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Many of the changes seemed to occur at the confluence of three major trends that characterized the industry; namely, (1) the advent of extremely cheap computing power and ubiquitous connectivity; (2) the increasing impact of customer centricity, and (3) the rising influence of wide-ranging new technology tools such as predictive data analytics, artificial intelligence, and neural networks that promised to reduce operating costs while at the same time making a quantum leap in product design and customization. Loosely referred to as the 4thIR (4th Industrial Revolution), these technologies were a small subset of fundamental shifts that were reshaping the industrial world. The financial services industry in the United States was dominated by a handful of very large players who dominated both the active management as well as the passive fund management sides of the business. Most of the industry revenues originated from the fee income for investment advisory services and active fund management services that the companies provided through its legions of financial advisors and branch networks that spread across the country. Black Rock, Vanguard, State Street, JP Morgan, and Fidelity managed approximately $23 trillion. However, life at the top was far from secure. The advent of distributed payment systems, new investment opportunities and approaches such as blockchain-powered Bitcoin and Ethereum, along with the rise of chat bots and digitally enabled user-friendly advisory interfaces, threatened to upset the balance in this once staid industry. The case discusses attempts by Fidelity Investments to navigate the changing landscape through the establishment of Fidelity Labs, an in-house innovation engine that was chartered to experiment, validate, and develop new technological solutions that would allow Fidelity to retain its edge in the changing world of financial services.

This case study focuses on enterprise considerations when entering into new sales modalities. Retail shopping models had long been considered binary - either e-commerce or brick and mortar. In practice the retail industry involved a long spectrum with pure e-commerce on one end and pure brick and mortar on the other end. In between, many different models were emerging like ordering online and picking up in-store (Walmart's Grocery Pickup), shopping in-store and ordering online (Warby Parker and Bonobos made their name in this space - largely facilitating the showroom behavior of consumers), digitally-enhanced physical shopping (several companies hold patents in this space with virtual reality promising to push this model), and many others. By 2019 Amazon, was the world's most valuable online retailer at around $1 trillion (USD). So, when the company announced the purchase of Whole Foods and further committed to the expansion of Amazon Go store locations many questioned the strategic value. Why would a company so clearly successful in the digital realm seek to enter the more traditional brick and mortar space?

The case focuses on the efforts of Helena Borenius, an Executive Director of Scandinavian Building Group (SBG) Sweden who is in-charge of the company's civil engineering and construction work in Sweden. SBG is the disguised name of a major global construction and engineering company that was dealing with similar issues described in the case study. Borenius is under pressure to bid on work for a major expansion of the Arlanda Airport in Stockholm. However, she feels that the project is inconsistent with the company's as well as her own values.

This case examines General Motors' (GM) global strategy. From a manufacturing presence in 34 countries in 2007 to only eight countries in 2020, GM has dramatically changed its global strategy. GM has withdrawn from many regions and countries, including Europe, India, Australia, and Indonesia. Many assembly plants have been closed and sales are now heavily concentrated in the United States. Was GM retreating to its profit sanctuary in the United States and giving up on global business? How would GM's strategy fare against more global competitors such as Toyota, Volkswagen, and growing Chinese companies like Geely and Great Wall?

The case tells the story of Chris Freund, the co-founder of Mekong Capital, a Vietnam-based private equity firm established in 2001 when the country began its transition to a market-based economic model. Mekong initially focused its investment strategy on small and medium enterprises in the export manufacturing sector. However, over the first five years of the company's history, the investment strategy shifted to a greater focus on rapidly expanding consumer businesses to take advantage of the broad economic prosperity arising in the Vietnamese marketplace. Where most private capital firms added value through financial engineering or operational expertise, Mekong had taken a different tack, choosing to employ what it called Vision Driven Investing (VDI). At the core of the vision driven approach was what Mekong and its consulting partner, the Vanto Group, describe as "transformation." As Freund explained, "Where other PE firms choose to be really good at transactional stuff and deal making, that's not inspiring to us. It's fulfilling to add value to companies and see them empowered. It's adding value through transformation." Transformation describes a framework intended to foster high-performance leadership and organizational cultures in investee companies intended to produce breakthrough results. The case presents several examples of the transformational approach and opens opportunities to discuss its efficacy and broader applicability for organizational management and leadership.

The European Union rarely saw hostile corporate takeovers. The structure of corporate ownership and governance across most of Western Europe made gaining control - without the cooperation of the target firm - exceedingly difficult. Despite the challenge, Mittal Steel, the world's largest steel producer, was determined to acquire Arcelor, the world's second largest steel maker. The very public hostile acquisition of Arcelor by Mittal Steel in 2006 was a study in the complexity of crossborder acquisitions. The fight-and it may be best described as a fight-involved Arcelor, a Luxembourg-based multinational steel company, deploying nearly every known defense mechanism to stave off Mittal Steel's hostile acquisition. Legal, societal, political, strategic, national, and even possibly ethnic differences and issues were deployed. In the end, despite larger-than-life personalities and the differences in corporate takeover law across countries, the outcome was driven by shareholder rights and returns.

The case deals with the challenges faced by Anglo American mining corporation in managing local community relations where it has mining operations. The issues are complex and threaten the ability of the company to operate and even the viability of mining operations directly. The complexity is primarily due to the government policies that require mining companies to take on responsibilities for infrastructure and service delivery as a condition for obtaining a mining license. At the same time, the government does not actively support either local communities or the mines and is largely a passive observer. And, there are historical problems concerning land ownership (by individuals or by communities) as well as the challenge of resettling the people displaced by mining operations.

In 2020 TRX Industrial (TRX) was close to finalizing its acquisition of Wilson Technology Group (Wiltec). Brad Hunter, TRX Chief Operating Officer and head of the acquisition integration steering committee, was planning for a one-day team session to examine the post-merger structure for TRX and Wiltec. One of Hunter's objectives for the session was a decision about how much organizational autonomy, if any, would be retained by Wiltec. Hunter saw various options for Wiltec that ran along a spectrum. Wiltec could retain its independence and continue to operate much as it had before the acquisition. At the other end of the spectrum was absorption - Wiltec would be folded into TRX culture and operating processes and give up its autonomy. Wiltec and TRX could also seek to take the best of both firms in terms of culture, processes, and people and create something new.

The Desertec Foundation was established in 2009 to pursue a lofty vision: to power Europe by harnessing the renewable energy of the deserts of North Africa. The Foundation hoped to organize governments and organizations throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa (EUMENA), to create a structure that would use both wind and solar power to generate electricity which would then be transmitted to Europe for distribution across multiple countries and markets. It was an extremely ambitious vision based on advances in technology in energy production and cooperation across many countries. It seemed a very good idea.

The case presents the history of a socially innovative start-up restaurant business, Pixza, that was created as a mixed-motive firm with both internal business objectives and external economic, social and environmental objectives. Founded by the entrepreneur and case protagonist Alejandro Souza, Pixza planned to sell an original style of pizzas produced with locally grown, organic, and traditionally Mexican ingredients and flavors. At the same time, Pixza had a social purpose and was designed as a social reinsertion vehicle for the economically disadvantaged, providing psychological support and job training that permitted formerly homeless men to obtain an income, a residence and an opportunity to achieve personal independence. Alejandro Souza is one of the outstanding examples of social entrepreneurship in Mexico, with experience in designing and implementing projects around the world on issues of impact evaluation, international development and social innovation. The case catches up with Souza in 2017, when Pixza is running two locations in Mexico City and is putting in place a new iteration of its social empowerment program. The restaurants are a hit with locals and are seeing a huge demand and acceptance of the new pizza recipes like blue corn, huitlacoche and epazote. However, running the pizza business and managing the social reinsertion programs is taking a toll on the physical and emotional well-being of Alejandro. Despite the obvious success of the enterprise, the case begins with Alejandro confessing to a close friend that he intends to close the business.

In January 2020 South Africa was once again suffering an electrical power crisis as a series of rolling blackouts, load-shedding, crippled the people and the economy. This was the latest in a series of power crises dating back to 2007. These chronic shortages were the result of failures on the part of the national electrical power producer, Eskom, and its owner, the South African government. The costs to the people of South Africa and the South African economy were enormous. Eskom was now suffering what many termed a death spiral. Its failure to produce sufficient and reliable electricity was causing its financial performance to deteriorate, calling for higher and higher electrical power rates, leading to more and more customers reducing demand and even leaving the grid. Now in the throes of leadership change, corruption investigations, and potential insolvency, it and the country was in trouble. The people of South Africa wondered when their never-ending power crisis - now in its thirteenth year - would end.

In May 2019 Memphis-based pharmacist and social entrepreneur Phil Baker hopes coding will start soon on blockchain software and related applications that will enable efficient and secure collection of usable drugs from individual donors and redistribution to needy authorized patients. To reach this point, he founded the subscription-based Good Shepherd charitable pharmacy, which bypasses pharmacy industry middlemen to sell medications at low prices, and distribute free donated drugs. Next, he successfully lobbied for passage of a Tennessee law that allows medications to be donated by individuals from anywhere in the US, to be redispensed to Tennessee patients, prioritized by need. After forming RemediChain LLC, recruiting a software development team, conducting some pilot tests to verify how to attract willing donors and needy patients, and launching the design phase for the blockchain system architecture, he formed a small consortium of pharmacy schools and other health-care organizations, in anticipation of further pilot-testing. Now, he wants to identify and plan how to mitigate foreseeable blockchain system project challenges before the system architecture and key elements are designed and software development begins. Since his two organizations (RemediChain LLC and Good Shepherd Pharmacy) are under financial pressure, and he wants to move forward quickly on building a scalable solution.

Anna and Jack Oleson, long-time owners of a bridal and formal wear shop in a small community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.), are contemplating making an offer to buy the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge (KML) property, located in Copper Harbor on the Keweenaw Peninsula. The property has been owned and operated by Keweenaw County since its beginnings in 1933, constructed under the Civil Works Administration and the Work Progress Administration during the Great Depression. Situated on 167 heavily-wooded acres in the northernmost part of Michigan, the facility includes a 6,000 square foot lodge built from logs and rough-cut stone, a banquet room and conference center, 24 rustic cabins, an eight-room motel, a nine-hole golf course, mountain biking and hiking trails, a tennis court, and disc golf. In 1970, the lodge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1976, it was designated as a Michigan State Historic Site. Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, however, has not produced profits in several years. A consultant noted that while some repairs were needed (e.g., roof replacement/repairs, replacement of carpeting, installation of Wi-Fi), it has been a utilized for both hosting wedding receptions and as family vacation destination for Michiganders and other Midwesterners. The asking price for the property is $1.5 million. The Olesons, who are in their 70's in age, are considering selling the bridal shop and using proceeds towards purchasing the KML. The case provides a general overview of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and its unique culture, and the considerations involved in making a purchase decision - i.e., marketing, location and local demographics, marketing positioning, operations and management, succession planning, and financial valuation. It requires the reader to utilize the planning, analytical, and decision-making techniques of an entrepreneur investigating a new business opportunity.

AlloVoisins, a web platform founded in 2013, had reached its 2018 enrolment goals seven months ahead of schedule. Because of a large new competitor entering the market, Edouard Dumortier, CEO, was evaluating a list of partners for his planned Business-to-Business-to-Consumer (B2B2C) strategy. These partnerships aimed to drive further enrolment. AlloVoisins allowed people within communities to post needs (e.g. babysitting, borrowing tools, house checking, etc.) for other members to fulfill for a mutually agreed upon fee. The company had previously used paid media but did not find that such channels resulted in the enrolment figures Dumortier believed he needed to compete. This type of advertising and promotion also required a lot of cash, which as a start-up AlloVoisins did not have. Therefore Dumortier opted for B2B2C strategies, which required less cash on hand. AlloVoisins was considering partnering with other businesses and selling to them, or getting them to promote his company, rather than communicating directly with customers. The question, though, involved selecting partners from a list he came up with after some research to best achieve his goals. In order to maximize AlloVoisins' opportunities, partners would need to provide access to the largest database of customers possible but also fit well with the value offered by AlloVoisins.

The CEO of Green Zebra weighs the implications of growth for a small chain of innovative, organic neighborhood grocery stores. The firm was at the forefront of both healthy food and convenience trends but faced fierce competition from larger players entering the market. A rapidly diminishing cash position forces the CEO to compare how two investing-financing alternatives contribute to growth and to reducing the cash burn of current operations. A slow growth option requires less financing and may allow the company to achieve a positive cash flow more rapidly. The alternative, rapid expansion into a new market, has the potential to rapidly scale operations and enhance competitive position. Students develop financial forecasts, calculate the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), estimate cash flows, prepare net present value (NPV) and evaluate financing alternatives. This is an integrated case that illustrates the financial implications of growth and the capital rationing issues faced by small firms. It can be used as a final exam case for an MBA-level course in corporate finance and as a vehicle for structured case analysis in an upper division undergraduate course in finance or entrepreneurship.

In late 2017, Peri Malhotra, Head of Employee Development at Quatrro Global Services (QGS) was concerned about the future of the One Woman campaign started at the firm two years prior. She led the initiative with her direct manager, Alok Narain, Executive Vice President of Human Resource and Development. Despite a concerted effort, Malhotra remained one of the few senior women executives at the firm. The One Woman campaign was launched in 2015 with the aim of attracting, retaining, developing and most importantly, helping women ascend the leadership ladder. The program was well received by participants, generating substantial buzz among women employees, but Malhotra had also heard some grumblings from male employees, especially about the preferential treatment the program maybe promoting. The financial budgeting process for 2018 had begun and unless Malhotra and Narain were able to provide a comprehensive assessment of the campaign, the value added by the initiatives and ways to improve it, the program would most likely be cut. Malhotra and Narain were reflecting on their efforts and both were eager to sustain the program.

This case provides insights into the job of a manager of a large retail store. John Hernandez is the store manager of a 200,000 square foot Walmart store with 300 associates. As the day progresses John must deal with various issues, including an open door meeting with an employee, shrink and theft protection, change management, and the store's financial performance.

This case regards the perils of ineffective management and design that led to an organizational crisis. The setting is an amusement park where a water slide thrill ride was created in pursuit of a world record. Signals and warnings that should have been recognized, assessed and fixed to operate successfully and prevent a crisis were ignored. The park and stakeholders paid ultimate costs for their oversights.

In 2019, members of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (WNT) filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. The case describes the history of the WNT's quest for equal pay leading up to this event.

In December 2019, Vishal H Mistry, the founder of Jalaram Rice Mills Private Limited (JRMPL), a rice-exporting firm in Ahmedabad, is facing some dilemmas concerning the export of rice. Currently, the firm is exporting non-basmati rice to Russia and South Africa. He received a bulk order for non-basmati rice from a new Russian firm. Based on his experience in the field, bulk orders are always risky, as the likelihood of the order getting cancelled in the last moment could put him at very high risk. Similarly, he is confused about the selling price of the rice. Compared to that between India and South Africa, the exchange rate between India and Russia was experiencing more significant fluctuations in recent years. The appreciation of the Indian currency against that of the importing countries made the export costlier for Mistry. This was happening in a context where a severe price competition in the importing markets existed. Since Mistry is a small exporter, he does not have much ability to reduce the price due to the lack of monopoly in the importing market. Therefore, Mistry is a price-taker and not a price-maker in the world market. Will he accept the order? If so, at what price?