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Asia Symbol (Guangdong) was part of the Royal Golden Eagle Group (the RGE Group)'s China presence. RGE was a multinational conglomerate that spanned the forestry, pulp, papermaking, viscose fiber and gas industries. It mainly ran businesses in China, Brazil and Indonesia, with a clear business strategy to leverage its industry integration business model to gain the advantage of cost leadership. In an effort to replicate its successful experiences in other countries, it established Asia Symbol (Guangdong) and another pulp processing plant in Shandong province. The case describes how RGE saw China's potential in its global business layout and how it managed to grab over one-third of China's copy paper market share.

Many companies today face the need to embark on a dual transformation: Reinventing and sustaining their core business while concurrently creating new, future businesses. This case about Globe Telecom, Inc., in the Philippines presents the s.tory of just such a transformation The case is bookended by the CEO's 14-year tenure and describes successive waves of reviving and retooling the once-flagging telecom business. It is situated in a transient, highly competitive B2C landscape, continually susceptible to the forces of saturation and commodification. The thread connecting Globe's successive reinventions is the CEO's belief in the company's "unfair advantage" when building new businesses in telco space adjacencies. The project of building this advantage - and the attendant pursuit of new opportunities, sectors and partnerships - has had to be constantly balanced with the ongoing task of growing market share in the core mobile business. Underlying both sets of activities is the rediscovery, at regular intervals, of Globe's purpose as a corporation, a consumer player, an employer and an important stakeholder in the emerging and fast-growing domestic economy, as well a broader sense of being an agent of development for the nation. Managing these intricate processes requires not only foresight from the company's top leadership but also the presence of ambidextrous talent - a workforce that is up to the task of optimizing for today while transforming for tomorrow. Historically, organizations have separated these two tasks in terms of talent, budgets and reporting lines. The case showcases flesh-and-blood individual managers and their observations on the dual challenge of running this business at the same time as building the next businesses.

By May 2023, Boortmalt was the word's leading producer of malt, with a production capacity of 3 million tonnes, 15% of global market share, and 27 malting plants across five continents. It had recently acquired a major competitor and had sustained an EBITDA growth of 17% per annum over the past ten years. Despite this success, Yvan Schaepman, Boortmalt's charismatic and eco-conscious CEO, was aware of the rapidly evolving malting industry, marked by changing consumer preferences, technological advancements, and shifting climate dynamics. Schaepman was considering various strategies to sustain growth amidst these headwinds, including greenfield investments, exploring new acquisitions, and expanding into the food sector. This case study explores Boortmalt's growth trajectory, and assesses different strategies for sustaining and enhancing growth. Additionally, it dives into the unique world of malting, the company's culture and sustainability efforts, and the challenges and opportunities of acquiring a competitor.

Moving the needle on meeting major sustainability goals â€" like cutting carbon emissions â€" requires setting objectives that are ambitious enough to reflect an organization’s vision and yet sufficiently realistic about business requirements so that early wins can be achieved and momentum can be built. The authors walk readers through a five-step process for identifying and setting sustainability goals, and for managing the tension between urgent needs for climate action and maintaining business health.

Organizational paradoxes are ultimately illusions. They are artificial constructs, sometimes of a system, many times of the mind. They fail to meet the definition of a paradox because they are not irreconcilable. Yet these illusionary obstacles persist as groups, and individuals protect themselves from the perceived challenges of addressing them. They demand engagement because the process of engagement reveals the illusion, develops a deeper sense of self, and builds an organization's capabilities.

Amid the global shift towards remote working, Brad Merchant of Triovest uses a systems thinking approach to examine the evolving dynamics of office spaces. As corporations debate remote work, the demand for physical offices is in question. Triovest, a Canadian commercial real estate firm, is strategizing with a working investment thesis, "The Future of the Office." This approach involves buying undervalued office properties, modernizing them, and reselling them. Merchant and his team need to predict the interplay between remote and communal workspaces in their investment decisions. Would Triovest's investment thesis affect these trends-or vice versa?

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding was a world-renowned giant panda research institution and tourism destination and had successfully attracted millions of tourists since its opening. The surge in tourists, however, had also increased pressure to provide a tourist-friendly experience, and long wait times generated more complaints than any other issue. Tourists experienced long queues at the ticket offices and at the entrances of the panda house and delivery room, which greatly impacted their experience. Moreover, long queues also created other issues, such as managing crowding and the negative impacts on the giant pandas’ emotional and psychological health as a result of the noise generated by tourists waiting in lines.

This case describes the growth strategy of Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) from its inception as a joint venture (JV) firm between GAIL (a state-owned enterprise [SOE]) and British Gas plc (a multinational conglomerate) in 1986. The case covers three distinct periods. The first stage examines the formation of the JV and the challenges faced by the company in establishing its business. The second stage focuses on the consolidation of growth strategies, the company's transformation into a listed company and the eventual exit of British Gas plc. The third phase encompasses the phasing out of monopoly rights and the challenges encountered during the pandemic and beyond. The key objective of discussing this case is to understand MGL's growth strategy to date and determine how the company should strategise for future growth. Should MGL pursue forward integration or backward integration, or remain a pure-play natural gas distributor? Considering the prevailing uncertainties and geopolitics surrounding the energy market, how can the company safeguard its dominant market position? Finally, since the energy sector is heavily regulated and politically influenced, what type of nonmarket strategy should the company adopt to ensure continued growth in the face of new private-sector firms entering the market?

This is a (B) case supplement to 624-049 Decarbonizing Shipping at A.P. Moeller-Maersk.

What steps must be taken to successfully developing and executing carbon emissions reduction in a global business school? What can other organizations learn from INSEAD's experience, which brought together academic and industry practice? The case study take a 'process view' that emphasizes the rigorous approach to planning carbon emissions reduction, and explains the challenges and enablers, particularly the need to balance different stakeholder views.

Nickel, a French fintech established in 2014, aimed to provide accessible banking services to underserved populations. Their innovative 'bank in a box' concept, requiring only an ID, a mobile phone, and €20, was distributed through local tobacco stores in France, which are an integral part of French daily life. In under five minutes, customers could acquire an International Bank Account Number and a ready-to-use Mastercard debit card. Did any bank go out of business or downsize because of Nickel? No. Instead, Nickel opened a nondisruptive new market beyond the bounds of the traditional banking industry. With it, the once financially excluded won, Nickel won, the tobacco stores won, and importantly, no one was made worse off. Nondisruptive creation is a term coined by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne in their books Beyond Disruption (2023) and Blue Ocean Shift (2017) to describe the approach of creating new markets without disrupting existing industries. Nickel's success led to its acquisition by BNP Paribas in 2017 for over €200 million. But beyond financial success, Nickel's nondisruptive creation also had a profound social impact, offering cost-effective access to basic banking services and empowering marginalized individuals. In 2023, the company still thrives, serving 3 million clients and expanding across Europe.

This case illustrates how ATRenew used digital technology to create a transaction and service platform for second-hand 3C products. ATRenew was established to " Give a second life to all idle goods. It focused initially on consumer electronics recycling (evidenced by its launch of the Aihuishou C2B platform in 2011) before venturing into the B2B business in 2017 via PJT Marketplace (a platform that aims to connect second-hand buyers and sellers) and the B2C business in 2019 by merging with Paipai, JD.com's re-commerce arm. When combining the C2B, B2B, and B2C business into one integrated platform, the company developed standard quality inspection processes, a rating system for recycled products (including mobile phones and other 3C products), as well as a C2B and B2B pricing models that considered ratings, and built operations centers and a supply chain to best serve its entire business ecosystem. These efforts also empowered its partners to get the most out of second-hand items. However, as the company grew, leading one-stop re-commerce platforms, typically highly trafficked, broke into the second-hand 3C business to divide up the pie. In May 2022, the company's management revisited the trade-off between the advantages of competing within existing market space and the advantages of developing new business for the company to achieve lasting success.

Bjorn Tore Larsen, Norse Atlantic Airways' founder and CEO, hadn't planned to get into the airline business. But when the COVID-19 pandemic depressed the global demand for air travel and the lease rates for jetliners, he realized if ever he was going to get into the airline business, this was the time. With below-market lease rates on 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Norse launched a new long-haul low-cost carrier targeting heavily traveled intercontinental markets. Norse's business model started by offering consumers low-cost seats on routes like London - New York. This meant limiting their network to routes that already had well-developed traffic that afforded an opportunity for market segmentation. The company also put a strong focus on ancillary revenue as a key element of its business model. Many other companies had tried and failed to make the long-haul low-cost business model work on the North Atlantic. During the tourism-driven summer months, it was easy to fill the planes and make money. The question was, could they make it through the off-season? Larson was focused on maintaining operational simplicity and a low-cost structure, but he admitted that the model had yet to be proven, and the history of those who had tried before him was not great.

By 2023, the global market for cloud infrastructure had consolidated into a three-horse race. As of Q4 2022, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google collectively accounted for 66% of the global market. AWS had a market share of 33%, Microsoft Azure had 23%, and Google Cloud had 11%. The global market for cloud services, valued at over $550 billion in 2023, was projected to grow at an annual rate of 15-20%, reaching over 2 billion by 2030. Though the growing demand for cloud services was a reassuring tailwind for Microsoft, the emergence of multicloud approaches in enterprise, the relentless price-pressure from competitors, and the threat of further commodification presented a wholly new set of challenges for Microsoft Azure. As the opportunities and threats of the multicloud future became clearer, Microsoft needed a multicloud strategy.

This case study examines the entrepreneurial journey of ROOTCLOUD, a visionary company focused on creating universal IIoT platforms to drive the transformation of China's manufacturing industry. By enabling its clients with digital solutions, ROOTCLOUD also enhanced the capabilities of its own platform, which further increased its value proposition. The company's comprehensive range of IIoT solutions spanned heavy equipment aftermarket, manufacturing equipment management, industry-wide intelligent equipment management, and intelligent manufacturing. However, throughout its history, ROOTCLOUD grappled with the challenge of aligning its vision with market demand, which eventually led to a strategic crossroads: Should the company focus on becoming profitable quickly by establishing itself as the leader of a sub-sector? Or should it seek greater scalability by developing a universal platform that could lay down a "digital foundation" for manufacturers from all sectors?

Container shipping was responsible for moving more than 80% of globally traded goods, and almost 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. A.P. Moeller-Maersk, one of the top three container lines, conducted an extensive lifecycle assessment (LCA) of alternative fuels, before deciding to bet on methanol. This case reviews the LCA methodology and the fuel choices, as well as the long term implications of their selection.

It has been a bumpy few years since 2020 for JUMBO Group CEO and Executive Director Ang Kiam Meng. JUMBO Group, like many other firms in the food and beverage (F&B) industry, faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022. Prior to the pandemic, it had established itself as an iconic seafood restaurant chain in Singapore, attracting a large customer base of regular patrons including tourists from around the world, particularly from China. However, due to strict border controls and other regulations implemented during the pandemic, the Group experienced substantial losses. The case captures the challenges faced by JUMBO during the pandemic, while offering readers an opportunity to reflect on its reasoning to reposition its brand in the local Singapore market while also exploring expansion opportunities in overseas markets. Additionally, the case provides a detailed account of JUMBO's digital transformation journey prior to and during the pandemic. The case concludes by examining the strategic priorities and potential roadmaps for JUMBO's future growth. It sets the stage for a discussion on the broader impact of digital transformation within the F&B industry, both in Singapore and beyond.

Set in 2023, this case describes the digitalisation and sustainability journey of Blue Bird, an Indonesia-based taxi business established in 1965. By 2014, when the company was publicly listed, it had become the country's largest taxi provider. In 2023, it had expanded its business to include car rental, car auction, as well as shuttle and chartered bus services. In 2022, Blue Bird announced its "multiproduct, multichannel, multi-payment" or 3M strategy to achieve its Mobility as a Service (MaaS) vision of a more efficient, sustainable, and digitally advanced company. Blue Bird had pressed on with its digitalisation efforts, despite its setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the same year, it won the Top UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Award. This achievement followed the company's announcement of its sustainability vision to halve its waste and emissions by 2030, and establish "3-Blues" - BlueSky, BlueLife, and BlueCorps - for driving its environment, social, and corporate governance goals. In 2023, Indonesia, along with the rest of the world, was still nursing the trauma of the pandemic. How should Blue Bird better drive its 'twin' and intertwined transformations of sustainable growth and digitalisation? What could be the trade-offs, particularly if the emphasis tips towards digital transformation? At the same time, what can we learn from Blue Bird's experience in terms of corporate governance as a family business in Indonesia which practices a two-tier board structure?

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a network of 250 multinational companies collaborating to achieve Vision2050 ¬- a plan for a world where nine billion people can live well within the limits of the planet. WBCSD sets an ambitious agenda along three imperatives - climate, equity and nature action. The CEO of WBCSD, Peter Bakker, is known for his ambition to drive action at a fast rate. However, moving the agenda too fast risks losing some companies. This case evaluates how Bakker can drive change at the rate needed and his strategy to do so.