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Dr. Wehrheim Winery, a family business located in the Palatinate region of Germany faced a critical decision. While the business was controlled by the third-generation owner, Karl-Heinz, his son, Franz, had come up with a plan of launching a secondary line of wines exclusively for the retail channel. Because of the winery's limited supply of grapes from its vineyard, Franz wanted to source grapes from the market for the proposed new line. While Karl-Heinz was reluctant to support the idea because of the risks involved, Franz saw this as the opportunity to showcase his leadership skills as a prelude to becoming the fourth-generation owner of the business. Franz had a month to come up with a sound rationale to get his father's support for the secondary line.

Established in 1979, Dayang Group Ltd. (Dayang), has become the world's preeminent made-to-measure garment manufacturing enterprise. It was among the first Chinese manufacturers to integrate into the global value chain using an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) model. What began as a small workshop with just 85 rural women has blossomed into a top-tier international apparel enterprise boasting assets of RMB 4.3 billion. As of 2019, Dayang's yearly integrated garment production capability reached 11 million pieces/suits, with suit exports hitting 6 million pieces/suits, consistently leading the national charts for several years. Its annual production capacity for customized attire stood at 1.3 million pieces/suits. With over 1,000 global collaboration custom storefronts, Dayang has established a global marketing network spanning four continents and more than thirty countries. Centered on Dayang's Chairwoman, Li Guilian, this case delves into the debate between OEM and own brand manufacturing (OBM) as well as between "mass production" and "mass customization." It retraces Dayang's journey from OEM to achieving global customization on the international stage. Furthermore, the case highlights Dayang's intricate decisions and balancing acts between "domestic focus" and "international reach" amidst the dual challenges posed by the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing China-U.S. trade tensions.

The disruptive potential of artificial intelligence (AI) has been on the minds of many professionals since the public launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. AI is seen as a potential disruptor in areas such as law, science, education, and training—and of decision making at the middle to upper levels of organizations. This article explores how AI (in this case, ChatGPT) might affect the challenges faced by strategists in leading management teams through a key part of strategic planning exercises: scenario planning. Scenario planning is an essential part of any strategic planning exercise. After all, most strategic plans aim to give a roadmap for success in three to five years’ time. As a “case study,” the author used ChatGPT to help him move quickly through the scenario-planning process in order to explore how environmental issues affecting the Canadian mining industry might change in the near future. He started by asking ChatGPT to identify the 20 forces that would shape the environmental issues of the mining industry in Canada in the next three to five years. From this experience, the author learned various lessons. First, ChatGPT can contribute enhanced data and new ideas and can serve as a powerful reality check and challenge to groupthink. Second, ChatGPT can allow us to do things previously unthinkable, but it can also become “the centre of gravity” as opposed to simply a powerful tool used for specific activities. Finally, the value of having teams work together to generate scenarios in messy, sometimes tense conversations cannot be overstated.

In June 2021, the head of the information technology department at Ka Shui Group, a Hong Kong–based original equipment and original brand manufacturing company, was asked by the group’s chief executive officer to evaluate whether Ka Shui Group should discontinue the Industry 4.0 program it had been using as road map for digital transformation. Ka Shui Group had launched the program in 2016 with the goal of creating a cyber-physical, connected workplace featuring digitized data transparency and connectivity, smart manufacturing and research and development, and self-monitoring and error-correction capabilities. However, the i4.0 initiative had yet to progress beyond this first stage over the last three years. The program’s cascading progress within Ka Shui Group was stagnant, and results were meagre. At the same time, stakeholders were getting restless. All these problems, along with lukewarm reactions from employees and questions from investors about the benefits of Industry 4.0, were forcing Ka Shui to consider whether it was necessary to discontinue the program and, if so, what direction it should take next.

Why ChatGPT can be a strategic planning consultant's new best friend-if they are willing to adjust their value proposition.

The Apple's Electric Vehicle case provides an interesting context for discussion in which participants can explore whether a very successful global company with a powerful brand should enter a new emerging product market such as Electric Vehicles (EVs) that may represent an attractive opportunity. Specifically, the questions faced by Apple are 1) whether EVs represent an attractive opportunity, 2) whether Apple has an opportunity to be successful in this industry, and finally 3) how Apple should participate in this industry. The company had to make key strategic decisions regarding the competitive positions of its proposed product offering and the scope of its participation in the industry while recognizing the uncertainties of customer demand, competitor actions, and government regulations.

"Patagonia has long been a revered company in the world of outdoor gear, and environmental and social sustainability. Known for pushing the bounds of what it means to be a mission-driven organization, the company has challenged the status quo of consumerism. A key initiative early on in Patagonia's journey was its now-famous Common Threads Initiative and accompanying ad campaign to inspire customers to reduce unnecessary consumption. (Ironically, the extraordinary "Don't Buy This Jacket" ad was followed by increased sales.) Patagonia followed that with another program contrary to the typical clothing business: the company began providing significant resources for responsible care, repair, reuse and resale, and recycling at the end of a garment's life. Patagonia further questioned consumerism with a form of refusal. In April 2019, it stopped co-branding apparel with companies and organizations in certain industries, including finance. In April 2021, Patagonia took this policy one step further and announced it would no longer allow any companies' logos to be embroidered on its clothing. The company said non-removable logos reduced the lifespan of clothing because such garments are less likely to be worn beyond the time of employment, regifted, or passed on to someone else. This case takes place in May 2023, a few years after the new logo policy was announced. Students assume the role of the fictional vice president of global sales to develop a sales strategy based on the impact of Patagonia's business model that includes a unique refusal strategy."

This article explores the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) journey to strategic agility through successively shifting to three different strategic alignments over the last six decades and suggests that logical incrementalism may be an unappreciated driver of this process. Three successive alignment models exhibit important shifts in technology strategy, competencies, and values of the organization. The three phases of incremental changes in shifting from one alignment model to the next are the emergence of new approaches, the embeddedness of these approaches in particular contexts, and their expansion to other organizational contexts.

The case discusses the development and implementation of a unique - and indeed, one of the world's largest - telecenter scheme, the "Common Services Centres" (CSC). The CSC scheme engaged rural entrepreneurs to meet the twin goals of ensuring last-mile delivery of e-governance services as well as supporting the development of indigenous entrepreneurship. The former has been a long-standing element of the government's plans to create a "Digital India", while the latter is geared towards serving as a source of employment generation and income growth to drive nation development. While highlighting contrasts between the different kinds of entrepeneurship that exist (specifically necessity/subsistence vs innovative entrepeneurship), the case also discusses in detail the unique challenges faced by subsistence entrepreneurs, which are likely to be common to all emerging economies, and how this scheme sought to address them through the deployment of innovative technologies. The case offers a high-level view into the creation and implementation of the CSC scheme, the processes of iteration and improvement it underwent, and the broad challenges it continues to face.

Set in 2019, this case explores Tata Steel's journey in utilizing digital technologies to enhance customer engagement. Tata Steel, founded in 1907, had emerged as the ninth-largest steel conglomerate globally, with major production facilities in India and overseas. With a focus on B2B, B2ECA, and B2C markets, the company established a task force on digital strategy to drive innovation and stakeholder experiences. They prioritized initiatives such as reverse mentoring and the Digital Enthusiasts Exploration Program. The company aimed to "Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast" in delivering digital projects in the Marketing & Sales division. By creating a digital roadmap and filtering initiatives based on value and execution feasibility, Tata Steel identified opportunities in each market segment. The division successfully embraced digital transformation and overcame challenges during Phase 0 and Phase 1. The case explores future considerations, including regional expansion, exploring new technologies, and upskilling the team or hiring consultants.

While agile represents a crucial element of digital transformation, there is limited empirical evidence on how agile is actually implemented. This article presents a longitudinal case study of the agile implementation journey of a large product manufacturer over two years. It shows how the firm was able to achieve a large-scale agile implementation through a mix of top-down and bottom-up approaches. This process entailed continuous adaptations of agile to the firm's circumstances and needs, including ongoing articulations and re-articulations of agile to incorporate local ideas and address emerging challenges. This article also presents a framework for guiding managers undertaking an organization-wide agile implementation.

"This case is set in August 2021, eight years after the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, which remains the deadliest fashion-garment incident to date. The case's central issue: What is the most effective way for the major fashion retailer H&M to ensure safety for workers within its supply chain? This is explored from the point of view of H&M's fictional head of sustainability, Kristina Nilsson. Questions that Nilsson must address include: Should H&M re-sign the existing International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry ("International Accord"), an about-to-expire, multi-company pact to ensure factory safety? What are alternatives to the International Accord? What internal and external factors are at play that must be considered? How can Nilsson and other executives prove that H&M is a leader in social and environmental issues? This case study is an educational tool that highlights the concepts of corporate social responsibility and ethics as they relate to supply chain management issues such as subcontracting labor to Global South countries and worker's rights in terms of health, safety standards, and living wage."

Agile management prescribes a set of structures and processes to help teams respond to change. This article presents an in-depth case study examining how high- and low- agility nursing teams differed in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizational restructuring, and floods. It unveils the crucial role of "affective leaders" in high-agility teams during those crises. These leaders constructed positive emotional experiences for their teams to successfully respond to adversity. The findings remind scholars and practitioners that agile management's founding tenet of "valuing individuals and interactions" implies understanding, working with, and actively recalibrating emotions.

Companies are now aiming to decarbonize their supply chains by tackling scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions along the value chain). Scope 3 emissions are difficult for companies to manage because they reside outside the companies' direct control, and for this reason, they always require partnerships. However, partnerships are not easy, and it is difficult to determine exactly which partnership will best achieve the desired sustainability objectives. This case study focuses on the sustainability partnership portfolio of ZUCCA, a fictitious company in the food and agriculture sector that is looking to dramatically reduce its scope 3 emissions. ZUCCA's new chief sustainability officer (CSO) is considering the future of the company's sustainability partnerships portfolio and evaluating which partnership will best help the company dramatically reduce scope 3 emissions. The CSO considers partnering with three different NGOs: the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD); World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF); and the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Due to health, environmental, and animal welfare concerns, increasing numbers of consumers have been switching to vegetarian, vegan, and flexitarian diets. This value migration in customer demand has driven consisten growth in the plant-based food market over the last 20 years, although at a slowing rate in 2022. Demand growth for plant-based products has provided an opportunity for startups and new ventures, as well as for legacy food producers in the United States. These companies entered the new plant-based food market using a variety of mechanisms including acquisition, organic growth, and partnerships. Powerful retailers such as Kroger, Walmart, and Whole Foods also entered the plant-based food market with private label brands. * In 2022, Kraft Heinz and NotCo announced a new joint venture (JV), The Kraft Heinz Not Company. Kraft Heinz in 2022 was the fifth largest food and beverage company in the world with a broadly diversified porduct portfolio. NotCo was a Chilean, plant-based, food-tech company that used artificial intelligence algorithms to produce plant-based food. The goal for the JV was to capitalize on the may strengths of Kraft Heinz including scale, product portfolio, commercialization know-ho and access to distribution channels, and on the unique leadership NotCo brought to the venture as a technology company in the food business. * The JV posed interesting challenges for Lucho Lopez-May, newCEO of The Kraft Heinz Not Company, LLC, as well as for the two separate companies Kraft Heinz and NotCo. How could the new JV best position to face the challenges of working with parent companies? Were there specific conflicts of interest that would need to be addressed early to manage different relationships and decisions across these organizations? Were the goals of the JV and the individual companies similar or different?

BGI Genomics (BGI), founded in China in 1999, covered the entire field of genomic sequencing applications. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, BGI’s strategic corporate social responsibility initiative, developing coronavirus nucleic acid test kits, created shared value for BGI and society; brought revenue growth to the company; and won BGI acclamation from the government, media, and public. However, as the market competition in the COVID-19 testing business intensified, Zhao Lijian, chief executive officer of BGI, had to consider the company’s next direction: Should BGI significantly increase investment in the COVID-19 testing business and shoulder greater social responsibility for fighting the pandemic? Or should it shift the focus back to its main business?

About how Singapore-based natural resources firm Royal Golden Eagle, starting with a palm oil business in Indonesia, eventually expanded into a global conglomerate that also included the kraft pulp and paper, viscose, and natural gas industries.

What's the future of corporate communications? Email? Corporate messaging? The battle for corporate messaging in 2023 was stacking up as a fight between Slack, which had been recently acquired by Salesforce, and Microsoft Teams. This case explores a classic judo strategy problem: how to compete against a giant competitor? Slack's new CEO, Lidiane Jones, had to devise a strategy against Microsoft, which bundles Teams with Office, and gives it away for free. Should Salesforce promote Slack as a standalone, superior product? Bundle Salesforce and Slack together? And, should Slack price its SaaS as a premium product or give it away to build scale and account control?

BGI Genomics (BGI), founded in China in 1999, covered the entire field of genomic sequencing applications. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, BGI's strategic corporate social responsibility initiative, developing coronavirus nucleic acid test kits, created shared value for BGI and society; brought revenue growth to the company; and won BGI acclamation from the government, media, and public. However, as the market competition in the COVID-19 testing business intensified, Zhao Lijian, chief executive officer of BGI, had to consider the company's next direction: Should BGI significantly increase investment in the COVID-19 testing business and shoulder greater social responsibility for fighting the pandemic? Or should it shift the focus back to its main business?

Health equity became a hot topic during the pandemic, when health care disparities and higher mortality rates for Black and Latino patients became front-page news. New discussions about the structural determinants of health in the United States looked deeply at the impact of racial disparities and racism on health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment on health outcomes. The Unite Us technology platform was devoted to helping identify, deliver, and pay for services that affected whole-person health, with the goal of screening at-risk individuals for referrals to broader assistance from government services and community-based organizations. Could Unite Us and its partners build the coordinated care networks to provide whole-person health to populations that had long borne the brunt of racial disparities-and reduce health care costs?