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In 2010, only 16 percent of Americans were streaming movies and television shows online. By the end of 2011 that number would almost double, and the entertainment industry began barreling towards a digital future. This case follows Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and HBO through the year 2011 as they launched and improved their streaming video capabilities. Though Netflix had historically been the most popular player in the streaming video market, Hulu, Amazon, and HBO had deep pockets and various incentives for entering this market and by the end of the year the competitive advantages of each player had begun to emerge.

In 1997 Reed Hastings founded Netflix on the heels of a $750 million exit of his first venture-a software company. The premise was simple: Hastings believed that he could leverage the high-performance culture and data-drivenness embodied by tech companies to succeed in the DVD-rental-by mail business. Within a decade Netflix was bringing in more than a $1 billion in revenue a year and revered as one of the most innovative companies in Silicon Valley. This case covers four distinct eras of Netflix, spanning from 1997 to 2015: A.) the Pre-IPO Era, within which Netflix withstood the dot com bubble and settled on a successful DVD-rental-by-mail business model; B.) The DVD Growth era, within which they held an initial public offering and scaled their business to more than 850,000 subscribers; C.) The Introduction of Streaming era, where Netflix introduced their online video-on-demand service and eventually pivoted to offering streaming only subscriptions; and D.) the Content era, within which Netflix began producing their own exclusive television shows and movies to in response to the ever rising costs of content licensing.

The owner of the small Berlin-based Schmidt Press encounters a dilemma when she is given the opportunity to publish a novel about a Muslim woman who attempts to lead an underground movement to take control of the Kaaba, the holy sanctuary at Mecca. Given the events of the prior 25 years - such as the angry fallout after Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses, the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the upheaval in many Middle Eastern countries - publishing the novel presents a host of various ethical dilemmas, including whether Schmidt should put her staff at risk. This case discusses the ethics of a free press and challenges to the profit motive in the face of political and religious world affairs.

Earls Restaurants, Ltd., a Canadian restaurant chain headquartered in Vancouver, was facing a communications crisis in April 2016, when it changed its sourcing policy with regard to beef. In a bid to appeal to millennial consumers, who were conscious of animal welfare standards, it decided to source beef from a U.S. farm that had its beef independently certified as humane. This cut out the restaurant's traditional supply sources among Canadian ranchers, most specifically in Alberta, where the restaurant chain had been founded. The backlash was immediate. After discussing the situation with his core management team and asking a consultant for help formulating a communication strategy, the company's president had to decide how to proceed to restore the company's reputation. Should Earls do nothing and wait for the attention to die down, go back to sourcing its beef through Canadian suppliers, or continue to serve humane beef in its restaurants?

In 2015, the executive director of Furniture Bank had successfully managed the Toronto social-service agency by turning a $300,000 net loss two years prior into a $100,000 net income. He had employed a variety of strategies and information technologies to integrate and rationalize business processes that resulted in significant productivity and performance improvements. However, Furniture Bank, which collected unneeded furnishings from donors and distributed them to those in need, had been a victim of its own success; it had maximized its capacity and was struggling to meet growing demand for its services. The executive director had to explore growth opportunities, specifically those accessible by leveraging information technology (IT), and choose from among four likely options.

NeoGenius Co., Ltd. (NeoGenius) was an early-stage entrepreneurial venture based in South Korea. Founded in February 2000, NeoGenius provided a wide range of business-to-business (B2B) e-business software and related services. In June 2001, the company was up and running, but it faced competition from larger firms, and the effects of a global economic downturn; as a result, its financial performance was falling short of expectations. NeoGenius had received significant offers from three different entities: a business partner, a competitor, and a venture capitalist. The chief executive officer had only a short time to choose from several options, including growth and exit.

When Joe Jimenez became CEO of Swiss-based Novartis in 2010 replacing longtime CEO Dan Vasella, he assumed control of one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world. Vasella, an avowed advocate of diversification, had expanded the scope of the company and structured it into sixteen distinct business units ranging from animal health to oncology while "actively fostering competition between those divisions for resources." Shortly after assuming his position, Jimenez initiated a strategic review that sought to concentrate the portfolio on businesses where Novartis could be at global scale in attractive markets. Rather than following competitors, like Pfizer, in a single mega-acquisition, Jimenez and his M&A team decided to achieve this goal through targeted transactions, or "precision M&A". By 2014 after examining twenty or so possible deals, the company was in the process of negotiating a multi-billion dollar asset swap with Glaxo-Smith Kline (GSK) that was unprecedented in the pharma industry. Although Novartis would improve its position in oncology by acquiring GSK's promising drug portfolio, it had to sell its vaccines and animal health businesses, while giving up control of the over-the-counter (OTC) business. Jimenez and his team knew the offer was "all-or-nothing" and struggled over whether to accept it, or reject it and move in another direction.

Sesame Workshop was transforming in 2016. CEO Jeff Dunn had reorganized and shifted the iconic institution to respond to digital disruption and a consensus culture. This case examines his efforts to turn Sesame Workshop around. It notes Sesame's storied history and the underlying financial troubles that Dunn confronted upon taking over in 2014. It shows how Dunn's leadership changes, increased communication, new partnership deals, and a focus on digital, sought speed, innovation, and accountability to better fulfill Sesame's educational mission. By 2016, Sesame was in the middle of its change, and Dunn contemplated how best to position the organization for success in the future.

In February 2013, US Airways announced that it would merge with American Airlines to create the world's largest airline. Doug Parker, the CEO of US Airways, would become CEO of the new American Airlines Group (AAL).The case describes a number of critical decisions Parker made and actions that he took in the course of the acquisition integration process. All focused on how best to combine the two airlines' core systems and operating processes as well as the appropriate scope and speed of strategic changes. Now, Parker must decide on the composition of AAL's senior executive team. Should Parker select a team dominated by US Airways executives with whom he has successfully worked for decades? Or should he establish a new team with roughly equal representation from both airlines? Parker's choice will send important signals to employees about the extent to which the transaction will be viewed as a merger of equals or as a takeover by US Airways.

Technos was the market leader in the Brazilian watch market. Its CEO had made a firm commitment of evolving the company's marketing and commercial practices by focusing less on pushing product to retail clients and more on branding to end consumers to pull watches from retailers. In 2016, the company was about to re-launch its master brand's website. But the more time passed, the greater were the discrepancies between what the marketing, commercial (sales) and retail divisions of the company envisioned as an ideal ecommerce-enabled Technos website. What should be the fundamental role(s) of our master brand's website?

T. Rowe Price's mutual funds, separate accounts, institutional investors and retirement accounts were in the aggregate Dell Inc.'s third largest shareholder in 2013 when Dell announced a management-led buy-out, or MBO, structured as a merger. In considering whether to vote for or oppose the transaction, Brian C. Rogers, chairman and chief investment officer at T. Rowe, and his team had to consider whether the price offered represented the fair value of Dell. In addition, if Rogers concluded the merger price did not represent fair value, should T. Rowe simply sell its shares, or was it is the best interests of T. Rowe's fund and other investors to oppose the deal risking its possible collapse? And if T. Rowe opposed the transaction but it was nevertheless approved, should T. Rowe pursue appraisal of its shares in the Delaware courts?

This case explores a complex swap transaction implemented by Metro do Porto in 2007. It represents an opportunity to study fixed income derivative instruments, such as plain-vanilla swaps and structured swaps, as well as understand the opportunities and challenges of using innovative financial instruments. The public sector setting allows to discuss the political economy implications of such transactions.

DesiFirangi.com was an online women's apparel retailer in India. Started in November 2014, DesiFirangi catered to the fashion needs of modern Indian women with international style. Within the short span of its operations, the company had established itself as a niche electronic retailer of lingerie, nightwear, and clubwear. However, the online apparel market in India was highly crowded, and the fledging company faced stiff competition from a number of established and upcoming players. Given this intense competition in the market, DesiFirangi was incurring high marketing and customer acquisition costs, which were hurting the company's bottom line. In order to increase revenues, DesiFirangi's founders needed to find ways to increase the number of unique visitors to the site, and convert more visitors to buyers.

By any measure, Chipotle Mexican Grill was a success story in the restaurant business. It grew from one location in 1993 to over 2,000 locations by 2016 and essentially created the fast casual dining category. Its stock appreciated more than 1,000% in the ten years following its 2006 IPO. However, after more than 20 years without a major reported food safety incident, Chipotle was revealed as the source of multiple outbreaks of illness from norovirus, salmonella, and E. coli that sickened nearly 600 people in 13 states in 2015. The company closed stores, spent several months under investigation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health organizations, and faced a criminal investigation in connection with the incidents. After a much-publicized closing of all of its stores on February 8, 2016, and numerous changes to its food sourcing and preparation practices, Chipotle tried to win back customers with dramatically increased advertising and free food promotions. However, on April 26, the chain announced its first-ever quarterly loss as a public company. Same-store sales for the first quarter were 29.7% lower than in the previous year. Operating margins fell from 27.5% to 6.8% over the same period, and the company's share price was down 41% from its summer 2015 high.

With more than 25,000 stores in 75 countries and $21 billion in annual revenues, Starbucks is the largest roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Howard Schultz's strategic leadership was critical in turning Starbucks around. He is now hoping that his second retirement from the company he built from the ground up will be his final one. In the meantime, Kevin Johnson, the new CEO, faces several challenges. In particular, the question of maintaining core competencies and how to achieve future growth, both domestically and internationally, are central to the case. The case also focuses on diversification, as Starbucks is branching out in new areas such as menu extensions including offering alcohol as well as rolling out coffee bars with high-end offerings such as a $12 cup of coffee.

In July 2014, the managing partner and co-founder of Netherlands-based Expatica Communications B.V. (Expatica) received tragic news. His close friend and business partner had been travelling on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine. The two partners had worked closely together at Expatica for over 15 years. Three days after receiving the news of his friend's sudden death, the surviving partner found himself alone in his office trying to work out how to cope with the situation and, in particular, how to deal with the employees who were due to return to the office the next day. How should he prepare himself for the next morning? How should he approach the meeting with the employees, and what should he say? What actions should he take regarding the firm in the short and medium term?

Investment manager Eliza Baena confronts an apparent convertible bond arbitrage opportunity when she notices a narrowing spread between two Boston Properties (BXP) bonds, one a convertible bond and the other a straight bond, in the wake of the 2008 Lehman bankruptcy. Baena must decide if there is an opportunity, how to structure a trade to exploit it, and how much of her fund's capital to allocate. Case exposition includes descriptions of basic financing arrangements that support arbitrage strategies, such as rehypothecation and margin lending.

The case talks about Hind Tea Pvt. Ltd (HTPL)-a small and medium enterprise (SME) in India that is 100% owned by Wadhwa family. HTPL procures processed tea from auctions and sells it to distributors under its own brand names. The case describes the journey of two brothers and how the next generation of the family takes over and aspires to make the company a national level player. These aspirations pose new demands on the owners and the business; the case talks about decision making in the family under such a scenario. The case poses interesting questions related to governance, professionalization, succession, and decision making in the family.

In March 2010 VP, Sales and Marketing, was reviewing the launch plan for the first brand of cooking oil, Freedon, of GEF set up by a professional turned entrepreneur, in AP in 2009. The case provides brief profile of the entrepreneur and the overall business strategy including brand architecture. Also describes the launch plan, particularly key decisions of brand name, packaging, sales promotion and distribution. Data on household us of oils in India, South India and AP is included.