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In March 2023, Reliance Consumer Products Limited announced the relaunch of Campa Cola, an iconic soft drink brand in India that was discontinued almost two decades earlier. The company acquired Campa Cola for US$2.7 million in 2022 to capitalize on the brand nostalgia and the appeal of a domestic brand offering high-quality aerated beverages at affordable prices, believing that Campa Cola had a deep connection with Indian consumers due to its unique taste and flavour. However, to be successful in the competitive market dominated by two global giants in the soft drink industry—The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo Inc.—Reliance Consumer Products Limited had to craft a meticulous strategy that should address three significant challenges: create a customer value proposition, set the right pricing strategy, and trigger brand nostalgia to appeal to all market segments across generations. However, the company would have to take a leap of faith and assume a great risk. Could Campa Cola emerge as a viable competitor in India’s soft drink industry?

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital commerce in India, and, in doing so, it exposed serious inadequacies in the country’s e-commerce system. Through outreach programs to small sellers and entities in hyperlocal supply chains, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade in India identified a substantial gap between the quantum of online demand and the local retail marketplace’s capability to meet this demand. Established e-commerce giants had developed ways to maintain and increase their dominance and maximize profits, while small and fringe companies struggled to establish a place for themselves in the e-commerce marketplace. The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) was a first-of-its-kind initiative to create an open, all-encompassing, and competitive online marketplace in India. The network, which conceptualized itself as offering equal opportunity to all sellers, promised discoverability of digital commerce stores across industries through the use of network-enabled applications. The network was designed to provide a level playing field for sellers and to ultimately democratize digital commerce in India. The benefits of digital commerce would percolate among consumers across socioeconomic strata and even reach remote geographic locations. The intent was to implement ONDC on a population-wide scale and make it a public utility. To truly democratize e-commerce in India, ONDC would be required to incorporate millions of digitally excluded small retailers. For this to happen, the transactions on the network needed to be seamless, customer trust had to be won, and a proper grievance redressal mechanism had to be put in place. Although the initiative had gone through the alpha- and beta-testing phases and was now live in select Indian cities, a certain degree of merchant onboarding and customer involvement was still essential to get the process underway. Many also believed that if the initiative gained the involvement of one or more of the major online platforms, ONDC had the potential to grow much faster, morphing into the “blue ocean” it was envisioned as becoming. However, the cooperation of the digital titans was not guaranteed—they might choose to play the waiting game or refuse to engage with ONDC. This could mean that the company’s ambitions might not succeed. Which strategic initiatives could help ONDC upend the status quo in the Indian e-commerce market?

Ballard Power Systems Inc. (Ballard) was a pioneer and world leader in hydrogen fuel cell power system development and commercialization, employing over 1,100 employees worldwide, with operations in China, Europe, and North America. However, despite its strong revenue growth, Ballard had failed to report positive operating income since 1993. At the end of 2022, a new round of government support for green technologies had the potential to change things for Ballard. The company now faced the question of whether to expand its operations in China, previously its major market, or shift its focus more toward North America and Europe. Factors to consider included geopolitical tensions and government funding. What steps should Ballard take next?

In July 2023, Tesla, Inc. (Tesla), a global leader in the manufacture and sales of electric vehicles, needed to formulate its entry strategy in India. Tesla’s chief executive officer, Elon Musk, had met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his visit to the United States in June 2023 and expressed optimism about India as a market for Tesla. This development was in sharp contrast to the events of just over a year earlier, when Musk and Tesla had expressed disappointment with the Indian government’s policy of heavily taxing imports of fully assembled Tesla cars and had seemingly abandoned their plans to enter India, at least in the short term. Despite the thaw in the relationship with the Indian government, Tesla’s top management needed to get a number of critical decisions right if the company’s entry into the Indian market was to be successful.

Royal Enfield has maintained its dominance in the 250–750 cubic centimetre mid-size motorcycle segment in India. After a COVID-19-induced lean patch, the company’s unit sales have skyrocketed to an all-time high of 834,895 units in fiscal year 2022–23. The demand for premium motorcycles is growing significantly, which bodes well for Royal Enfield. However, the market leader has been confronted with a big challenge. The alliance between Hero MotoCorp Ltd. and Harley-Davidson Inc. has launched the Harley-Davidson X440—the most affordable Harley—to take on Royal Enfield. Meanwhile, the alliance between Bajaj Auto Ltd. and Triumph Motorcycles Ltd. has unveiled the competitively priced Speed 400. The initial response to the new motorcycles has been overwhelming. What strategic options are available to Royal Enfield to maintain its market lead amid intensified competitive rivalry?

In May 2023, Shake Shack Inc., the New York City-based fast-casual restaurant chain faced an activist’s campaign from Engaged Capital LLC. Citing poor performance compared to industry peers over the 2020–2022 period, Engaged Capital sought three board seats, with its nominees to have industry-specific expertise, to advise Shake Shack’s management team on turning around the multi-unit chain. Shake Shack had a dual-share capital structure with founder, Daniel Meyer, and his associates controlling 85.9 per cent of the voting rights. Meyer and the board had to consider and respond to Engaged Capital’s push for board seats at Shake Shack’s annual shareholder meeting on June 29, 2023.

Founded in 2013 and acquired by General Motors (GM) in 2016, Cruise was a trailblazer in the autonomous vehicle industry. Cruise had rapidly expanded under the guidance of GM, but this growth was marred by crashes and disruptive interactions with emergency vehicles. By November 2023, the company had become the focus of intense public and regulatory scrutiny following a serious incident in San Francisco, California, on October 2, when a Cruise robotaxi caused severe injuries to a pedestrian. In the aftermath of the incident, Cruise faced significant backlash from regulators and consumers. The California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended the company’s operational permits, and Cruise temporarily halted its driverless operations, shifting to vehicles operated with safety drivers. The co-founders resigned, and Cruise appointed a new president and chief technology officer. What actions should the new president take to prevent such an incident from happening again, regain the public’s trust, and ensure rigorous safety standards and transparent communication? The decisions the company made in the coming months would be crucial in shaping its future trajectory.

As the Republic of Indonesia, the largest archipelagic nation in the world, was facing significant challenges posed by climate change, the imperative for immediate attention to the region’s climate issues became evident. Indeed, between 2018 and 2020, Indonesia issued three green sukuks, which were Shariah law-compliant debt instruments resembling green bonds. This case explores the specific approach taken by the Indonesian government to secure vital funding for initiatives aimed at mitigating and adapting to climate change in sectors including energy efficiency, renewable energy, resilience to climate change, sustainable transport, and waste and waste-to-energy management. The case also evaluates critical inquiries into the efficacy of the projects funded by the proceeds of green sukuk issuances in combating climate change.

February 2022 marked the start of the tenure of a new managing director and chief executive officer at Punjab National Bank, a critical position in the wake of the bank’s challenges, including a massive instance of fraud and challenges associated with the bank's amalgamation with the United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce in 2020. With over three decades of experience leading other public sector banks, the new leader embarked on the mission to restore the bank’s 128-year legacy. Faced with the daunting task of restoring the bank’s former reputation and glory, he explored strategies for implementing a comprehensive plan to bring Punjab National Bank back on the track of sustainable growth. Which strategy would reshape the bank’s trajectory and ensure sustainable growth while also reviving the bank's legacy and heritage?

Zoho Corporation Ltd. (Zoho) was a privately held technology company that provided a suite of software applications for businesses of all sizes. The company was founded in 1996 with the aim of providing affordable, easy-to-use software applications to small- and medium-sized enterprises. In 2021, Zoho announced that it had reached $1 billion in revenue. The founders’ socio-economic vision of embracing collective well-being and purpose-driven leadership and following unconventional business practices such as transnational localism had contributed to its unwavering growth. Under the leadership of its chief executive officer, who focused on customer-centricity, simplicity, and doing business with responsibility and accountability, the organization was able to pursue social and commercial objectives simultaneously. In late 2023, Zoho intended to address the grand challenges of the world, particularly the challenges of a developing nation, through its coordinated actions and collaborative efforts. The chief executive officer faced several pressing questions: What should Zoho do to remain afloat amid the global downturn? As a socially responsible enterprise, how can could Zoho balance its business goals with social goals, given the complex landscape of social responsibility?

The president of Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops, Canada, Brett Fairbairn, faced backlash and scrutiny for his handling of a harassment and discrimination investigation into two of his senior leaders. In November 2021, two local media outlets released details of the allegations that were brought to the attention of the President and Board of Governors months earlier. The case outlines the public reactions, and a timeline of events, as reported via TRU’s public website and local news media, as well as social media posts from interested parties. The President is faced with a decision on how to respond to his varying stakeholders when his leadership and the vision of the university are at stake.

By August 2023, Byju Raveendran, chief executive officer of Think & Learn Private Limited (doing business as BYJU'S), was facing corporate governance and ethical challenges, resulting in regulatory authorities scrutinizing the company. BYJU'S valuation also declined from a high of $21.2 billion in March 2023 to $5.1 billion by June 2023. Critics accused Raveendran of leveraging aggressive growth strategies, resulting in a decline in the company's performance. And Raveendran was increasingly pressured by stakeholders and critics to step down from BYJU'S board. Should Raveendran step down as chief executive officer? How can he undo the wrongdoing with different stakeholders? What could have driven him to pursue aggressive growth at the cost of ethics and governance?

People in Yemen faced several challenges such as lack of food, water, electricity, or proper hygiene and sanitation. Distressed by the challenges faced by the Yemenis, Iman Hadi (Hadi) set up Friends of the Environment Station (FOES) solar micro-grid station in Abs district in the Hajjah governorate in Yemen backed by the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP). In 2021, Hadi planned to scale up her solar project in other rural districts of Yemen where 47 families had no access to electricity. Going forward, she also had ambitious plans to launch a large solar power plant to provide solar electricity to nearly 3,060 households in the Al-Ghadi area in Yemen. How would Hadi scale up her solar project to other districts in Yemen?

As a leading education company in China, the New Oriental Education Technology Group is constantly responding to the challenges. In 2021, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and China’s “double reduction’”policy, New Oriental was actively engaged in a strategic transformation, seeking new directions. Major actions include joining the live e-commerce track, partnering with farmers and rural enterprises, and selling agricultural products on e-commerce platforms. New Oriental has achieved remarkable results in 2022 by highlighting its unique approach to live e-commerce. However, the company is finding it hard to sustain its current success, so New Oriental needs to determine its future directions.

In late 2022, a difficult period for the cryptocurrency industry persisted, marking the middle of what many considered a “crypto winter.” Popular tokens and currencies like Bitcoin and Solana lost over 50 per cent of their value, with other Web 3.0 adjacent technologies following the same path. Debate surrounded the industry at large, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) flexed its regulatory muscle on a “poster boy” non-fungible token (NFT), Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), in efforts to provide more structure to the NFT market. The chairman of the SEC, Gary Gensler, who was extremely knowledgeable in the crypto space and also considered a tough regulator among the community, had to determine how to classify BAYC. Ultimately, questions surrounding BAYC’s legal interpretation were being posed in the SEC's investigation: Should BAYC be regulated as a security? Were investors protected? Should NFTs be considered art? Did BAYC violate security regulations? As one of the leading representatives of the entire $2 trillion crypto industry, the potential regulation of BAYC had major implications for its peers, the underlying technology, and a spectrum of investors.

On March 24, 2015, the chief executive officer of SVB Financial Group Inc., the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, was testifying to a US Senate committee. His goal was to provide evidence in support of raising the threshold of US$50 billion in assets, for Silicon Valley Bank’s application for enhanced prudential standards under the Dodd-Frank Act. Silicon Valley Bank was above the threshold of $10 billion for some enhanced prudential standards, and close to the $50 billion cut-off for the full array of enhanced prudential standards. By the end of 2021, Silicon Valley Bank still fell below strict scrutiny from the enhanced prudential standards, despite having experienced rapid growth since the US Senate testimony. With the rapid growth of its deposits, the bank was facing a dilemma. Given the nearly zero rates on short-term bonds as of the end of 2021, should Silicon Valley Bank chase the higher yields provided by longer-term bonds and accept higher interest rate risk? What risk management practices should the bank follow? With its deposit base largely uninsured, would the bank’s risk exposure become an issue?

In 2022, Adani Cement was in conflict with transport unions due to a dispute over freight costs. The company had recently acquired two new cement manufacturing plants in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India, but abruptly closed their operations in December 2022 due to rising freight costs. The plant closures, aimed at seeking lower freight charges, surprised and angered thousands of truck drivers. It was imperative to resolve the deadlock between Adani Cement and the transport unions over freight rates.

In January 2021, an equity analyst in the Student Managed Investment Fund of the Asian Institute of Management was trying to estimate the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of Aboitiz Power Corporation (AP) based on the capital asset pricing model. The WACC estimate would be part of her discounted cash flow valuation, which would then help her determine whether or not the fund should invest in Aboitiz Power Corporation. AP was a leading power generation and distribution company in the Philippines with ₱81.1 billion in revenues over the nine-month period ended September 2020. The Philippines was in the middle of a lockdown related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and while the stock market was showing signs of recovery, the analyst was worried that record low interest rates might exert unwarranted downward pressure on her WACC estimate and artificially raise her discounted cash flow valuation of AP. The company’s WACC had decreased from 2019 to 2020, reflecting a lower risk-free rate, lower borrowing rate, lower stock price, and resulting weight of equity. The analyst needed to explore potential adjustments to normalize the WACC away from pandemic conditions in order to confirm her recommendation regarding investing in AP stock.

In May 2021, a recent MBA graduate and retail investor, read an announcement about Monde Nissin Corporation launching an initial public offering of 3.6 billion shares at ₱13.50 per share. The company expected to raise ₱48.6 billion in the largest common share offering ever in the Philippines, while the country was still in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. However, economic and stock market conditions were expected to improve after the availability of vaccines and anticipated end of the lockdown. The investor planned to run a discounted cash flow valuation and comparable multiples analysis of Monde Nissin Corporation to determine if he should invest in the initial public offering. He also wanted to assess the attractiveness of the food industry and the merits of investing in the company, which was the market leader in all of its product categories.

<p align="justify">In 2020, the Indian film industry witnessed a significant rift between producers and exhibitors (cinema owners and multiplex chains) when the producers of the highly anticipated film <i>Gulabo Sitabo</i> opted for a direct digital premiere of the film on Amazon Prime Video, thereby bypassing a theatrical release. The decision angered exhibitors, who viewed over-the-top (OTT) platforms as threats to traditional cinema distribution. Concerns arose that other studios would soon follow suit, jeopardizing their businesses. Although the producers cited COVID-19-related challenges and the increased popularity of streaming services as reasons for their decision, exhibitors accused them of being selfish. Exhibitors emphasized their investments in world-class screens and urged co-operation, threatening retaliatory measures. The rising tension brought up a number of questions: How much of a threat were OTT platforms to traditional film distribution? How could disagreements between producers and traditional distributors be resolved? Might OTT platforms and traditional distribution methods coexist, and if so, how?