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Set in 2022, this case describes the considerations involved in organizing the physical relocation of the Rowland Institute at Harvard (RIH), a research institute established in 1980 by Edwin H. Land, the founder of the Polaroid Corporation, for the advancement of science. After 43 years at 100 Edwin H. Land Boulevard, the RIH needs a new home. As she evaluates available options, Leigh Needleman, the executive director of the Institute, not only has a long legacy to consider but must also decide where to relocate, whether to buy or rent the new space, and how to assign new laboratory and office spaces to staff to best foster breakthrough science and innovation.

The president of Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops, Canada, Brett Fairbairn, faced backlash and scrutiny for his handling of a harassment and discrimination investigation into two of his senior leaders. In November 2021, two local media outlets released details of the allegations that were brought to the attention of the President and Board of Governors months earlier. The case outlines the public reactions, and a timeline of events, as reported via TRU's public website and local news media, as well as social media posts from interested parties. The President is faced with a decision on how to respond to his varying stakeholders when his leadership and the vision of the university are at stake.

Khayal Gumaan, a professor at a reputable Canadian university, had many years of experience teaching on campus, where she prided herself in creating a safe and respectful environment by valuing diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) in her classroom. When the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 forced courses to be delivered online, she taught for the first time an online course in organizational behaviour for undergraduate students. Although still committed to promoting DEI in class, the professor found it difficult to do so in the virtual environment. Then, in the first month of her online course, a student appealed to her in a private email, asking her to intervene in an unsettling group discussion. The professor was determined to engage her students on the sensitive topic of DEI. How should she respond to the situation in her class's online group discussion and also use it as a teaching opportunity?

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for businesses worldwide. With operations halted and supply chains disrupted, Exide Industries Limited (EIL), a prominent name in India's battery sector, found itself at a pivotal juncture. It had a machine imported from Italy that was critical to its manufacturing operations sitting uncommissioned due to travel restrictions. An innovative solution was proposed to adopt an augmented reality (AR) solution for remote support, which could potentially transform EIL's manufacturing operations, but also raised questions about the feasibility and implications of integrating this technology. EIL had to weigh strategic, operational, and technological considerations to decide whether to embark on this technological innovation and service transformation path during a global crisis.

By August 2023, Byju Raveendran, chief executive officer of Think & Learn Private Limited (doing business as BYJU'S), was facing corporate governance and ethical challenges, resulting in regulatory authorities scrutinizing the company. BYJU'S valuation also declined from a high of $21.2 billion in March 2023 to $5.1 billion by June 2023. Critics accused Raveendran of leveraging aggressive growth strategies, resulting in a decline in the company's performance. And Raveendran was increasingly pressured by stakeholders and critics to step down from BYJU'S board. Should Raveendran step down as chief executive officer? How can he undo the wrongdoing with different stakeholders? What could have driven him to pursue aggressive growth at the cost of ethics and governance?

People in Yemen faced several challenges such as lack of food, water, electricity, or proper hygiene and sanitation. Distressed by the challenges faced by the Yemenis, Iman Hadi (Hadi) set up Friends of the Environment Station (FOES) solar micro-grid station in Abs district in the Hajjah governorate in Yemen backed by the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP). In 2021, Hadi planned to scale up her solar project in other rural districts of Yemen where 47 families had no access to electricity. Going forward, she also had ambitious plans to launch a large solar power plant to provide solar electricity to nearly 3,060 households in the Al-Ghadi area in Yemen. How would Hadi scale up her solar project to other districts in Yemen?

When the Dubai Government announced in 2021 that it had processed its last-ever paper transaction, becoming the first government in the world to go paperless, it completed a 20-year journey of digital transformation that changed people's lives across the emirate fundamentally. Since launching its e-Government initiative in 2001, Dubai had been on a mission to digitalise life in Dubai, making city services as easy, efficient and effective as possible, in alignment with the leadership's vision to make Dubai the best city in the world to live in.

In May 2018 the Norwegian Government introduced new requirements for emissions-free entry into the Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord fjords, a UNESCO World Heritage site, making them the world's first zero-emission zones at sea. For Knut Flakk, CEO and owner of Norway's Flakk Group, it was a watershed moment. Norway and sustainability had a complicated relationship. On the one hand, the country was a pioneer in the use of renewable energy. Almost 90% of the power network ran entirely on clean hydroelectricity and Norwegian policymakers had begun to support electric vehicles as early as 1990. As a result, Norway boasted the highest per capita share of EVs in the world. On the other hand, Norway's huge oil and gas reserves had made the country extremely wealthy. And while many people were now focused on reducing their carbon footprint and being energy-efficient, Knut had a bigger picture in mind, saying "I'm more interested in being climate-positive, with renewable sources. Hydrogen is a zero-emission energy carrier that can be used for boats, trains and planes."

DriveU was a technology-enabled platform that provided verified drivers for a customer's personal vehicle. A smartphone application helped customers book and track the nearest available driver with all necessary information. The DriveU app was launched on June 29, 2015, with an initial investment of USD 1 million and ten employees. Later, they expanded to Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad. They also had a Driver Partner app for the use of drivers. Right from the first month of operations, they had positive unit economics. Starting in April 2022, DriveU actively expanding into other car owner services like car care, car service, motor insurance, and used car sales/buying through a super app. The case discusses DriveU's choices on expanding into new markets, penetrating markets that they are already present in, and/ or consolidating (with more services) in markets where they are dominant.

The case describes the disruption caused by the shortage of chips and sensors in the automobile sector. Although semiconductors used in the automobile sector are essentially low value and cost only a few dollars, they are technologically intensive in terms of both design and manufacturing. Moreover, only a few players in the manufacturing sector have the capability to produce chips, creating an asymmetry in the power equation. Interestingly, the semiconductor value chain is adapting to new geopolitical tensions, and the chipmaking landscape may undergo a significant change in the next 10-15 years. In this context, the case discusses the structure of the semiconductor industry as a whole and its characterization within the automobile sector. It also describes the current sourcing model of semiconductors used by automakers. The main objective is to help students better understand the complex and evolving supply chain structure and its implications for automobile companies worldwide. The case concludes with specific questions about how automakers should restructure their semiconductor supply chains and address future disruptions.

This case delves into the entrepreneurial journey of Madhav Krishna and his company, Vahan. Initially focused on providing speech recognition tools for English learning in skilling centers, Vahan undergoes several pivots as a platform for blue-collar employment. The case underscores iterative venture development, learning and pivoting, user-data responsiveness, platform adoption (like WhatsApp), distribution partners for scaling, and the nuances of business-model fit in India's evolving internet landscape in a blue-collar space.

Steven Erickson, cofounder of the hedge fund Anbec Partners, is trying to determine whether the all-cash offer D.R. Horton has just made for Vidler Water Resources, Inc. (Vidler) is a fair value for Vidler. Vidler's most valuable project is the Fish Springs Ranch pipeline, which was developed to supply water to fast-growing Reno, Nevada. Reno is in Washoe County, which shares water from the Honey Lake aquifer with Lassen County, California. This case presents a history of Reno's water projects, an overview of water regulation and the prior appropriation system in the western United States, and the development of Vidler. There is significant opposition to the Fish Springs Ranch pipeline from California and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. The case delves into the legal battles and the financial risks and rewards of Vidler's investments, and ultimately is a discussion of the challenges of investing in water. At the Darden School of Business, this case is taught in the second-year elective, "Global Economics of Water." It fits in the policy module that deals with pricing water, which is a necessary condition for addressing the current water scarcity challenges, at least in water-scarce industrialized countries. The discussion of Reno follows a session on water markets in Australia, and how these have been installed in response to the ongoing droughts there. Needless to say, the case can be taught on its own; it is especially suitable for classes about the water rights system of the western United States, and more broadly, for those about investing in water.

The case looks at an organisation called CSG Group (CSG), which successfully diversified over the span of several years to become an integrated facilities management and talent services provider. Along their journey of diversification, they acquired a business which had misrepresented its finances - however this was only discovered after the sale had gone through. The financially distressed acquisition threatened the future viability of the company and required a swift turnaround in order for the organisation to remain afloat. Many varying turnaround strategies were implemented, and the division ended up successful. During the turnaround, the protagonist took the opportunity to restructure the divisions and merge multiple businesses inside.

The implementation of the OKR-based Performance Management System (PMS) in Quick Heal, an Indian cybersecurity company came about because of Ms. Reetu Raina, the CHRO's revelation about loopholes in the existing PMS that needed to be addressed. The old PMS had a rigid top-to-bottom approach without any mechanism for frequent feedback. Moreover, not every individual goal was tangible or aligned with the organizational strategy. As a result, it had become challenging to differentiate between high and low performers, and Quick Heal was missing out on a chance to grow as a company. The organization faced several challenges during the implementation process of the new OKR-based PMS, such as employees' resistance to change, slow transformation of the traditional goal-setting process to a more agile approach and other barriers towards the new system's adoption. Employees questioned the need and relevance of the new PMS amidst the uncertainties of the post-pandemic work norms and strongly resisted the transition. Mixed reviews from the department heads left Raina puzzled and wondering about the pitfalls of the transition, the implementation process and overall the potential of the new OKR-based PMS as a tool to create a performance-based culture at Quick Heal.

NSGC Information Technology Co., Ltd. (NSGC Technology) is both a cybersecurity enterprise engaged in technological innovation and a software firm focusing on cyber range construction and cybersecurity talent cultivation. It boasts a long history of doing business with the military industry, and it has produced a wide range of competitive cyber range products. At its inception in 2014, NSGC Technology initiated XCTF, a CTF (capture the flag) competition ranking first in Asia and second in the world, which earned the company a strong international reputation. NSGC Technology started to tap the global market in 2017 and has fostered an international outlook over many years of overseas practices. Its products and services are now available in more than twenty countries. While competing with leading global manufacturers, it has developed insights into the cyber range sector and become the only internationally competitive Chinese enterprise in this field. However, as the company marched from the military industry into non-military fields, it became trapped in low-level industry competition in 2021. In addition, the company's overseas business has been severely impacted since 2020 by the COVID-19 outbreak. At the beginning of 2022, facing challenges at home and abroad, NSGC Technology had to carefully examine the relationship between domestic and global markets and formulate a new corporate development strategy.

STEPN was a one-year-old lifestyle app designed to incentivize routine physical activities like walking, jogging, and running by providing individual financial rewards for participants. The app was part of the move-to-earn (M2E) category of blockchain games. Within a short time, STEPN had established an exceptional track record of both financial performance and enterprise valuation and had achieved unicorn status. However, by January 2023, the Web 3 app was on the verge of being caught in what was known in the world of blockchain games as a death spiral. The prices of its flagship product and its exchange medium were both dropping, and the company's net profits were also in decline. The co-founders needed to determine not only how to head off a death spiral in the short run but also how to sustain the business in the long run.

Ghost Tree Invitational (Ghost Tree) was established in 2007 as a non-profit organization. In the past, Ryan Chackel, the president of Ghost Tree, had organized a yearly two-day event in Bend, Oregon, to raise funds for donations to local non-profit organizations. The event included a golf tournament on the first day and a large outdoor dinner event on the second day. Ghost Tree had relied on sponsor dollars, donations, and ticket sales in a business model that had worked well until a recent change with the participating venue. In all previous years, the venue was donated free of charge to Ghost Tree, but this changed in 2022; Green Links Golf Resort would no longer be able to support the tournament, and the venue would now be an additional expense. Chackel needed to develop a new business model that would make financial sense while also staying true to the non-profit organization's values. Was there a way to address the financial burden while also maintaining the ability to continuously donate to other non-profit organizations? How could Ghost Tree overcome these financial difficulties?

Zakir Khan, a celebrated Indian comedian, commanded an impressive and vast fan base. Khan's unreserved exhibition of his authentic nature had earned him acclaim not only from his fans but also from fellow artists and the media. It had also allowed him to build a personal brand, leading to widespread appeal that had, in turn, unlocked diverse creative avenues for him that typically remained beyond the reach of conventional comedians. What else had contributed to Khan's personal brand, and what would enhance and sustain that brand identity?

While Microsoft and its allies received immense praise from industry insiders for creating GitHub Copilot, a tool that greatly improved programming accessibility, it faced scrutiny from regulators and ethicists shortly after its launch. A class action suit was filed against them for using the publicly available codes to develop Copilot without informed consent. Ethicists raised concerns about their commitment to ethical and responsible innovation. While Microsoft and allies were being questioned they and several other big technology firms terminated a large numbers of AI ethics personnel. This raised several concerns about ethical and legal oversights in design, development, and deployment of AI-powered innovations like GitHub Copilot.

Established in August 2011 in India, Frontier Markets (FM) was one of the largest social commerce platforms working with women influencers and with a strong following of rural customers. Starting out as a clean-energy product company, FM adopted a gender-smart strategy to bring rural-based women entrepreneurs on board as the company's representatives in rural villages. The company leveraged an extensive network of women entrepreneurs, known as Sahelis, through the Meri Saheli e-commerce app. Using the app, the company delivered products and services in finance, agriculture, health care, climate, digital, and essential services. In 2022, FM had over 20,000 Sahelis working with 432,000 rural families, implementing over 25 million solutions through direct sales and doorstep delivery. The firm's founders considered expanding geographically to become India's largest women-led commerce platform. They wondered how they could add 10 million new customers and generate over US$54.16 million in revenue in the next two years. What was the best option for achieving this ambitious growth: expanding in new markets; adding new product categories; or adding new strategic partners?