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Interbrew had developed into the world's fourth largest brewer by acquiring and managing a large portfolio of national and regional beer brands in markets around the world. Recently, senior management had decided to develop one of their premium beers, Stella Artois, as a global brand. The early stages of Interbrew's global branding strategy and tactics are examined, enabling students to consider these concepts in the context of a fragmented but consolidating industry. It is suitable for use in courses in consumer marketing, international marketing and international business.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>The Internet investment craze was starting to catch on in Hong Kong. Tom.com Limited, a Hong Kong based Internet company, was planning an initial public offering at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. A portfolio manager for EuroGlobal Funds was to provide his professional opinion on the value of this investment and its appropriateness for different investors. He was aware of the difficulties in valuing Internet companies and the debate over the choice of valuation methods. Among these, one approach was to analyze the implied hyper-growth rate that Internet companies had to achieve in the next five years in order to justify their current valuations. He decided to apply this approach to Tom.com. Students will have the opportunity to discuss the different valuation methods and the development of Internet and e-commerce companies, especially topics such as business models and expected growth.

As cable operators across Europe go digital, they will require a means of remotely upgrading the applications software on subscribers' digital set-top boxes, using some kind of loader software to do so. Intellibyte Inc., a small Canadian software firm, has developed the only remote loader software that currently meets the specifications of the European Cable Communications Association. However, it must sell the software to manufacturers of set-top boxes before cable operators can use it. The competition is no more than two years behind. The president must decide among several pricing and positioning alternatives for intellectual property products in a complex industry.

The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), a trade infrastructure owned by the Hong Kong Development Council and operated by the New World Group, was the most prestigious convention and exhibition venue in Hong Kong. After hosting several musical events in Hall Three of HKCEC, the management of HKCEC decided to actively market Hall Three to concert organizers during the off-season. These events could bring in substantial rental income per day. Seat-risers had been leased and temporarily installed for these events, but the cost was prohibitively expensive for concerts booked for short durations, such as concerts by visiting international performing artists, a segment that HKCEC intended to target. The director of operations of HKCEC had been trying to find the most cost effective solution to provide a seat-riser for Hall Three. There were three options: to purchase a seat-riser, to rent a seat-riser for the duration of booked events, or to rent a seat-riser for the entire off-season period. He must analyse the options and find the solution that would be attractive to concert organizers, the most cost effective with the least risk to HKCEC, and consistent with HKCEC's current operations.

As it entered the 21st century, the Polish government faced the dilemma of how to develop an optimal telecom structure and related services. For decades, the government owned and operated a national telecom monopoly, but in the late 1990s they gradually allowed the entry of some competitors, many of whom brought new technologies. The government had undertaken a major privatization program, and it faced the question of whether, and how, it should privatize; yet privatization would have to be accompanied by ongoing regulation in order to ensure that managerial decisions were made in the interests of the nation, as a whole. This challenge of continual government intervention could reduce the attractiveness of acquiring the government-owned agency, in spite of its market dominance. Students will have the opportunity to: analyze the telecommunications industry in Poland; determine the technological changes that will impact the future of telecommunications throughout the world and the Polish telecom industry; examine the current regulatory environment in the Polish telecommunication market; evaluate the current state of, and the opportunities in, e-business in Poland and the rest of Europe; and, develop a comprehensive action plan for a joint venture partner.

Monsanto, a biotechnology giant highly committed to sustainable development efforts, needs to assess the attractiveness of the drinking water treatment industry before deciding its entry to it. Four dimensions of the global water treatment industry are described: types of products and services, applications, end-users and geographical markets. The drinking water treatment segment, which is classified into municipal drinking water treatment and residential drinking water treatment, is examined in depth. Players in these two categories produce the chemicals and equipment necessary to purify tap water supplied to consumers and residential water purification devices. The bottled water industry is considered a substitute of the drinking water treatment segment. The primary objective of the case is to answer the question Is the industry attractive? and to introduce students to industry analysis and industry segmentation.

The emphasis of this case is on the deliberate governmental policy to foster industrial structure transformation, by examining the transition of the Taiwanese economy from a manufacturing-based economy to that of a successful high-tech-oriented economy. The case affords discussion on political and societal issues pertaining to the conflicts between China and Taiwan and risk confronting businesses in this peculiar environment. It also serves as a platform to debate portability of science park concepts among different geographic regions and the necessary conditions for the continued survival of an established science park.

The president director of Dharmala Manulife, a large, successful Canadian-Indonesian joint venture life insurance company, faced a significant disruption to operations due to social unrest in Jakarta. Moreover, the Asian financial crisis had resulted in a massive devaluation of the rupiah, in terms of the U.S. dollar. Thus, premiums on U.S.-dollar denominated policies had become prohibitively expensive almost overnight. Policy surrenders, redemptions, and lapses were occurring at an alarming rate. This erosion of the company's client base also meant that sales agents (who worked solely on commissions) were not only losing clients, but were also facing a tremendous challenge in writing new policies in light of the economic, political, and social chaos. Given the external situation, the president director and his senior management team were forced to develop effective strategic marketing decisions. The case asks students to consider the marketing plan for the launch of a new product designed to address the market realities and how to manage the commissioned salesforce in light of the disruption to operations.

In a 30-year career, a recently retired international manager of Xerox Corporation played a major role in the company's international expansion to emerging economies, assumed key responsibilities for the negotiation and founding of several international joint ventures, and served as an expatriate manager of these ventures in several countries (e.g., Mexico, Brazil, and China). The case provides a learning opportunity at both the individual and the organizational levels. As a manager or future manager, the student can learn about critical career decisions, development through international assignments, and the joys and frustrations of the portable life of an expatriate family. At the organizational level, the case provides useful examples of international growth/expansion strategies, challenges for managing joint venture operations, and international human resource policies and practices. Importantly, the case presents these examples/issues in the context of doing business in emerging economies. Frans Ryckebosch: An International Manager (B) case, (9A99C031) may be used as a supplement to this case.

The founder and managing director of looks.com, a soon-to-be-launched Hong Kong based e-commerce site for brand name cosmetics, fragrances, skin care products and fashion aimed at Asian women, had to make a key strategic decision - should he engage in parallel importing? He considered this decision one that would likely have the largest impact on the success, or failure, of his dream. Parallel importing, also known as grey marketing, involves the legal, though disturbing practice (to many manufacturers and distributors) of sourcing products wholesale from unauthorized distributors. The case issue has universal appeal, given the ever-increasing prevalence of parallel importing throughout the world. Students are introduced to the Internet industry in Hong Kong, and are provided the background information for an in-depth analysis of the positives and negatives of engaging in parallel importing. A short supplement is available: Looks.com (B), 9B00A013.

A leading French cosmetics house has told the founder and managing director of looks.com that they wouldn't be able to sell products directly to looks.com due to the potential conflicts with existing retailers, but has suggested that they could buy the products on the parallel markets instead. Looks.com will have to weigh the benefits and risks of sourcing these products from an unauthorized distributor. This case is a supplement to the looks.com (A)-A Grey Issue case, 9B00A012.

The National Hockey League (NHL) was battling within a competitive market to increase the exposure of hockey throughout the United States. Many new franchises had been established and the challenge was to create a fan base to support both the franchises and the league as a whole. As a result, many new initiatives were being examined to educate and excite the American public. The director of new business development for National Hockey League Enterprises, the marketing arm of the NHL, had to evaluate a proposal to establish an IMAX/Ridefilm attraction at NHL SKATE rinks and determine if this approach would increase the exposure of hockey throughout the United States. To prepare his recommendations for the board of directors, he needed to qualitatively evaluate the prospects of the NHL/Ridefilm proposal and perform a quantitative analysis.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER -Regional Asia-Pacific Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>Looks.com is an Asian e-commerce site for brand name cosmetics, fragrances, skin care products and fashions. It has been well received among investors; the site had a viable business strategy and a solid first-mover advantage. The founder and managing director is ready to launch looks.com within weeks to capitalize on the upcoming Christmas shopping rush and the intense dot.com fever that caught Hong Kong in late 1999. The biggest challenge the company now faces is persuading brand name cosmetic manufacturers to list their products for sale on the site. Look.com's managing director and buyer are finding that manufacturers' concerns about cannibalizing their existing sales channels and antagonizing their licensed distributors are dampening their enthusiasm for dealing with looks.com. The challenge to the company is to develop strategies to convince manufacturers that using this alternative distribution channel can increase their revenue and the profile of their brands in Asia, with little impact on their current distribution network. This case has universal appeal, given that similar concerns have developed around the world as the Internet becomes an increasingly viable alternative distribution channel.

The economy segment in the market for mayonnaise in Venezuela has become extremely competitive. Mavesa, Venezuela's largest and most professional consumer goods firm, finds its pioneer Nelly brand under assault from large players such as Kraft, and small nimble regional players such as Albeca. In this competitive scenario, Nelly's managers decide to cut price on the brand. The managers must analyze the implications of cutting price, including both the profitability impact of a pricing decision, as well as strategic competitive considerations.

It had been almost a decade since the first article surfaced in the media alleging that factories sub-contracted by Nike in China and Indonesia were forcing workers to work long hours for low pay, and for physically and verbally abusive managers. The article was the seed of a media campaign that created a public relations nightmare for the company. A financial crisis in Asia and intense competition in the domestic market contributed to a decline in Nike's revenue and market share after three years of record performance. Though no direct correlation could be proven between the consumer's negative perceptions of Nike and the company's decline in market share and stock, it certainly did not help in their efforts to establish themselves as the global leader in a hotly competitive industry. A linear overview of the adverse publicity that Nike received, and the perspectives of Nike senior management, demonstrates to students the importance and elements of the timely development of an effective media and consumer relations campaign.

The CEO of Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. needed to give sales and profits a serious boost; despite the company's excellent brand equity, it was losing market share and struggling to make a profit. The company's product was on store shelves in all U.S. states, but efforts to enter foreign markets had only been haphazard with non-U.S. sales accounting for just three per cent of total sales. The CEO needed to focus serious attention on entering the world's second largest ice cream market, Japan. An objective of Ben & Jerry's was to use the excess manufacturing capacity it had in the U.S., and it found that exporting ice cream from Vermont to Japan was feasible from a logistics and cost perspective. The company identified two leading partnering options. One was to give a Japanese convenience store chain exclusive rights to the product for a limited time. The other was to give long-term rights for all sales of the product in Japan to a Japanese-American who would build the brand. For the company to enter Japan in time for the upcoming summer season, it would have to be through one of these two partnering arrangements.

A 23-year-old sales executive for a multinational office furniture and supply company was thinking of leaving the company over a dispute regarding her compensation. A friend had suggested setting up her own business: a recruiting agency. The sales executive had known some human resources managers and office managers throughout the years, however, she also realized that it was a very competitive business and she had no experience. She did some cost analysis and had to decide whether it was worth doing. This case could be used as an introduction to management accounting or entrepreneurial finance.

A 23-year-old sales executive for a multinational office furniture and supply company was thinking of leaving the company over a dispute regarding her compensation. After doing some cost analysis on the feasibility of starting a recruiting agency, the young entrepreneur decided it was worth trying. One year later, the company had experienced a successful and profitable first year. This follow-up to the (A) case, 9A99B033, provides the opportunity to compare estimates with actual financial performance.

A senior human resources manager at the YUAN Group, a medium-sized, multi-industry company, is reflecting on her first year on the job. She had implemented many new human resource systems, involving salary surveys, performance evaluations, bonus sharing and benefits, but these changes were not always received enthusiastically by the top management team and other employees. This case illustrates the effects of trying to rapidly implement large numbers of human resource system changes in a traditional organization.

An American professor is delighted and proud to be asked to join a prestigious international group of academic researchers. A series of negative experiences - cultural, professional and personal - strain relationships within the group, and the professor's feelings turn to anger and self-doubt. She must decide whether to continue with the group.