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TJ, a manager at an investment company, is alarmed when, during an evening out with Leslie, his female colleague, and five male prospective clients, the men behave in an overly familiar way with her. Although Leslie assures TJ that she can handle this type of attention, TJ nonetheless is very uncomfortable with the situation. What should he do?

This case allows instructors to lay out the challenges of providing universal access to safe drinking water in some developing and emerging countries-one of the current UN development goals. The challenge across developing countries is to find long-lasting and sustainable solutions, and to realize that present answers to the challenge may be a far cry from these criteria. The discussion aims to address the complex and multifaceted nature of water supply in developing countries, and to emphasize that many of the assumptions made in advanced economies may not apply. The aim is to search for the best (long-lasting and sustainable) solutions, admitting there is no silver bullet, even though some alternatives are clearly better than others.

Set in January 2018, the case presents the situation facing Ferrari Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne as he considers the future of the septuagenarian racing and luxury performance car company. During his tenure, Marchionne steered Ferrari onto a trajectory of sustained profitable growth. He split the company from Fiat-Chrysler, floated it on the New York Stock Exchange and expanded production beyond a self-imposed limit of 7,000 cars per year. Between 2015 and 2017 shipments increased 10% and share price more than 100%. But the auto industry was undergoing structural change, including the emergence of electric-motor technologies, toughening emissions regulations and changing consumer preferences, which could render Ferrari's strategy irrelevant. Marchionne pondered various options, such as the introduction of an electric supercar and an exclusive SUV - options that had profound implications for resource allocation and other strategic decisions.

Drums Food International Pvt. Ltd. (Drums Food) launched India's first Greek yogurt brand, Epigamia, in 2015. Experiencing initial success with Greek yogurt, Drums Food went on to add another unique offering, lactose-free artisanal curd, targeting consumers with lactose intolerance. With these launches, Drums Food was building a well-differentiated, healthy brand to successfully tap the value-added dairy products market. However, in 2018, the road ahead was not without hurdles. To succeed, Drums Food needed to change the consumer mindset to ensure constant patronage of Epigamia. It also needed to defend itself against competitors who could launch similar products at competitive price points, leveraging the scale of their existing dairy businesses. Could Drums Food sustain the brand and build strong brand equity, enough that it could extend the Epigamia brand to more categories?

The Indian environment has experienced pronounced changes with respect to snacking and fitness in the recent times, especially among the middle-aged consumers, who are experiencing the pleasures of Western lifestyles along with the pains of fitness-related issues. The radical changes in lifestyles of consumers have led to unhealthy eating habits and snacking is a natural fall out of such a scenario. Soulfull Smoothix is a brand that is making an attempt to revive the healthy habit by getting back to the goodness of ethnic grains that are the ingredients of this "on the go" drink. The major challenge of the brand is not just creating and nurturing the attitude of consumers in an environment that has a plethora of snacking choices; the brand's immediate task is to develop a sharp positioning plank for the brand .Positioning on health and fitness had become clichéd due to several competing propositions of a similar nature and enjoyable indulgence is the other extreme. Consumer psyche also seems to be fixated on "health or indulgent consumption" to the extent that one of the leading brands of biscuits has come out with the positioning of a trade-off between being healthy and tasting good. Soulfull Smoothix's options for positioning the brand indicate a dilemma full of tempting choices. Should the brand position itself as a new concept drink? Should it reposition the category of snacking? Should the brand get into a frontal attack on leading brands in the category based on unhealthy indulgence? Which category of snacking should the brand compete with respect to point of parity? Should the brand create a digital advertising trial for the sake of achieving awareness? Consumer behavior with its conceptual underpinnings are considered and the case exposes students to learning how consumer behavior can be applied to branding in a market like India that has an appealing combination of snacking choices full of branded titbits and ethnic delicacies.

The application of technology in the area of finance has fostered a slew of innovative financial technology ("fin-tech") based firms. Wealth management and personal financial advisory is one of the industry segments that is witnessing a technology-led transformation across the globe with the advent of a wave of robo-advisors. The case presents an overview of the financial planning and advisory (FP&A) segment in the country prior to the onset of robo-advisors and the impact of robo-advisors on the industry dynamics. It traces the journey of Arthayantra ("the Company"), a leading Indian robo-advisory firm, as it seeks to change the way personal finance is perceived and delivered. It showcases the evolution of Arthayantra in its initial years as it develops its value proposition, puts in place its organizational structure and establishes a customer base in the backdrop of a changing macroeconomic environment. The case closes at a point where Arthayantra is evaluating a strategic pivot from a sole advisory model to an advisory-cum-execution model, encouraging students to analyze the strategic choices that lay before the firm.

Balaji is currently active in three businesses: TV content, film production and video-on-demand (VOD) services. Started by Ekta Kapoor and her family in 1994, the company tasted its first major success in 2000 with the TV series Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. This was followed by several other hit TV shows, which earned Ekta Kapoor the moniker "Czarina of Indian TV". The company formally entered the film business in 2007 and has had mixed success since then. The 2008 great recession dented the revenues and profits of the company, but both revenues and profits have recovered in the TV content business. The film business has continued its up-and-down trajectory raising questions on whether Balaji should continue to be in the film business. While there are some similarities between the TV and film business, there are some important differences as well. This raises the important question of whether Balaji can succeed in both TV and films. A major trend in the media and entertainment over the last few years that complicates this question is digitization and the rise of VOD services. Balaji entered this segment in April 2017 with the launch of its ALTBalaji platform. While Balaji can transfer its skills at storytelling and industrialized creativity to digital content, it is not clear how Balaji can compete against giants such as Amazon, Netflix, and Hotstar. The case ends with a discussion of the strategic decisions that Balaji has to make with respect to its digital offerings: Should it stick to producing content or should it own the platform as well? What should be its revenue model? The question of whether Balaji should exit the film business remains.

This case on Delhivery highlights how a young enterprise had grown phenomenally, embracing a variety of business models - hyperlocal delivery, software-as-a-service, pipeline business models for services, and a platform business model. The case is particularly useful to highlight how each of these business models within the firm complement each other, and what value addition they do to each other's business verticals and stakeholders. Being an advanced case (to be taught later in the course), the case narrative includes the network effects and other descriptions of the platform business model. The case is positioned as a growth/diversification question facing the entrepreneurs as they seek to sustain their core (technology) when the market is yet to tip (achieve critical scale).

The case discusses the rapidly growing mobile payments industry in India. The growth in the industry has been fueled by several factors such as increasing smartphone and internet penetration, ballooning startup ecosystem, growing government push for economic digitization, and the pro-active involvement of the regulatory bodies in providing a conducive and stabilizing environment. The case presents the account of Paytm, a leading incumbent in the industry, which has experienced a phenomenal rise to the top, brushing aside competition from several domestic players. However, the increasing competition from deep-pocketed technology giants, such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc., has been challenging its leadership position. The case highlights Paytm's strategic quest for tackling the growing competition in the industry, which includes the strides taken by Paytm to establish itself as a dominant design. The case also hints at the other strategies incorporated by Paytm to sustain its market leadership.

Set in 2018, this case follows married couple and music industry titans Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys as they consider how best to use their platforms to achieve their goals. Since achieving professional success in the music industry early in their lives, Swizz and Keys had explored many different personal and professional pursuits. Swizz was particularly interested in the arts and had launched an initiative aimed at supporting emerging visual artists of color. Keys had taken on acting roles, written a children's book, and had become an increasingly vocal advocate for social justice causes. Anchoring their professional work, Swizz and Keys had built a loving family rooted in communication and mutual respect. As one of the music industry's most recognizable power couples, Swizz and Keys now considered how they might use their joint platform to continue to drive positive change for artists and creators of all stripes.

This is part of a three-case series that follows Dulcie Madden's journey as a founder over five years. Case (A) is about managing growth and cash flow; Case (B) is about the exit decision and conditions on a sale; Case (C) shows Madden dealing with adversity and the choice of "when to quit?" Rest Devices was an early stage company started by a team from MIT. Dulcie Madden decided to drop out of her MBA program at MIT to join Rest Devices as the CEO and use the innovative sensor technology to create a line of smart clothing for babies. A partnership with Babies "R" Us became a strong catalyst to growth but left Rest Devices increasingly constrained by additional capital requirements necessary to deliver the required number of units. As Madden tried to balance the need for capital with the business pressures of delivering a product for a nationwide rollout, she was faced with a series of strategic choices including an unsolicited acquisition offer, a lawsuit, failed financing, and tensions within the team.

This case examines four Special Economic Zones in Myanmar. While the country's development had been hobbled by a complex history of military rule, ethnic conflict, and international sanctions, as it pursued liberalization it sought avenues to developing its economy. The four zones described in the case - Dawei, Kyaukphyu, Thilawa, and the New Yangon City project all had different roots and different motivations. The different rates of progress of each reflected the interests and approaches of each of the projects' participants.

The case opens in 2019 as Aytul Ercil, co-founder and CEO of Vispera, computer vision technology provider for retail, is contemplating the company's agenda trying to decide how to prioritize the impeding options. The case chronicles the founding of Vispera, the iterations of its technology and its business model, and lays the ground for the competitive outlook. The case provides a detailed overview of how Vispera's technology and its automated visual analysis help retail and fast-moving consumer goods companies around the world to minimize stock-outs, increase sales, reduce personnel costs, and improve operational efficiency. In 2016, the debut of Amazon Go urges the retail players to up their game vis-à-vis technology. Demand for automation and computer vision in the retail surges. In a land-grab market, Vispera strives to grow globally, differentiate itself, keep its technology cutting edge, and raise capital. In 2019, taking a step back from all of the daily to-dos, Ercil needs to consider the big picture for making Vispera a leading global player. She needs to consider the following: Should the team focus on developing shelf availability and out-of-stock prediction capabilities or focus on dynamic pricing, customization, and real-time campaign management? Should Vispera pivot to provide insights beyond the shelf as was already being done by players entering the space? How should the team think about data ownership: Could Vispera leverage the data to drive cross industry insights or market level perspective?

India's start-up ecosystem is amongst the largest globally, with a variety of funding options from angel investors, venture capital and corporate venture capital to debt. Classic consumer focused start-ups which look to leverage technology have been able to raise significant amounts of capital but the situation is more challenging for deep science and technology focused startups. This note focuses on these issues and the factors behind them.

Preferred Networks, Inc. (PFN), a start-up specialized in deep learning technologies, a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) research, differentiated itself early on by aligning with Japan's manufacturing might and bringing deep learning to the internet of things (IoT). The case follows the start-up as it evolves into a highly valued company with over 200 employees and global partners across various industries. It offers an overview of the AI business landscape and an explanation of deep learning. PFN's trajectory shows how technology-heavy research firms spark innovation, attract business partners and collaborators, manage as they grow, and decide what business model best suits their needs. The case is intended for use in classes on artificial intelligence, technology and operations management, marketing of complex products and technologies, entrepreneurship and strategic partnerships for research-heavy startups.

In 2018, Al Baba Sweets was a major player in the Arabic sweets and confectionery industry in Lebanon. However, in the midst of a rough patch in the country's economy, the company was suffering from decreasing revenues. Any major decision concerning the future of the third-generation family business would have to be made carefully. New, smaller competitors were entering the market alongside the industry's large, long-time players. The company had to decide what its next steps would be. Should Al Baba Sweets branch out to other countries? If so, which modes of entry should they use? What other possibilities were there to enhance and expand operations?

In late 2017, the co-owners of Rocky Mountain Soap Company in Canmore, Alberta, faced an important challenge. Their company produced and retailed toxin-free, 100 per cent natural bath and body products, and they wanted the product packaging to reflect their company's commitment to sustainability. To meet the challenge of identifying and implementing sustainable packaging solutions, the co-owners needed to address intensifying competition, make good use of their limited ability to conduct research and development, and manage their customers' expectations. How could the co-owners develop a packaging solution that aligned with the company's brand focus of "100 per cent natural"? How could they find the support they needed to move the company forward?

In 2018, Changsheng Bio-technology Co., Ltd. (Changsheng), a leading biopharmaceutical company and one of the market leaders in vaccines, was found to have falsified its production and inspection data and to have sold substandard vaccines in the Chinese market. The unethical conduct triggered widespread public anger and immediate government intervention. What actions could Changsheng take to mitigate the effect of this scandal?

In early 2016, Canada's venture capital (VC) investment environment was growing and, as a result, exciting new start-ups were fruitfully collaborating with a sophisticated selection of investors. Ajay Joshi, a partner at Helarctos Ventures (HV), a seed-stage venture capital investment fund based in Toronto, Canada, was an experienced entrepreneur in the mobile wireless technology (tech) space and a savvy VC investor. HV, founded in 2013, had invested in 28 tech start-ups, and six of them had been successfully acquired. But even with past successes, in an environment of hungry, enthusiastic start-ups that was getting larger and more diverse every year, Joshi and the HV team needed to continuously re-evaluate their process and be sure that they were relying on the right criteria for evaluating investments. Each investment in a start-up was a major decision and represented a significant and long-term allocation of finite capital, time, and energy. Joshi and HV needed to be sure of their decisions, when surety was in short supply.

Rite Aid Corporation (Rite Aid) shareholders had turned down a US$3 million bonus proposed for the chief executive officer (CEO) and elected a new board chair. Under the CEO's leadership, Rite Aid had paid off some debt and returned to modest profitability. However, two failed plans to sell the business had shaken the shareholders' confidence. Having dealt with falling sales, shrinking profits, the sale of over half of its stores, and the news that Amazon.com Inc. had acquired an online pharmacy, Rite Aid was facing challenges from all sides. The drugstore industry was in turmoil, and without a buyer, the board chair needed to revisit the company's strategy and its management's capabilities. In the face of consolidation, vertical integration, and disruption from new entrants, survival was uncertain. Could Rite Aid survive on its own? Would it be feasible to attempt a third merger agreement, or were more radical options needed?