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In June 2019, the cofounders of BharatAgri, an Indian agritech (agricultural technology)-focused entrepreneurial venture, were reviewing their strategy. BharatAgri leveraged information technology to provide crop-management related advisory services to Indian farmers and provided data analytics-driven decision dashboards to organizations that worked with farmers. They had onboarded nearly 6,000 Indian farmer-customers and had raised ₹40 million (INR) of venture capital funding to date. Their target was to onboard 20,000 farmers as paying customers by 2021. Could they also generate revenues by selling farm-management related data to agriculture-related organizations? In the next meeting, they were expected to present a comprehensive and cogent strategy to their financiers.

In January 2020, the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Salt n Soap, an online retailer of food and groceries in Kolkata, India, was reviewing the company’s strategy and business model. Salt n Soap had been in operation for six years, and now offered nearly 15,000 food and grocery (F&G) products of 1,000 distinct brands through its online retailing website. However, the Indian online F&G retail industry was highly competitive. Salt n Soap had a limited business footprint, mainly concentrated in Kolkata, India and unlike its competitors, it had not raised external equity funding. The CEO had to quickly reassess the current business model and strategy and prepare for the oncoming challenges from an increasingly competitive business environment. The decision had to be made before the end of the month so that any strategic changes could be implemented within the current financial year.

Between 2017 and 2019, The Walt Disney Company (Disney) faced two major scandals that threatened to damage its family-friendly brand image. Disney’s brand value decreased by 5 per cent from 2017 to 2018, although it remained the most valuable media brand worldwide. In November 2017, John Lasseter, Disney’s executive producer, was accused of illegal sexual misconduct at its Pixar Animation Studios (Pixar). Following the allegations, Lasseter left the company in December 2018. Further, during the June and September of 2018, Rian Johnson, the writer and director of The Last Jedi for Disney’s subsidiary, Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC (Lucasfilm), posted unprofessional, aggressive, and insulting responses on his personal Twitter account to fans who hated the film. In April 2019, Disney chief executive officer (CEO) Robert Iger announced that no new Star Wars movies written or directed by Johnson would be put into development. Why did Disney not take immediate action to address these two scandals? How should Disney mitigate the losses stemming from the two scandals and prevent them from happening again? What should Disney do to further grow its sustainably?

<p style="color: white; background-color: rgb(3, 70, 56); font-size: 16px; display: inline-block; border: 0px solid rgb(197, 183, 131); padding: 4px 4px;"><a href="https://www.iveypublishing.ca/s/product/native-deodorants-sell-or-swell-digital-learning-experience/01tOF000001qb3mYAA" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: inherit;"> AVAILABLE AS A DIGITAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE </a></p><br><br>The founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the direct-to-consumer deodorant startup Native Deodorant (Native) had grown the brand to one million active users in about two years. The company was founded in 2015 in San Francisco and had disrupted the deodorant industry by offering all-natural deodorants direct to consumers through its website. By cutting off retailers from the value chain, the CEO had created a feedback loop that helped him have an agile and iterative approach to his business. In 2017, he received an offer from the Procter and Gamble Company to buy his one-and-a-half-year-old startup for US$100 million. He faced a tough predicament: he could continue to leverage the business model of Native and grow to the next million customers, or he could sell to P&G for a nine-figure payday. What should he do?

The owner and founder of The Talking Hands, a socially responsible restaurant, in Nagpur, India, had launched his company to create job opportunities for persons with disabilities. He wanted to find a balance between customer experience and customer service, but he also wanted to open two new outlets in his city and seriously consider his friend’s proposal of opening franchisee outlets of The Talking Hands in two Indian cites—Mumbai and Pune. He wanted to consolidate and expand his business without denting the restaurant’s brand identity. Also, as demand for the restaurant grew, the increasing delays in order taking and delivery needed to be managed. Could he hire some non-disabled staff members to manage rush orders and deliveries and still keep operating expenses under control? Should he go through with his expansion plans with the franchise model at this time? He needed to make a decision while renovations to his restaurant were underway.

The United States had recently experienced a recession, and a credit analyst with Gift Card Capital Inc. (GCC) needed to financially evaluate two troubled restaurant chains. GCC's unusual business model involved offering capital financing in exchange for gift cards that GCC then offered to individual customers and third-party loyalty programs. The analyst needed to weigh the benefits of increasing the size and diversity of GCC's gift card portfolio against the estimated viability of any gift cards received. It was critical to determine whether the businesses could sustain operations for the gift certificates' redeemable time period—roughly up to five years. The analyst was unsure of what to do. Should he offer a cash advance to one, both, or neither of the firms? If he chose to extend a cash advance, how large should that advance be? What specific terms or conditions should be associated with any cash advance? How were the companies adapting to their financial situation and their past performance? How likely was it that either of the companies would become insolvent and shut down overnight?

In 2017, Advaith Group was an Indian conglomerate with interests in various businesses including chemicals, infrastructure, and engineering. An advisor to the corporate communications group was employed on a contractual basis. Each year at the time of his contract extension, organizational politics were played out around the decision to renew the contract. The advisor was very good at what he did, but his behaviour with colleagues left room for improvement. The head of human resources had his reasons to stall the extension of the advisor’s contract and tried different means to have his way, including sidelining him within the organization. A new recruit in corporate communications came into the company with hope and the ambition to be successful in the corporate world. However, she was unsure if she could achieve this goal under the current circumstances. The managing director was asked by the chairman of the group to decide on the extension of the advisor’s contract, but he had to look at all possible angles before doing so.

The case details the challenges of running a small manufacturing enterprise in India. The current operations at Mini Iron & Alloys Private Limited (MIA), which produced springs for rail wagons, were stable, and business had grown. However, the demand for springs was expected to increase with the Indian government’s announcement, in early 2019, to establish a rail freight corridor. The proprietor of MIA mused on the firm’s readiness to undertake the surge in demand. He also ruminated on the prudence of relying on a single customer in a captive market.

Set in 2019, this case illustrates a design thinking intervention programme carried out at the Elite's Smile Specialized Medical Complex in the city of Taif in Saudi Arabia. The programme was part of a doctorate research project undertaken at the Singapore Management University. The case introduces Elite's Smile, a private dental clinic that offers a comprehensive range of services including routine and complex treatments for adults and children. Despite being an established clinic with broad dental expertise and state-of-the-art equipment, Elite's Smile faces great challenges in view of growing competition from new entrants and increasing service expectation from customers. The case discussion encourages the participants to evaluate whether design thinking, a human-centred problem-solving approach, would work in a small-and-medium enterprise (SME) and non-US context. The handout describes the actual intervention programme conducted over six months at Elite's Smile. At the centre of intervention is a training workshop covering the five-phase design thinking process and supporting tools for each phase. Notable improvements were observed at post-intervention in terms of increasing customer satisfaction (as seen in the patient retention and recommendation), a more cooperative work culture, and most importantly, growing income for the clinic. The instructor could use the handout to stimulate further discussion on why design thinking has worked for Elite's Smile.

Public-listed Matex International Ltd, a Singapore-based specialty chemicals and dye manufacturer, was committed to spending up to 10% of its revenue on research and development (R&D), particularly in the area of developing cutting-edge dyes and dyeing processes that were more environmentally-friendly. This was in spite of the increasingly competitive macroeconomic environment and the long-term need to improve shareholder value. Matex Executive Director Dro Tan elaborated on how open innovation was a key part of the firm's corporate DNA. Moreover, innovation was not only a central component of Matex's unique selling proposition, but also its competitive strategy. Dro further shared that the company's R&D agenda was influenced by its clients' needs. It was also highlighted that the timing to launch a new product was very much determined by market conditions, and governments and the legislation they passed were a key driver. For instance, Matex's latest product Megapro ECO®, a revolutionary dye that did not require the use of any salt, would not have gained impetus for its launch, had it not been for the stricter environmental laws that were enacted by China, the world's largest textile export market, in 2015. The case examines how innovation is actually a process, and explores the way Matex weaved sustainability into its overall strategy using innovation as a vehicle.

In 2018, the chairman and managing director of Teckwah Industrial Corporation Ltd. (Teckwah), sat in his office, looking back on the company's journey. Starting in Singapore as a humble producer of plain packaging boxes, Teckwah had evolved to become a multinational company providing a full suite of supply chain management solutions for international clients. As the second-generation custodian, the chairman and managing director first joined in 1979 and had been steering the company through various stages of development, including diversifying its business offerings, undertaking an initial public offering, and eventually expanding overseas. However, Teckwah still faced growth challenges. The chairman and managing director was considering his retirement and the possibility of taking a lesser role in the company’s daily operations. With Teckwah's 50th anniversary near at hand, he pondered the dual challenges of business transformation and leadership succession.

The case highlights how global dynamics impact both regional economic development and the organizational growth of a market-leading pork producer with a promising yet uncertain future. A key Western Canadian pork production industry stakeholder was tasked with assessing existing environmental complexities as well as global supply and demand factors in an effort to address changing consumer preferences. After determining that global factors could either support or limit further industry investment, the aforementioned stakeholder had to evaluate company resources and firm risks to identify the qualitative and quantitative factors that would influence two specific expansion opportunities and the associated income projections within the local industry.

An effective and highly motivated executive at 3DP Incorporated, a company that specialized in manufacturing objects with three-dimensional printing, often told his friends that he thought he could be the next Steve Jobs. He wanted to take advantage of the “next great opportunity” to change the world by producing and marketing his own creations. However, his inability to deal effectively with his subordinates, peers, and superiors, as shown by instances of abrasive behaviour throughout the cases, contributed to his eventual downfall.

By the end of 2019, Trōv, Inc. (Trōv) had ceased to sell its flagship direct-to-consumer single-item coverage insurance product. Going forward, Trōv would no longer compete as an insurance company, but would instead focus on expanding its technology in order to equip established insurance companies, financial institutions, and technology companies with the modern, all-digital insurance apps required to remain competitive and/or gain market share. In doing so, Trōv offloaded the enormous financial burden associated with customer acquisition. Heading into 2020, Trōv’s business was divided into two main units—Trōv Enterprise and Trōv Mobility. As a result of this strategic shift from a business-to-consumer (B2C) strategy to a business-to-business (B2B) strategy, Trōv’s leaders were faced with a new set of questions. Should they implement a fee structure that would allow Trōv to achieve profitability as a B2B technology provider? Were Trōv’s new products designed to respond to its clients’ desired customer segmentation? How should Trōv allocate resources between its Enterprise and Mobility businesses?

The Klockner case follows CEO Gisbert Ruhl and his team as they prepare for the operational consequences of digital transformation at the century-old German steel distributor. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the Klockner team must rethink their sales, operations, people practices, and organizational structure to prepare for a future of increased automation and online platform sales for steel and other metals.

David Beisel, Rob Go, and Lee Hower are non-partners at different-and-established venture capital (VC) firms. They decide to leave their positions to start a new seed-stage VC firm. The case covers the genesis of the firm, the formulation of its strategy and operations, and the founders' fundraising efforts. A key decision the case protagonists must make is whether to partner with two very successful entrepreneurs, who propose a merger with NextView. The two entrepreneurs are willing to invest up to $100 million personally and put NextView in business, but the expectation is that the firm will no longer be independent. NextView's fundraising process has taken much longer than expected, and so, the NextView team considers a critical decision: merge and lose control or stay independent and risk failure.

The founder of Gogoro had always wanted to revolutionize the energy market from day one since he started the electric scooter business that featured an innovative battery swapping technology. Over the course of five years, he had developed a premium line of electric scooters, gained market share to about 90 percent, and turned his startup into a "unicorn" with a valuation reaching $1 billion. With its battery swapping infrastructure built out across the island of Taiwan, Gogoro sensed the opportunity to become something bigger - most probably a smart energy platform that could complement the main grid. But as a sudden change in government subsidies and the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic took a toll on the scooter sales, how should Gogoro position itself going forward?

The Bomi Mexico case recounts the difficulties faced by Mario Sicilia, a recent CEO of Bomi Mexico, shortly after his acquisition of the company through a search fund. The case specifically highlights a situation where two key employees raise concerns about the COO.

In 2019, the founder and chief executive officer of StoreKing, a distribution company that sold consumer products to rural India through designated retailers, faced the challenge of attaining 100,000 retailers by 2020. The chief executive officer (CEO) had previously identified an opportunity to use an assisted e-commerce model to reach rural consumers and offer them a better variety and choice of products than offered by traditional distribution channels. The challenge now was to grow the business rapidly to be viable and to achieve a leadership position to compete with not only similar players but also the large e-commerce company, Amazon.com, Inc. The CEO needed to decide on a growth strategy, how to promote the concept to retailers, and how to develop an edge over the competition.