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The case opens with a recent proposal from Motherson Sumi Systems Limited to simplify the ownership structure of the group which had become complex over the years as a result of global acquisitions, among other reasons. To set the context and enable a discussion on the potential concerns with the existing group structure and the impact of the proposed restructuring, the case is divided into three sections that trace the evolution of MSSL from a small firm that got an unexpected opportunity to become a wiring harness manufacturer and progressed to a global tier-1 auto-component company with presence in 41 countries and over 135,000 employees. The first section provides the early history of the firm and its strategy that enabled it to take advantage of opportunities provided by liberalization of India's economy in the 1990s. It also provides insight into the management style of the founder, who opted to relinquish his formal executive role and take up the role as chairman. The second section provides an account of MSSL's 5-year visions, MSSL's acquisition led growth strategy that enabled it to become a global company, and the role played by the group holding company, which was controlled by the founder family, in making acquisitions and pursuing diversified business opportunities. The third section elaborates on the proposed restructuring scheme that is intended to address investor concerns about the existing group structure and the potential conflicts. Finally, this section also provides details about the latest 5-year vision plan announced immediately after the announcement of the group restructuring scheme.

The two-part case "The House of Tata: Governance Challenges" is based on one of India's oldest, renowned, and most internationalized business groups. The case provides an account of the evolution of the Tata Group with an emphasis on the developments in the last 30 years (the years following economic liberalization in 1991) and the legal tussle between Tata Sons (the Group's parent company) and its minority shareholder (SP Group). The legal battle has been keenly watched for its potential ramifications on the evolution of corporate governance in India, a country marked by controlling ownership of corporations and concerns over protection of the interests of minority shareholders. The first section of Part A of the case, Tata Group: Early History, traces the early years of the Tata Group, its management philosophy, the formation of Tata Trusts, the leadership years of its long-serving legendary chairman, JRD Tata and the emergence of SP Group as a minority shareholder in Tata Sons. The second section of Part A, Ratan Tata Years, begins with the elevation of Ratan Tata as chairman of the Group in 1991 and details the Group's transformation through the institutionalization of formal systems and processes, entry into new industries, bold global acquisitions, and radical innovations such as Tata Nano. Cyrus Mistry Years captures the key strategic choices made by the Group's next chairman, Cyrus Mistry, and his Vision 2025 for the Group. The next section, The October Shock, details the abrupt removal of Cyrus Mistry as executive chairman of Tata Sons and the subsequent controversies that culminated in him being removed as a director in all the group companies. The final section of Part A, Chandrasekaran Years, provides details of the Group strategy under its current chairman, Chandrasekaran.

The two-part case "The House of Tata: Governance Challenges" is based on one of India's oldest, renowned, and most internationalized business groups. The case provides an account of the evolution of the Tata Group with an emphasis on the developments in the last 30 years (the years following economic liberalization in 1991) and the legal tussle between Tata Sons (the Group's parent company) and its minority shareholder (SP Group). The legal battle has been keenly watched for its potential ramifications on the evolution of corporate governance in India, a country marked by controlling ownership of corporations and concerns over protection of the interests of minority shareholders. Part B of the case begins with a section titled The Legal Battle detailing the ensuing legal battle between Tata Sons and Cyrus Mistry at the company law tribunals - the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal and the NCLAT (National Company Law Appellate Tribunal). This section also captures the disagreement between Cyrus Mistry and Tata Trusts regarding the former's performance as chairman, the role of the board and the role of the trusts in the governance of Tata Sons and Tata Group. The following two sections, The NCLT Order and The NCLAT Order, captures the salient aspects of the contrary rulings of NCLT (in favor of Tata Sons) and NCLAT (which supported the claims of Cyrus Mistry). The final section, Appeal to the Supreme Court, details the appeals filed with the Supreme Court of India, a new controversy between Tata Trusts and SP Group about the latter's ability to pledge their shares in Tata Sons, a settlement proposal by SP Group, and the final verdict by the Supreme Court of India in the legal battle between the two set of parties.

Virginia-based Aspetto Inc. integrated fashion into its ballistic clothing, which was considered the lightest and strongest in the world. Its customers included the United States Air Force, the United States Marine Corps, the US Department of State, and various law enforcement agencies, as well as civilian consumers. By October 2020, demand for body armour in the civilian market in the United States was increasing, given the growing number of mass shootings in the country. Intending to grow the company through innovation, the two co-founders had to decide whether to prioritize the civilian market or the military market for body armour. How could they ensure growth through innovation? What strategic growth plan would allow them to do this?

Virginia-based Aspetto Inc. integrated fashion into its ballistic clothing, which was considered the lightest and strongest in the world. Its customers included the United States Air Force, the United States Marine Corps, the US Department of State, and various law enforcement agencies, as well as civilian consumers. By October 2020, demand for body armour in the civilian market in the United States was increasing, given the growing number of mass shootings in the country. Intending to grow the company through innovation, the two co-founders had to decide whether to prioritize the civilian market or the military market for body armour. How could they ensure growth through innovation? What strategic growth plan would allow them to do this?

Milaap is a popular medical crowdfunding platform in India, enabling interaction between those who want to raise funds and those who want to donate. To achieve the critical mass Milaap had to increase the trust among the donors and ensure a higher success rate of the campaigns. Milaap provided two types of services: Do it Yourself (DIY), and Supported Campagn (SC). Milaap charged 5% of the raised amount from the DIY campaigns and 15% of the raised amount from the SC. Overall the chances of success were high in the SC. The case explores the dilemma of type of service to be prioritized.

Epilogue for Case A00355

Kusha Ahmad is tasked with facilitating headcount reduction following the acquisition of the Societe Francaise de Biotechnologie (SFB) by Big American Pharmaceuticals (BAP), and the subsequent closure of the SFB office in Lyon, France. In accordance with regulations introduced in 2017, staff are entitled to a "rupture conventionnelle collective". With the aim of reaching unbiased and rational decisions, Kusha uses data analysis (exclusively) to identify which people to whom the offer will be made. The case follows Kusha as she develops a roadmap to take her from data to decision making. https://publishing.insead.edu/case/integration-planning-sfb-a

Case Supplement for Case IN1850

Case Supplement for Case IN1850

Following a weekend strategy retreat in October 2018, the vice-chair and group CEO of Kuwait-headquartered mobile telecommunications company Zain, was proud of the company's performance over the previous year. Zain Group had much to celebrate, having blazed a trail in advancing women's empowerment and inclusion in the workplace-a double challenge in a technology industry that was also based in a region heavily influenced by traditional gender values. Its strategy included the launch of the Women Empowerment Network initiative (WE Initiative) in November 2017, a strategic master plan aimed at achieving gender equality, empowering women, and advancing women's careers at Zain. However, a great deal of progress remained, and new challenges were emerging. The company had put significant emphasis and resources toward women's empowerment and development, leaving some of the male colleagues feeling overlooked and left out. As well, other groups, such as people with disabilities and younger generations, also had barriers to overcome. How could the company continue its efforts to support women while also being inclusive and considering the needs of all its employees?

Given this industrial configuration, how can Sunriver Tea Co. Ltd. ("Sunriver Tea") make business breakthroughs and gain competitive advantage? In order to create differentiation, Sunriver Tea established the value proposition of "Small Place of Origin, Sunriver Tea". It attempted to create high-quality and differentiated tea products through the concept of "small place of origin". It also chose multi-category management to buildscale, rather than focusing on only one category, black tea. Challenges encountered by Sunriver Tea in implementing its strategy: First, in the tea planting process, Sunriver Tea restructured the supplier's value chain and tried to obtain high-quality tea garden resources through large investment. However, due to the difficulty in establishing agricultural products as high quality, it is difficult to reflect the value of high-quality tea from a high-quality place of origin by focusing on differentiated products based on place of origin. In the tea production process, Sunriver Tea restructured its internal value chain through automated and intelligent manufacturing, improving production efficiency and guaranteeing stability. However, Sunriver Tea's cost-reduction advantage is not obvious, due to low public awareness of the value of tea culture and its traditional handicraft, and the existence of many farmers and workshops in the market competing with one another. Second, the value was mainly delivered through CCTV advertising targeted at a broad range of customers, but it did not seem to have a strong impact on consumer awareness. In terms of sales, Sunriver Tea still chose traditional direct retail as the main channel as it was a start-up brand, and it was expensive to promote via e-commerce. Consumers were slow to recognize the cultural value delivered behind the "small place of origin".

In April 2012, Qingke Facilities Leasing Ltd. (Qingke), a technology-based real estate management company, was founded to provide a long-term apartment rental service to young professionals in Shanghai and some other cities. The goal was to rent constructed but vacant apartments on the Shanghai market by leveraging information technology resources for all operations and by employing a model of standard apartment renovation. A decentralized long-term apartment rental model was introduced to China's market in 2014 by leading Internet-based companies and was booming by 2017. At the end of 2018, Qingke was one of the top ten brands in the long-term apartment rental market, running 100,000 renting units in coastal cities in China with revenue of ¥1.2 billion that year. However, to sustain rapid market growth and create a large-scale Internet economic model, Qingke would have to overcome many uncertainties and challenges, including capital acquisition; strong competition; constraints to its financial resources, team building efforts, work force development, and sustainability; and extension of the business model. By the beginning of 2019, Qingke had come a long way; the US$100 million in funding he received in 2018 signified a major accomplishment in Qingke's progress since its establishment in 2012. However, competitors were targeting Qingke with the aim of overtaking its market share. How could the recent funding strengthen Qingke's position in the housing rental market and gain sufficient market share? Should Qingke increase investment in information technology to upgrade its data processing abilities and capacity, or should it build its brand to promote market exposure and awareness?

South Korean steelmaking giant POSCO in 2021 had become a global company with businesses in 52 countries. In 2018, POSCO's new chairman and CEO had inaugurated a broader business philosophy, espousing "Corporate Citizenship" practices as a way for the company to give back to society, beyond the production of steel or creation of jobs. This philosophy included new principles, innovative R&D, action plans, and internal and external cooperation to address climate change, sustainable development, safety, economic and social assistance programs, and cultural facilities-all connected to this broader goal of being good global and local citizens. South Korean citizens had long viewed the company as the bedrock of Korea's industrialization, and a symbol of national pride and "can-do" spirit. Would South Koreans, along with POSCO's internal and external stakeholders, embrace this new management approach, and the company's new cultural identity?

This article identifies barriers that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) encounter when they openly innovate, according to the open innovation (OI) mode used (inbound, outbound, coupled). A qualitative analysis - involving seven case studies of SMEs active in digital (high-tech) or social economy (low-tech) sectors - reveals that they face more internal than external OI barriers. Overall, the nature of the barriers does not vary across OI modes, but their intensity does. With regard to external barriers, the results reveal a "tribe syndrome," such that SMEs resist opening up to other firms that do not share the same values.

Instructor Spreadsheet to accompany product 8B21M061.

Spreadsheet to accompany product 9B21M061.

Ucommune was the first co-working space operator in China to submit a prospectus to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. As its basic business, Ucommune provided co-working spaces for members and customers, and gradually formed two specific space operation models: the self-operated model and the asset-light model. Ucommune also offered members comprehensive value-added services and promoted the development of a service business by establishing a service ecosystem. Constant exploration of the co-working space industry had enabled Ucommune to create a unique business model and, through its creation, positively change the industry's old model. Although it had reached certain goals, Ucommune still faced challenges, including problems with achieving profitability, fierce competition, and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. To transcend the current obstacles, In early 2020, Ucommune had to consider how to further adjust and optimize the business model.

In late May 2020, the two founding and managing partners at Redhill Capital, in the Pearl River New City district of Guangzhou, China, were considering various reasons why the year was developing far differently than they had expected. The two-year-old venture capital firm's limited partners and investees were all shocked by the dire developments, as was the entire country and the whole world. Earlier that year, rapidly spreading outbreaks of COVID-19, which had started in Wuhan, in China's Hubei province, had led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, and many countries were closing down their borders. With the world seemingly plunging into a deep depression, the two founders of Redhill Capital were wondering about the future of their venture capital firm, which normally invested in medical technology and biotechnology. How should the company's strategy be adjusted to survive the crisis and take advantage of new opportunities in the rapidly changing world?

Shrujan, a 50-year-old social enterprise, was started to provide work for villagers following a severe drought in the Kutch region of India. The organization focused on using the villagers’ appreciable skills in embroidery to create and market high-end handicrafts. The products both generated a source of added income for their households and helped to preserve the traditional crafts of the artisans. Shrujan had grown over the years, increasing sales and thus increasing the number of artisans supported by the project. However, in January 2020, a young fashion designer—the niece of the trustee manager and an employee at Shrujan—had ideas for growing and expanding the organization even further. The trustee manager needed to evaluate her niece’s proposal and decide whether or not it was possible to scale Shrujan and grow the business without compromising its social commitment.