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Despite fast advancements in technology and production capacity, China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) faced a variety of challenges and risks on its path to build profitability in the global high-speed rail (HSR) market. Some of these challenges arose from competition between CRCC and nations with competing HSR technology and international expansion plans. Other challenges were related to the country of origin and its effects on perceptions about the product and brand positioning. In 2018, CRCC was facing intensive competition and complicated international environments, and it needed to develop an effective risk prevention and management scheme in order to compete and succeed through global expansion.

In 2017, the French automaker Groupe PSA (PSA) agreed to buy loss-making Opel/Vauxhall units from General Motors Company. PSA had just recovered one year earlier from losses it had sustained since the global financial crisis. With the recovery, PSA had launched a new strategic plan with aggressive goals for sustainable profitable growth. However, PSA’s sales were continuing to drop in the important Chinese market due to fierce competition, and the newly acquired units were still making losses. The use of electric cars was on the rise, and the European Commission had proposed a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. PSA was planning to re-enter the United States, and in Britain, it was facing ambiguous Brexit negotiations, raising concerns about increased costs with importing and exporting parts and finished vehicles. In light of all of these challenges, how could PSA still reach its aggressive goals for sustainable growth?

In early 2017, 15 years after being launched, DMart was India’s second-largest and most profitable food and grocery retailer. To achieve its stellar growth, the company had followed a no-frills, limited assortment model and had restricted itself to limited geographies within the country. The company was listed in the capital market and attracted very favourable views from investors. As a listed company, DMart might be expected by shareholders to expand to new locations and develop an online presence. Would DMart be able to meet the challenges of exploring new geographies and new formats? What strategies would it need to adopt to remain competitive?

In late 2017, Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), Canada’s oldest retail company, was facing considerable pressure from activist investor Land & Buildings Investment Management (LBIM) after recording a CA$201 million loss in the second quarter of 2017. Immediately after posting the loss, HBC unveiled its Transformation Plan, which involved a significant restructuring of the company. However, continued clashes with LBIM revealed the plan’s inability to alleviate shareholders’ concerns. LBIM urged the company to tap into the value of its real estate holdings, which were undervalued relative to the current market capitalization. In the face of these concerns, HBC’s chief executive officer announced that he would be stepping down at the beginning of November 2017. How should HBC proceed?

In February 2018, Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon) was tackling what seemed to be the most challenging problem in grocery retailing—how to efficiently and effectively deliver groceries to customers—known generally as the last-mile challenge. Seattle-based Amazon, which had 22 years of experience delivering goods such as books, apparel, and electronics sold on its website, had already proven that it could efficiently deliver general merchandise to customers. Yet, groceries presented a unique challenge because they were perishable and customers paid more attention to getting them in a timely fashion. After all, it was food that was being carried to the consumer’s home. Amazon’s efforts to solve the last mile challenge for grocery delivery had not thus far been successful. In November 2017, it shut down its AmazonFresh delivery service in five states but claimed this was unrelated to its purchase of Whole Foods Market Inc. Could Amazon successfully overcome the challenge of last-mile grocery delivery? If so, what were the implications for Amazon and other retailers?

Since being founded in 2006, Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. had emerged as a major player in India’s fast-moving consumer goods sector. The company differentiated its products with a unique mix of Indian nationalism, yoga spiritualism, social welfare motives, and natural/Ayurvedic ingredients. In combination with low prices and a low-cost position, this strategy challenged the incumbent multinational and conventional Indian competitors. As a result, competitors, including Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive India, Dabur India Ltd., and Sri Sri Ayurveda, had to decide how to respond to this new competitor and capitalize on the growth opportunities in the Indian market.

In 2016, ALDI Stores (Aldi) in Australia posted its first downturn in annual growth since it opened in 2001. The German discount grocery store had been on a steady climb towards a top position among competitors such as Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty. Ltd., and Woolworths Limited. Amazon Inc. and Lidl Stiftung & co. KG, another German competitor, had begun to take steps towards entering the Australian market. What can Aldi do to ensure its continued success and retain its market share?

Rajesh Exports Limited (REL), founded by Rajesh Mehta in the 1980s and based in India, was the world’s largest, lowest cost gold jewellery manufacturer. REL derived more than 90 per cent of its total revenue from exporting gold jewellery to more than 60 countries; but, in 2017, REL set a goal of increasing the portion of revenue contributed by the retail segment to 90 per cent by 2030—an increase from the current contribution of 10 per cent. REL had initiated strategies to differentiate itself in the retail jewellery segment; nonetheless, analysts were skeptical about REL’s ability to achieve its revenue goal. They pointed to the hindrances of severe competition in the global retail jewellery market; REL’s lack of experience in retail jewellery; and the perception of low quality associated with products produced in India. Was Mehta’s vision to establish REL’s presence in the retail segment appropriate, and if so, how could REL overcome the barriers and establish its identity in the international retail jewellery market?

In April 2016, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (Alibaba) acquired the cash-strapped German e-commerce company Lazada Group (Lazada) to enter the Southeast Asian market and gain an additional source of revenue. Lazada’s value proposition of an effortless shopping experience, combined with rising competition, had caused Lazada to over-invest in logistics infrastructure. The cash injection from Alibaba’s acquisition would allow Lazada to continue to pursue its strategic imperatives while leveraging Alibaba’s online experience and other resources in China. Given the competitive environment in China, was the entry into Southeast Asia through the acquisition of Lazada an appropriate strategy for Alibaba? Had Lazada made the appropriate decision to sell its company to Alibaba? How should Alibaba implement its post-merger integration in 2017?

Bakeys Cutlery was launched in India in 2010, after the founder had spent years researching how edible cutlery could counteract the damaging effects of plastics on our health and the environment. In 2017, the challenges the founder faced in the domestic market included the high prices of the cutlery, compared with plastic cutlery, and low environmental awareness. Response to the company was positive in international markets, but how could the founder become successful in his home country?

In 2005, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) began investing in Canada, when it acquired 16.69 per cent equity of MEG Energy Corp., a private Calgary-based energy company. In 2011, it acquired OPTI Canada, a Canadian oil company that had gone bankrupt, followed in 2013 by the contentious acquisition of Nexen Inc., a Canadian oil and gas company. Despite this enticing potential market and the desire to fuel China's rapidly growing economy, CNOOC faced low oil prices, slow economic growth in Canada, fierce competition from other multinational oil companies, and pressure from environmental non-governmental organizations. Given these challenges, how could CNOOC achieve success in Canada?

In 2015, TELUS Corporation (TELUS) needed to decide whether to either ignore the concerns of the local community and power up its newly installed cellphone tower—located 84 metres from the University of Calgary's child care centre—or relocate it farther from the centre. Both TELUS and the University of Calgary claimed that the cellphone tower would emit radio frequency waves at a level well below the safety threshold according to Health Canada's Safety Code 6. However, parents of children at the centre were not satisfied with this claim. TELUS and the University of Calgary decided to hold a public consultation meeting to address the issue. What options did TELUS have? Was the socially responsible solution the best way to address the situation?

In 2010, when China surpassed the United States to become the largest global market for automobiles, China’s Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. (Geely) entered the global automobile industry by acquiring Volvo Group’s cars division from Ford. Seven years later, Geely bought a controlling stake of 51 per cent in Lotus Cars, a stake in the truck maker AB Volvo, and a 10 per cent share of Daimler AG worth US$9 billion, becoming its largest shareholder. On August 31, 2018, Ford’s chief executive officer faced a strategic challenge: assess the level of threat that Geely posed and how to respond to it, if necessary. Was Geely’s rise in the market endangering Ford’s market position?

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (AquaBounty) was a small, U.S. biotechnology company that focused on improving productivity in commercial aquaculture. In 2015, the company had received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell its genetically modified AquAdvantage salmon in the United States. Public reaction was mixed, with heavy criticism from some environmentalists. One year later, in May 2016, AquaBounty received approval from Health Canada to sell AquAdvantage salmon in Canada. The company’s director of Corporate Communications needed to prepare for the announcement of Health Canada’s approval, to be made public later that week. What should he include in the company’s issues management plan to ensure that AquaBounty would receive balanced feedback from the Canadian public?

In mid-2015, the founders of what3words, a technology start-up in London, England, were eager to position their company for growth. After having financed their two-year entrepreneurial journey with the help of angel investors, they were preparing to meet with a strategic investor to finance the next level of growth. The strategic investor needed to know that the founders had a clear path to profitability and a strategy for continued growth in order to secure long-term business potential. How could the founders create an action plan to move the start-up from surviving to thriving?

ING Groep NV, a successful Dutch-based bank with operations in over 40 countries, had a very successful year in 2016. The bank had achieved strong growth in customer numbers, savings, and lending. However, digitization was disrupting the banking industry. ING Groep NV had successfully taken multiple initiatives to tackle the fundamental changes driven by the digital disruption, but its future, like that of all the other major traditional banks, remained uncertain. In March 2017, the chief executive officer announced that the bank would invest €800 million in continued digital transformation to further improve the customer experience and accelerate growth. While there was no doubt that this investment was needed, he had to decide how ING should respond to and take advantage of the radical changes caused by digitization. Which specific initiatives should he prioritize for the €800 million investment?

In early 2014, Standard Chartered PLC, a British multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London, England, announced its restructuring plan. The announcement triggered positive reactions in both stock and bond markets. Nevertheless, the eventual profitability was not what was expected. Moving forward into 2015, how would a rational investor have taken advantage of such a corporate restructuring event?

In December 2017, two news releases were issued by CSX Corporation (CSX) concerning its chief executive officer (CEO), who had been appointed nine months earlier based on his record of drastically cutting operating expenses. The first release indicated that the CEO had taken a medical leave of absence due to unexpected complications from a recent illness and that an acting CEO had been appointed. The next day, CSX shares dropped 7.6 per cent, erasing almost $4 billion in market value. The second release, two days later, indicated that the CEO had died. Subsequent news reports questioned the board’s initial decision to hire him. The events raised issues related to unlocking shareholder value, the role of boards, and the impact of activist shareholders. Did the board do sufficient due diligence surrounding the CEO’s health when he was initially hired? Was the CEO’s vision and strategy more important than its implementation? Was the hiring of this CEO short-term thinking?

In early 2017, Voot was one of India’s popular video-on-demand (VOD) service providers of movies and television series. By that time, more than 50 million users had installed the application on the Android mobile platform alone. Voot’s parent company, Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. (Viacom 18), was popular for its television channels Rishtey, Colors, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central India. Due to a rise in VOD service providers and a growing number of Internet users in India, VOD consumption had been increasing rapidly; therefore, launching Voot was important for Viacom18 to secure a place in the surging digital market. Even though Viacom18 was already a popular television network service provider at the time of Voot’s launch, it was not the first service to enter the VOD market, and its competitors were doing well. Voot had to determine what monetization model to implement and it had to choose a content strategy that would allow it to be competitive in the market, considering its diversified consumer base in terms of language, culture, and economic conditions.

In November 2017, a fan of hockey watched his favourite team lose 6–4 against a contending team. After a great start to the season with a record of 6 wins and 1 loss, his favourite team had lost 6 of the last 8 games, dropping their record to 8 wins and 7 losses. The fan knew that the time was approaching for the inevitable discussions with his friends regarding the team's success. Which players should they have signed? Which player should the team trade for? What line combinations would serve the team best? Who was overvalued, and who was undervalued? Knowing that conversations among his friends typically took on a random and unstructured format, the fan planned to provide a more analytical approach to the discussion this year. His research would raise the level of the conversation and help back up his suggestions.