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The best way for companies to improve the lives of the world's poorest people--those at the bottom of the pyramid--is to focus first on doing good business, not just on doing good. That's the contention of the authors, who say that a steady flow of profits from manageable ventures will pave the way for later investments in more-ambitious socially beneficial projects. The authors cite two main challenges in selling profitably to the bottom of the pyramid: changing consumers' behavior and changing the way products are made and delivered. To help companies see how these challenges affect various business prospects, they have developed an "opportunity map" that classifies opportunities along a spectrum from the least complex and resource-intensive to the most. At the simplest end are targeted marketing opportunities in mature markets. In the middle are opportunities in growth markets: efforts to redesign products, extend distribution channels, or create new ones. At the other end of the spectrum are frontier-market ventures to develop new products, conquer competitors' markets, expand into greenfield markets, develop new business models, or create altogether new markets. The authors present examples of each type and explain that companies can pursue multiple opportunities simultaneously. If they choose wisely, they can make profits and advance their social missions at the same time.

When the Rio Tinto mining company decided to increase its output of iron ore by 25% in its Marandoo location, it had to deal with an unexpected problem: an excess of water in the deep reaches of the mine. Because freshwater is a scarce resource in this region of Australia, Rio Tinto's challenge was to come up with a comprehensive water strategy for the region. This case is used in Darden's "Economics of Water" course elective.

Perna Arts is a movie production company that has gradually branched into related businesses straddling distribution, exhibition, programming and education. The company was among the first to go public after the movie business attained industry status in India. It was also one of the first to recruit a professional manager as its chief executive officer to put in place processes, systems, performance metrics and procedures aligned to its strategic priorities. The company’s aim was to make two to four movies a year — enough to create a rolling stock that could open up multiple revenue streams and offset losses with hits. However, Perna Arts was battling against temporary setbacks, such as failing to deliver hit movies. The company’s management wondered whether it could adopt a more business-like approach to movie making, using sound management principles to wean Perna Arts away from its person-centric, intuitive process.

The passenger car industry in India has witnessed intense competition since the Indian economy’s liberalization in the early 1990s. Although Maruti Suzuki India Limited has been the most dominant player for the last three decades — with many Indians using “Maruti” as a synonym for “car” — it has been unable to raise the prices of its cars over the last ten years due to a price war among rivals. Though Maruti has been a profitable company, rising input costs and poor price maneuverability are making it very challenging for the firm to remain profitable in the future. In 2014, Maruti is contemplating a major investment in a new plant. The chairman of Maruti must determine whether investing in the new plant would reduce costs significantly and help the company remain profitable.

Founded in 2011 in Mumbai, India, Ekohealth Management Consultants Private Limited helped its subscribing members by negotiating bulk discounts with hospitals for all planned surgeries and reducing their monthly bills by suggesting low-cost generic drugs rather than expensive brand names. It ensured ethical health care practices by removing the referral fees doctors routinely demanded from hospitals, pathology clinics, pharmaceutical companies and other medical professionals in exchange for directing patients to them. The company had entered fiscal year 2013/14 with a high momentum and envisioned recording revenue of INR28.3 million by the end of the year. The existing price metric involved a single price point: the annual membership fee of INR1,500 for up to five members of a family. The company has plans to move into other Indian cities by mid-2014. Is the single price metric appropriate for these new markets?

The owner of an accessory shop in China is unsure whether it was a wise choice to start his own business. The owner has identified that if the shop continues as is, he may face a loss. He must come up with a solution. Should he accept an employee’s suggestion to cut prices in order to compete with low-end street stalls? Should he shut down the shop in the short run or even exit the market? Whichever path he chooses, he can approach the decision using the concepts of elasticity and cost analysis popular in microeconomics.

Flipkart faced many challenges since its inception due to the hypercompetitive nature of its industry. The company preferred the route of profitless growth in the emerging e-retail industry in India — sacrificing profits for size and growth. Venture capitalists also supported this strategy by providing five rounds of funding. Nevertheless, Flipkart encountered intense competition from local players, who were quickly imitating its competitive and growth strategies. It responded to competition and enhanced its efficiency by rationalizing its product mix, opting for acquisitions and refurbishing its supply chain. Soon, however, Amazon announced its entry into the Indian e-retailing market. Amazon’s entry posed a major threat to Flipkart, mainly because of its financial strength. Flipkart responded by using a three-pronged strategy of technology, human resource management and supply chain investment. However, venture capitalists were still left wondering whether Flipkart would be able to report a profit or would be acquired by Amazon.

The Indian online retail (“e-tailing”) market had seen a flurry of activity. Success stories such as Makemytrip.com and Naukri.com in the travel and job search domains, respectively, were significant catalysts for this new breed of start-ups. Of these start-ups, Flipkart stood out as one of the most successful (and audacious) — more so because of the funding the company managed to secure over a very short period of time as compared to its competitors. The firm was celebrated for its bold stance on growth versus profitability but simultaneously had its share of critics and skeptics. The latest round of venture capital funding had valued Flipkart at US$1.6 billion, nearly eight times sales. In less than two years, the firm had attracted nearly $550 million in venture capital funds and its sales turnover had grown nearly 30-fold. Was Flipkart growing too big too soon? Were these valuations justified?

In November 2011, UltraRichMatch.com (URM) was founded as an online matrimonial portal targeted at Indian millionaires. URM was unique as it provided both wedding planning and matchmaking services. URM depended on building affiliations with providers of wedding products and services. These affiliations had not grown according to expectations. By early 2013, the founder believed that expansion was necessary for URM. He had arrived at three options for expansion: expansion online with a new portal, setting up a franchise chain of bricks and mortar marriage centres/ bureaus and expansion of URM’s affiliate program to attract more customers. His dilemma was whether to pursue all these plans simultaneously or one at a time.

By the end of its first season in spring 2014, “Comedy Nights with Kapil” had become India’s top rated comedy television serial in the nonfiction category. Each episode invited celebrities from Bollywood or sports teams as guests to promote their upcoming movies or ventures. The show had developed its target market and had entered the maturity stage of its business life cycle. What might be future value creation business strategies for the show to sustain its audience engagement and ratings? The intent to telecast once a week rather than twice a week upset the broadcasting channel, Colors TV. How would this change impact value creation for all the stakeholders?

Genting, a gaming company that monopolizes the Malaysian market, entered the U.K. gaming market in 2004 and faced competition from established players, different customer preferences across casinos in the United Kingdom, and changes in the British government’s gaming regulations. Genting had to rely on local management to run the business in the United Kingdom, as the market was still new to it. In operating casinos with different but established brand names to cater to different market needs, Genting faced the challenge of creating a single corporate identity. In spite of its challenges in the United Kingdom, Genting Malaysia has seized the opportunity to enter the U.S. market with its unique set of challenges, again through a local acquisition, with the strategic goal of continuous expansion of the gaming business in the United States. Is this the right move for Genting? What are the risks and opportunities?

Armed with an air operator's permit, Air Asia, a Malaysian low-cost carrier airline, is preparing to enter the Indian aviation market. AirAsia is known as an aggressive player globally. It plans to use aggressive pricing strategies to revolutionize air travel in India and gain competitive edge in the aviation market through highly competitive operational targets. How will AirAsia India’s entry and its aggressive pricing decisions work in the oligopolistic Indian aviation market? How will the barriers to entry affect its operational targets? Will its entry cause a clash in Indian skies and disrupt industry equilibrium? What strategies should AirAsia India pursue in such a market for long-term survival and growth?

Ankur Arora Murder Case (AAMC) was billed as the first medical negligence drama coming out of the Hindi movie industry in Mumbai (popularly referred to as Bollywood). Inspired by true events, the film received good critical response even though it was not the routine song-and-dance fare produced by most production houses. The project was beset by certain constraints, both external and intrinsic to the team. The producer of the movie was convinced that he would have a very good product once the hurdles created by legalities and other marketing-related issues were sorted out. His team had created a comprehensive marketing communications plan for the release of the movie to exploit the emotions evoked by such a sensitive subject. The box-office failure of the movie made the producer consider whether his strategy of arranging the finances of a project would work well or whether he should attempt to manage all future projects in their entirety, including production and marketing.

Multinational, multi-brand hotel corporations serve almost all segments of the market. They own hotels and work with other hotel owners through leases, management contracts and franchise agreements. In the hotel business it is widespread to receive contracts for management, but many well-known players use franchising agreements during their global expansion. In 2011, Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced that its select-service brands are expanding internationally. Among other issues, the leadership of the corporation now needs to find answers for several questions: What modes of entry should be used in brand internationalization? How should new internationalization opportunities be pursued for the lower-category Hyatt Place while maintaining the company's premium brand?

Anime News Network (ANN) is a Montreal-based news website that provides information and news about anime (Japanese animation) and manga (Japanese comics). The site’s primary readership and target audience is North American fans of anime and manga, but it is known and read by fans worldwide as “the world’s leading destination for news and information about manga and anime.” Under its founder and chief executive officer, ANN has grown from a hobby, staffed entirely by volunteers, to a profitable business with 3.3 million readers, annual sales of US$1 million, seven full-time and five part-time employees, and sister ANN websites in Australia and the United Kingdom. The critical question facing ANN is whether the company has reached its growth potential, given the niche nature of its readership base and a steady decline in the monetary value of the North American anime market.

The world’s second largest home appliances company has introduced a change in its global organization structure. Electrolux AB has consolidated its research and development, marketing and design functions at the top to form what is known as the “Innovation Triangle.” This change is in tune with the pursuit of innovation as a source of differentiation in a competitive industry. The concept has been tested in Electrolux Brazil for four years before being scaled up globally. The amplified version of the Innovation Triangle has a singular objective: to facilitate innovation enterprise-wide by leveraging cross-functional, cross-geographical and cross-business synergies. The ultimate goal is to launch new products faster, better and in greater number. The unveiling of the new organizational structure presents an opportunity for the company's Innovation team to review the company’s ongoing innovation initiatives. The four-member team grapples with issues around improving the company’s innovation pipeline.

The Hongxin Entrepreneur Incubator, located in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, has experienced tremendous growth between 2001 and 2013. Its founder and president has received widespread acclaim as he has helped to launch and turn around more than 100 local companies, both start-ups and more developed enterprises. He now plans to develop and grow the incubator by setting it up as an online platform that would connect and support an alliance of entrepreneurs on a scale never seen before in China. As he looks forward to taking it in this new direction, he wonders how he can ensure continued success and maintain his philosophy of caring for the community of entrepreneurs while maximizing profits.

Rebranding is a marketing strategy often used by companies. The rebranding of a city is not only less common but far more complex. By 2013, the city of Detroit, Michigan was facing a multitude of problems: declining population, crumbling roads and bridges, abandoned properties, an alarming school drop-out rate, poverty, high cost of pension plans, government corruption, growing crime and crippled emergency services. The 2008 recession had dealt a serious blow to its core automotive industrial sector, and although some high tech companies were moving in, the “Motor City” was wallowing in debt. In July 2013, Detroit filed for bankruptcy protection, which was granted that December. Its financial emergency manager was able to strike deals with its major debt-holders, the banks, and with the city’s largest union, but these forward steps were threatened when the water department started cutting off water to households that could not pay bills that had risen 120 per cent over the past decade. How does a city facing outraged residents and investors, that lacks infrastructure to such a degree that almost half of its traffic lights are non-functional and that is in an atrocious financial state repair its image and attract new investors?

Tata Cummins Limited (TCL), a leading manufacturer of diesel engines in India, faced a variety of challenges in meeting the October 2010 deadline for new automobile emissions standards. These standards are identified as Bharat Stage (BS) standards ranging from BS I to BS V. The subject of this case — the BS III standard — was introduced in 2005 for just 11 cities across India and then made mandatory for the entire country by October of 2010. At that time, the BS IV standard had already been implemented in a few large cities and it was this standard that was expected to exist nationwide by 2017. Reflecting on their successful experience with the transition to the 2010 automobile emissions standards, the vice-president of TCL hoped to make this next transition a smooth one by identifying the issues that the company would face in the near future.

Executives on the front lines of managing across borders share their insights: Luc Minguet, of France's Michelin, talks about the importance of cultural training not just for managers taking on assignments abroad but also for local employees who work with colleagues from around the world. He describes how his own experience learning to communicate across cultures reflects the tire-maker's broader practices. Eduardo Caride, of Madrid-based Telefonica, explains how the relatively young multinational is investing in a diverse talent mix as it strives to become a truly global company. Whereas early on, leaders relied on exporting Spanish managers abroad, he notes, the street now runs both ways. Takeo Yamaguchi, of Japan's Hitachi, details his efforts to create standardized global HR systems and processes across the conglomerate's 948 separate companies. "Three years ago, we had no systematic way of tracking employees, evaluating performance, or identifying future leaders," Yamaguchi says. "Today we do." And Shane Tedjarati, from the United States' Honeywell, talks about how the industrial powerhouse is shifting its strategy toward new regions, such as China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia. "We call these markets 'high-growth regions' instead of emerging markets," says Tedjarati, "because they now account for more than half of Honeywell's total growth."