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Legitimacy has been defined as "the capacity of a political system to engender and maintain the belief that existing political institutions are the most appropriate and proper ones for society." The author says that what we are witnessing today is a crisis of legitimacy. Young people around the world are disproportionately affected by everything that is going on, and he warns that if they decide that our institutions of democracy are no longer legitimate, we are in for a period of disruption in human history that will make the 1960s and the Arab Spring look like kids' stuff. He describes a new model of multi-stakeholder networks that is emerging to attack global problems. As a result, he shows that leadership can come from anywhere these days, which presents enormous opportunities for each of us.

Great innovation is often born of an ability to harmonize opposing tensions, the author argues. Like the pressure to avoid failure and the need to take risks; or the demands of getting results quickly and the freedom to search for 'the best way'. Unfortunately, all-too-often, the artful balancing of opposing tensions goes by the wayside, and compromises are made that sub-optimize efforts to create value. He introduces a technique that prevents compromise: intentional goal conflict. He provides two examples of this approach, cut from the annals of innovation at Toyota, to illustrate exactly how it works.

We rarely experience genuine innovation, the author argues, and when we do, it makes us nervous. Our most common reaction to something unprecedented is to prime ourselves for frustration-to throw our hands up and say we simply don't understand it. The lesson for designers and decision-makers alike is that the more innovative a product or service will be, the more familiar it needs to feel. He shows that product categories can be broken down along a familiarity/novelty continuum, and that in most cases, the most successful isn't the one that makes the biggest splash, but the product that correctly balances familiar cues with new benefits.

Grameen Koota had escaped any direct impact of the crisis faced by the microfinance industry due to new legislations introduced by the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in 2010. External sources of funds had dried up for the microfinance sector thus impacting growth. While evaluating his organization's performance during the last two years, Suresh Krishna, Managing Director of Grameen Koota was concerned about the imminent shortfall in the growth envisioned in 2010. The tumultuous industry condition was accompanied by an uncertain regulatory environment. While exploring options for growth, Krishna wanted to assess whether to expand operations to new districts and new states or consolidate and grow in the existing regions of operations. Concentrating operations implied risking too much in too few states in a shaky regulatory environment while expansion to nascent geographies could potentially erode the low margins. It was a difficult choice, so Krishna wanted to make sure that he arrived at the decision after a thorough evaluation of the opportunities, costs, and risks associated with expanding the distribution reach.

Medical research consensus is that a poor diet is a much greater determinant of obesity than lack of exercise. However, the authors' primary research shows that only about half of lay people believe that diet is the primary cause of obesity. People who mistakenly underestimate the importance of a poor diet are in fact more overweight than people who correctly believe that it is the primary cause of obesity. The marketing, public relations, and corporate social responsibility campaigns of food and beverage companies consistently overemphasize the lack of exercise as the cause of obesity-the authors call this "leanwashing."

In December 2013, music superstar Beyoncé is about to surprise her fans with the release of her self-titled album. The team at her company Parkwood Entertainment, which general manager Lee Anne Callahan-Longo described as "a management, music, and production company that is owned and at the highest level operated by an artist," had chosen to release the entire album at once and exclusively via the Apple iTunes Store, without any prior promotion-a significant, and potentially very risky, departure from how music was traditionally released. Sony Music's label Columbia Records, with whom Parkwood partnered on recorded-music activities, shared the costs-and therefore also the risk-of the album, which had been one-and-a-half years in development and was a particularly expensive proposition because of the many videos. How would fans and music industry insiders react to the daring launch, unveiled via Beyoncé's Facebook and Instagram accounts? Would the album be able to find a large enough audience even without traditional promotional activities? And would there be any adverse reactions, for instance from traditional music retailers refusing to carry the physical album later?

Parul Prakashani started out as a textbook publisher in 1961. Slowly, it diversified into a wide repertoire of non-textbooks for children, young adults and adults. In early 2013, the non-textbook division of the company is not earning enough revenue, while strong revenues are coming from textbooks. The major issue faced by Parul is how to grow the non-textbook business. This requires significant branding activity and a marketing communication plan. Phasing out the non-textbook business is not an option, since it is close to the founder’s heart and lends prestige to the company. The major dilemma facing the founder is whether to allocate more resources to the non-textbook division to improve growth, and if so, how to allocate these resources. Parul must think up new products and new markets in order to stay in the business of publishing non-textbooks.

In March 2011, Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk, co-chairmen and co-chief executive officers at independent production company Media Rights Capital (MRC), are debating whether to accept a licensing offer from Netflix for their most ambitious project to date, a new television series called House of Cards. MRC executives had begun to pitch the series to each of the major premium cable networks in the US, including AMC, FX, HBO, Showtime, and Starz. To the surprise of the two entrepreneurs, Netflix executives had made it known they were prepared to make a bold step into the world of original programming. As thrilled as Satchu and Wiczyk were about Netflix's offer, accepting it-and thus forgoing a sought-after one-season offer from a traditional premium cable network-raised major concerns, for instance about MRC's ability to secure international rights fees, to obtain sufficient marketing support, to gain the necessary credibility in the marketplace, and to satisfy artists and other key constituents. Was Netflix the right partner for MRC?

Companies have long struggled to get a handle on how consumers feel about brands and products in real time. Perceptual maps are often use to help visualize a product 's relationship to other products in the competitive arena, but the data referenced to build perceptual maps is often expensive to obtain or incomplete. This case introduces students to a new tool that mines and aggregates social media to support the development of more meaningful perceptual maps.

Ararat, the largest brand of brandy in Russia, with an enviable 32% market share and a long history, is one of the jewels in Pernod Ricard Russia's alcoholic beverage portfolio. After a recent product update, five key questions need to be answered: 1. Which consumer segment(s) should Ararat be targeted at? 2. What should be the brand platform? 3. Which of five proposed advertising options should be selected? 4. Should all seven sub-brands in the Ararat portfolio feature in the campaign, and if not, which ones? 5. In which magazines should the ads be placed?

WestJet, Canada’s second largest national airline, is preparing to launch a social media initiative to coincide with the year-end holiday season. As the company’s executive vice-president (Sales, Marketing and Guest Experience) reviews the plan, he is seeking answers to three questions. Does the proposed initiative fit or mismatch with WestJet’s brand image? Will the initiative deepen or dilute the engagement the airline currently enjoys with its guests (as it calls its passengers) and WestJetters (as it calls its employees)? What specific outcomes can WestJet achieve through the initiative and how can those outcomes be improved? Also see supplement 9B14A027.

Supplement to 9B14A026.

WestJet, Canada's second largest national airline, is preparing to launch a social media initiative to coincide with the year-end holiday season. As the company's executive vice-president (Sales, Marketing and Guest Experience) reviews the plan, he is seeking answers to three questions. Does the proposed initiative fit or mismatch with WestJet's brand image? Will the initiative deepen or dilute the engagement the airline currently enjoys with its guests (as it calls its passengers) and WestJetters (as it calls its employees)? What specific outcomes can WestJet achieve through the initiative and how can those outcomes be improved?

Supplement case to W14399.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) became the largest airline in Japan in 2013. Having been designated as a domestic carrier by the Japanese government till the mid-1980s and Japan being the sixth largest domestic airline market, two-thirds of ANA's passenger revenue came from the domestic market. However, the Japanese domestic population was decreasing at a significant rate; thus, the domestic market was expected to decrease. Also, plans of a super-high-speed rail and further improvement of current high-speed train systems would make air travel obsolete in many of the popular domestic routes. The key business problem that ANA faced was that amongst the changes in the Marketing 5Cs (Collaborator, Company, Competition, Context, Customer)-specifically, context (decreasing domestic population) and competition (high-speed trains)-how could ANA maintain/increase its business? As a way to resolve this problem, ANA's management was considering to invest in the international market to enhance its global presence. The case concentrates on specific challenges faced by ANA's management that must decide whether to focus on the international market and, if so, which international route it should pursue. Further, management must decide whether to purchase the Airbus's new super jumbo A-380 to increase operational efficiency and promote the ANA brand globally. The case provides details regarding the concept of product differentiation and the importance of aligning a firm's product policy with its overall marketing strategy.

In April 2014, the co-founder of lifestyle brand dpms., situated in London, Ontario, has a dilemma. Started as an opportunity to showcase her partner’s graphic designs, dpms. first produced silk-screened t-shirts, then branched into jewelry and other locally produced products as the company succeeded. They maintain a booth at a weekly farmers’ and artisans’ market and travel to other festivals around the province but rely mainly on word-of-mouth promotion and their social media presence to advertise their wares. She was excited about an article that was to appear in a local newspaper, but when the article was published, it contained several inaccuracies. She is deciding how she should handle the situation and how the options to confront or not confront the reporter will reflect on her fledgling company.

Since the early days of skateboarding in Southern California, Volcom, through its founders, has been intrinsically associated with the sport. Its motto, "youth against establishment," has stood strong through three decades. The company has been truly in touch with its customers and has learned to evolve with them-styles, tastes, activities, music, and behavior. Skateboarding, from a marketing perspective, has transcended the U.S. borders and has become a global phenomenon with its own unique culture, rules, and values. However, as the brand lands on foreign shores, it must establish local roots and develop/adapt its personality. Possibly, influence marketing solely via American riders may need a strong face lift in view of the different roles that skateboarding may play in other cultures. Millennials like brands that are open source and embrace participation. They are sensitive to diversity, value global community, and care about the environment. They spend almost six hours a day online and use social media daily. Besides, skateboarding (and all action sports) is increasingly connected with music and popular culture. Volcom's CMO faces several challenges: balance revenue growth and brand authenticity, balance the localization of marketing and sales with the standardization of functional processes, and balance the need to meet profit targets while protecting market share.

In 2014, Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) were quickly gaining popularity as an investment vehicle which joined together private investors and nonprofits to tackle social issues. Although numerous SIB projects and proposals had cropped up across the U.S. following the launch of the first SIB in the UK in 2010, none were explicitly focused on healthcare. Fresno, California announced the first healthcare SIB in 2013 to fund home-based programs to reduce asthma attacks. If successful, the Fresno SIB model would help solve the challenge of delivering preventative care efficiently in at-risk communities.

Marketing experts have long been frustrated by the limited number of tools available to measure the impact of communications campaigns. New tools are now being researched and tested that mine social media forums for information to track a campaign's efficacy. In this case, students will gain an understanding of this tool and its ability to measure the success of an advertising campaign launched to reposition the Cadillac brand.

The IDIEM, through its Energy and Sustainability Department, has launched a new line of consultancy services for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in Chile. A central component of this initiative is the online Catalogo Verde, a portal for the environmental rating of construction materials. The site is designed to provide technical specifications and detailed materials testing results for architects designing buildings to be certified as LEED compliant. The LEED certification constitutes a third-party validation of the energy and environmental performance of buildings. An LEED certification is seen by the general public as an indicator of corporate social responsibility and good citizenship for the owners and users. The IDIEM-Catalogo Verde was designed as a knowledge instrument for the engineering and architecture markets, but also as a tool to build relationships and open doors for other IDIEM services. Besides, it is a tool to build the IDIEM brand among key influencers in the construction industry, government agencies, real estate investors, and materials suppliers. Catalogo Verde has been very well received. The backing of IDIEM is an umbrella that guarantees its excellence and competence. Management has launched a series of initiatives to build up online traffic and accelerate the adoption of LEED by architects in Chile.