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Management at Deutsche Post DHL Group is designing a three-country test of investment in a new health and wellbeing strategy.

Clearwater sought to market value-added shellfish products in a traditionally commodities based industry, while facing supply uncertainties and regulatory, environmental, and foreign exchange challenges. Clearwater harvested lobsters, clams, scallops, shrimp, and other marine creatures from the Canadian Atlantic, and sold the seafood all over the world. Although seafood buyers traditionally bought on price, Clearwater's innovations and technology investments enabled it to produce higher quality products; still, it faced the challenge of convincing buyers to pay a premium price. The firm's managers also prided themselves on their sustainable fishing practices, which were not the historical norm for the industry; here, again, translating these practices into increased willingness to pay was a challenge. As background, the case also discusses the challenges of fishery management at the national and international levels, using the collapse of the cod fishing industry as an example, and discussing the economics and politics of the fishery in classical terms of externalities and public goods.

Petrom was privatized by the Romanian state in 2004 and acquired by Austrian oil company OMV, with the state retaining a 20.6% stake in the company. The situation was particularly challenging for the foreign investor since the sector in which the company operated was strategic, was regulated by the Romanian state and the company was a key employer and tax payer in a country that was undergoing major structural change. Under OMV and CEO Mariana Gheorghe's leadership, OMV Petrom saw its net profit and sales almost double since 2005, while headcount was reduced by 50%. Gheorghe had negotiated challenges stemming from Petrom's legacy as a state owned company, such as lack of investment, aged assets, operational inefficiency, and bureaucracy while successfully managing the triangular partnership between the acquirer OMV, acquiree OMV Petrom and the Romanian government.

The rapid rise of app-based "ridesharing" services, led by San Francisco-based companies Uber and Lyft, had a disruptive effect on the existing market. Uber and Lyft dominated the ridesharing market in the United States and many other markets, although other companies such as Sidecar and Cabulous drove key innovations in the service. By 2015 Uber was clearly the dominant firm. Despite encountering opposition from regulators and traditional taxi companies all over the world, Uber managed to expand to 58 countries and more than 300 cities. In a world of smartphones, apps, and GPS systems, the methods of traditional taxis suddenly seemed obsolete. Was ridesharing truly a value-creating innovation or just a cleverly devised scheme to mask the illegal maneuvers of an unregulated insurgent? Were Uber and Lyft just technology companies that revolutionized the market-making power of advanced data systems and free markets to serve the basic desire of every traveler to get from point to point quickly, conveniently, and cheaply? Or were they glorified illegal cab services, flagrantly cannibalizing an established taxi system?

Renault-Nissan Alliance (RNA) launched four convergence projects in four key functions (research and development, manufacturing and logistics, purchasing, and human resources). The projects required the two independent entities, Renault and Nissan, to increase collaboration and integration to strengthen economies of scale, and thus reduce costs in order to better compete globally in both developed and emerging markets. However, as the alliance increased the level of integration and opened possibilities for inviting new partners, it also increased the time and resources needed to reach joint strategic decisions between the two companies. RNA had many difficult decisions to make with respect to moving forward - not least of which involved finding an eventual replacement for the alliance's 61-year-old chief executive officer.

Ulrich Homburg must have had an unpleasant déjà-vu experience on January 28, 2010 when hearing of headlines in Germany's leading tabloid Bild about "Schaffnerin Herzlos", the "heartless train conductor". The board member of Germany's national railway company, Deutsche Bahn AG (DB), and head of its passenger transportation division was confronted with media reports about a minor girl who had been thrown off the train just the night before by a DB train conductor. The incident happened on what turned out to be the coldest night of the winter, in one of the most deserted provincial train stations in the German state of Brandenburg. The girl was traveling without a valid train ticket. This incident was not the first of its kind. In the fall of 2008, Bahn employees had also forced several children and youths off of trains. The train company had subsequently given service personnel very clear instructions: Under no circumstances shall minors be asked to leave the train. Now, Homburg had to ask himself if further action was necessary.

In 2011, Suntech Power, the world's largest solar panel manufacturer, found itself in a highly problematic position. Recent developments in the Chinese solar power industry had negatively impacted the company's operations. As the industry had matured, the demand for Suntech Power's products had become highly volatile. Changing policy regulations, the ambiguous financial structure of the firm and a shift in consumers' perceptions of the product were only some of the issues that further compounded the problem. As a result of these changing dynamics within the global solar power industry, the company's share price had plummeted by roughly 90 per cent. To remedy the problem, in May 2011, the founder and chief executive officer of Suntech Power hired a new chief financial officer and they faced the arduous task of turning the company around. How should they tackle changing political and economic conditions? What decisions needed to be made to maintain the position of the company in the global solar energy market?

Sophia Tannis and her husband, Richard, had to choose between following her career or his. The pair chose to accept Sophia's new job offer, which involved relocating geographically. Over the ensuing five years, Sophia and Richard became parents to two children and gradually settled into their new roles. Since putting his own career second to Sophia's, Richard successfully built up a reputation as a future leader within his organization, and has recently been offered his next big job opportunity. As fate would have it, Richard's promotion was announced the same day Sophia's boss handed her the chance to take her next big career step. Also see case B supplement 9B15M102. Students may be interested in the associated case Sophia Tannis: The European Transfer, product 9B13C027.

Ian Lee, Whirlpool's VP for North Asia, had been negotiating a possible acquisition with Jackie Jin, the chairman of a leading Chinese appliance manufacturer named Hefei Rongshida Sanyo Electric Company (Hefei Sanyo), for almost six months when suddenly Hefei Sanyo's stock price jumped 25% in the first two weeks of May 2013. The sudden price increase not only increased the likely acquisition price for an ownership stake in Hefei Sanyo, but also meant that Whirlpool had lost the luxury of both time and secrecy. Lee had to quickly decide how to structure a deal that enabled Whirlpool to acquire controlling ownership position (>50%) in the state-owned enterprise (SOE)-something that had not been done before; how much to pay for the stake; and how to ensure commercial, regulatory, and political approval for the deal.

This case describes a medium size business that manufactures animal feed for commercial and companion animals. The company has been growing rapidly, and is considering whether or not to implement an ERP system. Ozark currently uses an IT system built and refined in-house, and though less flexible than desired, allowed for some specific functionality the company used, such as a pricing system tied to the company's commodity hedging positions on a real time, as well as off the shelf systems for recording financial transactions and reporting, purchasing, warehouse management, and manufacturing execution. The case provides an overview of ERP systems and implementation. Ozark is deciding among 3 ERP options; different senior executives support different options.

This case describes the implementation of a results-only work environment (ROWE) at Mabel's Labels, a successful entrepreneurial firm in Canada. Under ROWE, employee performance is managed by examining outcomes and accomplishments, not by measuring the amount of time people spend at the workplace. The case provides details of the change process and ROWE implementation. The change leader views ROWE as a strategic initiative to enhance the organizational culture and is pleased with employee attitudes and productivity under ROWE. She wonders, however, what next steps are needed to mitigate emerging issues, such as employee coordination, team building and the assimilation of new employees.

More than a decade after its launch, DonorsChoose.org is a successful, well-known and well-regarded charitable organization that supports U.S. public schools. Yet in the years since the organization's inception, the charity environment has changed, leading the organization's chief marketing officer to investigate how to further clarify the brand in a shifting space. The case centres on findings delivered by a branding agency regarding a possible change to the organization's tagline. Faced with a lengthy report on the branding agency's findings, the chief marketing officer needs to decide on the organization's next steps.

We Sell Everything in Software (WSES) Inc. dealt with innovative off-the-shelf products and had a high growth trajectory. They had a healthy pipeline and their annual marketing spend of $500 million was allocated on the basis of conversion probabilities at flat 6% of the expected sales value. WSES did not have a structured approach for calculating sales conversion probabilities - it followed the gut feelings of its marketing and sales team. Therefore, it incurred high marketing cost including travel costs, client visits, time spent by the sales team/technical experts/support staff, and logistics costs. Jack, the CEO of WSES, was worried that despite having such a huge expenditure list, the sales conversion possibilities based on the pipeline was at best an ancillary information, as there was no substance in justifying the ''gut feeling''. Thus, Jack was not too convinced of this method and was exploring multiple options with Ben, Vice President, Marketing. Considering that WSES pursued around 1,000 opportunities every year, which they either won or lost, Jack felt the need to have these data that they had collated over the years validated and thereby interpreted. Thus, WSES engaged Mark with a Ph.D. in statistics to understand if they could determine a structured approach to compute conversion probabilities and devise an optimal way to allocate marketing spend such that even with significant reduction in marketing spend, the objectives on expected values on sales and profits were met.

On October 1, 2013 at a meeting of ruling party officials, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that he had decided to go ahead with a plan to increase the sales tax from 5% to 8%, beginning April 1, 2014. This tax hike had become law in August 2012, under then-Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Abe, faced with a choice he did not ask for, sought to make a decision he could live with. Deciding whether to raise the tax had proven very hard for him. He had to take extraordinary care weighing conditions. The Bank of Japan had already fired the first "arrow" of Abenomics, an unconventional easing of the money supply. The second, fiscal stimulus, was constrained by Japan's fiscal rebalancing goals. With regards to the third arrow, a strategy for economic growth, the government was still working out how to break entrenched regulations in farming and employment. Until the very last moment, Abe had to consider whether a tax increase would lead Japan back into the deep valley of deflation and economic stagnation.

Dinesh Agarwal and Brijesh Agrawal ("DA & BA") established IndiaMART with around US$1100 savings in 1996. By 2014, "IndiaMART.com is India's largest online marketplace for Small & Medium Size Businesses". Its revenue for the year ended March 2014 reached US$32 million. "The company offers a platform & tools to over 1.5 million suppliers to generate business leads from over 10 million buyers... (It) has over 2600 employees located across 40+ offices in the country". In keeping with its growth plans, the company evaluates various capital raising activities from time to time, including public or private placement opportunities. Factors that would benefit the company's valuation include a strong track record of year-on-year growth, a sustainable revenue basis from diversified product categories, a strong, huge, and active user base, and a solid conversion rate of buyer- leads to revenue dollars for its suppliers. The downside, though, is that the company has not been generating operational profits for five years since 2010. From scratch to US$32 million revenue, DA & BA have led the company's many evolutions; what are the major considerations in building the present business model? How do they ensure the development of strong networks in every product category of the multiple-sided platform? One criticism of IndiaMART's weakness is easy replicability - what is the founders' response in mitigating risks presented by this weakness? What should IndiaMART do to attract a fair valuation?

This case describes how General Electric has developed its China Technology Center over the past decade. The case also elaborates on the changing role of the China Technology Center in General Electric's global research and development strategy. In 2000, General Electric set up its China Technology Center in Shanghai after bringing its technologies and products to China. In the first few years, the focus of the China Technology Center was to build local engineering teams, learn about customer needs, determine successful marketing strategies, and to develop relationships with local suppliers in order to reduce costs. Over time, the China Technology Center developed its "In China for China" strategy by adjusting its own products and designs to adapt to the local market, while still developing innovative technologies and products to address China's toughest challenges - such as those encountered in the healthcare industry. This strategy was very successful; some innovations from the China Technology Center were used in other emerging markets as well as in U.S. and European markets - a process that is known as reverse innovation.

In October 2008, State Bank of India (SBI), India's largest state-owned bank, makes its foray into Singapore's consumer banking market. A year into operations, Anil Kishora, chief executive officer of SBI, Singapore, is charged to double the remittance earnings in the next 12 months, an onerous task for a young branch that is just finding its feet in a new market. Yet Kishora's team manages to successfully meet the target - remittance volume rose by 96% in ten months. Despite these successes, Kishora is aware of the challenges that lay ahead. Remittances have been a quick win and have yielded the necessary cash flow for the new division. But will the growth from remittance earnings be sustainable over the longer term? How can SBI establish a strong presence and build an identity in Singapore's mature and fiercely competitive market, beyond the remittance story?

In October 2011, NTUC Income, Singapore's largest automotive insurer launches the 'Orange Force'. It is a bold US$3.2 million initiative where a team of 30 expertly trained and distinctively attired motorcycle riders will arrive at an accident scene within minutes to assist and comfort those who have been involved in a road incident. They will then proceed to perform basic first-aid, call up the next-of-kin and/or a tow truck company, and advise the customer on how to record the accident details. The initiative has received an extremely positive response, and NTUC Income recognises that what had been originally envisaged as a fraud- reduction initiative is now a much larger offering in innovative customer service and branding.

On April 1, 2013, the Supreme Court of India rejects Novartis' patent application for its cancer treatment drug, Glivec. Many share the opinion that Indians should have access to cheaper generic alternatives for life-saving drugs and that multinational pharmaceutical companies should not be allowed to benefit from prolonging a drug's patent life. However, these companies often spend decades and invest billions of dollars to develop just a single drug. Novartis' existing business models and pricing strategies in the United States, Western Europe and Japan now need to be re-evaluated for emerging markets such as India; taking into account affordability, limited access to health insurance and government safety nets, different marketing and distribution networks, and the powerful generics lobby. What should Novartis' strategy be in India, and for emerging markets in general?