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Termination of WorldSpace India’s satellite radio operations in 2009 was part of the restructuring efforts of the Maryland, U.S.-based parent company that had filed for bankruptcy in October 2008. As of June 30, 2008, WorldSpace Inc. (later 1 WorldSpace) had listed debt of US$2.1 billion and assets of US$307.4 million and had sought bankruptcy protection to help repay its debts. The parent’s two regional satellites, AfriStar and AsiaStar, and related ground assets had been acquired by U.S.-based Liberty Media, which also owned 40 per cent of satellite radio service provider Sirius XM Radio. The termination of WorldSpace raised a series of questions regarding early-mover disadvantages, business ideas, and pricing strategy. Analysts further extended the arguments to draw parallels with the satellite telephone service provider Iridium to question strategic decisions relating to the service-hardware mix, service provision and pricing, power of complementary products, power of substitutes, and consumers’ willingness to pay for incremental choice.

In 2004, Kaneo Itoh, president of the consumer electronics firm Pioneer Corporation, was considering acquiring the plasma display operations of another Japanese firm, NEC. Pioneer had decided some years ago that plasma display panel (PDP) technology was a good strategic area in which to invest. Recently, Pioneer had been selling increasing numbers of plasma television sets using PDPs. While the company was building a new PDP production facility that would soon become operational if demand continued to increase, additional capacity would become necessary. Buying NEC’s plasma operations would give Pioneer this capacity, the potential for realizing scale economies, and some valuable intellectual property NEC had developed. Itoh had to make a decision: Should Pioneer buy NEC’s plasma business?

This case, a supplement to Pioneer Corporation: The NEC Plasma Opportunity (A), is set in 2009.

Most family businesses do not survive beyond two or three generations. One of the main reasons for this short lifespan is the lack of governance mechanisms in family businesses. With better family governance, business development becomes a richer experience and continuity is ensured across generations. This case is about an Indian family business, GMR Group, which was established a quarter-century ago, and by 2010 had become one of the major diversified infrastructure organizations in the country, with large-scale interests in infrastructure (energy, roads, and airports) and manufacturing (agri-business, mainly sugar). Since its founding, the Group had come a long way, from an independent proprietary enterprise to a family-owned holding corporation with several companies under its control, along with external stakeholders. The growth of the group had been led by the entrepreneurial zeal and organizational capabilities of its founder, G.M. Rao. Having seen many family businesses breaking up for lack of adequate governance mechanisms, Rao led the way for the writing of his family business's constitution with the help of several experts in 2007. The writing process of the constitution and the policies and processes developed were optimal for maximizing GMR's performance and the family's prosperity in current and future generations. This case captures the essential processes and outcomes of writing a family business constitution.

After successfully establishing more than 33 retail stores in large cities across China, Decathlon, a large French sporting goods manufacturer and retailer, planned to open its official online shopping website in China. The marketing department head of Decathlon China had experimented with several new social media platforms in China in order to increase the brand awareness among online shoppers. At the upcoming executive meeting, the marketing department head wanted to persuade the chief executive officer to dedicate more resources to social media to both increase online sales in the short term and market share in the long term.

Godrej, a fast-moving commercial goods (FMCG) company in India that was historically known for its refrigerators in the Indian market, contemplated launching a new product for rural markets. Chotukool was an unconventional cooling solution targeted at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) segment in India. More than 80 per cent of the Indian population did not own a refrigerator and 50 per cent earned less than US$2 per day. The study tracks Godrej’s journey of disruptive innovations from the conception of the idea to the marketing challenges faced by the company. It also focuses at length on how the organization planned to execute two parallel business models, with one aimed at the consumers of traditional refrigerators and the other simultaneously targeting current non-consumers. The case focuses on the management challenge of innovating across the value chain in order to succeed at social innovations.

There are not many families in the world that can claim continuity of existence for over 76 generations in business or otherwise. Families that survive over the long term tend to have strong values that are in line with the basic principles of trusteeship — to preserve and grow wealth (both material and otherwise) for the benefit of future generations. This case is based on the history and current challenges of the Mewar dynasty, who ruled part of India for 13 centuries. The family must consider the issue of succession and continuity in its palace hotel business and non-commercial activities.

This case deals with the challenges faced at L’Oseraie, a nursing home located in the northeast of France. The director of L’Oseraie had to meet her new boss and brief him on the organization’s challenges while offering suggestions. A key obstacle involved employee motivation and engagement, particularly after a recent absenteeism episode. Furthermore, the lack of health care staff in France meant that employees might need to be sourced from abroad, perhaps from Eastern Europe or the French-speaking countries of North Africa. How could the director implement a strategy that would alleviate the day-to-day problems of the nursing home?

The Chinese fireworks industry thrived after China adopted the open-door policy in the late 1970s, and grew to make up 90 per cent of the world’s fireworks export sales. However, starting in the mid-1990s, safety concerns led governments both in China and abroad to set up stricter regulations. At the same time, there was rapid growth in the number of small family-run fireworks workshops, whose relentless price-cutting drove down profit margins. Students are asked to undertake an industry analysis, estimate the industry attractiveness, and propose possible ways to improve the industry attractiveness from an individual investor’s point of view. Jerry Yu is an American-born Chinese in New York who has been invited to buy a fireworks factory in Liuyang, Hunan.

Global companies face a crucial question when they enter emerging markets: how far should they go to localize their offerings? Typically they try to sell core products or services pretty much as they've been sold in Europe or the United States, with headquarters calling all the shots-and usually with disappointing results. The authors, both of Harvard Business School, examined why KFC China has been able to find fertile ground in a market that is notoriously challenging for Western fast-food chains. KFC's executives believed that the dominant logic behind the chain's growth in the U.S.-a limited menu, small stores, and an emphasis on takeout-wouldn't produce the kind of success they were looking for in China. KFC China offers important lessons for global executives seeking guidance in determining how much of their existing business model to keep in emerging markets-and how much to throw away.

In 2008, International Automotive Company (IAC), a German manufacturer of automotive parts, acquired a plant in Reynosa, Mexico. This plant produced various types of motors for power windows, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and wipers. At the time of acquisition, the plant was showing record losses. Because the acquisition was internally financed, it was crucial to make the plant profitable quickly. After conducting a deep analysis, the company discovered that a lack of proper management in the supply chain system was leading to a large amount of wasted resources. As a result, managers looked for opportunities to save money and facilitate improvements mainly in areas such as packaging, warehousing, and transportation. One of the greatest obstacles involved IAC’s employees, who were falling short in terms of knowledge and motivation.

The majority owner and general manager of City Furniture and Mattress (CFM) needed to make several decisions that would determine the company’s strategy. CFM had continued to grow in terms of sales, but the general manager and his father, also an owner and manager at CFM, were concerned with profitability and the increasing competition from local and big-box stores. The general manager looked at several options including capital investment, expanding global outsourcing, store network expansion, and vertical integration.

In December 2009, about a year after it suffered a crisis when clients walked away from massive derivative losses, Gulf Bank’s new CEO is trying to change the governance and operation of Gulf Bank. This case focuses on a turnaround situation and provides students with insight into evolving corporate governance standards in Kuwait. After assessing the situation that the CEO faces, students have to decide what change he should pursue and how he should carry it out. From a broad industry governance perspective, students can examine the state of banking regulation and oversight in Kuwait and suggest ways that corporate governance can be strengthened.

The president and founder of the Taiwanese firm Shacom.com plans to set up an insurance scheme for low-income earners. A financial model for the operation has been created and students must assess the viability of the business, its adherence to financial regulations, and the risks that it entails.

The case comprises an interview with Paul Cherry, who as chair of the Accounting Standards Board of Canada (the Canadian accounting standard setter) led a process that brought Canada to adopt international financial reporting standards (IFRS). The case provides a rich and in-depth examination of the real-world considerations that led Canada to adopt IFRS. It offers analysis of the competing alternatives such as the U.S. GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), describes the consultation process, and sets out the thinking that led to Canada adopting IFRS. The case offers a unique opportunity for students to see a leader in the Canadian accounting profession set out what actually led to the adoption of IFRS.

Vithal Kamat, chairman and managing director of Kamat Hotels India Ltd., was a second-generation entrepreneur who has taken the Kamat Hotels brand to new heights. Kamat Hotels included five major verticals, from five-star luxury hotels (The Orchid Ecotels) to economy restaurants (Kamat Restaurants) catering to different customer segments. Kamat had ambitious plans for the expansion of every vertical using alternative growth strategies. However, the recent economic slump had caused a sudden setback due to the fall in average room occupancy and competing room-tariff rates offered by other hotels. In such a tumultuous situation, Kamat planned to use the core competency of The Orchid as an “ecotel,” that is, an environmentally friendly hotel, to go in for corporate branding and leverage its position in the market.<br><br>The case illustrates the challenges faced by Kamat in extending the core competency of The Orchid to its other verticals. The Orchid had performed better than the industry average until 2008, but in 2009 its performance dipped, partly because of the economic recession. This prompted the company board members to decide on extending the core competency of the ecologically sustainable hotel into other verticals. However, this decision had to be considered carefully in light of its impact on The Orchid as well as on the other verticals. What were the challenges that would be faced while extending the core competency of “ecoteling” to the other verticals?

Most family businesses do not last long. Only one-third are able to survive the transition from the first to second generation. A critical issue in the survival of family businesses is the management of succession. Most successions fail because first-generation founders find it difficult to disengage from their business as they approach the age of retirement. As a result, they fail to prepare the next generation of successors for the leadership role. A founder’s failure to plan for succession is due to various reasons, such as a lack of non-work interests, psychological identity with a firm, and fears of aging or death. Due to these reasons, the founder’s retirement is frequently portrayed as a negative event. Succession, in turn, is often seen as a phase of crisis and upheaval, which a business must overcome. However, this need not necessarily be the case. Retirement can be a new and exciting phase of life, while succession can be viewed as a strategic opportunity to revive a business.<br><br>This case involves an accomplished business leader, B.K. Jhawar, founder of Usha Martin Group, who successfully managed the twin challenges of retirement and succession. By the time he reached the age of retirement, Jhawar had built up a social venture (KGVK) as his second career. Before completely disengaging from the business and transitioning to his new role full-time, Jhawar prepared the second generation for business leadership and effectively passed on the baton.

The year 2006 marked the beginning of 2b Design, a social business in Lebanon that specialized in creating handmade furniture and decorative pieces. Raja Moubarak and his wife, Benedicte de Blavous, created their business venture around a focused social mission to preserve disappearing art, architecture, and heritage through artistic creations and employing marginalized people, particularly the handicapped and unemployable. By collecting and using wrought-iron and wooden pieces found in scrap yards from old Lebanese homes dating back to the Ottoman Empire, 2b Design managed to preserve a heritage that was increasingly at risk of extinction while both improving lives and maximizing positive environmental impacts through recycling scrap material. 2b Design’s mission was articulated as to “restore the unseen beauty of the broken.” “The broken” referred to the Middle East’s disappearing traditional heritage and to those people whose socioeconomic status or disabilities hindered them from leading a good life. 2b Design’s vision was to replicate the same concept in different countries beyond Lebanon. The founders were keen on exploring various channels that would gradually improve the impact of their business while meeting the dual challenge of long-term sustainability and the transformation of lives.

Ramesh Kumar was curious to determine whether consumers were loyal to toothpaste brands. Himalaya Herbal Toothpaste had herbal offerings in the retail and prescription segments, affording him the opportunity to conduct research. Were consumers loyal to a particular brand of toothpaste? Did they remember the functional brand benefits? Were consumers buying brands due to the social benefits reflected in ads? Did consumers continue to buy particular brands without switching? Were consumers interested in herbal toothpastes? How should Himalaya be perceived by consumers? This series of issues presented an opportunity to conceptualize consumer behaviour in the Indian context. <br><br>The concept of product involvement differentiates consumer segments based on the degrees of personal interest expressed by consumers with regard to products and services. High-involvement categories require consumers to be involved in extensive buying behaviour that leads to one or more of the following: risk reduction, enhancement of self-image, and gratification in having achieved an optimal choice after examining the alternatives. Low-involvement categories are those that are bought in a routine manner by consumers, with a lower degree of personal interest. Marketers always face competitive challenges in enhancing the degree of involvement even in low-involvement categories through appropriate branding initiatives, including in the toothpaste category.

This case series outlines the strategic choices facing Jean-Michel Gires, Total E&P France’s (TEPF) vice president of sustainable development, in designing and implementing a community engagement strategy. Case (A) begins with the approval of a pilot carbon capture and storage (CCS) system at TEPF’s Lacq facility in France, and outlines the strategic context for the community engagement process. Case (B) is positioned three years later.<br><br>The case includes a range of issues impacting the decision-making context, including the role of CCS in mitigating climate change; an outline of CCS technology; TEPF’s climate change strategy; the history of TEPF’s operations in the Lacq gas field, and interactions with local communities; the E.U. climate change regulatory environment (including carbon pricing and CCS); and CCS regulatory uncertainty in France.