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Kathy Ayers, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Land and Nature (L&N) Jerky Company, needs to make a recommendation about L&N's 2020 promotional spending. L&N's CEO, Tim Ryan, wants her to calculate different scenarios using historical data to determine which option to recommend. Specifically, Ryan wants Ayers to recommend one of the three options: reduce the promotion budget by 30%, increase spending on consumer promotions by $200,000, or increase spending on trade promotions by $200,000. Ryan's goal is to achieve an operating profit of at least 7% of L&N's sales in 2020. To make a recommendation, Ayers must first evaluate the effectiveness of past consumer and trade promotions and then determine how to allocate promotional spending to achieve Ryan's operating profit goal. The case can be used to discuss positioning and integrated marketing communications. It demonstrates how return-on-marketing-investment (ROMI) varies with changes in gross profit. Students will need to evaluate strategic information as well as calculate quantitative information. The case is recommended for upper-level undergraduate students or first-year MBA students studying marketing management. It can also be used in a course on consumer marketing, promotions management, or integrated marketing communications.

Mumbai-based Entropy Innovations Private Limited (Entropy) was incorporated by three friends who hoped to revolutionize the motorcycle and scooter washing industry in India through their technological solution, an automatic bike washing machine. Starting with one city in 2014, Entropy expanded gradually and aimed to become a ₹500 million company by 2020. But as 2019 drew to an end, the company was not gaining the traction the founders had expected. Although many options were available, the choices and their implications were unclear. What was the appropriate business model for the growth phase of their firm? How should they stabilize the company in the Indian market? Should they focus on the two-wheeler washing industry, or should they diversify into the four-wheeler all-terrain vehicle (ATV) market?

In addition to Google, LLC (Google) facing multiple litigations around the globe, India's antitrust watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), had recently launched its own investigation into the company. This was not the first occasion of an antitrust probe being initiated against Google in international markets. The company had already paid an astonishing US$ 9 billion in fines for abusing Android's dominant position in the smartphone market to boost its dominance in other areas, such as web searching, browsing, and mobile apps. In 2019, Google was in trouble in India, again, for similar reasons. The CCI alleged that Google forced smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and the Google Chrome browser on their devices, thus misusing its dominant position by stopping smartphone manufacturers from opting for alternative versions of its mobile operating system (OS). However, Google strongly denied these allegations, arguing that it had not indulged in anti-competitive practices; rather, it claimed it had promoted relevant market competition. Which marketing practices of Google invited the antitrust probe and allegations of abuse of their dominant position in India? Why were competition watchdogs concerned about the growing dominance of Google in the Indian mobile operating software (OS) market? In an oligopolistic market comprising multiple players, why did the CCI consider Google to be a dominant player in the Indian mobile OS market? Could Google do something to avoid antitrust lawsuits and allegations of abuse of dominance in the future?

Beyond Meat Inc. (Beyond Meat), a manufacturer of plant-based protein products founded in 2009 and based in Los Angeles, California, had become a success, despite supply chain and manufacturing issues. However, as competition flooded the market, the firm's founder and chief executive officer (CEO) faced a number of challenges: Beyond Meat was investing more and more in differentiation and innovation, and even refining the recipe of its bestselling Beyond Burger-something the CEO himself considered risky. Beyond Meat filed for an initial public offering in May 2019, and by the end of July 2019, the company's share price had increased by over 800 per cent, but analysts considered Beyond Meat stocks to be overvalued given that the company's increasing revenues and high-priced products had not prevented increasing losses. Still, Beyond Meat was expected to disrupt the animal-based protein industry. What should the CEO do to justify the valuation of Beyond Meat? How should he handle competitive forces? Did his venture hold any potential to disrupt the animal protein industry?

Plastic has become essential to global day-to-day activities, yet it is also causing extreme environmental degradation. Many leaders in the plastics industry are starting to question its sustainability. This case presents insights into the future of the plastic packaging industry. Students will follow Sander Defruyt of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) and his New Plastics Economy initiative that aims to engage industry-leading companies-such as Amcor, Danone, SC Johnson, Coca-Cola, and L'Oreal-to work toward a common goal of creating a circular economy and reducing unsustainable plastic packaging. The case highlights how a circular economy is not possible within the current system and that industry actors need to rethink the entire plastics market to implement sustainable changes.

Holding a massive beer festival brought the Chinese city of Qingdao and Tsingtao Beer Co. Ltd., China's most famous beer brand, direct economic benefits and public awareness. However, through the Qingdao International Beer Festival-a natural advertising opportunity-foreign beers benefited as well. To date, Chinese beer brands held less than half of the high-end Chinese beer market. China levied no tariffs on beer imports, which increased the market competition. Were the objectives of Tsingtao Beer and the local government fully aligned with regard to the annual festival? Was the beer festival helping one more than it helped the other? Did it help Tsingtao Beer's competitors? Should the Qingdao International Beer Festival work to recapture or emphasize some of its own cultural uniqueness?

In April 2018, the owner of Express Bike Works (EBW), an Indian start-up that provided automated motorcycle washing, among other services, was planning to expand his business to various locations in South India, such as Udupi, Chennai, and Bangalore. He needed to decide whether to expand through self-owned stores or franchise stores and wondered how to select appropriate store locations. His objective was to come up with an expansion strategy that would maximize his payoff.

In April 2019, the chief executive officer of Dubai-based Diamond Developers, reflected on his company's progress in developing a business model based on sustainable living. In December 2015, The Sustainable City in Dubai had welcomed its first residents. The project had become a success story, both commercially and in terms of building a vibrant community of 3,000 residents from 60 countries, who were living a lifestyle characterized by social, environmental, and economic sustainability. After this initial and significant success, the chief executive officer wondered how to replicate the concept, both locally and internationally, to grow the company and to maximize the company's contribution to sustainability and to the fight against climate change.

In mid 2019, Mobiuspace, a Chinese Internet company, faced a new challenge. As a result of declining revenues from domestic mobile Internet markets, overseas markets offered new opportunities. In 2009, Snaptube, a short video aggregation and distribution platform that Mobiuspace offered as its main product, seized the opportunity to grow in emerging markets by creating localized and personalized video content. Despite the company's initial success with its expansion strategy, Mobiuspace's chief executive officer still needed to figure out how to achieve sustainable profitability and long term growth. In particular, he had to enhance users' engagement and diversify the company's sources of revenue. How would he achieve all of his objectives?

Following the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, the US government set out to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement, threatening to revoke it if a new favourable deal was not reached with Canada and Mexico. Among other demands, the United States wanted to increase its access to Canada's protected dairy markets and was calling for the Canadian dairy supply management system to be dismantled. But the health of the Canadian dairy industry depended on supply management. In negotiating the new agreement, Chrystia Freeland, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada, needed to consider the balance of domestic interests in supply management with Canada's international trade priorities.

In mid-2018, the president and chief executive officer of Siemens Canada was examining his options in executing Vision 2020+, a growth plan developed by the company's headquarters in Germany. One of the cornerstones of the plan was digitalization, both internally, among the company's sprawling manufacturing operations, and externally, among the company's industrial customers. How could Siemens Canada, as a North American subsidiary of a large multinational enterprise, add value to the global plan? And to do so, what skills and competencies would Siemens Canada need to acquire locally?

Pamela Jeffery, founder and chief executive officer of The Pamela Jeffery Group and the Canadian Board Diversity Council (CBDC), had worked diligently for nine years to improve diversity at the board level. While the CBDC aimed at improving diversity in general at the board level, its key focus was to improve the representation of women on corporate boards in Canada. Jeffery and the CBDC methodically carried out plans to involve stakeholders, establish processes, and deliver progress on their goals. Yet they faced a new set of challenges in 2019: while Canadian boards now included more women overall, and most board directors felt that their boards were diverse enough, men and women were still not equally represented at the board level. Jeffery's challenge was to determine what the next steps could be in what seemed like a long journey of transformation at the board level.

Neste, a Finnish oil company, has established itself as a key player and early mover in the renewable fuel market since its patent of NEXBTL renewable diesel in 1996. As new transportation regulations put stricter limits on emissions, renewable fuels become increasingly important. Students are placed in the role of Neste CEO Peter Vanacker to analyze both the current and future state of the renewable fuel industry and determine Neste's strategy. How should Neste position itself as the sustainability leader in fueling transportation sector industries including road, aviation, and maritime shipping?

This short, fictional case chronicles the story of Susan Hughes, the CFO for 4 Sisters Construction Co. (4SCC), who introduces the economic profit (EP) construct to her fellow executives (and sisters) as a viable means for signaling to owners the value the company created for them that year. As such, she has also created a one-step reference table that converts their more familiar earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) financial measure to an EP measure. The case explains the use of the reference table, and poses several scenarios for students to use it, explain it, and anticipate the effects of rising or falling income tax rates.

This case focuses on the political economy of ethanol policy in the United States and Brazil. The cases outlines policies put in place by the governments of the United States and Brazil to bolster the ethanol industry and the role of politics and interest groups.

This case describes the evolution of Lenovo from its origins in China in 1984 through the onset of the coronavirus crisis in early 2020. It focuses on four phases of growth, each bringing massive change and risk. Its most recent change puts the company at the intersection of globalization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As challenging as these developments have been, the coronavirus, with its origins in China and worldwide spread, represents a huge new threat to Lenovo and potentially undermines the company's commitment to globalization. The company's supply chain was disrupted, and its exposure to Chinese suppliers raised important questions about the risks of such a base when trying to reach and compete globally. The case raises interesting questions: what does it mean to be a truly global company and are the benefits worth the costs? How can companies fully manage the complexities that emanate from the dual imperatives of globalization and technological change? More specifically, can Chinese technology companies flourish as insiders in the U.S. and Europe? At the same time, does globalization mean that the company is too American to thrive in China? And by extension, what are the longer term implications for Western companies?

In July 2019, the owner of Basmati House Supermart (BHS), a grocery store, entered into a six-month agreement to become a partner outlet of a large online grocery retailer in India. During the first two months, BHS acquired many new customers and also increased its customers' monthly purchase. However, the steep discounts and promotions used to attract customers to the business drove down the margins, while the customer churn rate increased. The store owner was particularly concerned about the continued use of discounts to attract new consumers, which could potentially transform his own loyal customer base into deal-seeking, less loyal, and online-promotion-driven buyers, thereby leaving BHS terminally dependent on the large online retailer to maintain its sales. The owner wondered whether he should renew his contract with the online retailer in January 2020, and if he did not, what his best course of action would be.

It was mid-March 2019 and General Mills had just announced its commitment to advance regenerative agriculture practices on one million acres of farmland by 2030. It was an ambitious initiative but Kevin O'Donnell, General Mills' global director for sourcing & operations sustainability, was focused on advancing this holistic method of farming in order to protect and enhance the world's natural resources. Still, he wondered if his company could do more. He kept thinking about the 2018 Responsible Business Summit in New York City where he heard former Unilever CEO Paul Polman speak about a novel concept called pre-competitive collaboration. O'Donnell thought this notion had the potential to enable an even more sustainable agricultural supply chain, not only for General Mills, but the entire cereal industry. Could he and his team successfully integrate pre-competitive collaboration into the regenerative agriculture initiative?

This case compares leadership and team dynamics between the cockpit crews in two renown passenger airline crashes, twenty years apart: Air France 447 in 2009 and United 232 in 1989. The key dimensions of difference across the cases include organization and task sharing in the cockpit, leadership, the application of established procedures, ability to improvise to create new procedures, the type and quality of team communication, and the outcomes. Both flights encountered unexpected malfunctions; in one, teamwork and problem solving failed badly; in the other, the team collaborated extraordinarily well to try to solve the problem. The case discussion will focus on factors that enable effective teamwork under stress, the organizational conditions that lay the foundation for such teamwork, and the conditions under which dissent is vital to effective performance.

Amazon has been unsuccessful in its efforts to develop a business in China. Even though Amazon was an early entrant into China's e-commerce space, its domestic rivals, especially Alibaba, created innovative business models uniquely suited for the conditions in China. Amazon's failure to adapt to the local conditions in China ultimately led to its exit from the country. Determined to learn lessons from this experience as it developed its business in India, Amazon made a number of innovations in its business model in India. By 2020, Amazon established a strong presence in India. However, the company faces a number of challenges because of changes in regulation that challenge its hybrid business model of both being a seller of its own goods and a marketplace for third party sellers, the rise of strong local rivals, and its own ambition to expand beyond top tier cities and upper middle class customers in India.