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Technology doping accusations were made when several athletes wearing Nike, Inc.'s (Nike's) ZoomX Vaporfly 4% Flyknit running shoes won sporting events in 2018 and 2019. In December 2019, the International Association of Athletics Federations was investigating the issue and was considering banning Vaporfly shoes from the Olympics and other sporting competitions. Soon, Nike's competitors, including Adidas AG, Reebok International, and Saucony, counteracted with their own versions of an innovative midsole component. With technological advancements taking place in several spheres of sports shoes, experts demanded that boundaries be drawn in terms of both innovation and the high price of athletic shoes such as the Vaporfly, whose ban could have financial implications for Nike. Could Nike leverage innovation to fight a competitive battle? How could it promote the use of the Vaporfly shoe, given the controversy surrounding the technology? What streams of innovation should Nike pursue for its growth?

In February 2020, the executive vice-president of Manufacturing and Supply Chain at CoolIT Systems (CoolIT), met with the company's chief executive officer (CEO) in their Calgary office. The company had recently developed a new range of products that provided liquid cooling solutions to large-scale data centre installations for high-performance computing. In addition to expanding capacity to meet demand, the CEO was also concerned about the requirements and expectations of the company's new customers and the implications for its operations and supply chain. He asked the executive vice-president to prepare recommendations for CoolIT's operations and supply chain strategy for its line of products for the data centre market. What would the relationship with a contract manufacturer entail, and what key capabilities did CoolIT need to look for in a potential supplier?

The case "Pricing during a Pandemic" looks at food pricing during a natural disaster, in this instance a pandemic, which caused widespread disruptions in supply chains. Using data from India, a country whose food supply chains are particularly vulnerable to food supply disruptions due to limited warehousing facilities, the case examines the evolution of vegetable prices before and after the COVID-19-induced economic lockdown in India. It evaluates the price movement across three platforms: wholesale, offline retail and online retail. The data shows a sharp spike in food prices post-lockdown, raising concerns about price gouging by retailers. The case allows one to discuss what constitutes sufficient evidence of price gouging and the role of public policy in identifying such behavior. It also showcases the pricing strategies of various market players and can be used to discuss business ethics.

We crafted the case study "Software Acquisition for Employee Engagement at Pilot Mountain Research " for use in Business Marketing, Buyer Behavior, or Operations Management courses in undergraduate, MBA, or Executive Education programs. The Pilot Mountain Market Research (PMMR) case study provides students with the opportunity to examine how buying decisions can be made utilizing online digital tools that are increasingly available to business-to-business (B2B) purchasing managers. To do so, we created fictitious research studies and data to realistically portray the kinds of information that are publicly available to B2B purchasing managers on the Internet today. In this case study, we introduce students to fit analysis, coding quality technical assessment, sentiment analysis, and ratings & reviews analyses. Students are challenged to integrate findings from these diverse analytical tools, combining both qualitative and quantitative data into concrete employee engagement software (EES) purchasing recommendations.

In March 2019, Molson Coors CEO Mark Hunter considered a request to pull forward $65 million CAD in anticipated future funding for Truss Beverages, a Toronto-based cannabis beverage company that Molson Coors created in a joint venture with a Canadian cannabis production company. The request was for the construction of a new production facility for cannabis beverages, a new product in an as-yet-nascent market.

The Bomi Mexico case recounts the difficulties faced by Mario Sicilia, a recent CEO of Bomi Mexico, shortly after his acquisition of the company through a search fund. The case specifically highlights a situation where two key employees raise concerns about the COO.

Link REIT, Asia's largest real estate investment trust and the second largest of its kind globally, holds a position of infamy in Hong Kong, its headquarters and primary market. A decade on from its formation, which occurred through the divestiture of what were previously public retail assets, Link REIT has been both lauded by investors for its superior returns and vilified by the general public as an agent of the city's gentrification. Critiques have raised two sets of allegations against Link REIT: that their approach to redeveloping the city's public markets has made these spaces unaffordable to the poor, previously the markets' principal patrons; and that many of the markets' legacy vendors, themselves also often impoverished, have been forced to leave their businesses post-renovation, unable to afford refurbishment. Redeveloped wet markets are now more upmarket and almost European, with Link REIT targeting a decidedly more bourgeois patron. But at what cost to the city's social fabric? And should this be a material concern? The story's protagonist, Calvin Kwan, is the General Manager of Sustainability at Link REIT and has spent his tenure attempting to demonstrate that sustainability has a place in the corporate boardroom. Now tasked with rethinking his company's approach to managing these assets, Calvin must consider to whom Link REIT holds obligations and how outside approaches to urban redevelopment might generate sources of value that are both financially accretive and socially beneficial. Faced with heightened levels of public scrutiny, Link REIT's response may shape their continued right to operate within the city.

In February 2019, Cognizant Technology Solutions (Cognizant), an American information technology (IT) outsourcing company, was ordered to pay a total of US$28 million in penalties to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice. Certain payments relating to facilities in India were allegedly made improperly and in possible violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In April 2019, Brian Humphries took over the role of chief executive officer at Cognizant. What could Humphries and Cognizant do to recover and to prevent future incidents of corruption?

In 2019, the founder and chief executive officer of StoreKing, a distribution company that sold consumer products to rural India through designated retailers, faced the challenge of attaining 100,000 retailers by 2020. The chief executive officer (CEO) had previously identified an opportunity to use an assisted e-commerce model to reach rural consumers and offer them a better variety and choice of products than offered by traditional distribution channels. The challenge now was to grow the business rapidly to be viable and to achieve a leadership position to compete with not only similar players but also the large e-commerce company, Amazon.com, Inc. The CEO needed to decide on a growth strategy, how to promote the concept to retailers, and how to develop an edge over the competition.

This case examines the business model and growth of a start-up company in the private aviation industry. In June 2020, amidst the COVID crisis, the company's co-founder and CEO must make a decision regarding an order of new jets that will significantly expand the company's fleet. The case will explore how a company should approach such strategic capacity expansions given significant uncertainty in demand. This can be tied to a broader discussion of the company's overall growth strategy and the scalability of its business model and operating system.

Kamal Kapoor, a cotton shirting fabric wholesaler based in Delhi, India, was unable to decide whether or not to continue his business. Retailers had been procrastinating regarding their outstanding payments and international suppliers offering exclusive goods were asking for advance payments. Domestic suppliers had disintermediated the channel by directly approaching retailers or launching their own retail brands. In addition to these challenges, e-tailors were eroding Kapoor's business, as modern consumers preferred ready-made shirts at reasonable prices that were available at their convenience. In light of this changing landscape, Kapoor was unsure whether his business model was sustainable. He considered various alternatives, such as whether he should move forward in the value chain by starting his own private retail brand or move backward by acting as an agent. He even contemplated focusing on a niche segment of the market that offered higher margins but not high volumes. Time was running out. Kapoor had to investigate the three options and make a choice, keeping the working capital cost of each in mind. Or was it simply time for Kapoor to liquidate his assets and exit the business on which he focused so much time and energy?

Kelvin Teo, Group CEO of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform Funding Societies Pte Ltd, has submitted an application for a Singapore digital wholesale bank (DWB) licence to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore's central bank and financial regulator. For the purpose of this application, Funding Societies had set up a consortium with smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi Corp, investment bank AMTD Group, and electricity and gas grid operator SP Group. The questions that the case tackles include: Should Funding Societies remain a P2P lending platform or seek to become a digital bank? What were its reasons for choosing to team up with this specific set of consortium partners? Why did Funding Societies abandon its initial plan to be lead partner of the consortium? If the application failed, what should be its back-up plan?

This case explores the organizational practices of GitLab, an "all remote" company with more than 1,000 employees located in 59 countries. GitLab solves the challenges of employees working in an online-only environment by relying extensively on asynchronous modes of coordination. The case presents a set of prototypical situations to show how this is achieved: the onboarding of a new member, internal modes of dividing and integrating tasks, and modes of internal and external communication. With plans to go public in the year that COVID-19 is spreading around the world, Gitlab has attracted the attention of several investors. But can the core ingredients of its thriving "all remote" organizational design withstand the pressures of a sudden expansion of the workforce and stronger market scrutiny and competition? And what can organizations in other sectors learn from its approach?

Jinrun Li, chief operating officer for Goodbaby Group (Goodbaby), had to make a decision about opening a new store in a high-end mall in Shanghai, China. Goodbaby was going to manage the store for one of its clients, who had its own specifications for the dimensions and product range of the store. However, the floor space available was too small to accommodate the preferred proposal from Goodbaby's marketing department. Based on a recent pilot project, Li considered adopting a new supply chain structure that would allow for reduced floor space while complying with the client's specifications. The new supply chain structure involved an upfront warehouse that would increase the speed of store replenishments and act as a buffer between the regional warehouse and the store. Looking at the data, Li wondered if this new structure would be the solution for the proposed new store.

In February 2014, Global 3PL, one of the largest logistics companies in the world, announced an ambitious expansion strategy. In accordance with that plan, the company struck an agreement in 2017 with TradeIX Limited (TradeIX) to optimize its working capital management. TradeIX was a start-up based in Dublin, Ireland that offered blockchain technology solutions to help companies manage trade finance more efficiently, especially in the area of accounts receivable. However, the potential for improvement in the realm of trade finance was heavily restricted by a complex network of suppliers and an organizational structure of silos for data flow. Global 3PL was therefore working on a pilot project with TradeIX, using its Marco Polo platform, to connect with insurance and banking services through a secure network. The process enabled full transparency of all financing transactions in the accounts receivable process. Despite the success of the pilot project, the efficiency of the Marco Polo platform had to be assessed on a technological and strategic level. Determining if the platform could prove to be a long-term sustainable solution for full operation across Global 3PL's global trade finance system landscape was critical.

Annapurna Studios was founded by legendary Indian actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) in Hyderabad in 1975. Over the years, Annapurna had grown to become a modern-day powerhouse in the field of entertainment and filmmaking. In 2019, it was well known for its state-of-the-art production facilities, creative content production, and film and media institute. ANR's older son, Venkat joined the studio a few years after its inception but struggled to keep it afloat. Nagarjuna, ANR's younger son, began helping out at the studio after finishing college, but the studio's fortunes only changed in the mid-80s when Nagarjuna decided to become an actor In 1999, Venkat handed over management control of the studio to Nagarjuna. Their niece Supriya joined the business as a management executive. The studio had two divisions: operations and content creation. The operations division, which included post-production, editing and dubbing facilities, ran smoothly under the COO with minimal intervention from the family. In the content creation side of the business, the family's presence was greater. Nagarjuna and Supriya made all the critical decisions related to content, guided by their business sense and passion. With the second generation of the family still at the helm of Annapurna Studios, the next generation's involvement was relatively low. Chaitanya (Nagarjuna's son) had started showing some interest, but the other members of the third generation were either not yet involved in the studio or were busy with their own acting careers. Nagarjuna was worried that the next generation might not have the same level of passion for the studio as the previous generations. He wanted to ensure that the studio's legacy sustained into the future. What strategy should the studio to adopt to ensure its long-term survival in the risky and ever-changing film and entertainment business?

In the first half of 2020, worldwide lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought explosive growth to the Zoom Video Communications platform, as people replaced in-person work and social events with videoconferencing. Months into the pandemic, CEO Eric Yuan reflects on his company's newly central role in society, and considers how to leverage the platform's broad adoption into sustainable future growth. The case also discusses Zoom's internal culture -- which prioritized employee and customer happiness -- as well how both the company and its customers faced the transition to remote work.

This case focuses on the challenges and key decisions facing Winner Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Winner Technology or Winner) when shifting from selling brick-and-mortar retailers traffic analytics systems to providing them with big data services. Founded in 2004, Winner Technology had become the leader in the Chinese traffic analytics system market. However, with shifting consumer behaviors and the recent advancement of technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, Zhang Hongjun, Chairman and CEO of the company, was keenly aware that simple traffic data analytics could not keep up with retailers' growing needs, while the application of big data in the retail industry brought about tremendous opportunities. Therefore, in 2015, Winner Technology established winneryun.com, a platform to marshal traffic data in the Chinese retail industry, and launched enhanced big data services based on these data resources at the end of 2018. However, the new big data services have received mixed responses from the market. Zhang and his executive team have identified two fundamental issues that the company needs to address: What kind of revenue model should be adopted for big data services? And how can Winner cultivate the market?

This case traces the business career and philanthropic activities of George Soros. The Hungarian-born Soros made a fortune as a hedge fund investor after establishing Quantum Fund on the tax haven island of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles in 1973 where he was largely free from regulation. He earned a notorious reputation as the "man who broke the Bank of England" in 1992 and for his role in the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. Soros also became one of the most generous donors to civil society projects around the world through his Open Society Foundations. His philanthropy promoted free speech, critical thinking, the rule of law, and education as a means of liberation Soros played an important role in building civil society in post-Communist central and eastern Europe. From the 1990s he also became involved in politics in Western democracies such as the United States and Britain by funding opponents of right-wing populists. These endeavors resulted in Soros becoming the subject of conspiracy theories, and condemnation by many of the world's populist leaders. The case provides a vehicle to examine the positive and negative dimensions of the philanthropic initiatives of business leaders, to explore the origins of right wing populism especially through the lens of the transition economy of Hungary, and to debate the contested relationship between capitalism and democracy.

Dennis L. Via, was a retired four-star U.S. Army general and one of the world's foremost experts on logistics, crisis management, supply chains, and maintaining a state of readiness at all times. As he reflected back on his career and leadership experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, he considered: What are the most important leadership qualities in responding to a global pandemic? Beyond a grasp of science and logistics, how important were character traits such as empathy and integrity in the task of leading frightened populations through uncertain and dangerous times? And how could leaders-of nations, armies, businesses, families-prepare for inevitable, yet unpredictable, crises?