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In 2017, the German company mymuesli GmbH (mymuesli) was operating in six European countries. Having begun to successfully distribute its customizable organic breakfast cereals online, mymuesli built on its growing popularity by opening stores in various cities across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Sweden, where the most popular versions of the product were sold. The relatively young company differentiated itself with its customizable, premium organic products, and relied on its strengths to adapt to lifestyle and health trends. After a conversation in early 2017 with fellow hotel guests hailing from different European countries, the three founders of mymuesli were convinced that entering new countries might be a promising option for the company’s future growth. They began to analyze the maturing industry and its impacts on the company's growth plans.

In 2017, PSA Peugeot Citroën (PSA), the French-based automaker known for its famous Peugeot and Citroën brands, announced its plans to re-enter the U.S. market after having exited North America in 1991. This was not the first time the company tried to re-enter the U.S. market. In an effort to reduce its reliance on declining European markets, PSA had attempted to re-enter the United States in 2003, again in 2014 with its premium automobile range, and most recently in 2016 in a partnership with a French-based ride-sharing operator. What are PSA's strategic options for its international growth by focusing particularly on U.S. re-entry? Would re-entering the U.S. market help PSA respond to growing competitive pressures in the global automotive industry?

By 2016, the BMB Group (BMB) had become the biggest producer of gourmet chocolates and Middle Eastern confectionery in the United Arab Emirates. Making private-label, highly customized confectionery for other brands had proven to be a winning strategy for the company; however, BMB’s leaders felt it was time to transition to a business-to-consumer model. Establishing BMB brands was essential to continued growth because management believed the private-label space would soon fill up with competitors. Which market should BMB enter? There were three possible options: (1) go where Middle Eastern sweets were already popular but compete with many producers; (2) target Middle Eastern expatriate populations that might embrace the products and partner with local distributors; or (3) focus on markets where the population showed a preference for sweets but had relatively limited exposure to, or preference for, Middle Eastern sweets, and use BMB brands to set the standard. Would BMB’s own brands aid the company’s ambitious plans for expansion, or was the firm biting off “more than it could chew?”

In early September 2016, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung), a leading manufacturer of smartphones headquartered in South Korea, released the new generation of its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note 7. Despite initial positive reviews and a strong market reception, just eight days later, Samsung voluntarily recalled 2.5 million of the smartphones, after receiving reports of the devices overheating and catching on fire. The problems persisted even with the replacement device, and the company decided to cease all production and sales of the Galaxy Note 7 in October 2016. Samsung faced a highly commoditized market, decreasing global demand, and increasing competition, but the company now also needed to deal with one of the biggest recalls in the history of the industry. What had gone wrong, and how could the company move forward?

In 2017, PSA Peugeot Citroën (PSA), the French-based automaker known for its famous Peugeot and Citroën brands, announced its plans to re-enter the U.S. market after having exited North America in 1991. This was not the first time the company tried to re-enter the U.S. market. In an effort to reduce its reliance on declining European markets, PSA had attempted to re-enter the United States in 2003, again in 2014 with its premium automobile range, and most recently in 2016 in a partnership with a French-based ride-sharing operator. What are PSA’s strategic options for its international growth by focusing particularly on U.S. re-entry? Would re-entering the U.S. market help PSA respond to growing competitive pressures in the global automotive industry?

The chief operating officer (CEO) at Cambridge Cooling Systems (CCS), an industrial cooling system manufacturer, has been asked for his recommendations on CCS’s plants in Canada and Mexico. The company has had a reversal in its strategic plan in the past year and is shifting from a focus on growth to looking for operating efficiencies. CCS’s global plants are running below full capacity, and opportunity exists to reduce costs through the consolidation of operations. The current focus is on Canada and Mexico, and the CEO is exploring moving custom work from Canada to Mexico, where labour and overhead rates are lower. The challenge for the CEO is to consider the implications of such a move. He needs to determine if it is economically preferable to move production to Mexico, and consider the implications of making changes to CCS’s operations strategy.

In April 2016, the owner of Apoorva Mess (Apoorva) in Manipal, India, wanted to open a full-service economical restaurant to reach out to customers, beat the competition, improve his sales, and fulfil his dream of serving quality food at affordable rates to the lower middle class. He was facing a dilemma over selecting the best location for establishing his new restaurant, knowing that the wrong choice would spell disaster for his business in the long run. A number of conflicting constraints were making it difficult for him to come to a decision. He wanted to follow a systematic approach to pinpoint the final location.

On June 1, 2016 a student was preparing for a summer job with Agarwal Automobiles, a vehicle fuel station owned by his father. The student had taken courses that covered supply chain management, including inventory management and forecasting. His father had suggested that, as a summer project, the student examine the fuel station’s retail inventory management practices with the intention of replacing the current simple rules with a more rational and complex planning model. The student needed some ideas to use as a guide toward a better ordering policy. The available data for the previous six months suggested that the company held an average ending inventory of ?2.1 million worth of fuel products to maintain average daily sales of ?0.52 million. The challenge was to reduce the inventory levels, while maintaining a high customer service level in fuel sales.

For the Deutscher Fussball-Bund e.V. (DFB)—the German Football Association—winning the most prestigious football trophy, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, was the culmination of a long period of suffering, reinventing, and rebuilding. Once the dominating force in world football, the German team had been at rock bottom around the beginning of the millennium. To manage its way out of this crisis and leave competitors behind once again, the DFB had to fundamentally reinvent itself. The turnaround required radical changes that would take a long time to pay off and involved substantial risks. How did the DFB reinvent itself to overcome the crisis and regain competitive strength, culminating in triumph at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil? How could DFB’s managerial options be applied to the corporate world and provide lessons on successfully managing a crisis? What could DFB’s management do to remain at the top of international football?

Hisense Co., Ltd. (Hisense) was the fourth-largest television maker in the world, but its market share and brand recognition remained low in Europe. Therefore, strengthening its branding and improving its sales there were priorities for the Chinese company. In 2013, Hisense was considering whether to establish a strategic alliance with the German high-end television manufacturer Loewe AG (Loewe). Despite having a good reputation, Loewe was suffering severe financial distress and facing possible bankruptcy. If Hisense co-operated with Loewe, it would gain access to Loewe’s distribution network in Europe and utilize co-brand advertising with Loewe. In turn, Loewe would benefit from Hisense’s long-term technical support and gain access to the promising Asian market. Should they proceed?

In 2017, Volkswagen Group was not satisfied with its performance in India. Tata Motors Limited, on the other hand, had been dealing with increased competition from new automobile players. In March 2017, both players made the announcement of a potential strategic alliance with one another. However, the alliance talks soon stalled over the potential use of a platform and the practicality of the business model. The question facing both companies was whether to work out their differences and move the alliance forward, or to terminate the negotiation talks and operate independently.

Hisense Co., Ltd. (Hisense) was the fourth-largest television maker in the world, but its market share and brand recognition remained low in Europe. Therefore, strengthening its branding and improving its sales there were priorities for the Chinese company. In 2013, Hisense was considering whether to establish a strategic alliance with the German high-end television manufacturer Loewe AG (Loewe). Despite having a good reputation, Loewe was suffering severe financial distress and facing possible bankruptcy. If Hisense co-operated with Loewe, it would gain access to Loewe's distribution network in Europe and utilize co-brand advertising with Loewe. In turn, Loewe would benefit from Hisense's long-term technical support and gain access to the promising Asian market. Should they proceed?

For the Deutscher Fussball-Bund e.V. (DFB)-the German Football Association-winning the most prestigious football trophy, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, was the culmination of a long period of suffering, reinventing, and rebuilding. Once the dominating force in world football, the German team had been at rock bottom around the beginning of the millennium. To manage its way out of this crisis and leave competitors behind once again, the DFB had to fundamentally reinvent itself. The turnaround required radical changes that would take a long time to pay off and involved substantial risks. How did the DFB reinvent itself to overcome the crisis and regain competitive strength, culminating in triumph at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil? How could DFB's managerial options be applied to the corporate world and provide lessons on successfully managing a crisis? What could DFB's management do to remain at the top of international football?

In 2017, Volkswagen Group was not satisfied with its performance in India. Tata Motors Limited, on the other hand, had been dealing with increased competition from new automobile players. In March 2017, both players made the announcement of a potential strategic alliance with one another. However, the alliance talks soon stalled over the potential use of a platform and the practicality of the business model. The question facing both companies was whether to work out their differences and move the alliance forward, or to terminate the negotiation talks and operate independently.

In June 2012, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sought to further financial inclusion in India by permitting non-bank corporate bodies to roll out “white-label” automated teller machine (WLA) networks. Unfortunately, most licensed operators soon found that the number of customers using the white-label machines was lower than anticipated, while the costs of installation, operation, and maintenance were higher than projected, and the revenues received from card-issuing agencies (i.e., banks) were inadequate to ensure viability of the business proposition. However, one operator, Tata Communications Payment Solutions Limited (TCPSL), rolled out its “Indicash” network very quickly, installing over 7,000 units in about 33 months, accounting for close to 60 per cent of all WLA installations by March 2016. Yet by June 2016, in what seemed like a reversal, TCPSL was put up for sale at an estimated valuation of between INR10–13.5 billion. In attracting potential buyers of the Indicash network, how could TCPSL leverage its accomplishments with the WLAs to make a sale? What would attract a strategic buyer to the WLAs?

Although Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) was the leader in passenger vehicle sales in India in May 2015, it was having difficulties breaking into the high-end car segment. There were multiple strategies that MSIL could have used to deal with this problem, such as; changing its brand image from small automaker to high-end automaker; staying in the small car market; penetrating the market further by introducing new models and their variants in the same segment; or striking a balance between both of the other suggestions (i.e., a mixed strategy). <br><br>A sudden change in MSIL's image could harm the company's existing share of the small car segment. At the same time, remaining firmly in the small car market could be detrimental for MSIL's market leader position in the years following, as the small-car-dominated market was gradually moving towards segments such as mid-size and executive cars in India. Which strategy (or combination of strategies) should the company pursue?

In 2015, the Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship (CSE), the largest business incubator in Denmark, was admitting 100–125 new start-ups each year and attracting external funding of US$33 million from both public and private sources—all with an annual budget of US$435,000, funded exclusively by the Copenhagen Business School. Like most business incubators, CSE worked to provide entrepreneurs with training, mentorship, and investors, and to enhance their visibility in the market. It required all admitted start-ups to participate in a screening/selection tool and a set of incubation activities over three specific stages. The school measured success in terms of the number of incubator participants who had both a business customer and a sustainable business model at the end of a nine-month incubation period. In 2015, CSE's success rate was 53 per cent. At this point, CSE's leaders recognized a need to question how they measured the benefits of the program. How should the 53 per cent success rate be compared to the Copenhagen Business School's investment? What changes could the CSE leadership make to create more value for Danish society?

For 30 years, Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) partnered with Ford Motor Company (Ford), helping Ford in small-car engineering and lean manufacturing in exchange for finance and marketing know-how; however, this alliance was terminated due to the global financial crisis in 2008. In 2015, Mazda entered into another long-term partnership to share technologies and cope with cost pressures—this time with Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota). According to its 2016 Structural Reform Plan, Mazda aimed to achieve a global sales volume of 1.65 million units, an operating income ratio of at least 7 per cent, an equity ratio of at least 45 per cent, and a dividend payout ratio of at least 20 per cent by 2019. Given the highly competitive domestic and global automotive markets, to what extent could the partnership with Toyota and the Structural Reform Plan allow Mazda to achieve these goals? Would Mazda need to make any changes to its competitive strategies to keep the company driving forward?

In September 2016, the leadership team at KritiKal Solutions Private Limited, a software product research and development company in Noida, India, was facing several challenges. The company provided product design and development services in computer vision and image processing, embedded systems, and the Internet of things, as well as web, software, and mobile applications. It was highly regarded by its clients and employees for its research orientation and technical competence. However, the leadership team was struggling with options for strategic growth and product mix. How much time and effort should go into services and how much into new product development? What kind of structure and funding would work for the company as it expanded? The chief executive officer needed answers to these questions in order to make the leap to high growth.

Dilli Haat started in 1994 with the objective of providing infrastructure to craftspeople from across India to sell their traditional crafts in an urban marketplace and prevent their exploitation by intermediaries. The marketplace, set up in the heart of Delhi, the capital of India, was a one-stop shop for visitors seeking authentic India handicrafts and handloomed products. Dilli Haat provided a unique shopping experience in a well-laid-out area, where shopping was combined with cultural extravaganzas and food courts offering cuisine from all the states of India. It became a sought-after destination not only for shopping but also as a meeting place, where families and friends could spend time together. After rising to its glory, Dilli Haat witnessed a decrease in visits and was losing its spirit. In January 2016, the manager was faced with the challenge of restoring Dilli Haat to its former glory.