Cases

This case describes Angela Merkel's last two years as German Chancellor and European leader. It discusses her handling of the pandemic, Brexit, and other European issues, as well as her two failed attempts to appoint a successor in her party who would uphold her legacy.

For 35 years, Dollar Tree, a discount retail chain selling general merchandise, had held it fixed price point steady, pricing all its household items, food, stationery, books, seasonal items, gifts, toys, and clothing that made up its diverse and ever-changing assortment at $1.00. While all other dollar store chains had raised prices over the years to keep up with inflation, Dollar Tree had never budged on its price. However, in late 2021 the company announced that Dollar Tree was "breaking the buck" and raising prices on all goods to $1.25. Would the demise of the $1.00 price point bring about the downfall of Dollar Tree or could the retail chain weather its price change without alienating its price sensitive shoppers through smart marketing, pricing, and branding strategies?

Founded in 2010, Worldreader was an international nonprofit organization that promoted reading to children around the world. For many years, Worldreader distributed e-readers to under-resourced communities and funded its operations primarily through philanthropic donations. In 2019, Worldreader launched the BookSmart mobile reading application, and soon thereafter came the idea of a new, self-perpetuating funding structure: the "flywheel." Worldreader aimed to charge schools and community-based organizations a $6 monthly subscription fee per child to use BookSmart, with the goal of using earned revenue to sustain operational costs and using philanthropy to cover other strategic priorities. However, Worldreader soon realized that ability to pay varied greatly among potential "customers," leading to several exceptions to the initial price. The team also worried that the subscription hindered achieving scale and conflicted with Worldreader's ultimate goal of impacting millions of children. As Co-Founder and CEO David Risher and his team prepared for an upcoming meeting with UNICEF, which typically sought fixed-price contracts, they considered whether a price per-child, per-month would be acceptable. More broadly, they considered whether they had landed on the optimal price point and funding strategy - and the potential implications of pursuing earned revenue on Worldreader's ability to bid for international development grants.

Rafael Sebastián, CEO of Lékué, had a virtual meeting with part of his local direct team, as well as part of the teams from the American distributor in Delaware, and the Chinese factory in Suzhou. Lékué designs unique and effective solutions, gadgets, and utensils that have changed traditional cooking techniques. The covid-19 pandemic stopped the team from attending the Ambiente Trade Fair in Frankfurt (Germany) in February 2021, where they were intending to present Lékué's new products to their main international distributors. Now they had to make a decision: if they could not go to the fair, could they replace it with a digital showroom?

Alberto Marín, CEO and founder of CompanyGame, a Barcelona-based business simulator company, reflected on the tremendous growth CompanyGame had enjoyed since its beginnings in 1993. In the third quarter of 2020, in the middle of the covid-19 pandemic, Alberto, his son Victor, and the rest of the team were thinking about the future. They recognized that the time had come to decide about the company’s strategic direction. Within a few days, the Third Ibero-American Symposium on Business Simulation would start, and they would have the chance to present their proposal for new simulators to a key part of the academic community in their potential market. The future depended on this event. A technical note describing the main features of business simulators is included.

The case analyzes and generates debate and learnings on the tension between participation and efficiency arising from Greenpeace Spain’s participatory approach to strategic planning. GPE's new 2020-23 strategic framework and plan were prepared throughout 2019. The board of directors chose to initially agree on GPE's strategic framework, understood as the set of philosophical or conceptual principles that would govern the organization during the period 2020-23. Based on this framework, the GPE strategic plan – which specifies the objectives, priorities, and expected results for the period – was approved.

The case describes the development of the Migra Studium Fundación. It analyzes the foundation’s strengths, but also its lack of a strategic definition in its initial stages. Options for the current director to increase the foundation’s social impact and organizational development are discussed. María del Carmen de la Fuente had a very intense and productive period after she joined the foundation as director in 2015. Initially, she reviewed both the foundation’s activities and the Migra Studium team. After gaining a good understanding of the foundation’s strengths and weaknesses, she led various initiatives to strengthen the action program and consolidate the operational team and economic resources. When the pandemic struck, Migra Studium already had a reinforced capacity to develop its activities and adapt to changing circumstances. However, the director considers that, after six years of mandate, it is time to give a new boost to the organization. She wants to propose to the board of trustees several changes that will further develop the organization and enable a greater social impact in line with the foundational mission.

The case analyzes the development of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) towards a results-oriented leadership and a new intercultural vision based on the defence of the rights of the Roma population.
The FSG director wonders whether the current scorecard truly enables an assessment of how well the foundation is performing and he reflects on what changes can be made for a successful future. Just before the vacations, the management team was trying to reduce the number of indicators on the scorecard used by the steering committee and the board of trustees. The team was aware that with so many goals and performance indicators it is difficult to know which goals are the highest priority from the governance and management perspective. But the attempt was unsuccessful as all the scorecard indicators were deemed necessary.

In July 2021, Sunil Lalvani, founder and CEO of Project Maji, a non-profit social enterprise headquartered in Dubai that had already provided sustainable, clean water solutions to 80,000 people living in rural communities across Ghana and Kenya, was facing an important decision. Traditionally, fees collected from community members covered the operating and maintenance costs of the solar-powered water kiosks, while donations paid the initial capital expenditure and setup costs. Yet Lalvani needed a more scalable financing solution to reach a hefty goal: impacting 1 million lives by 2025. Serving larger, more affluent peri-urban communities was a viable alternative, as the additional revenue could be channeled to rural projects. Thus, Lalvani and his team worked on a pilot for three peri-urban sites and looked to Danone Communities, a venture capital fund that invested in social businesses, to provide a loan. The team mapped out a feasible system, but debated what fees to charge residents. A low price meant that Project Maji would pay off the loan for the first four years, and only then start accumulating funds to support its activities in rural areas. This would delay scaling. Alternatively, a high price, coupled with an offer to establish direct connections in more well-off households, would allow Project Maji to generate excess earned revenue from the get-go, but it would also raise questions of equitability. All of this weighed on Lalvani as he pondered what price point to include in the investment proposal

In mid-2021, Maaz Sheikh, cofounder and CEO of STARZPLAY, a Dubai-based subscription video on demand (SVOD) provider that catered to the Middle East and North Africa region, was wrestling with how to find the right balance between continued subscriber growth and profitability. Founded in 2015, the company was the first major SVOD player in the region providing high quality and affordable Hollywood content. STARZPLAY rapidly grew its subscriber base through a business model sensitive to the varied tastes and payment preferences of households in the region and was able to maintain leadership even after global players like Netflix and well-funded homegrown companies entered the market. At the time of the case, several U.S. major studios, including the likes of Disney, Paramount, and HBO, were in talks with local operators about potential partnerships. Sheikh needed to prepare an appealing proposal, knowing full well that other regional players were likely doing the same, and that these studios might decide to enter independently. He had to think carefully about the company's brand position, and its plans regarding content, pricing and payment options, and marketing spend to fuel continued growth while managing the increasing pressure from investors to drive the business toward profitability. Sheikh and his management team had big ambitions for STARZPLAY. What would be the plan that ensured the company continued to prosper despite the mounting competition?

Joy4Home Brands, the maker of novel houseware items, was gearing up for its launch. The company would be introducing two lines: kitchenware products and storage containers. The initial go-to-market plan called for a direct to consumer (DTC) channel strategy. While Joy4Home had a handle on its customer acquisition efforts, it had yet to determine the DTC pricing for each line. Moreover, two additional opportunities had recently emerged. The first was a B2B opportunity involving a modified kitchenware line, and the second was a brick-and mortar wholesale proposal for larger storage containers. Molly Hines, Joy4Home's Chief Marketing Officer, had market research data and other information to help her determine the optimal pricing scheme for these various sales avenues. Recommendations were needed soon.

The main objective of this case is to reflect upon innovative management models being developed or adopted by purpose-driven businesses that strive to balance the need for profit with a clarity of purpose, leveraging the concept of Teal organizations. Specifically, students will:

• Discuss what it means to put people-especially the "beneficiaries" the social enterprise aims to serve-at the center of the solution or organization
• Understand and incorporate the main innovations of Teal organizations in a social enterprise: self-management, wholeness, and evolutionary purpose
• Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of applying such innovations in social enterprises aiming to put the people they serve at the center
• Reflect on scaling impact beyond growing the social enterprise itself, including influencing society and larger corporations
• Reflect individually on the kind of leader each student wants to be

In June 2019, entrepreneur Pau Bach received an offer from an industrial holding group to acquire his company, a personal mobility device company based in Barcelona named Batec Mobility. Pau had started Batec Mobility just after college as a way to challenge himself, and over the years it had become a four-million-euro business that helped thousands of people with serious physical disabilities to lead more active, independent lives. He had spent the past year and a half looking for a buyer, with the primary goals of securing an acceptable exit for a current investor and financing a plan to grow the business and its positive impact on customers' lives. He also hoped that he and his family members and employees who held shares in the company would be able to sell. He had been courting two very different potential buyers during the past six months-the industrial holding group and a pair of Spanish impact investment funds looking to co-invest. The current offer was the industrial roup's third offer, while the process with the impact investors was moving more slowly. Pau felt tired and was ready to put the sale of the company behind him. As he reviewed the offer, he realized that he would need to think carefully about whether to accept the offer or to continue to negotiate with the impact investors.

The disintegration of the value creation that profoundly modified many, if not all, the industrial sectors also had its impact on the Pharmaceutical Industry that suffered a series of changes that profoundly altered the sector. These changes were consolidated in the transition from the FIPCO type of structures (Fully Integrated Pharma Company) to others of the VIPCO type (Virtually Integrated Pharma Company). In this transition, business opportunities were appreciated, driven by multiple and varied entrepreneurs. This case focusses on the search and modelling of a business opportunity in the aforementioned disintegration process of the FIPCOs to the VIPCOs. Specifically, this case is based on the experience of an entrepreneur, Sergi Trilla, who considered launching a new outsourcing service company for the "Business Development" function in the health sector. The business model initially adopted was one of intermediation based on products that were already being marketed, either by expanding the markets in which to sell the products or by expanding the portfolio of products to be marketed through existing commercial networks. This was a very risky business model that caused constant financial stress that worsened with the financial crisis of 2008, which brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy and forced it to reinvent itself by evolving its business model by focusing on strategic services for its clients, and expanding the scope, in terms of the development phase of products, services and of the business solutions in the health sector, and through the payment for services.

Part A of the case, centres on the outsourcing of "Business Development" services in the pharmaceutical sector as a business opportunity.

The disintegration of the value creation that profoundly modified many, if not all, the industrial sectors also had its impact on the Pharmaceutical Industry that suffered a series of changes that profoundly altered the sector. These changes were consolidated in the transition from the FIPCO type of structures (Fully Integrated Pharma Company) to others of the VIPCO type (Virtually Integrated Pharma Company). In this transition, business opportunities were appreciated, driven by multiple and varied entrepreneurs.

This case focus on the search and modelling of a business opportunity in the aforementioned disintegration process of the FIPCOs to the VIPCOs. Specifically, this case is based on the experience of an entrepreneur, Sergi Trilla, who considered launching a new outsourcing service company for the "Business Development" function in the health sector. The business model initially adopted was one of intermediation based on products that were already being marketed, either by expanding the markets in which to sell the products or by expanding the portfolio of products to be marketed through existing commercial networks. This was a very risky business model that caused constant financial stress that worsened with the financial crisis of 2008, which brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy and forced it to reinvent itself by evolving its business model by focusing on strategic services for its clients, and expanding the scope, in terms of the development phase of products, services and of the business solutions in the health sector, and through the payment for services.

Part B of the case, centres on how the entrepreneur made trifermed's business model evolve to another of selling knowledge, that was more robust and scalable and that made the company viable.

The disintegration of value creation, which has greatly affected many industrial sectors, has also had an impact on the pharmaceutical industry, which underwent a series of profound changes. These changes were consolidated in the transition from FIPCO (fully integrated pharma company) to VIPCO (virtually integrated pharma company). In this transition, business opportunities were driven by many different entrepreneurs.

This case focuses on the search and modelling of a business opportunity in the process of disintegration of FIPCO to VIPCO. Specifically, this case is based on the experience of an entrepreneur, Sergi Trilla, who started a new outsourcing services company for the business development function in the healthcare sector. The business model he initially adopted was focused on the commercialization of products that were already being marketed, either by expanding the markets or by expanding the product portfolio for existing sales networks. This was a risky business model that led to constant financial pressures, and these were worsened by the 2008 financial crisis, which brought the company to the edge of bankruptcy. The company was forced to reinvent itself and its business model by focusing on more strategic services for clients, broadening the scope for the development phase of products, services, and business solutions – and redefining the sources of revenue for the services provided. 

Part A of the case is centred on the externalization of the business development services in the pharmaceutical sector as a business opportunity. 
 

La desintegración de la creación de valor que modificó profundamente muchos, si no todos, los sectores industriales, también tuvo su impacto en la Industria Farmacéutica que sufrió una serie de cambios que alteraron profundamente el sector. Estos cambios se consolidaron en la transición de estructuras del tipo FIPCO (Fully Integrated Pharma Company) a otras del tipo VIPCO (Virtually Integrated Pharma Company). En esta transición aparecieron oportunidades de negocio impulsadas por múltiples y variados emprendedores.

Este caso se centra en la búsqueda y modelización de una oportunidad de negocio en el proceso de desintegración de las FIPCO a VIPCO antes mencionado. En concreto, este caso se basa en la experiencia de un emprendedor, Sergi Trilla, que se planteó poner en marcha una nueva empresa de servicios de externalización de la función de "Desarrollo de Negocio" en el sector sanitario. El modelo de negocio adoptado inicialmente fue el de intermediación basado en productos que ya se comercializaban, ya sea ampliando los mercados en los que comercializar los productos o ampliando la cartera de productos a comercializar a través de las redes comerciales existentes. Se trataba de un modelo de negocio muy arriesgado que provocaba constantes tensiones financieras que se agudizaron con la crisis financiera de 2008, que llevó a la empresa al borde de la quiebra y la obligó a reinventarse y hacer evolucionar su modelo de negocio centrándolo en servicios más estratégicos para sus clientes, ampliando el alcance, en cuanto a la fase de desarrollo de productos, servicios y de las soluciones de negocio, y redefiniendo las fuentes de ingresos por los servicios prestados.

La Parte A del caso, se centra en la externalización de servicios de "Business Development" en el sector farmacéutico como oportunidad de negocio.