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In late 2018, the chief executive officer and president of Domino's Pizza Japan Inc. was convinced that a substantial expansion in the Japanese market was needed and feasible for continued growth. His company had already grown to nearly 550 stores across Japan, which was over double the number only five years earlier. The company had numerous opportunities to grow further, including opening new markets; opening stores closer to the company's customers; and building on customer insights, new menu offerings, and a new marketing approach. In particular, the chief executive officer wondered whether priority should be given to new markets in Japan that the company had not yet entered, or if priority should be given to greater penetration in Japanese locations where it already operated. What strategy was the best option for expansion in the Japanese market?

The (D) case updates the case series from the time of Ant's planned IPO, and the Chinese government's regulatory shifts.

The case walks the readers first through the Cambridge Analytica scandal, eliciting its effect and presenting an overview of the analysis the infamous company did. Readers are then introduced with simple steps on how a similar approach may be used today - running surveys on inconspicuous questions very affordably and quickly, and creating simple analytical models (linear and logistic) to infer respondents' age and gender. The raw survey data is available upon request to the co-authors.

This case study of strategic contracting at Ticketmaster results in a process model for the execution of legally astute contracting. The findings are drawn from a qualitative case study of Ticketmaster led by its legally astute attorney-CEO Fred Rosen. The study offers a novel portrait of strategic legal decision-making and connects the private aspects of contracting with the legal, regulatory, and strategic environment.

Simultaneously to creating economic value, the two founders were committed to creating social value and respecting the environment. Social value stemmed from employing mostly women from the poorest segments of the population on a full-time, unlimited basis -while the industry largely employed workers on a temporary basis. Furthermore, wages, benefits, and shared decision-making created a unique organizational culture where fairness, learning, and personal development were paramount. At the same time, hydroponic technology, specialized infrastructure, and internal processes resulted in the industry's lowest environmental impact. By taking up a USD 300k bank loan, the founders had recently purchased a 25-acre lot and set up an up-to-date greenhouse. They had plans to continue growing the company and enlarging their market presence but were unsure of their business skills and if the business' cash-flows would be enough to pull this initiative through. They started looking for investors. Would investors accept their unwavering commitment to their triple bottom-line way of doing business? How would they relate to a purely business-oriented management philosophy? How could the company grow profitably and simultaneously maintain its commitment to the creation of social value without impacting their return on investment? Would the founders and the organizational culture respond satisfactorily to the severe demands of growth?

Urban Axes introduced the Canadian indoor sport of axe throwing to the US market, beginning with one location in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2016. Although Urban Axes was started as a "side hustle" by four friends with corporate jobs, it soon became apparent that the concept could be both popular and profitable. The partners quickly decided to become fully involved in the business to maximize its potential. This case features a woman protagonist as chief financial officer and the originator of the business plan. It is a novel, contemporary example of the first-mover principle, highlighting the risks and rewards of creating a new line of business in a competitive and volatile industry-in this case, the indoor or experiential entertainment industry.

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.

GE Digital started out in 2009 as a center of excellence to enable the digital transformation of services to industrial customers who had previously bought GE hardware. Now it finds itself competing with a variety of other providers. The case explores the basis of its competitive advantage (data analytics) and how it positions itself to succeed in what has become a crowded field.

Construction of buildings and infrastructure is one of the largest industries in the world in terms of volume. It is also one of the most physically risky, financially uncertain, and politically impacted. The industry is highly fragmented since there are few economies of scale, substantial location advantages, and almost all of the work is site built from unique plans. In order to achieve long term above average returns on effort and on invested capital, it's crucial that firms plan with intent with respect to markets and clients served, services provided, roles played in the industry value added system, and the matching of skills and assets to opportunities. The longest lived firms also determine which markets, products, customer types, and roles to avoid even when there might be attractive short term opportunistic contracts to be pursued. This note covers both the idiosyncratic nature of this industry that makes many classic strategic planning tools unhelpful, and also details the specific steps strategists should follow to gain the benefits and avoid the pitfalls of competition in this industry.

In 1988, Eric Molson became chair of the board of The Molson Companies Ltd. (TMCL). Founded in 1786, the company had focused on brewing beer until the mid-1960s, when it decided to diversify to promote its growth. In 1988, TMCL had four main divisions: brewing, chemicals, retail merchandizing, and sports (the Montreal Canadiens hockey team). Despite nagging doubts about diversification, Eric initially embraced the conglomerate strategy mapped out by his predecessors for the past two decades. He later realized, however, that it was time for TMCL's reign as a conglomerate to end. He firmly believed that Molson's future lay in going "back to beer" and becoming a global brewer. The case explains how, between 1988 and 1999, Eric and his board hired and fired several CEOs - John Rogers, Mickey Cohen, Norman Seagram, and Jim Arnett - in an effort to return Molson to its core business. Finally, in 1998, Molson's regained full ownership of Molson Breweries and, in 1999, Molson's sole focus returned to brewing. However, much remained to be done to secure Molson's position as a global player in the brewing industry. The case lays the groundwork for a discussion of strategy and corporate governance in the context of a large family-controlled business.

The case guides students to resolve a number of questions when embracing a new technology, with a focus on Blockchain, a radical new technology that has attracted a lot of hype although the adoption rate remains low among firms. Consequently, there are few successful business applications and many challenges, uncertainties and risks to be overcome. The case emphasizes two aspects of Blockchain. How to adapt a business's involvement with the technology to (i) the pattern of its development over time, (ii) to the geographic concentration of investment and development, certain locations being at the hub of development. As a framework for these issues, the case considers a start-up entrepreneur based in Paris as a means to help students/executives consider their own context. Paris is not at the forefront of Blockchain development, but neither is it on the periphery - which should inform their views of whether and how to embrace the technology. The case prompts participants to think about non-crypto-currency-related applications, and how far their options re influenced by the uncertain path of technology development and their own location in the broader global and local network. The issues addressed in the case also apply more generally to executives in large firms considering investment in emerging technologies such as Blockchain.

In 2019, David Behrends, head of Trading and Managing Partner at Sucafina, founded and launched Farmer Connect, a blockchain-based end-to-end transparent solution for the coffee trading industry. Following its successful launch, the tool needs to scale, which means bringing the whole coffee 'ecosystem' on board, analyzing the future structure of Farmer Connect in relation to Sucafina, resolving issues of fundraising and partnerships, as well as incorporating key learnings from a 2020 pilot in Brazil. The case follows the intrapreneurial journey of David, Farmer Connect and Sucafina. It puts managers in the driving seat, asking them to reflect on what it means to create value through innovation, and to disrupt an industry using technology to create positive social impact.

In 2020, the global fashion industry was faced with substantial disruptions. The COVID-19 pandemic had had disruptive consequences, both on the demand and supply sides. But the fashion industry was in distress long before the pandemic struck. In the last decade, the industry had come under intensifying scrutiny for being exploitative, environmentally damaging, and unsustainable. Numerous stakeholders were increasingly concerned about environmental issues, such as the impact of textile production and waste on climate change, as well as social issues, such as exploitative labor conditions for low-wage workers at the bottom of the value chain, especially in developing countries. Emilie had been asked to prepare a proposal on the future of the fashion industry in the post-pandemic era. She was due to present her proposal to the board the following Monday.

This case describes how the Chinese internet healthcare company Ping An Good Doctor created a nondisruptive solution for addressing a key challenge in China's healthcare industry: Seeking healthcare was difficult for many Chinese people due to the relative scarcity and uneven distribution of high-quality healthcare services. While the government and some internet healthcare market pioneers tried to increase the supply of medical resources in various ways based on the existing hospital-centered system, Ping An Good Doctor aimed to remove the part of unwarranted demand from over-crowded large hospitals by launching an internet healthcare platform to provide primary care services. The company recruited a full-time inhouse doctors' team of high qualifications to provide 24x7 online consultations, and partnered with other healthcare players to build a "closed-loop" system of healthcare services with fast delivery of medicine to patients' doorsteps and convenient access to partnered clinics and labs. Ping An Good Doctor has been addressing the needs of a vast population of Chinese people who are looking for high-quality basic care and health management services while creating a win-win between the company and other players such as hospitals, grassroots healthcare institutions, pharmacies, and independent clinics and labs. Instead of causing displacement and disruption in the existing industry, Ping An Good Doctor's has allowed medical resources to address market demand more effectively while lowering social costs, thereby achieving nondisruptive creation, a concept coined by Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne in their international bestseller Blue Ocean Shift.

New England Baptist Hospital (NEBH), a national leader in adult orthopedic care, has the lowest rate of complications and 30-day readmissions in New England, but gets paid 30% less for its surgeries than nearby institutions. NEBH introduces, with several large employers, bundled payment plans that cover the patient's surgical treatment from day of surgery until discharge from the hospital and subsequent post-discharge care, including eight physical therapy appointments and treatment for any complications during 60 days post-surgery. But the new payment plan, even with a much lower price than the fee-for-service payments being paid to competitive institutions, has not led to increased patient volumes from employers. The case, in addition to facilitating discussion about design features for bundled payment plans, illustrates the challenges of a hospital leader trying to benefit from its better patient outcomes and lower prices when its payers - employers, health plans, and the government - change only slowly.

In late 2015, the chief executive officer of Extraordinary Journeys, an African safari tour operator, faced a rare opportunity to buy a smaller competitor, Safari Specialists Inc. The chief executive officer worried that her firm's strong organic growth would slow, and she was interested in examining alternative growth strategies. The smaller company was offered at a reasonable price and had a remarkably similar organizational culture. On the other hand, it relied heavily on outside contractors, not employees, creating potentially difficult human resources challenges. Further, it was located in rural Georgia, far from the Extraordinary Journeys home office in downtown Manhattan. All things considered, the chief executive officer was wondering if she should buy her competitor.

Student spreadsheet supplement to case W21052

In 2018, Marsh USA Inc. (Marsh), an insurance company based in New York, launched an innovative pandemic insurance product called PathogenRX. However, until the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there was no demand for the product. During the pandemic, some US businesses attempted to claim benefits for business interruption losses from their insurers but were denied because their policies did not cover pandemic losses. Unlike other catastrophic events, pandemics seemed to be uninsurable. In May 2020, industry experts estimated that US small businesses could lose up to US$431 billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Marsh's chief executive officer wrote a letter to the United States Congress and president requesting that a state-backed pandemic insurance plan be developed to help cover extremely high potential claim amounts. The federal government could act as a reinsurer and prevent the US insurance industry from collapsing due to increasing claims from US businesses. However, there were several lingering questions: What challenges could be faced in selling pandemic insurance and how could these be resolved? Was it preferable to partner with a government or a private reinsurance partner? How could pandemic insurance modelling be improved to better forecast potential premiums and claims?

The Sydney Opera House, an iconic architectural landmark and United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site, was officially opened in 1973. The project cost AU$102 million and took 14 years to complete-AU$95 million and 10 years more than originally estimated. The challenges with the construction of the opera house included a brilliant and visionary architect who lacked project management experience, team collapse due to misalignment, bureaucratic and political issues that hindered work, and a rush to begin construction without proper planning. What could have been done at crucial crossroads to facilitate the project? What could today's project managers learn for future construction?