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In March 2023, Havells India Ltd., founded by Haveli Ram Gandhi and later acquired by Qimat Rai Gupta, reported a significant increase in turnover to $2.06 billion from a low of $1.14 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Despite its success and growth investments, questions arose about Havells' strategic direction. While traditionally known for its electrical products as a B2B enterprise, Havells made inroads into the brown goods market, notably with the struggling Lloyd business post-acquisition in 2017. CEO Anil Rai Gupta faced challenges in adapting Havells' strategies to the competitive B2C market and evaluating the retention of the Lloyd brand's identity. Looking ahead, how will Havells navigate these strategic dilemmas to sustain its growth momentum and market relevance effectively?

In March 2023, the Adani Group experienced a sharp decline in market value, losing over $150 billion. This downturn followed allegations from US short-seller Hindenburg Research, which accused Gautam Adani of inflating his net worth to $120 billion over three years, mainly through a dramatic rise in the stock prices of the group's key companies. The Adani Group disputed these stock manipulation allegations, citing a misunderstanding of Indian laws, highlighting also their consistent debt reduction over the past decade. The challenge for the Adani Group now lies in regaining stakeholder confidence and managing the crisis, which may include re-evaluating its corporate governance practices and revising its communication strategy to restore its image.

On November 9, 2020, Chhavi Jain wanted to participate in a contest created by her college friend Vikas Jack on the Dream11 mobile application. The contest was for the final match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 between the Delhi Capitals and the Mumbai Indians scheduled for November 10. In the contest, each user must create a team of 11 players. A user’s performance was evaluated based on their team’s performance in the live match. Jain faced the dilemma of selecting the 11 players for her team on Dream11. The number of credits for each player was different, depending on their past performance, and the total credit sum of all players had to be less than 100 credits. She did not know the players and their past performances in the IPL. Which players should she select in her team to increase her chances of winning the contest?

On July 24, 2023, the leading Indian consumer goods company ITC Limited announced a plan to demerge its hotel business into a separate subsidiary named ITC Hotels Limited and list it on a stock exchange. ITC Limited would retain a 40 per cent stake, while the remaining 60 per cent would be distributed to shareholders. The company argued that this demerger would unlock value for shareholders by providing them with a direct stake in the new company and an independent market valuation. Despite this rationale, ITC Limited’s stock price fell upon the announcement, reflecting market concerns about the retained 40 per cent stake and potential capital expenditure burdens. Investor advisory firms had mixed reactions, but shareholders were asked to make a decision and vote on whether to approve or oppose the demerger.

This case discussed the carbon offset credibility challenges Delta Air Lines faced following the filing of a class-action lawsuit in California federal court in May 2023 alleging greenwashing and misleading carbon-neutrality claims. Despite dismissing the lawsuit as one “without legal merit,” Delta had to address customer concerns about its commitment to decarbonization and sustainability and assure the court that the company was taking credible steps away from carbon offsets to more sustainable options toward fulfilling its net-zero carbon emission promise. How can Delta align better with customers’ expectations from net-zero carbon emission promises and be more transparent about its initiatives with all its stakeholders?

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. had been, up until 2024, growing at an accelerated pace while achieving industry-leading profit margins and related cash flow in the fuel convenience store industry globally. Its growth had been fuelled by acquisition, which in its case meant paying a premium to purchase large groups of stations in current and new markets, primarily in Europe, the United States, and Canada—a global success story. However, the company's future was less certain due to multiple levels of technological disruption under way in the industry. The adoption of electric and autonomous vehicle driving technology was central to this change, along with the continued digitization of the customer experience. Couche-Tard was not immune to these challenges, so to secure its future and ensure profitability amid the dynamic changes taking place in the industry, it would have to consider how to adapt. Should it diversify away from the fuel convenience store industry it had so successfully navigated to this point? How should it adapt its business model to the changes?

This case study focuses on the digital transformation strategy of Tsingtao Brewery in the Chinese beer market. Tsingtao Brewery is one of the oldest and most famous beer brands in China. However, this legacy brewery company also faces challenges, such as fierce competition, slow market growth, and consumption upgrading. To respond to the changes of consumer demand and industry competition, Tsingtao Brewery accelerates its digital end-to-end supply chain in various aspects, such as procurement, production, logistics, and marketing. During its digital transformation, did Tsingtao Brewery choose outsourcing digital technologies, applying the Blue Ocean Strategy, or centralizing its organization? These dilemmas were awaiting answers.

The quick commerce (q-commerce) format, which promised speedy delivery of groceries and other essentials in a matter of minutes, witnessed rapid growth in India. Flipkart Private Limited (Flipkart), the market leader in the broader e-commerce market, announced its intent to enter the q-commerce fray. It had already ventured into the speedy delivery business twice but did not gain traction. What encouraged Flipkart to attempt q-commerce a third time? Incumbent players Blinkit Commerce Private Limited, Zepto, and Swiggy Pvt Ltd dominated the q-commerce marketplace. What strategic measures should Flipkart consider to carve out a unique brand position and succeed in the q-commerce marketplace?

Ninety One Cycles, a company owned by Alphavector (India) Private Limited, gained popularity in the Indian bicycle industry. Vishal Chopra, the company’s chief executive officer and cofounder, was reflecting on its growth over the last six years. Within a short period of time, it had become one of India’s most well-known bicycle manufacturers. Despite its success, the company was still considered a niche player, with its sales confined to major cities in India. Chopra wanted to turn Ninety One Cycles into a leading manufacturer in the bicycle market in India. However, he wondered whether the company could achieve such an ambitious goal, considering that most of its revenue came from online sales. It was up to him to look at various strategic options to achieve the company’s long-term objectives.

In 2023, DBS Bank Ltd. (Singapore), a leading financial institution, experienced significant service disruptions. These disruptions, which affected online banking, payment services, and automated teller machine operations, led to the failure of approximately 2.5 million transactions. The disruptions eroded customer confidence and impacted the company’s reputation, with repercussions for both individual users and businesses that relied on the bank’s digital infrastructure. The repeated nature of these incidents prompted a response from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which introduced stringent requirements and penalties to safeguard the banking ecosystem against further instability. What actions should DBS take to prevent future disruptions?

On July 20, 2023, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), one of India’s largest conglomerates, undertook a strategic demerger to separate its financial services arm, Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL). This action was intended to establish a specialized financial services entity to take advantage of the expanding opportunities in India’s financial sector, enabling RIL to prioritize its core businesses. The demerger of JFSL from the conglomerate’s intricate tapestry ushered in a new chapter marked by a blend of optimism and skepticism. Would JFSL leverage its status as a separate entity in the long run? Could the company win the confidence of shareholders? Would JFSL witness growth constraints post-demerger? Would the new entity, JFSL, pose a threat and disrupt the existing financial market?

This case explores the environmental, financial, and social implications associated with food waste in the United States prison system. By studying a specific US correctional facility, Dade Correctional Institution, students will analyze and discuss the implications of food waste in prisons, drawing connections between food waste and the broader systems that are influenced as a result. Students will discuss the financial and social implications of potential solutions—leveraging composting, biodigesters, and technology and data—to form a decision.

In 2023, the urban-centric food and beverage company Nestlé India (Nestlé) had accelerated its focus on the smaller towns and cities of India and upped the ante on on-the-ground activations in these markets. At the same time, it had not lost sight of its previous core market of urban customers. The company called its business plan—to remain deeply entrenched in the stronghold urban territories and concurrently increase traction in newer semi-urban and rural areas—a “rurban” strategy. Was this a viable strategy? Nestlé would have to cater to diverse consumer preferences across different geographical regions, cultures, and income groups in India and balance affordability and quality to woo price-sensitive Indian consumers. It would also have to determine which distribution approach would be most effective to tap rural customers.

In March 2023, Campbell Wilson, managing director and CEO of Air India, announced that the owners of the airline, the Tata group, planned to consolidate their airline portfolio. On the one hand, the group’s two full-service carriers (FSCs), Air India and Vistara, would be merged to form a single brand; on the other hand, so would the group’s two low-cost carriers (LCCs), Air India Express and Air Asia India. Wilson had joined Air India in June 2022, only a few months after the Tata group had taken over the debt-ridden airline from the government of India. Although it was clear that the Tata group wanted to consolidate its airline portfolio into one FSC brand and one LCC brand, some industry experts had expressed doubts about the Air India–Vistara merger, given their very different brand associations and heritage. Deciding whether to consolidate the brands was not easy. Would doing so be the right decision strategically, or should other options be explored?

In January 2023, the chief executive officer of New World Development Co. Ltd. (New World Development) faced a critical decision. With travel set to resume between Hong Kong and Mainland China, opportunities and challenges emerged in the post-pandemic era. An impending board meeting in February demanded a delicate balance between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives and the company’s financial health. Financial data revealed significant spending on ESG efforts, posing cash flow challenges. The CEO grappled with critical questions: Should ESG spending be cut to fuel post-pandemic investments? Could New World Development’s ESG image, cultivated amid COVID-19, be a competitive advantage with evolving travel patterns? Before the board meeting, he had to decide on a strategy to balance financial stability with sustainable innovation.

In April 2023, Kazuo Ueda became the 32nd governor of the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which had become famous for adopting an ultra-dovish monetary policy. Japan had maintained a zero-interest-rate policy for years in order to achieve growth and take the economy out of deflation. Ueda had to decide whether to raise interest rates after achieving the bank’s inflation target of 2 per cent. This was a crucial decision as the United States and other countries had raised interest rates because of higher inflation levels caused by supply-side disruptions arising from the Russo-Ukrainian War. Japan’s continued low interest rates were causing capital to flow out of the country in search of better returns, generating a further depreciation of the yen and gravely impacting the import costs of basic necessities like food and fuel. Historically, any indication of an interest rate hike in Japan had impacted expectations and sentiment so profoundly that it had led to a freefall in the consumer price index, leading to deflation and eliminating growth prospects. However, with Japan experiencing positive growth rates, inflation above the targeted rate, and a much-anticipated wage hike, it was time to rethink the country’s interest-rate policy.

In the summer of 2021, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (Warner) announced it would release big-budget films on its online streaming platform, HBO Max, at the same time as in theatres—a radical departure from the industry norm of a 90-day window between a movie’s release to theatres and streaming services. Almost a year earlier, when COVID-19 lockdowns had shuttered movie theatres across the United States, Warner had released “Wonder Woman 1984” on HBO Max and in theatres at the same time. But in the summer of 2021, amid rising vaccination rates and easing restrictions, US box-office collections rose to their highest levels since the start of the pandemic. Now, in August 2021, Ann Sarnoff, the chief executive officer at Warner, saw that the rapid growth of the streaming market was showing signs of slowing. Should Warner return to the pre-pandemic, theatre-first release mode? Should the company adopt a tiered pricing model for HBO Max or sell distribution rights to third-party subscription platforms such as Netflix? Or could Sarnoff unveil an innovative channel strategy for future launches?

In June 2024, Will Jackson, the founder and chief executive officer of Engineered Arts Limited (EA), faced a dilemma: How could his company balance commercial sustainability with ethical and regulatory compliance? EA was a UK-based designer and manufacturer of humanoid robots, most notably the Ameca robot, which had been installed in museums, science centres, and other public venues around the world where it greeted visitors and answered questions. Although EA was in a financially comfortable position, the company wanted to increase production of its humanoid robots, as this could help it achieve economies of scale. To date, EA had grown via the business-to-business model; should it now also embrace the business-to-consumer model? EA already had considerable ethical obligations to its customers and would face serious legal problems if its robots did not comply with regulations. And by producing robots that replaced employees, EA was taking jobs away from real people. Now EA also had to confront the privacy issues and potential data theft implicit in robot deployment. How would these ethical challenges affect EA’s business model and its own functioning as a profitable business?

In April 2024, Shantanu Deshpande found his company embroiled in a controversy on social media, the origin of which was a print advertisement by the company in support of a young girl who was getting bullied online for her facial hair. Bombay Shaving Company had been accused of using the girl’s bullying to promote their female grooming brand. In an attempt to address the controversy, Deshpande shared the advertisement on his LinkedIn page, proclaiming the genuine intention of the company to stand by the teenager. But this attempt only escalated the reputational crisis. Which strategic communication choice should Bombay Shaving Company have made in the wake of social media backlash, regarding the issue of imposing beauty standards on women?

The Indian Institute of Technology started with two locations in 1958 and eventually grew into an educational network with over 23 institutions across India. Graduate and Ph.D. students were the torchbearers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. However, on February 12, 2023, an 18-year-old student from the Scheduled Caste community committed suicide at the student hostel for Indian Institute of Technology Bombay students. His death spurred students and social organizations to advocate for justice. Exclusion based on caste injured their well-being and had a direct involvement in leading individuals to undertake the extreme step of suicide, which raised a question about the role that higher education institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology played in fostering a culture of inclusivity among key stakeholders: students, faculty, and administrators. Could an educational institution uphold its tradition of excellence in education while fostering an inclusive environment for students from marginalized backgrounds? How did caste-based bias create a challenge for an institution that hoped to build an inclusive culture to support learning and well-being for all students?