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Patrice Motsepe, the son of a small business owner, grew up in Apartheid era South Africa. He founded Ubuntu-Botho Investments (UBI) in an attempt to provide historically disadvantaged South Africans with access to the financial sector. In 2003, UBI entered into a partnership with Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Lewens Assuransie Maatskappij (Sanlam). Through the diversification of UBI's and Sanlam's business models and with a dual focus on economic and social value creation, the inclusion of a large base of black South Africans in the economy was facilitated. Now, in 2018, Motsepe was on the brink of sealing another historic deal with Sanlam. However, how should this second Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) deal be approached by both Motsepe's UBI and Sanlam, taking into account the extended shared value framework developed for BEE transactions?

PharmaCo was a large, multinational, integrated pharmaceutical company. Its board of directors was meeting to discuss a possible friendly merger with a complementary competitor and to review a quarterly cybersecurity report. However, before either of these discussions could begin, PharmaCo's chief financial officer interrupted with news that the company's customer database had been encrypted by hackers in a ransomware attack and a ransom of $25,000 in Bitcoin had been demanded. Unfortunately, this was the first in a series of cyber attacks affecting the organization. The board of directors must increasingly deal with a number of issues brought by management and make some critical decisions in overseeing this crisis.

In December 2017, Ali Asher, the second-eldest child of Aziz Asher, was conducting research for his father on the best way to restructure the family business to prepare for succession. Asher's parents and siblings all lived in Canada, while Ali had been running a start-up in India for nearly two years. The family had a real estate and construction business in Vancouver, British Columbia. Ali's older sister had special needs and lived with her parents, so any family estate plan would need to consider her ongoing care and well-being. His brother, who lived in a suite in the family residence, had a close bond with this sister, worked closely with their father, and had personally invested in one of the family's main real estate assets. The second sister lived in an apartment in Toronto, which the family had helped her purchase, and had little interest in the family business, though she wished to receive an equitable share of the overall estate. Ali believed that the family business and estate were highly vulnerable to both internal and external forces; he needed to recommend a suitable option for safeguarding the family's estate and transitioning the family business to the children in a manner that would satisfy both his father's conditions and the wishes of the other family members.

Hotstar was an online video streaming platform owned by Star India Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Walt Disney Corporation. Since its launch in 2015, the platform had grown to offer over 100,000 hours of TV content, movies in nine Indian languages and live coverage of popular sporting events to its 300 million viewers. Although most of Hotstar's content was offered as a free advertisement-based service, users could access exclusive movies and TV shows by paying for a monthly or annual subscription plan. Hotstar's appealing content and high-quality technology made it one of the most popular video streaming apps but it now faced increasing competition from both domestic and foreign players. The company also had to accelerate the conversion of customers who used the free advertising-based streaming service to a subscription based streaming service. At the same time, there was a need to create more unique content leveraging its digital platform, as opposed to repurposing the content created for broadcast TV for digital streaming. Given all these challenges, the company's CEO Uday Shankar wondered, how should Hotstar evolve in order for it to become a profitable and sustainable business in the next few years?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has emerged as an important area of corporate attention in an informationally integrated world. Corporates are realizing that how they are perceived by the larger society, has a bearing on their capacity to function effectively and create shareholder value. The task of developing and implementing the CSR strategy for Torrent Group was entrusted to Markand Bhatt, a veteran executive in the group. Documenting the challenges faced by Bhatt and the decisions he was required to make the case details the context for an in-depth discussion on the process of design and execution of CSR strategy.

The case recounts a significant attempt at social transformation through a simple mechanism of providing cooking gas to the marginalised in society. Targeting about 80 million BPL (below the poverty line) households in India that still used dung cakes, firewood, and coal as the primary fuel for cooking, the government conceived the Ujjwala scheme to replace these traditional fuels with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a clean fuel. The scheme had the potential to achieve major social transformation through women empowerment. The women would have more time to engage in economic activities and improve the health of households. This scheme would particularly improve the health of women who were directly affected by the polluting fuels. Launched on May 1, 2016, the scheme was very successful in terms of the number of households covered, as the target group across the country enthusiastically embraced it. By January 2018, the scheme had already covered over 30 million families. While reviewing the scheme's progress, the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas-responsible for its execution-realised that several key decisions regarding Ujjwala would require careful resolution to ensure that the social benefits from the scheme were sustained.

The case describes the structure of one of the earliest infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) created and launched in Indian markets in 2017. IndiGrid was an InvIT created by Sterlite Power Grid Ventures Limited (SPGVL), the Sponsor. As a developer, SPGVL had been in the business of constructing and making available transmission links and assets to the grid operator on the basis of competitively bid annuity-like payments over 25 to 35 years. IndiGrid, an InvIT, acquired the transmission assets of the Sponsor to enable wider participation of investors. As the case illustrates, InvITs were allowed to act as pass-through vehicles for tax purposes in order to facilitate investors' direct participation in financing private-sector infrastructure investments. Historically, most investments made by private players in the infrastructure sectors in India relied on bank debt and risk capital brought by the developers or mobilised via equity markets.

Founded in 1899 by Shinjiro Torii in Osaka, Japan, Suntory Holdings (Suntory) boasted a rich history in Japan's alcoholic beverage industry. It purchased US-based Beam in 2014 for $16 billion, renamed itself as Beam Suntory, and transformed into one of the world's largest alcoholic beverage makers, reaching total global revenues of more than 2.5 trillion yen ($23 billion) by the end of fiscal year 2018. Now, in 2020, could the Suntory team pull off a third miracle and successfully bring Japan's highball culture to the extremely competitive global marketplace?

In 2018, the owner of Blue Sky Ranch, a heritage pig farm in British Columbia, Canada, was reviewing her business options. She had been producing premium-priced, high-quality pork for two years; however, despite growing demand from restaurants, grocers, and consumers for high-end, sustainably raised, free-range meat, Blue Sky Ranch was not yet profitable. The owner faced several challenges in processing and delivering her product to clients, and faced competition from large meat producers who had stronger relationships within the food supply chain. The business was operating at a loss and was continually constrained by federal and provincial regulations. What options were available to ensure the future of her business?

This case captures the problems concerning cash flow and working-capital management typical of small, growing businesses. At the end of 2020, Roger and Christine Barton have completed their third year of operating Nelson Nurseries, a $1-million-revenue woody-shrub nursery in central Virginia. While experiencing booming demand and improving margins, the Bartons are puzzled by their plummeting cash balance. The case highlights the difference between cash flow and accounting profits, as well as the common negative effects of growth on cash flow. It also provides a forum for instilling appreciation for the relevance of free cash flow to business owners and managers, introducing financial-ratio analysis, developing the concepts of the cash cycle and working-capital management, and motivating the use of financial models.

The case, set in May 2018, follows an analyst as she undertakes the challenge of decoding the acquisition strategy behind a deal that rattled both venture capitalist and tech startup circles in India. Ananya Menon, Chief Consultant for Retail and E-Commerce at a research and consulting firm in India, had been asked by a client to provide a report on the recent acquisition of the Indian marketplace major Flipkart Pvt. Limited by the Arkansas-based retail behemoth Walmart Inc. Founded in 2007, Flipkart, buoyed by multiple massive funding rounds, had registered meteoric growth both in terms of revenue and market share, and dominated the Indian online retail industry. Though it faced a few setbacks due to misplaced strategies and regulatory changes, it managed to cement its position as the market leader with a share of nearly 40% of the market in terms of gross merchandise value (GMV). However, analysts were sceptical about the sustainability of this position, as the company was a long way from profitability and was burning cash in the form of massive discounts to augment its customer base. Moreover, Amazon Inc., another leading global marketplace company, with deep pockets and top-of-the-line technological capabilities, was close on its heels. Walmart had waited on the fringes of the Indian retail industry since 2007 when the market was opened to foreign investors, but regulatory barriers had confined its operations to the wholesale segment. The e-commerce segment was opened to foreign investment eventually, but under several restrictive conditions. Walmart leapt at the chance and acquired a 77% stake in Flipkart, the leader in the online retail segment. However, the deal price of US$ 16 billion for a company that was consistently making huge net losses sent shockwaves across the VC and e-commerce community. As speculation and debate over the move mounted, Menon was tasked by her client with demystifying the strategic rationale behind the deal.

In 2012, Reshma Saujani founded Girls Who Code (GWC) with the mission of closing the technology (tech) industry's gender gap. While GWC offered coding education programs to middle- and high-school-aged girls, the organization also sought to alter cultural stereotypes surrounding women in tech through books, advertisements, and social media campaigns. Saujani remained active in promoting her organization's message through a TED Talk, a best-selling book, and frequent media appearances and interviews. By 2019, GWC had served approximately 185,000 girls, expanded its programs to all 50 U.S. states, and reached hundreds of millions of individuals through its advertising and media campaigns. However, the tech gender gap was still significant. Saujani claimed that the organization was on track to close the gender gap among entry level tech roles by 2027. Would GWC reach its goal? If not, were there new initiatives that it should consider to increase its effectiveness?

The case describes a difficult choice faced by Victor Wang, Managing Director of Singapore-based Eurasian Brewing Company (EBC), concerning the competing product launch plans of Le Jie, Vice President of EBC's China and East Asian operations, and Vivian Chin, EBC's Director of Marketing and Export Sales. Wang's decision will shape not only the company's future strategy but also the organization model and management approach EBC takes in its fast-growing business. The narrative focuses on the role of Le Jie in growing the sales and profitability of EBC's beer business in China and subsequently in its East Asian operations. Tension arises when Le announces his plan to introduce a new product into the fast-growing craft-beer segment in China. Simultaneously, Vivian Chin initiated a rollout of a small-batch craft-type beer that she felt had strong regional and perhaps even global potential. The two executives have escalated their conflict to Wang. His decision will not only shape EBC's product market strategy but will also exert a strong organizational influence on the division of responsibilities between headquarters and subsidiary management. In addition, it will likely send a signal about the risks and rewards of local entrepreneurial initiative. The case can be taught in courses in strategy, general management, international business management, global marketing, organizational behavior, and entrepreneurship at both the MBA and executive education levels. Its action-oriented decision focus suggests using it in the later stages of a course.