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During the COVID-19 pandemic, SATA CommHealth, a Singapore-based social enterprise, made several strategic decisions in order to turn itself around, sharpen its organizational purpose, and reformulate its organizational strategy. SATA’s new strategy enabled it to secure a significant public contract in 2022, giving it a mandate as a primary care provider for migrant workers. As SATA’s financial performance stabilized, the board and the management were confronted with the next strategic dilemma: On the one hand, the organization could align itself with the national movement focusing on preventive care and population health; on the other, it could attempt to establish new capabilities to provide chronic disease care for an aging populace or dialysis care to a rapidly growing population of persons with end-stage kidney failure. Which course should SATA take to fulfill its mission of promoting lifelong health and serving the community in Singapore?

The central objective of the social-sector organization Kudumbashree, in the state of Kerala, in India, was to alleviate poverty in the state by facilitating the formation of income-generating micro-enterprises (MEs) led by women. In February 2024, the executive director at Kudumbashree was considering implementing a goal-setting framework that would align the various stakeholders to common objectives and ensure systematic and accurate collection of information related to various interventions. However, most management goal-setting frameworks were applied to for-profit settings, so he wondered if they would work in the social sector. He was considering the objectives and key results framework, which was increasingly popular and required review of the results in the short term. Would applying this framework to Kudumbashree facilitate ME formation and sustenance?

After five years abroad, Soumaya Merhi, a Lebanese German entrepreneur, returned to Lebanon in 2013 with the goal of introducing superfoods to the Middle East. Despite limited resources, she launched TAQA Snacks (TAQA) in 2017, prioritizing sustainability alongside financial growth. By 2018, TAQA had seen remarkable 400 per cent growth, established a dedicated team, and ingrained its socio-environmental values. However, Lebanon’s severe economic crisis in 2019, compounded by COVID-19 disruptions, posed significant challenges. Despite setbacks, Merhi remained dedicated to her values and commitment to sustainability, investors, employees, and vision.

DeHaat was a technology-led platform offering end-to-end agriculture services to Indian farmers with an aim to improve inefficiencies in the agriculture value chain. By September 2022, after 10 years of operations, the company was well-established in India’s agricultural technology sector, and its network of centres across 12 states distributed seeds, pesticides, fertilizer, and farm machinery to farmers and offered them farm advisory services, financial services, and market linkages for selling farm produce. But despite DeHaat’s remarkable growth, profitability still eluded the company. In 2023, the company needed to determine what its founders could do to improve profitability and create stakeholder value. They had already received multiple rounds of funding. Should they now focus on existing markets, explore new domestic markets or exports, expand their offerings, or better control their costs to enhance credibility in the financial market? Or should they slow down growth to strengthen internal operations?

In August 2023, the chair of the Pune-based Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), reflected on the organization’s 20-year journey to empower Dalits through entrepreneurship, independence, confidence, and job creation. Despite DICCI’s efforts, societal challenges and fears of disclosing Dalit identity persisted. As the chair considered ways to boost membership and retain existing members, he wondered whether emphasizing collective identity and solidarity could further empower Dalit entrepreneurs. Could celebrating successful Dalit role models, establishing mentoring programs, or prioritizing skill development further uplift the community?

CZM Foundation Equipment (CZM) was a manufacturer of foundation drilling rigs founded in Brazil in 1976. The company set up a subsidiary in the USA in 2012, which was so successful that it turned into the headquarters. Twelve years later, CZM’s executives were considering expansion in Europe, which could provide CZM with opportunities to enhance the design and development of its machines, improve the efficiency of its global supply chain, and open the door to new markets. It already had an engineering department in Italy and relationships with suppliers in Italy, France, and Germany. However, CZM executives were concerned about the highly competitive environment in Europe, which could make establishing a European subsidiary a risky choice. They also faced two related decisions: a) which country to choose, and b) which entry strategy to use, either a wholly owned subsidiary or an equity alliance with a partner.

The booming United Arab Emirates (UAE) healthcare sector, fuelled by rising demand and chronic conditions, presented both challenges and opportunities. In August 2022, Burjeel Holdings, a leading healthcare provider, was exploring digital transformation strategies and anticipating an upcoming initial public offering. A successful digital transformation strategy incorporating emerging technologies like telehealth and artificial intelligence (AI)–powered diagnostics would not only enhance patient care but would also project a positive image to potential investors. However, the chief operating officer needed to address several challenges, including employee resistance to new technologies, a culture accustomed to established practices, and a need to avoid disrupting core operations. Recognizing the importance of a people-centric approach, he aimed to foster a culture of innovation where employees felt empowered to contribute. Would he be able to bridge the gap between tradition and innovation? Could Burjeel leverage technology to become a leader in the digital healthcare revolution?

Café Greenr launched in 2015 with a vision of blending sustainability and community living. Starting as a rooftop café in Shapur Jat, South Delhi, it quickly pioneered plant-based dining in India, creating a unique market niche. The café's success stemmed from strategic first-mover positioning and offering a variety of plant-based proteins. Emphasizing environmental, social, and personal sustainability, it provided a space for conscious living. Despite challenges in traditional cuisine markets, Greenr positioned itself through community engagement, collaborations, and events. The case explores its strategic decisions for potential franchise expansion, aiming to lead conscious dining in India.

By April 2019, the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (Jeevika), had become a cornerstone in empowerment and poverty-eradication efforts in Bihar, the poorest state in India. With an innovative talent-management initiative known as the Young Professional (YP) program, Jeevika aimed to harness the potential of top-tier postgraduate students to drive its projects. However, the organization faced significant challenges with this program, including a high turnover rate and growing dissatisfaction among YPs regarding disparate compensation and career progression opportunities. The YP program was established to bring fresh, innovative perspectives to Jeevika, and it succeeded in making substantial contributions to major World Bank–funded projects like the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project and the Bihar Transformative Development Project. Despite these successes, the growing number of grievances about unequal pay, a lack of job security, and unclear career trajectories led to numerous resignations. Senior leaders at Jeevika now stood at a crossroads, needing to decide whether to continue, amend, or dissolve the YP program in light of these challenges. Members of the leadership group had different views on these issues and the strategic implications of any changes they might make to the policy. Should the company discontinue the program? If it chose to continue it, how could it best address the issues YPs faced? What policies would best serve them?

Kongsberg Maritime, a Norway-based company well known for its high-tech ship equipment, succeeded in acquiring Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine in April 2019. Kongsberg Maritime aimed to strengthen its position as a global technology leader by expanding its product portfolio and revenue, enhancing its international setup, and improving overall performance. In the following years, the company faced the challenges of integrating people and products from both large and diverse companies, and of adapting its organizational structure. It had to make two key strategic decisions: the approach to integration (operational, structural, or human) and the location strategy (centralized or decentralized).

In April 2024, Ricardo Garza Limón, the founder of Grupo Garza Limón in Mexico, was reflecting on the succession process he had embarked on in 2016. Despite making progress, Ricardo regretted not having achieved his main goal: seeing one of his two sons take on the role of chief executive officer (CEO) in the family firm. The company had a solid nonfamily CEO in place but needed to strengthen its board of directors and formalize a trust to align future generations with corporate governance principles. Ricardo also recognized the serious challenges facing the succession process. Not only were his sons unprepared for leadership and lacking key competencies, but there were ongoing conflicts between family members and struggles to balance family dynamics with business needs. With all these considerations in mind, Ricardo wondered whether his chosen succession plan had been the right one. If not, did he need to do something else to ensure the continuity and success of his business legacy?

Capital Breeders was a major player in the Zambian poultry industry. From processing chickens, Capital Breeders created substantial waste, namely feathers and blood. The company was interested in both saving money and improving its environmental performance. It assessed four alternative uses for this waste: the production of sustainable biomaterials, bio-based fertilizer, bioenergy production, and animal feed. Students were asked to make a qualitative assessment of the options, ultimately ranking them in terms of initial feasibility. The case also provided an opportunity to discuss the ethics of waste diversion in the poultry industry.

V-shesh Learning Services Private Limited (v-shesh), an enterprise recognized for its social impact, had been dedicated to promoting disability inclusion since its founding in 2009. Established by two college friends, v-shesh aimed to bridge the gap between persons with disabilities (PWD)/disadvantaged youth and organizations that viewed inclusion as an opportunity. The company’s very dynamic staff and robust processes and activities were dedicated to achieving its goals concerning the employment of PWD. Some of the challenges PWD faced included limited access to assistive technology, a lack of clarity regarding the specific interview processes employers had adopted for PWD, and negative attitudes and biases held by nondisabled individuals.

The Future Ready Food Safety Hub (FRESH) was a Singapore-based food safety research organization with a global reputation as an authority on assessing the safety and suitability of novel food products meant for sale in the Singapore market. As Singapore had become the first country in the world to approve the sale of laboratory-grown chicken, more and more companies were approaching FRESH for guidance in their safety dossier submissions to the Singapore Food Agency. With a small team of 10 members to keep up with the growing demand for its services, FRESH considered two options: engaging companies one-on-one to address the specific challenges they faced to meet novel food safety requirements, or adopting a consortium approach engaging multiple companies to collaboratively identify and prioritize common problems and develop optimal solutions for the industry. FRESH had to decide which option would best achieve its goals in advancing food safety research and building the novel food ecosystem.

The director of Yashashvi Rasayan Pvt. Ltd. (YRPL) was satisfied with the plant’s productivity for the financial year 2022–23. Part of the Yash Group, a reputable family-based chemical manufacturer in India since the 1950s, YRPL had exceeded the threshold capacity of 333 metric tons over the last four months, positively affecting the profit and loss statement. Despite this success, the director remained concerned about the safety culture and people-related issues within the organization. After a successful business transformation initiated two years ago, the director pondered whether the success was due to incremental improvement efforts or to the principles of organizational development (OD). He congratulated the leadership team and asked the head of leadership and OD to arrange a meeting with key stakeholders to discuss the next phase of transformation.

The case describes the journey of Associated Capsules Group World (ACG World) in implementing initiatives to bring about diversity and inclusion (D&I) within the organization. Nikita Panchal, global head of talent and organizational development at ACG World, was given the responsibility for improving D&I in 2020. She began with a vision of bringing about a change where inclusion would become the norm instead of a stand-alone activity. The case elaborates on ACG World’s D&I journey within a male-dominated manufacturing industry. It outlines the key initiatives that were implemented, which stemmed from the formation of five workstreams: community; capability building; processes and policies; associate life cycle; and communication. The case allows for a critical review of ACG World’s journey and considers ways to build a strong case for D&I to bring on board senior leaders.

In January 2023, the diagnostic services provider Simira Diagnostics (Simira), founded in Navi Mumbai, India, in 2017, decided to launch a company-wide rebranding project. When unveiling the new logo to the team, the co-founder emphasized the need to become a purpose-led organization with patient centricity at its core. The redesigned brand’s logo and tag line would include a new service delivery proposition. As she worked to strengthen the company’s brand identity, the co-founder knew that merely capturing the essence of the organization in the logo and tag line would not be enough; she would have to support the branding process by devising an effective advertising and communications strategy to ensure an accelerated level of brand awareness by Simira customers. She would also have to ensure a consistent and seamless customer service experience to strengthen the brand and patient centricity.

Contrary to the typical practice of cutting operating expenses by compromising on employees’ benefits, the chairman of Zentaku Kogyo Company Ltd. (Zentaku), David Wu Chongrang, aimed to improve the standard of living of his staff by steadily raising their salaries and benefits. In fact, the key performance indicator David had set for himself was to raise his employees’ salaries regularly to a preset target benchmark. Contrary to conventional approaches, over the past sixteen years (2006–2022) David had reduced Zentaku’s revenue by 28 per cent and the number of employees by two-thirds, while raising the annual gross profit per employee to 239 per cent. Zentaku had achieved more with less by transforming itself through the rigorous implementation of lean production, inspired by the famed Toyota Production System, but Zentaku’s future leadership now faced challenges in sustaining the success Zentaku had achieved. Were the management methods adopted in the past applicable to the younger generation of workers? How could the current management pass the enterprise to the younger generation while ensuring employees remained fulfilled in the workplace?

Bryan Gilvesy, CEO of ALUS, must create a proposal to spend ALUS’ $100,000 marketing budget for their brand “New Acre Project”. The brand had experienced good growth in previous years, but sales had stagnated for the past two, creating concerns about the survival of New Acre Project. Gilvesy must invigorate growth and reach sales of $6 million by choosing a target market, whether he should offer carbon credits or not, and at what price. He also had to choose a promotional channel and the messaging New Acre Project would use going forward.

PeriFerry is a pioneering social enterprise working toward creating sustainable livelihood opportunities and inclusive workplaces for transgender persons in India. Originally located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, PeriFerry has upskilled 320 transgender persons and sensitized more than 30,000 employees about their inclusion in the workplace. PeriFerry’s founder and chief executive officer, Neelam Jain, does not believe in an extravagant showcase of effort. Instead, since she founded PeriFerry in 2017, her approach was that when transgender persons wished to transform their lives, they could locate and reach out to PeriFerry via the internet and various social media platforms like LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or Instagram or meet on-ground community representatives. But Jain is looking forward to PeriFerry’s next five years and contemplating whether this approach will be relevant to scale social impact. Alternatively, Jain is considering adopting a proactive stance in reaching out to transgender people. This could involve extending its geographical coverage to include other cities in India and introducing a diverse range of services to provide holistic support for transgender persons. The new approach will allow PeriFerry to scale wide by reaching out to more trans people who are dispersed in various geographical locations in India who find it difficult to locate PeriFerry due to a lack of technological amenities. But Jain would also have to figure out the resources and capabilities required to scale its social impact. Jain must determine which strategy PeriFerry should pursue in the next 2-3 years.