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Souche had just celebrated its first anniversary in 2014 as a business in China’s used car market. After more than a year of strenuous effort, Souche had achieved considerable objectives. The company’s website had been providing information on used cars for six months, and its physical store had opened in Beijing around the same time. The store’s monthly sales had increased dramatically from 30 cars in the first month to over 231 cars in December 2013, ranking second among used car dealers nationwide. The management team had every reason to feel proud. The company’s founder had been optimizing the operational model for greater efficiency in the previous six months, but it suddenly dawned on him that there was a bottleneck in the latest business model. Was the company on the wrong path? After rejecting yet another business model, what would Souche do next?

In 2014, the food and grocery industry in India experienced a surge in the online grocery market. Before that time, existing e-business players had largely avoided the online grocery market because of its complex logistics requirements and issues related to last-mile delivery, or reaching customers in remote areas. The rise of online grocery businesses raised concerns for brick-and-mortar stores, especially local kirana stores (corner stores), about becoming redundant in the future. With limited or no technology adoption, these kirana stores had no way of going online. Grofers came to the rescue of these local stores with a mobile commerce (m-commerce) model for groceries that promised on-demand delivery within 90 minutes. However, with very low margins in the grocery business compared to lifestyle products, in addition to last-mile delivery and returns complexities, it remained to be seen whether Grofers would be able to carve out a niche in the grocery industry with its innovative model. Considering the low entry barriers and the easily replicable business model, how viable and sustainable was an m-commerce business like Grofers?

Curling was officially included in the Winter Olympic Games in 1998. Since then, it spread beyond its home in Canada and northern Europe to many other countries, including China. As a new player, the Chinese Curling Association managed to elevate its national teams to achieve world elite status and be widely admired by its international counterparts for being so successful with fewer than 300 curlers and only a 10-year history. In 2014, the Chinese Curling Association needed to develop a strategic approach to grow curling in China in a healthy and sustainable way.

Shanghai Toex Trading Co., Ltd. (TOEX) was a Chinese pet grooming equipment maker. In 2014, after years of operating internationally solely through third-party distribution channels, TOEX opened a new sales and logistics centre in Dallas, Texas to boost TOEX’s business in the United States. The new centre was also meant to be a model for future expansions to other countries. With more than a decade of industry experience, TOEX's founder believed that succeeding in the United States was critically important for the company’s future. However, he was not sure how to execute a successful international growth strategy and how to best leverage the new U.S. logistics centre.

After acquiring a majority stake in the Shanghai Totole Food Company, a leader in the Chinese chicken powder industry, Nestlé faced dilemmas regarding maintaining control over this foreign-invested enterprise (FIE). Despite its 80 per cent stake, and in a departure from past practice, the Swiss company let its minority Chinese partner remain firmly in control. The circumstances surrounding the integration of Totole posed questions about the strategic decisions surrounding investment in a Chinese enterprise by a multinational firm and the challenges of integrating local and global operations. In 2012, Nestlé began talks with the general manager of Totole about acquiring the remaining 20 per cent of the company. Should Totole sell the remaining 20 per cent of shares and, if so, how and when should it do it?

A leading family-owned Lebanese bakery-convenience store chain, Wooden Bakery, was in the process of deciding the company’s next options for growth in Lebanon and in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The owner was pondering the use of aggressive growth strategies such as franchising and area-development franchising. Additionally, the founder of the company and its board members were facing the biggest decision in the company’s history as they prepared to vote on whether to enter the U.S. market. What competitive and functional-level strategies would be required to implement such an ambitious growth strategy in a very challenging and unfamiliar market environment?

Indonesia’s Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), the world’s largest pulp and paper company, was attacked in 2011 by Greenpeace in a global campaign against buyers of APP packaging, particularly Mattel. The managing director of APP’s sustainability and stakeholder engagement (SSE) had to address lost sales and the accusation of greenwashing and devise an appropriate response to Greenpeace’s challenge while implementing the APP Group chairman’s goals to promote climate conservation, community, and commerce. In November 2014, the managing director of SSE had to assess the current progress of the Forest Conservation Policy and APP’s relationships with its stakeholders.

In 2014, Transcend Coffee—an independent coffee shop and coffee bean roaster with several locations in Edmonton, Alberta—was selling premium coffee to a loyal base of customers. While it had taken several years to establish its presence in a marketplace that was filled with coffee retailers, Transcend Coffee's success was in part due to its direct trade supply chain strategy. By working closely with its coffee bean farmers, Transcend Coffee was able to assist in improving both the growing process of the beans and the quality of the coffee. When one of its farmers experienced a disastrous coffee bean season, the company was faced with several challenges that could have an impact on not just its profits but also the livelihood of its farmers. With demand for its coffee at an all-time high, Transcend Coffee had to consider how to mitigate a supply shortage without sacrificing quality. The founder was unsure if the current supply chain could guarantee a steady supply of high-quality coffee, or whether he could maintain transparency with consumers and suppliers if there was variability with the product. He had to quickly decide what to do about the poor harvest and his relationship with the supplier and also figure out how to meet customer demand.

The electric-vehicle market in India had never grown to its expected potential. Environmental uncertainties, structural challenges, lack of consumer awareness, and high costs all served as major deterrents to customer acceptance of electric cars. In 2014, Mahindra Reva launched the e2o, a completely revamped version of its previous electric vehicle, the Reva. Although the car was highly advanced and loaded with innovative features, sales remained stagnant. Should Mahindra Reva attempt to strengthen its market position or completely change its strategy and pursue other options, such as the hybrid-vehicle market.

Teracom Limited was a medium-sized engineering manufacturing firm in India whose product portfolio included modems. The company catered to the various telecom service providers across India, including Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited , a major state-owned telecommunications company. Teracom’s customers were primarily business-to-business entities such as government organizations and telecom operators. However, it was considering selling its modems to retail customers. After seeking applications for new distributors of Teracom modems, the company narrowed the list down to four candidate firms. In December 2014, Teracom’s president of corporate business had to use a distributor selection model and undertake a distributor performance appraisal. What were the main criteria for evaluating the four applicants, and which firm was the best fit?

On January 21, 2015, a trading halt was placed on the shares of Keppel Corporation (Keppel Corp) and Keppel Land Limited (Keppel Land). On January 23, 2015, Keppel Corp announced an offer to take its subsidiary, Keppel Land, private. At the time of the offer, Keppel Corp already owned 54.6 per cent of Keppel Land. The buyout offer used a two-tier pricing approach with a higher price paid if Keppel Corp acquired a threshold number of shares. Keppel Corp would have the right to receive any distribution that might be declared, paid, or made by Keppel Land on or after the purchase date. The offer was scheduled to close on March 12, 2015. On February 2, 2015, Keppel Land appointed KPMG Corporate Finance Pte. Ltd. as the financial adviser to the independent company directors regarding the offer. Minority shareholders of Keppel Land were interested in evaluating Keppel Corp’s offer and examining its motivations. This would require that they compute the premium and net present value of the company, as well as analyze the revenue and cost synergies of the buyout.

Client entertainment is a popular business practice that Chinese managers often use to facilitate business relationships and promote sales. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in China, however, have been frequently involved in corruption allegations caused by client entertainment. This article explains client entertainment's purpose, prevalence, and persistence in China and identifies the pitfalls that foreign firms often encounter when they practice client entertainment in that country. Based on field observations and first-hand experience as well as research on public and survey data, this article also provides eight prescriptive guidelines that can potentially help firms manage client entertainment more efficiently and effectively without causing ethical and legal problems.

In 2008, the Multinational Natural Gas Pipeline Project was sponsored by China National Group Corporation to undertake a major international infrastructure project in Asia. The Pipeline Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of China National Group Corporation, established joint ventures with the host countries and took the lead in financing the project, which was required to be completed by the end of 2009. Initial investments and procurements were made, and payment would soon be due. However, there was a large gap between the estimated total investment and the funds available. Numerous banks expressed interest in the pipeline project, but most required the sponsor to provide a guarantee for the project’s loan. Some banks also asked for an increase in the capital ratio from less than 1 per cent to 20 per cent. The treasurer responsible for the financing of the project was now tasked with the issue of arranging the most effective way to finance the project.

In less than 20 years, Uniqlo has become the leading fast-fashion retailer in Japan and a strong player in other Asian countries like China, Korea and Taiwan. Since 1998, the company has expanded sales at double-digit rates, thanks to an aggressive pricing policy combined with a high level of quality, a mix that proved hard to resist for Asian customers. Key to Uniqlo's strategy and success was an agile supply chain inspired by the "fast-fashion" model pioneered by Inditex and also utilized by H&M, the two largest fashion retailers in the world. While Uniqlo demanded competitive prices from its suppliers, it also offered them continual technical assistance in developing and perfecting their manufacturing techniques, and supported them with a high flow of orders. Nineteen ninety-eight was an important year for Uniqlo, as the opening of a flagship store in one of the hottest fashion districts of Tokyo projected the brand in Japan at a national level. At the product level, a partnership with Toray, one of the world's leading producers of composite and synthetic fibers, resulted in garments that had performance and properties no natural material could match. Working with Toray forced Uniqlo to refine its supply chain further, that became "just-in-time," mimicking that of other highly competitive Japanese companies. With an efficient but regional supply chain, Uniqlo faced rising manufacturing costs in China and was experimenting with new supply chain models in low-cost locations like Bangladesh. Uniqlo's supply chain had proved effective in the Asia Pacific region, but could the same model be scaled worldwide? Was the low growth rate Uniqlo experienced in the US, and particularly Europe, also due to the limitations of its current supply chain?

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (DMRC), a government-owned enterprise in India, was responsible for building, operating, and managing the metro rail network in the National Capital Region of India. Delhi’s reliable, punctual, clean, and green metro services began operation in 2002. By 2016, DMRC had transformed peoples’ lives and become an essential form of transit for an average of 2.5 million commuters per day. In terms of customer satisfaction, DMRC was ranked in a global online survey as the second-best metro system in the world. But management at DMRC knew that to maintain that level of customer satisfaction, it had to be conscious of the gap between performance and customer expectations, which were increasing with demands from DMRC's assertive and ambitious millennial commuters. In addition, the government was embarking on strategies to induce commuters to switch from private to public transit. DMRC needed to evaluate its strategic service priorities while continuing to deliver value to its stakeholders. Should DMRC focus on enhancing customer experience with augmented services or invest in measures to reduce operational costs? Was DMRC's culture of customer delight sustainable?

Supplement for product 9B16A049.

The president of Cloud Syzygy Technologies (CST) had recently returned from the Pacific Telecommunications Council conference, where he discussed ways in which cloud computing had transformed industries. He knew that in the future, the real opportunities lay in the cloud and not in traditional internal IT solutions. As the executive in charge of CST, he wished to develop a plan to grow the business, which would include a clear message to his customers about the merits of cloud computing. He recognized that cloud computing provided many opportunities and risks for corporations seeking to take advantage of new and innovative technologies. He was tasked with presenting a ranking and assessment of CST’s new products to the board at the next meeting.

On February 27, 2010, Chile was razed by a three-minute earthquake of 8.8 magnitude on the Richter scale. More than 500 people died and nearly 400,000 homes were destroyed. The overall cost was estimated at US$20 billion. Over 70 per cent of the people who had died in the earthquake were from the coastal town of Constitución. Celulosa Arauco y Constitución (Arauco), a Chilean-based forestry and timber company, was Constitución’s largest employer. Arauco’s pulp mill and major sawmill in Constitución was completely destroyed, and all but one of the 34 remaining manufacturing facilities were wiped out. The company’s executives moved rapidly to respond to the crisis and create a plan to rebuild Constitución. By the end of April 2010, Arauco’s pulp business in Chile was operating at 70 per cent capacity and in May, the company’s pulp mill in Constitución reopened. However, the disaster had left an indelible imprint on Arauco’s vision and values. <br>The company had been thinking about pursuing further innovation. The company’s values of efficiency and productivity had been tested with an environmental disaster in 2005, but innovation was still limited. Then in 2009, an opportunity provided Arauco with the ability to engage innovation on a larger scale. But the earthquake and rebuilding efforts now required the company’s full attention. Should Arauco proceed with its innovation, and if so how would Arauco balance these two different objectives?

Yoyo Wallet, a technology start-up headquartered in London, United Kingdom, developed a mobile application for smartphones to facilitate in-store payments and loyalty data collection. Inspired by the success of Starbucks’ loyalty-integrated mobile application, Yoyo Wallet strove to become the ultimate tool for retailers in enhancing customer experience. The company planned to enter the mobile payment industry in the United States; however, Yoyo had to compete with existing wallets (like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay), navigate through the uncertainty of the industry’s future, and adapt their strategy to the competitive environment in the United States.

In 2015, many people in southwest Sri Lanka were experiencing severe health problems as a result of poor water sanitation, decaying pumps and pipes, and the resultant unsanitary water. With Sri Lanka’s dubious credit record and extremely poor economy, the country's government was unsure of how to raise the US$70 million that was required to build new sanitation plants and replace many aging pipes throughout the region. Would it have to accept the first offer of support or would its long-time allies from other foreign governments come to the rescue? There was little doubt that Sri Lanka would be faced with a number of caveats and conditions as part of any agreement to secure the necessary funding. Furthermore, even if the country could find the funds, would the designated officials use them appropriately without falling prey to corruption? As in any developing country, there were many concerns that needed to be addressed, and very few resources with which to address them.