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In an effort to help Microsoft Brazil achieve financial return and reap strategic benefits, and to help contribute to the Brazilian startup ecosystem, Frankiln Luzes, the chief operating officer, founded Microsoft Participações. Through Microsoft Participações, Luzes established the very first multi-corporate seed capital fund in the world - BR Startup Fund. BR Startup was owned by multinational corporations including Microsoft, government agencies, and financial institutions. It was established to connect innovative startups, especially those in the information technology sector, to financial investors.

Regional governance, by contrast to municipal or state control, is the best level of government to tackle certain public functions-or at least, so it seems to most urban planners. Yet in many parts of the United States, it is all but impossible to build the political will to shift from local to regional governance. This decision-forcing case (which includes a video supplement, HKS Case 2093.0) places students in Detroit during the city's financial crisis and bankruptcy, events that set the stage for the controversial 2013-2014 negotiation to create a regional water system in greater Detroit. Set after an initial round of negotiations has collapsed, and a second effort is about to begin, the case challenges students to step into the shoes of the negotiating team, including the City of Detroit, three suburban counties, and the state of Michigan. It describes how Detroit's 2014 financial crisis and bankruptcy created an opportunity for regional governance, and also created conditions that made regionalization difficult. The case explores the history of distrust in city-suburban relationships, tensions over Detroit's management of the water department, the role of an outside emergency manager in setting negotiations in motion, and the reasons the first round of negotiations collapsed acrimoniously. A video supplement provides critical background on the reasons for Detroit's evolution as a majority-black city and the deterioration of its relationships with its majority-white suburbs, including racial discrimination, white flight, economic disinvestment and the controversial mayoralty of Coleman Young in the 1970s and 1980s. Case number 2114.0

This case explores the strategy of OCP Group, the 95%-state-owned Moroccan firm charged with managing the North African country's vast reserves of phosphate. Phosphate was one of the most vital macronutrients for plant health, along with nitrogen and potassium, and Morocco had about 75% of known worldwide reserves. In 2017, under the leadership of Dr. Mostafa Terrab, OCP was halfway through a $20 billion industrial transformation program aimed at increasing its industrial capacity, improving cost efficiencies, and boosting long-term competitiveness. The program involved moving OCP beyond mining and exporting raw phosphate rock-its traditional focus, which it performed at a relatively low cost-towards greater production of phosphoric acid and finished fertilizer products. In the next phase of the program, OCP planned to ramp up its focus on fertilizer production, especially for markets in Africa, where fertilizer historically was underutilized. Terrab and his team saw an opportunity to nurture and meet fertilizer demand by creating products tailored to the needs of African farmers. This case provides background on Morocco, the fertilizer industry, and OCP Group's past, current, and envisioned strategy and operations. With this context, students are invited to consider how aggressively OCP Group should pursue downstream integration (and specifically its Africa strategy), as well as how OCP can best leverage its competitive advantages and utilize Morocco's phosphate reserves to its-and Morocco's-benefit.

A Somali fisherman stands on a beach in early 2011, considering his options: should he embark in his tiny fishing vessel, or join a nearby pirate crew? His war-ravaged country, entering its twentieth year of civil war, was in the midst of a famine that had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and piracy had recently become the country's greatest claim to fame, securing ransoms to the tune of millions of US dollars in one of the poorest corners of the global economy. Why had piracy become such an attractive option for Somalis? Why did some even consider it "just," and how could maritime trade be made safer again?

A Somali fisherman stands on a beach in early 2011, considering his options: should he embark in his tiny fishing vessel, or join a nearby pirate crew? His war-ravaged country, entering its twentieth year of civil war, was in the midst of a famine that had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and piracy had recently become the country's greatest claim to fame, securing ransoms to the tune of millions of US dollars in one of the poorest corners of the global economy. Why had piracy become such an attractive option for Somalis? Why did some even consider it "just," and how could maritime trade be made safer again?

On the evening of 3 August 1914, British Foreign Secretary Lord Edward Grey contemplated whether to advice King and Parliament to declare war on Germany in the wake of the country's invasion of Belgium, or to stay out of what quickly was becoming a world war triggered by a royal assassination in Sarajevo. Over the past century, the said world had become woven together in ways never before seen, and a truly global economy had emerged that many believed forever would banished the possibility of war altogether. But could trade really assure perpetual peace, and what ultimately mattered most; interest, or principles? The case considers the lessons to be had from the rise and fall of the last great period of globalization.

On the evening of 3 August 1914, British Foreign Secretary Lord Edward Grey contemplated whether to advice King and Parliament to declare war on Germany in the wake of the country's invasion of Belgium, or to stay out of what quickly was becoming a world war triggered by a royal assassination in Sarajevo. Over the past century, the said world had become woven together in ways never before seen, and a truly global economy had emerged that many believed forever would banished the possibility of war altogether. But could trade really assure perpetual peace, and what ultimately mattered most; interest, or principles? The case considers the lessons to be had from the rise and fall of the last great period of globalization.

In the first two decades of the 21st century, Copenhagen has vaulted to international attention for its enthusiastic bicycle culture and infrastructure. While it's tempting to dismiss this accomplishment as inherently easy because it took place in a city and country known for socially liberal politics, this case-by summarizing the history of cycling politics and policy in Copenhagen since the 1970s-shows that the evolution of Copenhagen as a bike city was neither quick nor easy, and that the city wrestled (and continues to wrestle) with many of the same conflicts that have hampered efforts to promote biking in other cities around the world. In so doing, the case invites a more nuanced analysis and discussion of the actual keys to Copenhagen's success. Case number 2113.0

The case discusses the issues related to Zee Tele Films Limited's claims that the Board of Cricket Control of India was "state" and could act arbitrarily in the award of telecasting rights. The "state" as defined in Article 12 includes "other authorities", and these are subject to the constitutional limitations. The right to equality requires them to not act arbitrarily. A body which is an instrumentality or agency of the government is "other authority". The term has been subject to judicial interpretation. The Supreme Court, by a majority judgement, in the Zee Tele Films Case ruled that the Board is not "other authorities" within Article 12 of the Constitution.

On November 8, 2016, the Indian prime minister announced that in an effort to counter corruption, black money, and counterfeiting, high-value currency notes of ₹500 and ₹1,000 denominations would be withdrawn from circulation. The currency to be removed in the demonetization exercise was worth ₹15.4 trillion, or 86.9 per cent of the total value of currency in circulation. The old currency would be replaced with new ₹500 and ₹2,000 notes, but the transition would limit cash liquidity for 50 days in the Indian economy, which was heavily dependent on cash to facilitate both consumption and production. How would this process affect India, which had been identified as the world's fastest-growing economy? Would demonetization have the desired effect of purging the economy of black money and moving India toward a cashless economy with increased growth? Or would it simply bring India's remarkable growth story to a grinding halt and discourage investments?

Supplement to case 717004.

In the early 1960s, a popular drug taken by patients worldwide for a range of maladies was found to cause severe birth defects and other health problems in babies born to mothers who had taken it during a certain stage of fetal development. As many as 10,000 children may have been affected. Just a handful of these children were born in the U.S., where safety concerns were raised by Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, the medical officer handling the thalidomide application at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, the company hoping to distribute the product in the U.S. had already given away thousands of pills for doctors to run clinical trials. Once the full extent of the global thalidomide crisis became generally known, the U.S. Congress significantly reformed the country's drug approval process, to ensure that all new products were both safe and effective. It subsequently became much more arduous for pharmaceutical firms to bring new drugs to market. Some critics therefore argued that the new regulations were actually detrimental, as they prevented or delayed good drugs from coming to market. What was the right balance between consumer protection and access to potentially life-saving drugs?

Yankuang Group Company (YGC), a Chinese provincial state-owned enterprise (SOE), had over two decades of experience operating in the international market since its overseas initial public offering (IPO) in 1997. In 2013, YGC suffered great losses from an oversupply of coal production and a sharp decline of coal prices. How has YGC adjusted its internationalization process? The case highlights the key steps in the process and the impact of internal and external environment factors on the adjustment. It also illuminate the reforms of Chinese SOEs and the solutions to tackle challenges for running multi-national businesses.

In the early 21st century, there was a noticeable trend of declining productivity growth. Despite the persistent decline in productivity growth, a consensus on its explanation had not been reached. Some of the debate focused on the technicalities of productivity measurement, and the structural shift involved with the increased usage and introduction of robots in place of workers, garnering the interest of academic economists, businesses and policymakers. Another contention was whether declining productivity was the result of secular stagnation, a more permanent economic state of low growth and lack of economic progress, or whether it was the result of deleveraging and the post-Global Financial Crisis period, a mere cyclical phase. Distilling the sources and drivers of productivity decline was further complicated by the rise in economic integration across countries, and even more so considering research findings that research and innovation was becoming less productive and more difficult. What, if anything, was the role of government? Should businesses play a role? If so what should they do?

Ajay Hasia and few others failed to secure admission to Regional Engineering College, Srinagar. They challenged before the Supreme Court that the admission process was arbitrary and violative of the Fundamental Right of equality in Article 14 of the Constitution. The right, however, is available only against the 'state' as defined in Article 12. The definition of 'state' includes 'other authorities. The term 'other authorities' has been subject to judicial interpretation and come to include instrumentality or agency of the government. The Ajay Hasia Case consolidated the developing law and formulated that not only the bodies created by an Act but also bodies created under a law, like societies under the Societies Registration Act can be 'other authorities'.

Coca-Cola was one of the first MNCs to enter post-reform China. The soft-drink manufacturer established robust market share on the back of a strong brand. Chinese consumer preferences, however, gradually changed: they preferred "healthy" drinks over soft drinks. As a result, Coca Cola's competitive position eroded as foreign and domestic competitors released new products. After a failed high-profile M&A attempt, Coca-Cola faced a strategic challenge: develop new products in-house or attempt to acquire them?