個案總覽

In December 2018, Susan Tynan, founder and CEO of Framebridge, a four-year-old venture-backed startup that sold online custom framing, formulated plans for the future. Her vision was to revolutionize the $4 billion industry by making custom framing easy, transparent, and affordable by leveraging digital technology and automation. Early demand for the product was strong, and Framebridge began experimenting in retail. The company built a high-tech, robotics-driven manufacturing plant in Kentucky but struggled to achieve economies of scale. In the first part of this two-part series (B case 723-353), Tynan needed to decide whether to pivot her operations strategy or remain true to the tech-enabled robotics approach in which her backers had invested. Further, she had to determine her vision for retail and how this might impact the business model.

Super Bowl 50, the fiftieth annual championship game of the American National Football League played in February 2016, featured 52 commercials, and brands spent more than six million dollars each for a 30-second commercial slot. Surprisingly, the commercial that garnered the most popularity on YouTube was not one of the regular advertisers. It was an entertainment brand best known for its video games and characters-Pokémon. It reflected twenty years of faithful corporate efforts that had protected and nurtured the Pokémon brand ever since its debut on February 27, 1996, in the form of a video game for handheld devices. Even on this commemorable day, however, Tsunekazu Ishihara, president of The Pokémon Company, was asking his staff and himself a familiar question: "Is that really in the best interest of Pokémon?" This question came out of a sense of urgency that motivated him and his vision for the Pokémon brand, having seen firsthand how rapid growth and record-breaking sales had led countless other games to quick obsolescence. In fact, Pokémon itself had once run a real risk of becoming nothing more than a fad. As he looked to the future, Ishihara pondered threats and opportunities, such as the intensifying competition due to the accelerating development cycle of video games and the maturation of emerging economies. He asked himself how he could make the Pokémon brand one that could endure and continue to grow over the next 25 years.

Pawan Munjal, the CEO of Hero Honda, started a media briefing in December 2010 with the statement: "This is the most important announcement I have made in the last 25 years." The announcement by Pawan Munjal referred to the destiny of Hero Honda, the joint venture (JV) between India's Hero Group (Hero) and Japan's Honda Motor Company (Honda). At the time, the JV was the longest serving strategic alliance in the stable of Honda's overseas ventures and among the very few surviving JVs that were set up in India's automobile market in the 1980s. This was now coming to an end. When Hero Honda ended, many analysts and industry experts predicted a tough road ahead for the newly christened Hero MotoCorp. Some wrote the obituary for Hero's two-wheeler business. However, during the subsequent decade, Hero enjoyed many successes and was looking forward to the Future of Mobility (outlined in its tagline) as it entered a new era in 2022 with Harley-Davidson and other strategic partners to take on the emerging challenges.

Looms of Ladakh (LL) is a women's cooperative that has a vision to empower the local women artisans by not just upskilling but also making them independently manage the entire cooperative. The cooperative is managed and governed by the local artisans and has recently hired talent from leading design and management schools to oversee their operations. The founders realized that to scale up and collaborate with design houses and online retailers, and thereby increase their presence and profits, they will have to work in a more structured and data-driven fashion. Optimal use of resources and material is key to compete in the modern market and sell their products in international market at competitive prices. The case provides the students an opportunity to come up with a resource optimzation model using the data collected by LL over a period of time. The objective is to help LL earn maximum profits by making optimum usage of the avaibalbe human and material resources and by identifying an optimal product mix that maximizes their profitability.

EnactusOC is a student-led group that had attracted and retained students successfully for over 15 years. In the late spring of 2020, amid the global pandemic, Nicole Sapieha, the current President, found herself at the helm of an organization of students separated by space and time and lacking opportunities for connection. Through the summer of 2020, Sapieha and her team built online and limited face-to-face interaction (when and where permitted) with students from four campuses in separate cities. Early in the fall, it becomes apparent to Sapieha and her team that interactions will need to be virtual for the foreseeable future, and certainly for the 2020/21 academic year. In addition, the much anticipated and highly rewarding regional and national competitions were moving online. As the fall semester winds down and the Christmas holiday break nears, Sapieha recognizes that team morale is at an all-time low, there is little excitement for competitions, and motivation for leading community projects is waning. How could she engage students to participate when none of the usual perks of Enactus existed? This case deals with the challenges involved in motivating and organizing a geographically separated team of students to create meaningful and impactful projects without the usual social and emotional benefits of face-to-face connection. It also explores the difficulties that leaders experience when generating enthusiasm and buy-in when rewards have changed.

Grove Collaborative (herein Grove), both a manufacturer of household/personal-care products and an online marketplace offering its own products and those of third parties, was led by its founder Stu Landesberg. The case was set in February, 2020 - eight years after its founding as "ePantry" and during a time when the company had attained a "unicorn" billion dollar valuation. Despite Grove's rapid growth as a private company, and its prior accomplishments in environmental sustainability (e.g., its status as a certified B Corporation - a concept reviewed in greater depth in Question 1), Landesberg had identified that Grove needed to do more to address the issue of plastic waste to both help the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) meet an important 2025 goal and to help continue Grove's track-record as a leader in environmental sustainability. In particular, Landesberg had decided to aggressively eliminate plastic from all products sold on its online marketplace in approximately five years. What Landesberg was unsure about is how to go about this transition. In particular, Landesberg was contemplating whether or not to make a public pledge to eliminate plastics by 2025. A sense of urgency was provided by three factors: first, the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector's lack of progress toward the UNEP's goal - a lack of progress with serious and potentially irreversible environmental consequences; second, the need to start working aggressively toward developing plastic-free versions of products - a need based on Grove's widespread use of plastic components in products sold on its online marketplace and the current lack of technology to easily and/or cheaply eliminate plastics from key CPG products; and third, the behaviors of competitors that approach, or might overtake, the leadership of Grove as a sustainability innovator. The case turns on deciding whether a five-year plastic pledge was helpful in simultaneously promoting environmental sustainability and

Founded in 2008, EOS was a US-based nonprofit dedicated to using technology to improve livelihood in rural Nicaragua. Over the last ten years, EOS had developed a portfolio of tech products such as ovens or drip irrigation systems that impacted more than 400,000 inhabitants in rural Nicaragua. With a mix of funding strategies, EOS had been able to show steady annual growth in revenues, with roughly 80% coming from grants and donations and the other 20% from fees for services and products paid by its clients. In late 2018, Meier, cofounder, and Rodriguez, Nicaragua Director, found themselves pondering the direction the organization had taken. Running five different product lines was pulling the nonprofit in many directions, so they had to take a hard look at the best way to scale their impact. Should they keep this diversified multi-product approach, or should they narrow down their portfolio and become a one-solution organization? It was time to urgently make a decision to ensure they could maximize EOS' impact in the region and beyond. The 2018 political and civil unrest had severely impacted EOS revenues, and organizational survival was at stake.

KeHE Distributors LLC., a $5.5 billion in revenues Illinois-based B Corp certified supplier of natural and organic food products across North America conducted a pilot study in 2020-2021 involving switching to shore power (using electricity instead of a truck's engine power) in bringing the temperature to desired levels in the refrigerated containers in their trucking fleet. The switch would have a positive effect on the environment in terms of lower carbon emissions in addition to cost savings. Tom Harden, KeHE's Senior Manager of Fleet Assets along with Laura McCord, the organization's Executive Director of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, had to decide on whether to seek approval for the project using both financial and sustainability metrics or to conduct an additional pilot study to better understand the controllable and uncontrollable factors that led to cost savings. The company had done poorly on the environmental dimension in the 2020 certification. Two factors made the decision both urgent and important. One was the necessity of applying early to receive rebates from state agencies that would help lower the capital cost of the project. The second was the fact that the company was facing a B Corp certification process in two years' time that involved more stringent criteria on the environmental front.

Dan Featherstone was an entrepreneur and founder of Made For Drink, a premium bar snacks company he launched in the UK in 2016 to provide food lovers with a perfect snack to accompany alcoholic drinks. Whilst at first enjoying rapid success, winning awards in several different categories and supplying over 300 of the world's leading food & drink establishments, mid-2022 found Featherstone worrying about the future of his business. Having taken a hit in the pandemic, he was preparing to enter a crowdfunding raise for £600,000 and he knew he needed to articulate the fundamental elements of his business clearly to investors. Scrambling to get his pitch and investor pack ready, he found himself in need of a clear brand positioning strategy to communicate to investors. He was considering three positioning options which were aligned with the brand's values and had to choose one.

Eco Cookstoves (EC), an American social enterprise teamed up with the ZSB Foundation in 2007 to reduce indoor air pollution. This case describes EC's strategy of developing custom high-performance cookstoves for the base of the pyramid (BOP) households and its expansion into Honduras and Mexico that began in 2011. The social enterprise was successful in opening an assembly plant in Honduras in 2014 by partnering with the Honduran Government. While the government programs enabled EC to partner with a local non-profit to distribute free eco-friendly planchas to Honduran customers, such programs did not exist in Mexico. So, in 2015, EC had to decide which foreign entry strategy was right for the Mexican market. This case gives instructors the unique opportunity to discuss environmental sustainability issues, apply the Triple Bottomline framework in the context of international entry strategies, and effective social innovation to mitigate indoor air pollution and climate risk.

By 2021 Zalando had become Europe's largest pure player in online fashion. But the road to success had not always been smooth. Back in 2014, six years after it was founded, the Germany-based company was at a crossroads. With an impending initial public offering (IPO) and investors looking for results, the company was nowhere near being profitable. Zalando realized that to achieve profitability and market leadership, it would have to leverage advanced technology and develop a data-driven supply chain. So, with the innovative spirit of a start-up, it embraced the challenge of building internal digital tools and competencies to drive supply chain efficiencies. The online fashion supply chain had to wrestle with the same challenges of tight margins and high customer expectations familiar to all online retailers. However, the fashion industry faced other unique challenges - high SKU counts, high seasonality, relentless product turnover and frighteningly elevated return rates. By developing proprietary systems and machine learning tools, Zalando developed a responsive, flexible distribution network, trustworthy order promises and a sophisticated, holistic approach to returns management. Through a data-driven journey born out of a crisis, Zalando discovered that these capabilities not only delivered supply chain excellence and pioneering new innovative techniques but also helped to fulfill the company's vision of providing endless choice, seamless convenience and a tailored digital experience to millions of customers across Europe.

This case study examines the founding of Vitana, a dentistry-focused search fund founded by Ashish Bagai, Monika Srivastava, and Amir Fardshi. In this case, students are encouraged to explore the advantages and disadvantages of being solo founders versus having founding partners. The case also delves into the frameworks used to identify attributes, skills and criteria for evaluating prospective co-founders. Additionally, the case examines the potential risks of starting a new venture with friends and family, and strategies for mitigating those risks. Furthermore, students are encouraged to explore the complexities and issues of governance that may arise in a three-person founding team.

On October 28, 2021, Mark Zuckerberg, founder, chief executive officer, and chair of Facebook Inc. (Facebook), announced Facebook's name change to Meta Platforms Inc., reflecting his vision for the company's transition to metaverse technology. At the same time, Facebook was plagued by multiple scandals related to a data privacy breach, the spread of misinformation on the social media platform, employee whistle-blowing, and surveillance-style marketing and advertising. Trust in Zuckerberg's leadership was diminishing. Zuckerberg controlled 58 per cent of Facebook's voting shares, and stakeholders, critics, and regulators were calling for distributed leadership. How could Zuckerberg restore trust in his company and his leadership? What did he need to change to become a more effective leader?

In 2022, Sophie Desormière arrived at French roboshuttle producer Navya, tasked with charting a new course in a challenging sector. The company, which had recently listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, was burning through cash reserves and needed to transform the promise of its technology into a credible business with a solid revenue stream. In the short term, Desormière had to decide whether, and if so under what pricing terms, to accept an opportunity that recently emerged in the U.S. However, the opportunity involved renting, rather than selling, and also required Navya to operate the service. In the medium term, the company had to navigate questions on whether to concentrate on the software technology that enabled driverless mobility or continue to juggle the hardware side of the business at the same time. Furthermore, questions remained around which market was best suited for Navya's product, and which would be ready with the right regulatory environment to turn promising use-cases into mass transit solutions when the technology allowed getting rid of the on board attendant; at that point Navya might consider re-pricing is AV technology. The form factors Navya should focus on was also hotly debated. Some questioned whether the required regulation and consumer buy-in would come too late for Navya, and whether they should therefore switch the business model to transport goods rather than people. Desormière would need to address all these issues, if the business was to arrive at its intended destination.

Green Monday Group (GMG) was founded in 2012 with a mission to "construct a multi-faceted global ecosystem of future food that combats climate change, food insecurity, public health crisis, planetary devastation, and animal suffering." In 2020, GMG partnered with McDonald's in Hong Kong and launched six dishes featuring OmniPork Luncheon Meat, a plant-based meat substitute that GMG had developed. In February 2021, the chief executive officer and co-founder of GMG had to figure out how GMG could expand its partnership with McDonald's in Hong Kong to the rest of China. McDonald's size and potential in the rest of China far exceeded that of McDonald's Hong Kong, and while GMG had the resources and the determination to expand, it had to decide which marketing strategy to use.

In October 2021, Todd Tucker, senior vice-president of Market Development and general counsel for Arrive Mobility Inc. (Arrive), a Chicago-based provider of last-mile mobility solutions, met with Beth Diaz, innovation director for Sapphire Parking (Sapphire). Sapphire, a parking company based in Seattle, Washington, was struggling to remain in business due to the changing needs of modern society and a shift to a work-from-home culture. While Tucker believed he could generate better business opportunities for garage owners like Sapphire through technology, after his meeting with Diaz, he realized that gaining buy-in from Sapphire's operational leaders would be an uphill battle. Technology could be confusing, and technological inertia existed. Tucker's challenge was to convince Diaz's field team to try new methods for monetizing Sapphire's parking spaces while bringing the business into a more modern mindset.

In May 2021, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (Alibaba), China's biggest e-commerce company, faced a number of challenges. Alibaba, which operated under a platform business model, was confronted with weakened consumer spending due to the coronavirus pandemic as well as increased competition from JD.com Inc. (JD.com) and other e-commerce entrants. To boost business growth and strengthen Alibaba's leading position in China's e-commerce market, Daniel Zhang, the company's chief executive officer, would need to evaluate the possibility of adding a direct online retail model to complement the operations of its flagship platforms Taobao and Tmall. What challenges could Alibaba potentially face in its e-commerce business expansion?

Heineken, one the world's largest breweries, had led a long and successful effort to improve the efficiency of its brewery network. For the company COO, this was a source of pride, and also a challenge and an opportunity. Long curious about the potential for digitalizing the supply chain, perhaps this was the natural entry point for the company's supply chain to create a digital transformation program. Heineken could continue its productivity efforts by leveraging digital technologies. Starting by bringing in digital natives from the outside and identifying key internal stakeholders ready to innovate, Heineken began a process of initial pilots where those that were willing could experiment, fail fast, build on successes, and build a digital culture. Through some breakthroughs use cases and financial return prioritization, the company overcame internal resistance, found their way to a model that didn't demand standardization, allowed local innovation and ownership and built a digital community that acted like a tech start-up as much as a brewing company.