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In 2015, Uber is building what may be the largest point-to-point transportation network of its kind; it is literally changing the way the world moves. But unlike traditional transportation logistics companies like FedEx, Uber has an incredibly lightweight infrastructure: It owns no vehicles, employs no drivers, and pays no vehicle maintenance costs. Instead, its network relies on peer-to-peer coordination between drivers and passengers, enabled by sophisticated software and a clever reputation system. But despite its remarkable early success, Uber is an extremely polarizing company. Its business model is highly disruptive, and while disruptive innovation can be a good thing, it is also true that disruptive companies tend to break things. This is certainly true for Uber, and is one of the key tensions in the case: Uber's innovative business model is outpacing many of the laws regulating its industry, and while it is going to take the regulatory system some time to catch up, Uber doesn't appear to be willing to wait.

The Weather Company (TWC) was innovating by leveraging its big data on weather to create new consumer products. Weather was the original big data problem and over the years, TWC has capitalized on this data with its engaging TV coverage on The Weather Channel, as well as its popular website and mobile app. Recently, looking for new uses for its weather data, the company decided to build weather-related apps targeting outdoor enthusiasts. To crowd-source ideas for these apps, TWC invited all employees to a company-wide "hackathon" where they were asked to create a mobile app prototype for a segment of this population. At the end of the three-day event, everyone demonstrated their prototypes and the company executives decided to pursue OutSider, a mobile app for runners. Like most media sites, TWC employed an advertising-based revenue model. While TWC had millions of TV viewers and website visitors, it had limited information about them. However, with the profile information offered up by runners when they registered to use the OutSider app, as well as the data gathered by the smartphone sensors, TWC was poised to charge a premium for the vendor advertisements placed within the app. As well as illustrating the significance of leveraging data assets to create new products and services, the case also provides an example of the intersection of mobile and big data. When asked to name an innovative company, TWC would most likely not be top-of-mind for most individuals, yet the 30-year-old company was very entrepreneurial in its approach to consumer mobile app development. In addition to outlining TWC's ideation process, the case describes the composition of the mobile app development team, the implementation of agile software development methods, and its use of modern big data technologies.

Many software products in the market today handle big data and conduct advanced analytics. One of these is Statistical Analysis System (SAS), a popular software program especially in advanced analytics and data management. Many organizations, both federal and private, organize their databases in SAS format. The main hurdle which limits the number of SAS users, besides the high cost of its one-year only licenses, is a much steeper learning curve than is typical for other software such as STATA and Eviews. Students are often amazed by how simple it is to generate these statistics from raw data in SAS and are further motivated to learn SAS. This teaching material uses an application-oriented approach, with solving practical questions as the main takeaway.

Thanks to its somewhat whimsical yet measurement-driven culture, its unusual customer-funded business model, and its committed community of winemakers and wine 'angels', NakedWines had grown rapidly, from a standing start in 2008 to a substantial presence in three of the world's most attractive markets for wine - the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. Now, however, in September 2014, it was becoming clear that the company's long-time principal investor WIV was no longer able to fund Naked's future growth. Assembled in the Birthday Suit conference room in the company's office in Napa, California, were the key individuals who had brought the company to this juncture. Founder and CEO Rowan Gormley, co-founder and IT Head Derek Hardy, COO and American Managing Director Benoit Vialle, Australian CEO Luke Jecks, UK Managing Director Eamon Fitzgerald, Chief Financial Officer James Crawford, Chief Winemaker Matt Parish, and board member and CEO of WIV Andres Ruff, had gathered to decide what they should do about this difficulty. They had spent the morning developing a set of criteria for choosing among the various alternative ways forward. The afternoon's agenda was clear, to determine a strategy for continuing to fund the company's growth. Should they seek a private equity investor? Should they ask their customers - the band of nearly 300,000 'angels', as they called them, whose monthly subscriptions funded Naked's winemakers - to buy a stake in the business, or even pursue an independent public offering (IPO) of the company's shares? Should they seek a trade investor? Or should they wait, doing nothing for now, and maintain the status quo until the time for one of the other moves made more sense? By the end of the afternoon, the group had agreed, they would reach a decision on a strategy for financing the continued growth of the business.

Due to its characteristics, size and impact, e-procurement has a strategic importance for public administration, since its implementation necessarily crosses many institutional barriers and paradigms of many public managers. Many nations around the world are developing or revamping their National Public e-Procurement Systems. E-procurement brings a set of new rules and dynamics that create ways of doing business with the State in a totally different fashion, with a whole new and bigger set of participants, new incentives and a radically different cost structure. This case describes the experience of Costa Rica in implementing two different approaches for national e-procurement and the implications for public policy, e-government strategy and business development. Costa Rica has become an interesting laboratory for the world, since both approaches are coexisting and operating separately. Nevertheless, the country seeks to maintain a single e-procurement platform. The choice of either one of the platforms will bring serious organizational, economic, technological and political consequences for the government. We used multiple data collection methods. The data were collected from 2009 to 2012 from primary sources, studies, consulting work, official documents and the written press. Lessons drawn can be extended to other e-government ventures.

This case, based on data collected in a longitudinal field study, presents Dr. Nathalie MajorCook, a Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) pediatrician, who in January 2012 was considering what to do about a 2-year grant-funded pilot project, which had provided an innovative patient care coordination service to 23 families of children described as technology-dependent, medically complex and fragile. Convinced that the Complex Care Coordination service is worthwhile, Dr. Major-Cook wants to move it beyond the pilot test phase to a funded, ongoing service. The case situation is a 'cliff hanger,' in that in January 2012, Dr. Major-Cook has not yet learned whether a proposal to fund this as an ongoing service will be approved. If it does not receive approval, she will face the unpleasant task of explaining to parents that this valuable service will end in a few short months. If it does receive approval, several decisions need to be made and actions taken in order to scale the service up, so that it can support about 100 families of technology-dependent, medically complex and fragile children in the region. Dr. Major-Cook also wonders if there is anything else she can do to tip the scales in favor of this decision. The case context is unique and captivating; the young patients under Dr. Major-Cook's care suffer from multiple, and sometimes rare life-threatening diseases. The new Complex Care Coordination model, entailing several new roles and a new way to exchange important information among care providers, was designed to improve the quality of healthcare service delivery, increase parental satisfaction and reduce care costs. Although the project plan specified that an electronic health record would be developed to support coordination among care team members, a fully integrated electronic health record had not yet been implemented.

This case details the setting up and growth of a high technology venture, Shanakt Consulting, in India. The company is founded by skilled academicians who had limited experience in setting up and managing a business. Shanakt's innovative RFID technology can be useful across several industries including mining, healthcare, heavy industries, and aviation, among others. RFID is the precursor to the Internet of Things, which is considered by many to be the next big wave in the field of networks and communication. Being in a promising but niche domain, with few competitors, Shanakt is likely to face a positive scenario for its business. However, the events in the Shanakt story do not unfold as planned, causing its management to arrive at crossroads. Shanakt toys with several business models including refining its products to target a particular industry, providing training kits, and manufacturing and developing prototypes. It has to decide on its future course of action.This case provides a detailed view, through the eyes of a technology startup, of the internal thought processes and strategy, and the external environment in a developing country that influences the growth of a new venture. It also sheds light on interactions of the startup with public sector firms, an important part of the Indian economy. Moreover, it highlights the impact of management team composition, and strategic decision making on the performance of such a firm

In 2011, the CEO of Atos, Thierry Breton, announced an unprecedented move for the company. The global information services giant would become a 'zero' email company with the objective of eradicating internal email use and replacing it with blueKiwi - enterprise social network software. This case serves to teach the challenges and key lessons behind the social collaboration transformation in a large organization where 76,000 employees switched to a new mode of collaboration. The approach of how to become a zero email company is detailed, highlighting the importance of the first-order and second-order change. The case helps to understand what it takes to shift organizational culture and employee mindset, as well as what challenges and barriers need to be overcome to make such an important step on a large organizational scale.

A global manufacturing company needing to upgrade its IT to support rapid growth decided to pilot an enterprise system (ES) implementation in one of its European businesses. This was unsuccessful, but a second attempt in Australia, drawing on the many lessons learnt was regarded as successful. Subsequently, 14 implementations proceeded all over the Asia Pacific region and elsewhere in Europe with excellent outcomes. But the next implementation of the ES into a recently acquired business in New Zealand (NZ) proved problematic. The NZ management team and users were highly critical of the system and appeared to strongly resist its implementation. Cutover was eventually mandated and did occur, but the business almost failed because of problems with the new system. Following months of complaints and lobbying, the CIO in Head Office dispatched a small experienced team to NZ to review the situation. This case raises two fundamental challenges of IT management. It supports discussion of the many issues associated with the implementation of new systems and technologies, deepening appreciation of the challenges (particularly social, cultural and political) of IT implementation. It also supports learning about the phenomenon of resistance to change in the context of IT implementation

The E. Phillip Saunders College of Business (COB) Dean at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) discovers that his RIT-issued laptop has been stolen from his home. He notifies Dave Ballard, a member of the College of Business IT staff. Ballard, still acutely aware of two recent incidents in which laptops containing thousands of Social Security numbers were stolen from the RIT campus, hopes the Dean's laptop does not contain personally identifiable information. If so, the incident would need to be reported to the New York Attorney General's Office, and RIT would be required to pay for a credit monitoring service for individuals whose identity may have been compromised. The case provides an opportunity for students to examine processes that should be triggered when an information security incident occurs. The case describes incident response processes that were triggered at RIT and technologies that were used or could have been used by COB IT staff to track the laptop and protect its contents. In discussing the case, students can consider how the theft of a computing device exposes an organization to risks of inadvertent disclosure of information in different categories (such as private, confidential, internal, or public), and students can derive useful guidelines for effective information security incident response.

The creators of the start-up AndFound, an online platform that connects angel investors with a curated selection of promising start-ups, have a towering advantage over similar business accelerators: The site is free. But this central tenet of the company's mission presents problems as the company looks ahead and considers options for a long-range business model to monetize its services. Expert commentary comes from Kevin Laws, COO of AngelList, a website that connects entrepreneurs with angel investors, and Jennifer Lum, an angel investor, entrepreneur, and adviser to start-ups at MIT, Techstars, and 500 Startups.

The creators of the start-up AndFound, an online platform that connects angel investors with a curated selection of promising start-ups, have a towering advantage over similar business accelerators: The site is free. But this central tenet of the company's mission presents problems as the company looks ahead and considers options for a long-range business model to monetize its services. Expert commentary comes from Kevin Laws, COO of AngelList, a website that connects entrepreneurs with angel investors, and Jennifer Lum, an angel investor, entrepreneur, and adviser to start-ups at MIT, Techstars, and 500 Startups.

Working out at the gym is a healthy endeavor, but many gyms endorse unhealthful practices. They may advertise or sell dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building that not only fail to do what they promise, but contain potentially dangerous ingredients. Callie Guertin is a primary care physician in Hamilton, in the fictitious U.S. state of Columbia, and a daily gym-goer who is slowly awakening to the fact that her chosen new gym, MuscleTone, sells weight-loss supplements at its welcome desk. She wants them to stop; but what can she do on her own? With some guidance from a young activist, Stacie Lubin, and her sympathetic personal trainer, Rudi, Guertin learns skills of coalition building to pressure the MuscleTone chain to change its practices. Perhaps, using principles of corporate social responsibility, or CSR, MuscleTone can be made to realize that abandoning sales and advertising of supplements can produce a good result for everybody-healthier customers, of course, but also a new marketing campaign touting MuscleTone as the gym for "healthy living"? Guertin and her allies are working on MuscleTone to make just this case.

Aqua Logistics Limited, one of India's leading logistics and supply chain management companies, suffered from poor financial management and was witnessing slowing demand in the industry. The company had significant financial debt to banks and financial institutions. Owing to such difficulties in managing its operations in a largely fragmented industry, the firm - with its strong network in multimodal transport and in the third-party logistics model of delivery - was a good target for companies seeking to consolidate their position in the industry. An acquiring firm, however, would want to answer several questions. What were the possible value drivers of Aqua Logistics Limited? From where would the synergistic gains be realized through an acquisition? How much should be offered for the acquisition?

In April 2013, Kassatly Chtaura, a family-owned producer of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages headquartered in Chtaura, Lebanon, faces a dilemma. It is doing very well in terms of revenues and market share and has succeeded in building a strong cash flow. However, the past year's figures show little growth, and the family is concerned that sales of its syrups, juices, ready-to-drink beverages and wines have reached a plateau. Should the company expand its distribution network or build a new factory and move some operations to Saudi Arabia or Angola? These are promising markets, but they are in distant locations with different cultures. Or should it stay put and expand its operations by introducing a new product, beer? Adding to its successful portfolio will complement its business strengths in Lebanon, especially when bolstered by one of its highly successful advertising campaigns, and accomplish a family dream. Given the uncertain political situation in Lebanon, is it time to invest in international markets?

This case features the challenges of a startup in the crowdfunding space in 2015 as its leadership assesses potential sources of growth for the company's future. Founded in Israel in 2012 by a renowned venture capitalist, OurCrowd was a venture capital crowdfunding platform that strove to connect high-growth startups raising capital with accredited private investors from around the world. Its value proposition was to democratize an inefficient market for private equity that had historically been dominated by a small number of highly connected venture capital firms (VCs). The case asks students to put themselves in the shoes of OurCrowd's head of investor community as he prepares for a meeting with the company's board of directors to discuss potential strategies for growth: Should the company partner with the incumbent VCs it initially sought to disrupt, emphasize marketing its Portfolio Reserve fund, strive to provide its investors and investees with higher value-added services, target a broader swath of investors by aggressively marketing the platform in international markets, or attempt to go up-market and pursue increasingly larger deals with later-stage companies? Through assessing these options and discussing this case, students will learn about incentive problems in two-sided markets as well as how different types of crowdfunding platforms create value for users.

This case discusses the evolving strategies in the mobile chipset industry in 2014, focusing on Qualcomm, the dominant technology company in the mobile industry and the leading chipset manufacturer. The case begins with the evolution of Qualcomm's communication technology, highlighting the company's consistent ability to lead the market in modem performance by deploying the latest, fastest communication technology. The case then details the competitive dynamics of Qualcomm's strategy, including its technology adoption strategy; its "whole product strategy" (products and services); its mobile carrier strategy; and its modem and CPU (central processing unit) integration strategy. The company decided early on not to sell a "modem-only" chipset, but rather to build an entire mobile chipset solution, eliminating the need for handset manufacturers to incorporate a separate CPU chip, which reduced their costs and improved Qualcomm's competitive position. The case also discusses the transition the mobile market was going through in 2014, driven by several technological and marketplace changes. Those changes included slowing radio link improvements (as the technology approached a performance limit), which could potentially give Qualcomm's competitors an opportunity to catch up to its technology. Other industry changes included the eroding power of mobile carriers and the growth of mobile subscribers in India and China, where demand was dramatically increasing for low-cost handsets. This made room for Taiwanese-based MediaTek to emerge as a strong player in the mobile chipset industry. Qualcomm also faced emerging competition from application processing and graphical processing players such as Nvidia. The case concludes with a discussion of a potential path for Intel to become a rising contender in the mobile chipset industry through its new low-power Atom microprocessor.

The case is set in November 2013, when Siam Park City - one of Thailand's biggest Amusement Park and Water Park - was celebrating its 33rd anniversary. Siam Park City was born out of the vision of Chaiwat Luangamornlert, a successful businessman who wanted to build an amusement park and water park for the people of Thailand that was of international standard, but yet available to the average Thai at an affordable price. With affordability as the cornerstone of the business philosophy, the park's entry fee was pegged at 'a reasonable price', with heavy discounts offered to Thai residents. Visitors also spent very little inside the park. This pricing strategy proved unsustainable for a business that had high set-up and operating costs, and the park suffered financial losses for more than two decades, ultimately leading to its bankruptcy. The financial loss was further aggravated by reputation loss, following two accidents in the park. Understanding that the park required a leadership change, Chaiwat stepped down from the helm in 2008 and handed over the reins of the business to his children. The new management team revamped internal operations and worked to diversify the park's customer base. The changes ushered in a new era for the amusement park - business improved and the company even earned a modest profit in 2012. Looking ahead, the new management faces the challenge of making the business financially viable over the long term, keeping in mind his founder's principles to keep the park affordable and accessible to locals.

Ed Claiborne is a newly hired corporate vice president of procurement for DRW Technologies, a company that produces advanced military systems with 21 plants in the United States. Claiborne was hired from another company from within the industry, and the news of his arrival was announced in an email to corporate executives and plant managers and in the company newsletter. Before he has even met the procurement team, Claiborne is assigned his first task of cutting procurement costs and messaging the news to the company. Claiborne decides to send the message via email, and the message is met with unexpected results. This case is appropriate in courses in leadership, human resource management, organizational behavior, general management, and management communication. The short length and plain language make this case suitable for students who are new to the case method.

To accelerate Bigbelly's sales growth and its "smart cities" positioning, its CEO planned to shift his company from equipment sales to a subscription service. Jack Kutner hoped to re-position Bigbelly's solar-powered trash compacting stations beyond trash and recycling and use them also to provide public space Wi-Fi, advertising, and urban intelligence sensors. "One year from now we will no longer sell any machines," Kutner planned to tell the company's board of directors. Would they buy his subscription-only pitch? And if they did, would Bigbelly's still-reluctant purchasers?