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Spreadsheet Supplement for Case IMB935

Case Preview for 918547.

Case Preview for case 2075.

Case Preview for case 2075.

In May 2021, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (Alibaba), China’s biggest e-commerce company, faced a number of challenges. Alibaba, which operated under a platform business model, was confronted with weakened consumer spending due to the coronavirus pandemic as well as increased competition from JD.com Inc. (JD.com) and other e-commerce entrants. To boost business growth and strengthen Alibaba’s leading position in China’s e-commerce market, Daniel Zhang, the company’s chief executive officer, would need to evaluate the possibility of adding a direct online retail model to complement the operations of its flagship platforms Taobao and Tmall. What challenges could Alibaba potentially face in its e-commerce business expansion?

Green Monday Group (GMG) was founded in 2012 with a mission to “construct a multi-faceted global ecosystem of future food that combats climate change, food insecurity, public health crisis, planetary devastation, and animal suffering.” In 2020, GMG partnered with McDonald’s in Hong Kong and launched six dishes featuring OmniPork Luncheon Meat, a plant-based meat substitute that GMG had developed. In February 2021, the chief executive officer and co-founder of GMG had to figure out how GMG could expand its partnership with McDonald’s in Hong Kong to the rest of China. McDonald’s size and potential in the rest of China far exceeded that of McDonald’s Hong Kong, and while GMG had the resources and the determination to expand, it had to decide which marketing strategy to use.

In 2022, Sophie Desormière arrived at French roboshuttle producer Navya, tasked with charting a new course in a challenging sector. The company, which had recently listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, was burning through cash reserves and needed to transform the promise of its technology into a credible business with a solid revenue stream. In the short term, Desormière had to decide whether, and if so under what pricing terms, to accept an opportunity that recently emerged in the U.S. However, the opportunity involved renting, rather than selling, and also required Navya to operate the service. In the medium term, the company had to navigate questions on whether to concentrate on the software technology that enabled driverless mobility or continue to juggle the hardware side of the business at the same time. Furthermore, questions remained around which market was best suited for Navya's product, and which would be ready with the right regulatory environment to turn promising use-cases into mass transit solutions when the technology allowed getting rid of the on board attendant; at that point Navya might consider re-pricing is AV technology. The form factors Navya should focus on was also hotly debated. Some questioned whether the required regulation and consumer buy-in would come too late for Navya, and whether they should therefore switch the business model to transport goods rather than people. Desormière would need to address all these issues, if the business was to arrive at its intended destination.

Green Monday Group (GMG) was founded in 2012 with a mission to "construct a multi-faceted global ecosystem of future food that combats climate change, food insecurity, public health crisis, planetary devastation, and animal suffering." In 2020, GMG partnered with McDonald's in Hong Kong and launched six dishes featuring OmniPork Luncheon Meat, a plant-based meat substitute that GMG had developed. In February 2021, the chief executive officer and co-founder of GMG had to figure out how GMG could expand its partnership with McDonald's in Hong Kong to the rest of China. McDonald's size and potential in the rest of China far exceeded that of McDonald's Hong Kong, and while GMG had the resources and the determination to expand, it had to decide which marketing strategy to use.

In May 2021, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (Alibaba), China's biggest e-commerce company, faced a number of challenges. Alibaba, which operated under a platform business model, was confronted with weakened consumer spending due to the coronavirus pandemic as well as increased competition from JD.com Inc. (JD.com) and other e-commerce entrants. To boost business growth and strengthen Alibaba's leading position in China's e-commerce market, Daniel Zhang, the company's chief executive officer, would need to evaluate the possibility of adding a direct online retail model to complement the operations of its flagship platforms Taobao and Tmall. What challenges could Alibaba potentially face in its e-commerce business expansion?

Founded in 2017, Simply Good Jars (SGJ) was launched with the introduction of a unique salad-in-a-jar line of products. The founder, owner, and chief executive officer of SGJ was looking to build a ready-to-eat salad business with a mission of “making better-quality delicious food more attainable.” The SGJ brand promoted healthy, quality ingredients and sustainability. Initially, the product was tested in various locations, including vending machines in airports and businesses, and coolers in grocery stores. After achieving early success, SGJ’s founder quickly found pressure to balance growth opportunities with limited financial resources. In 2022, five years after starting the business, he had to decide whether to scale up and mass market SGJ’s products or continue to serve a niche segment through the company’s salad-in-a-jar business.

<p align="justify">VaccineOnWheels (VOW), a social enterprise providing doorstep vaccination to India’s low-income and marginalized communities, was founded in December 2019. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, VOW was perfectly positioned to contribute to the government’s immunization drive. In 2021, the company entered into a public-private partnership with some of India’s largest municipal corporations as their on-the-ground COVID-19 vaccination partner, then made forays into the business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. VOW set out to vaccinate one million people by the end of the fiscal year 2021, but faced with shortages of funds and resources; its founder needed to decide on the target market and business model to allow him to achieve his goal and make the enterprise scalable.<br><br>This case was the second winner of the 2021 Fox International Business Case Writing Competition.</p>

Spreadsheet to accompany product W27266.

Presentation to accompany product W27266.

VaccineOnWheels (VOW), a social enterprise providing doorstep vaccination to India's low-income and marginalized communities, was founded in December 2019. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, VOW was perfectly positioned to contribute to the government's immunization drive. In 2021, the company entered into a public-private partnership with some of India's largest municipal corporations as their on-the-ground COVID-19 vaccination partner, then made forays into the business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. VOW set out to vaccinate one million people by the end of the fiscal year 2021, but faced with shortages of funds and resources; its founder needed to decide on the target market and business model to allow him to achieve his goal and make the enterprise scalable. This case was the second winner of the 2021 Fox International Business Case Writing Competition.

Amara Hotels & Resorts is a family-managed public-listed company running three business hotels, one each in Singapore, Shanghai and Bangkok, in addition to a resort on the island of Sentosa off the southern coast of Singapore. The company is led by Albert Teo, the son of the hotel chain founder. The case describes the sustainability initiatives implemented by the Singapore hotels, and the firm's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Singapore and Bangkok. As the COVID pandemic has deeply affected the fortunes of the hotel, Teo is considering various ways in which the hotel can respond in a substantive way to the growing requirements by investors, analysts and governments for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria to be fulfilled by corporations. Since it is a family-owned business, he is particularly conscious of the long-term legacy of the hotel brand name. In considering future initiatives for the hotel to advance its sustainability and CSR agenda, he would like to achieve a win-win situation in which there are tangible benefits for the world, as well as a long-term positive impact on the bottom line. The case illustrates this central challenge in running a modern corporation, especially a service business with an international clientele.

The use of influencers in marketing is not new. However, the advent of the internet and, more recently, various forms of social media have both accelerated the use of influencers in marketing and also democratized its use considerably. In this article, we explore the nature of influence and power. We describe a study directed at understanding the promises and perils of influencer marketing from both the firm- and influencer perspectives to identify three key tensions that exist for marketers in the management of influencer relationships. We outline and explain these tensions and the lessons that can be learned from them, and then illustrate the lessons with a series of positive and negative cases. We close by speculating on the further evolution of influencer marketing.

As firms respond to stricter regulations and increasing consumer expectations, reverse logistics programs to support end-of-life product management strategies have become more prevalent. Despite a growing body of theoretical literature on this topic, many firms struggle to implement efficient and effective reverse logistics systems. In this article, we identify common strategic, tactical, and operational considerations needed to design reverse logistics programs and offer industry examples to show how organizations have excelled in these areas. Through a synthesis of literature and examples, we provide key takeaways across a range of reverse logistics activities. We present ways in which managers can implement best practices in reverse logistics that not only benefit the environment but also generate societal and stakeholder value, augment and improve customer service and loyalty, and increase market share and revenue capabilities.

In October 2019, the regional chief data and analytics officer at Allianz AG, Belgium, attended a two-hour strategy meeting with the Allianz Benelux chief executive officer, who had expressed concerns about the company’s digitalization strategy. A few days earlier, the marketing department had found that online sales channel results had fallen unexpectedly. The chief executive officer was worried that the company could lose market share if it did not react accordingly, which would damage the company’s competitive position in the market. Therefore, the regional chief data and analytics officer was asked to gather a team to investigate why online sales were low and to design an effective customer acquisition strategy. In addition to his data office staff, the regional chief data and analytics officer asked for the business transformation unit to provide assistance. He had to consider how best to approach this challenging task.

Spreadsheet to accompany product W27305.

Student Spreadsheet to accompany product W27305.