japanese occupation in 1945, driven by a handful of family-owned 'chaebols'. Founder Lee Byung-chull's trucking business, set up in 1938, diversified in the aftermath of the Korean War, as he forged a strong political network that enabled him to embed his family's influence and assets in the business strategy. Part B, "Heart Attack Puts Succession Planning at Risk", describes how the ill health of the second-generation leader Lee Kun-hee deprived the firm of a clear succession plan. As the de facto leader of Samsung, his son had to build up his power base to assume the role in the context of a complex ownership structure. Part C, "Court calls time out on Lee Jae-yong", examines how the de facto heir was convicted of bribery and given a five-year prison sentence, prompting speculation that he would run the Samsung empire from his cell.

This three-part case covers the history of Samsung from its origins as a small trucking company to one of Korea's largest conglomerates. Part A, "Drivers of Success, Family Assets and Business Strategy", charts the growth of Korea's the export-led economy after the end of Japanese occupation in 1945, driven by a handful of family-owned 'chaebols'. Founder Lee Byung-chull's trucking business, set up in 1938, diversified in the aftermath of the Korean War, as he forged a strong political network that enabled him to embed his family's influence and assets in the business strategy. Part B, "Heart Attack Puts Succession Planning at Risk", describes how the ill health of the second-generation leader Lee Kun-hee deprived the firm of a clear succession plan. As the de facto leader of Samsung, his son had to build up his power base to assume the role in the context of a complex ownership structure. Part C, "Court calls time out on Lee Jae-yong", examines how the de facto heir was convicted of bribery and given a five-year prison sentence, prompting speculation that he would run the Samsung empire from his cell.

This three-part case covers the history of Samsung from its origins as a small trucking company to one of Korea's largest conglomerates. Part A, "Drivers of Success, Family Assets and Business Strategy", charts the growth of Korea's the export-led economy after the end of Japanese occupation in 1945, driven by a handful of family-owned 'chaebols'. Founder Lee Byung-chull's trucking business, set up in 1938, diversified in the aftermath of the Korean War, as he forged a strong political network that enabled him to embed his family's influence and assets in the business strategy. Part B, "Heart Attack Puts Succession Planning at Risk", describes how the ill health of the second-generation leader Lee Kun-hee deprived the firm of a clear succession plan. As the de facto leader of Samsung, his son had to build up his power base to assume the role in the context of a complex ownership structure. Part C, "Court calls time out on Lee Jae-yong", examines how the de facto heir was convicted of bribery and given a five-year prison sentence, prompting speculation that he would run the Samsung empire from his cell.

In 2017, a successful online dating company, Mate1.com, based in Montreal, was pursuing a two-year goal of increasing revenue by 50 per cent and net operating margin by 15 per cent. However, its ambitions were being hampered by unavoidably high advertising costs, an inadequate reporting system, and a maturing industry life cycle. Should the firm explore new business models and consider acquiring a competitor-or was it time to divest and sell the firm?

In June 2017, the U.S. president had made a statement regarding his stance on Cuba-U.S. relations. Business leaders were very attentive, as his actions could impact the softening U.S.-Cuban relations started by his predecessor in 2016. A recent MBA graduate in Canada and an avid cigar smoker, viewed this scenario and wondered what effect it would have on the current environment, and if there was potential in the Cuban cigar industry. With an inheritance of $1 million coming available in the next month, he thought back to his strategy sessions and looked to evaluate this industry.

In April 2015, a legal associate at Spitzberg Elevators Corporation, a U.S. corporation operating in Hong Kong, was tasked with recommending how the company should respond to Hong Kong’s new anti-competition legislation, which was scheduled to be enacted within eight months. The legal associate first needed to review the legislation, specifically the key portions that could have an impact on her company's imminent plans to bid on several elevator contracts. She also needed to decide whether to recommend the company take a proactive stand by complying with the not-yet-enacted legislation or continue to comply with the current rules until the new legislation would take effect.

In 2017, Miami was rated #1 among U.S. cities for startups, but about 40th for "scale-ups" - growth companies. This case shows how leaders of incubators and accelerators supported startups and a culture of entrepreneurship, but also describes some factors limiting growth, including a lack of local venture capital, big companies to serve as local customers or partners, and biases on the part of investors. The question is whether co-working spaces, training programs, and networks go far enough to build a new tech center for the future economy.

The effects of Miami's startup scene have not reached many "left-behind" lower-income Black communities, which are disproportionately affected by problems such as segregation and racial discrimination, lack of transportation access, crime, education quality, government incompetence, and climate change. Leaders such as mayors, real estate developers, civic entrepreneurs, and community activists are offering solutions to the systemic problems faced by Miami's lower-income Black communities. Can more innovative thinking and the entrepreneurial spirit help move such areas into the tech economy/green jobs future?

Manpreet Singh, chief executive officer of the Bosch multi-brand car service provider Motorcafe, wanted to scale up his business, which he established in 2010 in Mohali, India. The multi-brand car service sector promised huge market potential for Singh, but he faced some challenges: Bosch had failed to provide the expected support; the brand was being diluted by poor services offered by other service providers in neighbouring areas; competition from other multi-brand players in the Indian market was ever-growing; original equipment manufacturer workshops were renewing their competitive efforts; and customer needs were rapidly changing. How should Singh scale up his venture in the face of changing market dynamics and implement Motorcafe’s innovative value proposition for Indian car owners?

Financial holding company Gentera S.A.B. de C.V., located in Mexico City and operating in Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru, offered microlending, financial payment, insurance, and money transfer services to individuals at the bottom of the financial pyramid. The company was founded and operated on strong social values—reduce financial exclusion, focus on human and social values (including self-actualization), and enhance economic value—which pervaded the decisions made by the board and senior management. By 2016, the company had evolved from its origins as a non-governmental organization to become a private bank and, more recently, a public company listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange. The company faced questions about its governance structure and processes: should it reduce the number of board committees and alter their function in order to accomplish a stronger strategic focus? It also faced organizational challenges related to growth and the need to both adapt its current business model to encompass financial technology and invest in information technology. How should it allow extensive developments while simultaneously updating systems required to meet current needs?

Duke University had grown from an one room school house in rural North Carolina in 1859 to one of the leading research universities in the U.S. and the world. Since the late 1950s, Duke's leaders had consciously used the process of strategic planning to guide the development of the university as a whole, building up programs in interdisciplinarity and initiating ambitious projects in internationalization. Under the leadership of President Richard Brodhead, Duke first built a medical school in Singapore in collaboration with the National University of Singapore, then embarked on a journey to build a university on American standards in the People's Republic of China with its own four year liberal arts curriculum. Will Duke realize its many "outrageous ambitions" as it transitions to a new president?

The Electronic Works Amberg (EWA) was Siemens' most advanced factory. The plant built industrial automation equipment using state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques. Siemens was considering creating a consulting business for its manufacturing clients. Given the EWA's well-known expertise, the facility would be heavily involved in the consulting business. What was the best way for Siemens to operate its consulting business? What else could be done by executives at the EWA to improve their time-to-market and market share?

In March 2016, Ontario-based Cara Operations, a company that operates several restaurant chains, including Swiss Chalet (present throughout Canada, except in Quebec) - acquired Groupe St-Hubert, one of Quebec's largest restaurant chains. With the acquisition of St-Hubert, Cara became the proud owner not only of its restaurants but also of its manufacturing plants and distribution centres. The purchase of Quebec's iconic rotisserie chicken chain thus opened many doors for Cara. The case describes the situation immediately following the acquisition, when CEO Bill Gregson is wondering how to optimize its impact on his company. It ends with the five options that Gregson plans to present to his board of directors: 1) allow St-Hubert to operate as an independent division at the national level, 2) use St-Hubert to introduce Cara-branded products to Quebec, 3) have Cara and St-Hubert combine locations, 4) adopt St-Hubert's procurement process for Cara brands, or 5) simply cut costs by implementing Cara's best practices and know-how.

This case, along with its B case (UVA-QA-0865), is an effective vehicle for introducing students to the use of machine-learning techniques for classification. The specific context is predicting customer retention based on a wide range of customer attributes/features. The specific techniques could include (but are not limited to): regressions (linear and logistic), variable selection (forward/backward and stepwise), regularizations (e.g., LASSO), classification and regression trees (CART), random forests, graduate boosted trees (xgboost), neural networks, and support vector machines (SVM). The case is suitable for an advanced data analysis (data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence) class at all levels: upper-level business undergraduate, MBA, EMBA, as well as specialized graduate or undergraduate programs in analytics (e.g., masters of science in business analytics [MSBA] and masters of management analytics [MMA]) and/or in management (e.g., masters of science in management [MScM] and masters in management [MiM, MM]). The teaching note for the case contains the pedagogy and the analyses, alongside the detailed explanations of the various techniques and their implementations in R (code provided in Exhibits and supplementary files). Python code, as well as the spreadsheet implementation in XLMiner, are available upon request.

Spreadsheet supplement to case UV7579.

This case, along with its A case (UVA-QA-0864), is an effective vehicle for introducing students to the use of machine learning techniques for classification. The specific context is predicting customer retention based on a wide range of customer attributes/features. The specific techniques could include (but are not limited to): regressions (linear and logistic), variable selection (forward/backward and stepwise), regularizations (e.g., LASSO), classification and regression trees (CART), random forests, graduate boosted trees (xgboost), neural networks, and support vector machines (SVM). The case is suitable for an advanced data analysis (data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence) class at all levels: upper-level business undergraduate, MBA, EMBA, as well as specialized graduate or undergraduate programs in analytics (e.g., masters of science in business analytics [MSBA] and masters of management analytics [MMA]) and/or in management (e.g., masters of science in management [MScM] and masters in management [MiM, MM]). The teaching note for the case contains the pedagogy and the analyses, alongside the detailed explanations of the various techniques and their implementations in R (code provided in Exhibits and supplementary files). Python code, as well as the spreadsheet implementation in XLMiner, are available upon request.