個案總覽

Cyberattacks on corporations are an increasingly common phenomenon that imposes significant costs on shareholders, customers, and management. It is instrumental for corporations to both invest in appropriate precautionary security measures and have a comprehensive cybersecurity incident response plan (IRP), led by a skilled incident response team, that defines what procedures to follow. This fictional case is framed from the perspective of Ida Inglewood, the chief information security officer (CISO) of Abank, a midsized financial institution that has experienced a massive and unprecedented cyberattack in which $450 million of customer funds were stolen. The case begins with a 2:00 a.m. phone call in which the CISO informs Abank's CEO of the incident. Abank's IRP is activated, and the CISO provides a detailed report to the bank's management team, explaining the legal, regulatory, and financial implications of the cyberattack. The case culminates in the following critical decision: whether to restore full access to the deposits of Abank's customers at the beginning of the business day, or to keep operations closed until a full investigation of the cyberattack has been completed. This case is taught at Darden in a course on "Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work"; it would also be well suited for in-person or online MBA courses in banking and financial markets, new technologies, or communication and crisis response.

When Timothy Yu and Katherine Cheung, Snapask's CEO and Chief Marketing Officer, respectively, decided to enter the Indonesian market, they knew that this wouldn't be a snap. Snapask was an education technology company that applied machine learning and mobile cloud services to make education more effective, personalized, and accessible to everyone. After an uncertain kickoff in Hong Kong SAR, a very successful entry in China Taiwan, and relevant experience in the Southeast Asian region, Timothy and Katherine had learned that an in-depth knowledge of their stakeholders and the target educational context were key for their success. During the two-month pilot program in Indonesia, Katherine found out that their existing subscription model did not fit the market. Instead of monthly or yearly subscriptions, the Indonesian students expected to pay by prepaid cards. How could Snapask market and price its product in this different context? In Indonesia, Katherine had to adjust the strategy and formulate a proposal for Timothy accordingly.

Wilo SE, headquartered in Dortmund, Germany, was a leading supplier of pumps and pump systems for the building services, water management and industrial sectors, which was doing business in more than 50countries. Based on current global developments in politics, economy, and society, Oliver Hermes, President and CEO of Wilo Group, saw a de-coupling of three tectonic plates centered in China, USA, and Western Europe. At the Wilo management conference in September 2020 Hermes informed stakeholders about the decision to establish a 2nd headquarters in Beijing within the next few months, and possibly to open a 3rdheadquarters in the following year in the USA. He stated: "With the opening of a 2nd headquarters I want to set a sign. Wilo has to keep up with current global developments - whether we like them or not. A stronger regionalization of Wilo is necessary to continue our global success." The case text introduces the key measures to establish the 2nd headquarters in China.

Many Chinese family businesses are facing a succession crisis due to the lack of succession planning. Contrary to this finding, Chen Koon-yaw, the fourth-generation owner of the Hop Lion Feather Works Corporation, had planned early and handed the leadership role over to the next generation well before his retirement age. Hop Lion is a supplier of processed down and feathers to well-known consumer brands specialising in beddings and winter coats, including Canada Goose, Moncler, The North Face, and many others. Founded in 1908 and headquartered in Taiwan, the century-old family business had faced multiple crises that threatened its survival in the early 1990s - family separation, employee betrayal, loss of major clients and a highly volatile business environment. Chen's experience of an abrupt takeover of the family business after the demise of his father had led to his decision of not leaving succession planning to chance, and grooming his son as the next leader well in advance. Even after officially handing over to his elder son in 2015, there were doubts on whether he would truly let go. At 61, he had stepped down earlier than most Taiwanese CEOs. Should he continue to exert control over his successor to influence decision-making?

On March 10, 2021, Ralph Mupita the new CEO of MTN Group, Africa largest telecommunications company, presented the group's 2020 annual results and unveiled a new strategy to "drive growth and unlock value." Despite MTN's leadership in most of its markets, the company's share price was trading at 15-year lows putting Mupita under pressure to accelerate a turnaround. The case considers his plans to execute against the new strategy by spinning off MTN's fintech business and creating more shared value in its markets while at the same time building valuable technology platforms and delivering industry-leading connectivity. Could MTN's leadership team achieve all four priorities within five years as promised, or were they trying to do too much too quickly? Did they have the right structure and team in place to do so? Although Mupita was convinced that swift action and dramatic change were needed to succeed, there were skeptics both inside and outside the firm.

On November 11, 2016, Xi Dan, Senior Vice President of Tencent, and Ma Yongwu, Dean of Tencent Academy, were discussing how Tencent could develop new capabilities to sustain its growth miracle and entry into new technologies, expansion into B2B businesses, and internationalization.

The case Reviving Edwards Lifesciences provides a vehicle to understand the evolution of Edwards Lifesciences (EL) as a leader in the heart valve replacement industry, with solutions for aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valves. The company has been at the forefront of innovation specifically in the research, design, and manufacturing of multiple generations of valves used in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The case describes the various components of strategy and organization that EL successfully integrated to manage the process of continuous innovation, and to create and deliver outstanding value over an extended period to customers, partners, and shareholders, thereby earning the admiration of analysts and management experts.

Redress is an environmental charity that aims to encourage consumers, the fashion industry and manufacturers, to take a more sustainable approach to garment and textile manufacturing. Every day, thousands of tonnes of unwanted garments and textiles are dumped in landfills, an issue that has escalated due to fast-fashion production. Textile manufacturing consumes valuable resources such as water and releases harmful pollutants, while worldwide shipments account for 10% of global carbon emissions. Redress encourages consumers, both corporates and individuals, to take a more responsible attitude to fashion, through clothing drives, redistribution of garments, and pop up stores in Hong Kong. It also works with the global manufacturing and textile industry to encourage greater sustainability through key initiatives, events and forums.

To Cédric Jeannot, leveraging technology to promote financial inclusion was personal. After no established financial institution would accept his technology platform to lower transaction costs for free, Jeannot launched FinTech company Be Mobile Africa in May 2020. Within a year, the company had reached over 35 countries with many potential users pending on its waiting lists. A 'for-profit with purpose', Be Mobile Africa aimed to lift 100 million people out of poverty by extending financial services to previously unbanked populations across the African continent. Racing towards its goal, the company needed a longer-term expansion strategy to fulfill Jeannot's mission. Should its growth strategy focus on starting afresh in new markets, or should it dedicate more resources to onboarding prospective users in markets where it already has a foothold? Would the tradeoff of temporarily pulling resources away from this mission to fundraise capital to fund greater long-term successes be worthwhile? Although "In Data We Trust" had served the company well so far, would "In Money We Believe" lead Jeannot to fulfill his ultimate vision?

Pittsburgh, PA, was once the crown jewel of American heavy industry. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the city was an undisputed leader in steel production, boasting some of the largest companies and wealthiest individuals in the world. Its abundance of manufacturing jobs also attracted diverse migrants seeking a better life. But when the US steel industry collapsed in the 1980s, major companies fled Pittsburgh, along with wealthier residents and much of the middle class. The city and surrounding towns plunged into poverty, and "Steel City" lost a crucial piece of its identity. By 2022, Pittsburgh appeared to be thriving again. Major research institutions like Carnegie Mellon University drove the city's transition to an "eds and meds" economy. With its profusion of technical talent, Pittsburgh also developed industry clusters around advanced technologies like robotics and lured technology giants like Google and Amazon. Yet this newfound wealth did not extend to all corners of the city. Infrastructure was crumbling, poverty rates remained high, and Black residents had worse outcomes than both white residents and their counterparts in many other cities. Moreover, fiscal challenges and fragmented governance made it difficult for local leadership to implement solutions to these complex problems. Ed Gainey, Pittsburgh's newly elected and first Black mayor, considered objectives for his four-year term. How could he ensure both growth and shared prosperity? Which problems should he tackle first, and who should be at the table? How would he measure progress?

Megan Murday, the founder of Metric, an environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) analytics startup, must decide which customer segment to target as a beachhead market. She received positive feedback from a Swiss venture capital (VC) firm, indicating their immediate interest in using Metric's software. However, Murday also considered private equity (PE) firms, impact investors, and startups as potential beachhead markets. PE firms had a large market size and a high willingness to pay, while impact investors were already aligned with Metric's mission. Startups were socially conscious and forgiving of early-stage challenges. This case provides background on the burgeoning ESG sector and the various standards and metrics being proposed to standardize reporting.

By July 2016, the Aldrich Capital Partners team had spent over two years trying to raise their inaugural growth-equity fund. They had pitched to over 140 investors, but none had committed. Managing Partners Mirza Baig and Raz Zia each had extensive experience in the growth-equity space, but they did not have an investment track record together. Investors seemed hesitant to commit to a "blind pool" of capital with a new team. Now, the partners were contemplating an investment in a company code-named "Hollywood." The deal had several risks and was not a perfect fit with their investment thesis, but the partners wondered if this deal could prove their abilities and strategy to investors. Should Aldrich invest in Hollywood?

The case opens in September 2021 as Hamza Jawaid and Saad Jangda, co-founders of Bazaar technologies (Bazaar), the Pakistani high growth B2B e-commerce marketplace, are contemplating whether the year-and-a half old startup should also venture into offering financing to its customers, the thousands of mom-and-pop stores around Pakistan. Since its founding in mid 2020, the company has been growing its core business full throttle and also launched a digital ledger app to help with customer acquisition. Meanwhile, the co-founders are growing the team and geographically expanding Bazaar's operations beyond Karachi. Jawaid and Jangda need to weigh the pros and cons of branching out to financing and decide, with so much going on, whether this is the right time for such a move. The case provides a background on Pakistan, its retail and e-commerce space to then talk about Bazaar's founding story and its founders' ambitious mission to create a generational story in and for Pakistan. The case then talks about the company's pillars: technology, warehousing and logistics, and culture in detail and provides details on its day-to-day operations. Next, the case chronicles the company's growth both product -wise and geographically. Bazaar is trying to take a stake and solidify its place in the booming $170 billion retail market in the world's fifth-most populous nation which is yet to see much deployment of technology, and is in hypergrowth mode with a number of competing priorities. The co-founders need to decide if venturing into financing now is a good idea and whether it would take away from the company's sharp focus on the B2B business and its culture that the co-founders so passionately built. The decision is made more complicated, because the company has the funds to deploy and many think that financing will also fuel the growth of the core business.

In early December 2014, the senior team of Pudong Science and Technology Investment (hereafter, Pudong S&T) gathered in the offices of their chairman, Dr. Xudong Zhu. Before competing its cross-border acquisition of Montage Technology, Pudong S&T-wholly owned by the Chinese state-had to reduce the government's risks in this investment. To Zhu, the best option seemed to be mixed ownership: that is, involving private shareholders in the business. But was he right? And even if he was, how should it be done?

This note surveys the international governance of global business from the nineteenth century until the present day, emphasizing and explaining its fragmented nature. In the nineteenth century a core principle of international law was that the property of foreigners could not be taken without full compensation. The expropriation of foreign direct investment by the Soviet Union in 1917, shattered existing international property law, and there was no consensus on a replacement. After World War II an International Trade Organization was envisaged alongside the IMF and the World Bank as the third leg of the Bretton Woods agreement, but the U.S. Congress refused to ratify the ITO Treaty. Various attempts by the United Nations and other bodies to create codes of conduct for multinationals failed due to divergent beliefs and policies between the West and developing countries. After 1979 there was a general relaxation of national controls over multinationals, while international agencies such as the World Bank and the IMF experienced a loss of legitimacy. The note goes on to discuss multilateral and bilateral investment treaties, the impact of the global financial crisis on tightening financial regulations, international governance on the natural environment and human rights, and the impact of digitalization on global regulation.

This case traces the rise of John F. Kennedy from a wealthy family in Boston to president of the United States. The case describes how Kennedy, as a young man, lived a privileged life in the shadow of his older brother, Joe. When Joe was killed in World War II, Jack was thrust into politics, first running for a seat in the House of Representatives then as a senator for Massachusetts. As the youngest U.S. president in history, the case chronicles his rise to power, the changes he instituted as president, and his role in defusing the Cuban missile crisis. The case ends with JFK's legacy after he was assassinated at age 46.

Frustrated by the current system's shortcomings, including failing to provide clients with the teams they needed for increasingly advisory work and affording junior consultants an opportunity to adequately apprentice, Murphy was worried that the current compensation system was holding RRA back from executing on his growth strategy intended to help RRA-a top 5 search firm-recapture market share lost to its competitors since the great recession. He had tried many attempts, over multiple years, to change the culture through other means, but only with tepid success. Now he had to decide whether to pull the trigger on a large-scale effort to adjust RRA's discretionary bonus system after hearing concern-and even anger-over the proposal from some of his top 20 consultants. To permit students to analyze the situation, they have access to detailed, real performance and compensation data for all RRA consultants in 2015 (in the supplementary (C) case spreadsheet), along with the modeling RRA did to forecast the effect of the compensation system changes on each person. Students can therefore analyze how a more collaborative approach to compensation might positively impact some consultants and adversely impact others, assessing the benefits and risks of the dislocation. By asking students to decide whether Murphy should move forward with the new compensation system, or whether an alternative might be better, students will wrestle with the role of compensation systems in driving intended behaviors, such as collaboration, and thus in supporting or warping organizational culture, performance, and growth. By analyzing the dislocation to employees' variable compensation due to a change, students will learn the challenges of changing and calibrating compensation systems.

In August of 2018, Tania Tetlow is inaugurated as President of Loyola University New Orleans, in the midst of turmoil. Prior to her start, the university was given a final warning to land a balanced budget by year's end by its accreditors or risk facing probation. It is now up to Tetlow to see through a transformation already wracked with turmoil, with an eye toward necessary cost-cutting and future growth. How should she steady the ship financially; build trust with the administration, Board, faculty and staff, and student body; manage a group of consultants brought in by her predecessors; and communicate to these groups about the potential reality on the horizon? More fundamentally, how will she see Loyola through the risk of probation just months into her tenure?

In 2021, public accelerator program Start-Up Chile, which ten years earlier had created a global buzz, might be losing its competitive edge to similar programs or one-year visas for digital nomads offered by other countries. The case follows SUP's CEO, Angeles Romo, as she considers how Chile could remain appealing to world-class entrepreneurs in a post-pandemic world and how to ensure SUP's impact on Chile's economy.