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In 1965, a time when quantitative, computer-driven planning was very much in vogue, Royal Dutch Shell started experimenting with a different way of looking into the future: scenario planning. Shell's practice has now survived for almost half a century, and has had a huge influence on how businesses, governments, and other organizations think about and plan for the future. The authors interviewed almost every living veteran of the Shell scenario planning operation, along with top Shell executives through the years. They identify several principles that both define the process at Shell and help explain how it has survived and thrived for so long. For instance, Shell scenarios are stories, not predictions, and are designed to help break the habit, ingrained in most corporate planning, of assuming that the future will look much like the present. They must above all be plausible, with a logical storyline, in order to encourage intuition and judgment. They create a safe space for dialogue and for acknowledging uncertainty. They must also be relevant, not simply disruptive and challenging. And they need some quantification to be credible--but the numbers must flow from the stories, rather than the other way around. Otherwise, there's always the danger that quantitative models will hide assumptions and constrain thinking rather than refine it. Because scenarios follow a rhythm distinct from the annual strategy cycle, they allow an organization to see realities that would otherwise be overlooked.

In this age of tough, global competition, companies in business-to-business markets need to rethink the way they manage their customer portfolio and interact with their customers. Customer managers with mainly sales- or relationship-oriented roles cannot leverage their business relationships with customers who seek co-creation. For such co-creation relationships, companies need to install network-oriented managers who systematically create value and reduce risk together with the customer. This article distinguishes three customer asset management perspectives (i.e., sales, relationship, and network) that may be employed by customer managers at the supplier-customer interface. Following an explication of the evolving network perspective, it describes how firms can nurture the network perspective and the corresponding customer manager role in terms of mindset, context, and competence.

Carborundum Universal Murugappa International (CUMI) was a leading abrasives manufacturing company based in India with global operations in Russia, South Africa and China. In the global abrasives business, China held 50 per cent of the raw materials for the industry. China was also the largest market for abrasives worldwide and was expected to contribute to one third of the global demand for abrasives. CUMI had the vision to become a global leader in the abrasives industry within 10 years. It had successfully expanded operations in Russia and South Africa, where it was seen more as a partner than a conqueror in its acquisition strategy. In 2006, the company entered China through a joint venture with a Chinese state company but subsequently bought out the partner. However, the company was facing several problems with its stand-alone operation there, especially in terms of maintaining its workforce and hiring local managers. It was clear that winning market share in China was necessary, but the complexity of the Chinese market had proven to be a challenge. The managing director had to present a strategy for working successfully in China to the board.

In the late 1990s, multinational retailing giant Tesco selected a joint venture with the Samsung Group as its market entry strategy into South Korea and created a new brand, Homeplus. Subsequently, the management of Homeplus implemented various policies aimed at localizing the business while also introducing business practices from Tesco's british headquarters. It invested in growth and diversification through large discount stores offering an "all in one spot" shopping experience, small-sized super-supermarkets, private brands and online shopping. At the same time, the Korean retailing industry had become much more dynamic as competition intensified between various types of market players, including strong competitors affiliated with local business groups. Homeplus needs to rethink its position in a highly challenging market environment.

Microsoft Korea sees a potential opportunity to dramatically improve its subsidiary's performance by actively recruiting and promoting female senior managers in South Korea. The question is to what extent multinationals can gain competitive advantage by actively hiring talented members from the so-called excluded group in a society. Related questions include which initiatives are most effective at implementing change in the organization.

The case focuses on the profitability of the Indian aviation industry and explains how Indigo Airlines, a new entrant in the Indian aviation space, registered profits within three years of its inception while its competitors continued to struggle with losses. The case demonstrates how a firm incorporating innovative business practices can not only survive but also earn abnormal profits. The strategies adopted by Indigo Airlines to reduce its operational cost and enhance its revenue are discussed in the case. The case also explores whether the profits earned by Indigo are sustainable in the long run and focuses on the changes in the competitive positioning of Indigo Airlines as it switches from the position of a low cost player to a hybrid player in the aviation industry.

The Embrace case series provides an engaging context to understand social innovation, by taking students through a sequence of critical decisions from opportunity analysis and market feasibility study to formulating a competitive strategy and developing business models for growth. The focus of the case is on an innovative idea to solve the problem of a high number of fatalities in premature births in rural India, and the potential for an affordable product. The case is structured as a four-part series:Part A: Opportunity Identification. The setting is an MBA classroom where five teams have been given five ideas and the students are asked to match each idea to each team. The focus is on how to identify and evaluate an appropriate opportunity given a unique entrepreneurial team, its composition, and its prior experience. Often, entrepreneurs discount the critical role that team-task fit plays in subsequent success.Part B: Market Feasibility Analysis (9B13M005). The social problem associated with neonatal care in rural India is presented and the economics of providing reasonable care for premature babies is discussed. Is it possible to find an affordable and profitable price point, and make the project sustainable?Part C: Competitive Strategy (9B13M006). The students are taken through an external analysis of the potential competition. This calls for a close analysis of what the competitive advantage of the venture is and whether it is sustainable. It forces the students to consider other available neonatal care options in the market, as well as to think about the IP issues they could face.Part D: Building the Business Model (9B13M007). The team must decide between manufacturing the product in-house or outsourcing to vendors. Also, issues of distribution and sales require consideration.

Part B of a four-part series, which also includes 9B13M004, 9B13M006 and 9B13M007.

Supplement for W13122

Supplement for W13122

The co-founder of a Kenyan microfinance institution is troubled. Although his company has experienced great success in the past three years, it now faces cash flow problems. The co-founder has exhausted his personal resources and seeks an investor, local or international banks, or a process improvement program to ensure the company's long-term success. He needs to evaluate his options and propose a solution to the other board members.

IBM India was experimenting with social media applications to extend its marketing mix. A social media campaign named Digital Influence was launched to gain market share for the company's software products, influence groundswell and develop technical evangelists. Within a year, the share of voice and reach for the company's five software brands increased significantly. However, the company's marketing and communications director was hesitant to declare victory. Was the model sustainable? What challenges would the company face in the implementation process? Would the plan of operations continue to help the company gain market space and create technical evangelists?

The pharmaceutical industry prides itself on being the second largest growth industry in India; by the year 2015, it will be the third largest industry in the world. One of its major players, Micro Labs Limited, was established to provide quality healthcare products at an affordable cost. From supplying antibacterial antiseptics and vitamins to a local market, the company has expanded both nationally and internationally in such fields as eye care, heart disease, diabetes, neuropsychiatry, dermatology, paediatrics and gynecology. It not only provides training for specialists in its various sectors, but has a strong emphasis on research and development of new drugs and licensing them internationally. The founder's sons have taken over the firm and now must decide how to maintain its competitive edge and how to achieve its goal of becoming a $1 billion company while respecting and enhancing their father's vision for the brand.

This case describes the experiences of employees participating in a corporate mindfulness-training programme. The training programme takes place at the Risk Management Services group of If Insurance, a leading insurance company in the Nordic region. As defined for the training programme, "mindfulness is the 'attentional' skill of being able to focus one's full attention and awareness on one thing at a time, without distraction".

A Mexican appliance manufacturer, MABE, has evolved quickly after selling nearly half its stake to a large multinational company in the early 1990s. The manufacturer was then able to dominate the Mexican appliances market and venture into other Latin American countries. Just before the 2008 financial crisis, the manufacturer formed a joint venture with a Spanish company and entered the Russian market, but it was not successful. The manufacturer faced a dilemma: Should it leave the Russian joint venture with its Spanish partner and refocus on other emerging markets? Should it acquire a local manufacturer? Should it remain as it was?

The founder and CEO of a management company needs to address the future of its joint venture in Iran with a U.S. developer of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The joint venture partners need to decide whether to pursue a potential client's request for a custom version of the ERP system that the joint venture sells. The two partners disagree regarding the strategic direction forward, but must make a decision.

This case chronicles the events surrounding the six-week grounding of Tiger Airways Australia between June and August 2011. During this time, Tiger Airways Australia's revenue falls by 44% with the Tiger Airways Group share price falling 20%. Australian air safety regulators and key investors rapidly lose confidence in the company. This crisis necessitates drastic changes in the board of directors and executive leadership. On November 1, 2011, Chin Yau Seng is appointed the new CEO of the Tiger Airways Group. How can Chin guide the company as it emerges from the crisis, restore confidence and return the company back to normal operations?

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. A company's digital business model describes how the enterprise interacts digitally with its customers to generate value. The authors argue that it's time for companies to create a great digital business model before their customers leave them behind. A great digital business model will often challenge the status quo in the company: It can cause an organization to change how work gets done, who does the work and where it invests to best serve customers online. A digital business model often cannibalizes or changes the company's physical channels. And that is true whether the company is a born-on-the-Web company like Amazon, a large oil company or a local business just starting to focus on the best way to connect with customers online. The authors have created a framework to help enterprises compete digitally with three capabilities: their content, customer experience and platform. They illustrate the framework with case studies of top performers like Amazon, Apple, LexisNexis and USAA and results from an effective practices survey. They also include a self-assessment tool to help with next steps.

According to "bottom of the pyramid" theory, poor consumers pay much higher prices for most things than middle-class consumers do, meaning there's real opportunity for large multinationals to capture market share by offering high-quality goods at lower prices. But research on the ground in India shows that today, the poverty premium is often illusory. Companies need to be aware of how hard it is to compete solely on price.