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The digital entertainment industry had burgeoned with the advancement in streaming media technology and the growing popularity of social media. In 2019, <i>The Coming One</i>, a musical talent variety show in China jointly produced by Wajijiwa Entertainment and Tencent Video, was approaching its third season, and audiences were losing interest. Danni Long, the founder and chief executive officer of Wajijiwa, was confronted with the challenge of determining how to strategically revitalize the show’s brand. The brand had been repositioned through creating, marketing, and monetizing content strategically on social media platforms. Would this strategy work for the next season or should Long find alternative strategies to inject fresh vitality into the original brand?

<p style = "color:rgb(197,183,131);"> <strong> AWARD WINNER - The Case Hub Case Writing Competition 2024 </strong></p><br> Zywa was a UAE-based fintech start-up focused on providing financial services tailored to Gen Z customers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Founded in 2021, Zywa had gained significant traction in MENA’s neobanking space by offering financial services through a gamified banking app and a prepaid card for users between the ages of 11 and 25. Within a short period of time, it had attracted over 100,000 sign-ups as of 2023. However, as Zywa continued to grow and scale its operations, cofounders Alok Kumar and Nuha Hashem would face a host of challenges such as attracting new users, raising funds, turning profitable, complying with financial regulations in different markets, and accelerating financial inclusion among youth across MENA.

With the issuance of Muddy Waters’ short report on Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (Fairfax), Fairfax faced intensive scrutiny but continued to support its financial reporting decisions. The case investigates three accusations by Muddy Waters against Fairfax. The goal is to assess the merit of these claims against generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Along with the analysis surrounding the basis of accounting, this case gives students the opportunity to investigate short selling and the impacts of short reports on investor decision-making.

<p style = "color:rgb(197,183,131);"> <strong> AWARD WINNER - The Case Hub Case Writing Competition 2024 </strong> </p><br> The chief executive officer of Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) commented in 2022 that the company intended to become an ESG (environmental, social, and governance) role model and example for the world. Ma’aden was the largest multi-commodity and mining company in the Middle East and its businesses encompassed exploration and mining of gold and base metals, industrial minerals, phosphate, and aluminum. With a goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the company faced considerable challenges to reduce its carbon footprint under Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. As part of its sustainable strategy, Ma’aden was exploring new technology and partnerships for sustainable mining and implementing renewable sources of energy for its operations. What other initiatives could Ma’aden pursue to achieve its carbon neutrality goal by 2050?

VIP Industries Ltd. (VIP) was India's leading luggage manufacturer. It had revolutionized the Indian luggage industry, offering consumers high-quality, domestically produced alternatives to imported products. VIP ventured beyond borders with its acquisition of the brand Carlton in 2004, and with an expanded geographical footprint and a diversified brand portfolio, VIP had emerged as a formidable force in the luggage industry. Fast-forward to 2023, and VIP was losing market share steadily to rivals Safari Industries (India) Ltd. and Samsonite International SA. To deal with this and other challenges, VIP’s new managing director had to quickly determine what actions to take to recover market share and liquidate inventory, and make decisions on positioning, advertising, product lines, and human capital.

This case focuses on the opioid epidemic in the USA from historical and regulatory perspectives. It provides an overview of public health departments in the USA and the public policies and laws that address the opioid crisis with the intention of responding to the ongoing epidemic. The case also provides an overview of the medical use of opioids and a short history of its use in the treatment of pain relief, a description of opioid use disorder, and societal context for the opioid epidemic worldwide and in North America. The involvement of the pharmaceutical industry in the onset of the epidemic is also discussed, including analysis of the role of many contributing parties including Purdue Pharma L.P. (Purdue), the American Pain Society, the Portenoy and Foley Report, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<br><br>This case will introduce students to market failures in the context of public health and enable them to apply their learning to situations with multiple stakeholders but no clear perpetrator, while introducing them to existing US public health policies related to mental health, addiction, and illicit drug use.

Following the October 2022 publication of a National Institutes of Health study of women using hair relaxers, three international subsidiaries of Ghaziabad-based Dabur India Limited (Dabur) faced lawsuits alleging that chemicals in some of their hair-relaxer products had led to cancer in American and Canadian consumers. In October 2023, Dabur revealed that these subsidiaries were involved in about 5,400 cases in a class-action lawsuit in the Unites States. In November 2023, Dabur announced that two subsidiaries, Dabur International and Dermoviva Skin Essentials Inc., had been removed from some cases, but that the third entity, Namasté Laboratories LLC, continued to face charges. In response, Dabur’s chief executive officer had to devise a comprehensive public-relations (PR) crisis strategy, considering whether to act immediately, whether to offer an apology, and how to select effective communication channels to reach stakeholders.

The iconic sandwich-franchise firm Subway IP LLC (Subway), founded as a partnership in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1965, had grown rapidly, and by 2024, it was the second-largest restaurant chain in the world, with approximately 37,000 restaurants. While the company had experienced some difficult years beginning in 2014, it began to rebound in 2022 with the introduction of the Subway Series menu and the Grab & Go smart fridge, an automated vending machine that catered to consumers in non-traditional locations such as casinos, airports, and hospitals. Others in the food-service and supermarket industries had equipped similar devices with facial recognition software, sometimes without the awareness of consumers, and this had raised a number of ethical issues. In 2024, Subway’s chief executive officer was facing an important decision with regard to the fridges: should Subway follow the trend and equip its Grab & Go fridges with facial recognition software?

In May 2024, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Company Ltd. (SEC) faced its first-ever strike in its 55-year history, as the National Samsung Electronics Union called for a one-day work stoppage on June 7, 2024, to demand better pay. The strike targeted SEC’s semiconductor division, which produced critical components like memory chips, universal serial bus drives, and camera sensors. This division, once a leader in global semiconductor revenues, had fallen to third place by 2023, trailing Intel Corporation and Nvidia Corporation, and recorded its largest financial loss since the company’s founding. Amid mounting challenges from the artificial intelligence (AI)–driven market and declining revenue, the strike intensified pressure on SEC’s leadership. Jun Young-hyun, head of the semiconductor division at SEC, framed the AI era as both a challenge and an opportunity. The strike underscored the need for SEC to manage labour negotiations carefully to mitigate operational disruptions and safeguard its competitive position in the semiconductor industry.

In February 2024, Grasim Industries Limited entered India’s competitive paint industry by launching the brand Birla Opus with a comprehensive range of high-quality products for the decorative paint segment. The company planned to invest ₹100 billion over the next three years and to open six manufacturing facilities across India by 2025, targeting the number two position in the market. In 2024, the estimated value of India’s decorative paints industry was ₹700 billion, with double-digit growth year-on-year. Grasim Industries Limited was hoping to capture 5–6 per cent of the market with the new Birla Opus brand in its first year by using the group’s capabilities, market knowledge, and brand equity. The company had to decide whether to pursue a product-centric growth strategy or an aggressive promotion-focused approach. In addition, given the strength of the market’s established competitors, was it the right decision to invest ₹100 billion in the new venture? Calculating projected future cash flows and the net present value of the project was necessary to determine the right strategy.

By May 2024, Dollar Tree Inc. (Dollar Tree), led by Rick Dreiling, was receiving criticism from stakeholders for Dollar Tree’s failed integration with Family Dollar Stores Inc. (Family Dollar) owing to net operating losses. It had acquired Family Dollar in 2015 for US$8 billion. In early 2024, after strategic evaluation, Dreiling decided to close 1,000 Family Dollar stores. Analysts suggested that Dreiling would need to make a call on divestment steps for Family Dollar, referring to it as a “problem child” for Dollar Tree. While Family Dollar’s gross profit increased between 2022 and 2023, it reported net losses. Should Dreiling divest Family Dollar? If so, what strategic options does he have for divestiture? How can Dreiling ensure the growth of Dollar Tree?

In 2013, Germany-based athletic products maker Adidas AG (Adidas) formed a partnership with rapper Kanye West (who legally changed his name to Ye in October 2021) to launch the Yeezy shoe line. Starting in the 1980s, sneakers had crossed over into the mainstream market as fashion accessories and Adidas saw this as a way to catch up with industry leader Nike Inc. While the partnership was lucrative for Adidas—its sales and profits grew substantially during the partnership period—West’s public behaviour and in his dealings with Adidas employees caused both external and internal backlash. At first, Adidas ignored West’s adverse behaviour and pushed hard to monetize the relationship. Following a widely publicized action by West at a Yeezy fashion show in Paris, France, in October 2022, Adidas discontinued the partnership. However, HRSA-ILA Funds, an employee retirement fund manager, filed charges in late 2023 accusing Adidas of condoning West’s behaviour and not disclosing it to its shareholders. Adidas’s supervisory board chair, Thomas Rabe, and newly appointed chief executive officer, Bjorn Gulden, had to address both the legal and business consequences of the company’s actions.

The major challenge of the 21st century was climate change. The goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement (PA) were to curtail global temperature increases this century to below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The PA included the 20/20/20 targets: to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent, increase the renewable energy market share by 20 per cent, and improve energy efficiency by 20 per cent. Green bonds served as essential financial instruments to help countries meet the targets set by the PA. While the PA provided the impetus for a green bond market, in late 2023, many investors were still unaware of green bonds and their key characteristics. A critical question was whether investors could expect returns on their green bond investments comparable those of conventional bonds.

Titan Company Limited (Titan), one of the largest companies in the gems and jewellery sector, derived roughly 80 per cent of its revenues from the sale of jewellery. Jewellery buying was discretionary and prices were largely dependent on the price of gold. In India, jewellery sales were also seasonal, with a spike in demand during annual festivities and traditional events like marriages. A research analyst intern has been tasked to analyze Titan’s finances from 2014 to 2022. She had already completed a DuPont analysis, which is presented in the case, and now she must analyze the stock’s return and risk to help investors better understand whether Titan with its heavy dependence on jewellery sales is a wise investment. Interestingly, the analyst discovers that as Titan’s reliance on jewellery sales increased, its overall risk dropped. Students thus have an opportunity to also consider what other factors, such as a strong business model, good financials, and customer-friendly policies, contribute to the risk–return paradigm.

In 2019, Corus Entertainment Inc. (Corus), a Canadian television and media company, faced significant challenges from the rise of over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. These services disrupted the traditional television value chain, leading to declining cable subscriptions, increased content costs, and reduced bargaining power with broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs). Content owners further complicated Corus’s position by launching their own direct-to-consumer platforms, bypassing intermediaries.<br/><br/>This industry shift placed Corus in a precarious position as an independent content distributor. To adapt, Corus considered partnering with Amazon.com Inc. to launch STACKTV, an OTT service offering 12 of its premium channels via Amazon Prime Video. How might this decision have affected relationships with content owners, BDUs, and competing OTT platforms?

As head of the Technical University (TU) of Brunswick, Professor Schmitz faced demands from the Ministry of Education to accept the appointment of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler as professor at the university. The proposal had exclusively political objectives, specifically to fulfill a legal precondition for Hitler to be able to stand in the forthcoming presidential elections of the country. The professors of the university were appalled by the proposal because it conflicted with their values, but they had no formal power to prevent the appointment. Left formally powerless, the professors need to consider what actions might be possible and appropriate and what informal means they might use to influence the decision.

A small apparel manufacturer was given an ultimatum by its largest customer, Walmart Inc., to become more sustainable or else lose its business. The firm had to make both macro strategic decisions about its business, and micro operational decisions about how it would implement the massive process innovations required to accede to Walmart’s demands.

In September 2023, the founders of Pocket Frequency Modulation (FM) Private (Pvt.) Limited (Ltd.) (Pocket FM) reflected on a year of remarkable growth in the expanding audio-storytelling market in India. Launched in 2018, Pocket FM had quickly amassed over 100 million downloads on Google Play (part of Google Limited Liability Company) and in 2022, it clocked an astounding 45 billion minutes of streaming time. Users were spending an average of 110 minutes each day on the platform, drawn in by the innovative content and a robust hybrid revenue model that included subscriptions, advertising, intellectual property licensing, sponsorships, and strategic partnerships. Yet, with international industry giants like Spotify Technology Société Anonyme, Audible Incorporated, and Kuku FM (owned by Mebigo Labs Pvt. Ltd.) now eyeing the audio series space in India, Pocket FM faced significant competition. Standing at a crossroads, the founders debated what would be their best choice of moves to take next to sustain growth and differentiate the platform. Would refining their established hybrid-income model be enough, or was it time to pursue an entirely new strategic direction? The answers to these questions could shape not only Pocket FM’s future but also the broader landscape of audio storytelling in India.

In 2024, three decades after its start as “earth’s largest bookstore,” Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon) was the world’s largest online retailer and operated businesses that were strong competitors in on-demand cloud computing services, advertising, retail grocery, and entertainment markets. Since 2010, the company had taken steps to gain greater control of its supply chain and had expanded into logistics services through the company’s Supply Chain by Amazon business unit. Amazon was employing more than 1.5 million people with a market capitalization of more than three times the value of its closest competitor. Amazon boasted a vast selection and volume of products sold through a wide range of formats. However, the company had to decide if recent changes to its ever-expanding supply chain were adequate to support the company’s strategic goals and objectives. Were more changes needed to maintain Amazon’s competitive edge? What supply chain capabilities would be necessary for Amazon’s continuously evolving business model?

The Volkswagen Group (VW Group) unveiled its vision, “NEW AUTO – Mobility for generations to come,” in 2021, setting the goal of becoming a prominent provider of sustainable mobility by focusing on e-mobility, digitalization, and autonomous driving, while prioritizing environmental, social, and governance factors, regional markets, and effective financing for the transformation. As of 2024, the VW Group had recognized the potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the automotive industry, particularly in areas such as manufacturing, autonomous vehicles, and data analytics. Despite the promise of AI, challenges surrounding governance, compliance, transparency, and talent management needed to be effectively addressed for successful adoption and implementation by the VW Group.