Emerald | Emerging Markets Case Studies Collection | Recently published items

GranuLab (C): internationalizing GranuMaS

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Title – GranuLab (C): internationalizing GranuMaS. Subject area – The area of focus is on internationalization strategies, specifically on developing suitable strategies to support an internationalization initiative of a new medical device company. Study level/applicability – This case is designed for final year undergraduate and MBA students. It is suitable for courses of organizational management, organization theory and design, strategic management, and international business as well as international marketing. Case overview – GranuLab, a medical device company that produced the synthetic bone graft substitute GranuMaS, aspired to be a high-growth company. To achieve this aspiration the company had made plans for internationalization, which include penetrating the ASEAN, Middle East, Latin American, and African markets within the next five years. By December 2010, GranuLab had completed the construction of its new manufacturing facility in Shah Alam, about 30?km from Malaysia's capital city of Kuala Lumpur. This manufacturing facility had the capability to produce high volumes to support the company's high growth plan. However, the company's internationalization processes had taken longer than expected and this has led to a low business volume. By mid-2012, the company was forced to make a quick decision as it had suffered a year and a half of operations losses. GranuLab had to formulate a strategy as to how to position GranuMaS and penetrate the targeted markets. Failure to internationalize would incur even greater losses and might hinder the achievement of its high growth aspiration by 2015. Expected learning outcomes – This case is designed to stimulate case analysts' thinking into providing recommendations for the appropriate internationalization strategies to be adopted by the management team to ensure that the company could succeed in achieving its goals. The case will expose students to the concepts and theories of strategic management, international business, international entrepreneurship; and facilitate the development of students' abilities to apply those concepts in managerial situations. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Colchones Eldorado: dreaming of innovating

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Delio I. Castaneda, Luisa F. Manrique) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Title – Colchones Eldorado: dreaming of innovating. Subject area – Innovation and creativity in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America. Study level/applicability – The case is recommended for creativity and innovation subjects, in undergraduate and MBA levels. The case is also suggested for subjects associated with the organizational dynamics on SMEs. Case overview – Colchones Eldorado is a Colombian company dedicated to the bedding industry. The company was founded in 1957 by Gumercindo Gómez Caro, a creative man who in 1959 invented a machine to make springs, which allowed the company to grow steadily for several decades. On November 18, 2004, the founder's daughter, Martha Luz Gómez, was appointed as General Manager. On April 2011 it obtained a license from Sealy, the biggest mattress making company in the USA. The license implied a challenge – testing the company's innovative capacities to adapt Sealy mattresses to satisfy consumers in the Colombian market. Expected learning outcomes – Students are shown the characteristics of the creative and innovation process in a Latin American SME, and the innovation challenges which are faced. From the reading and the case discussion, the students should be able to: analyse the manifestations of the creative process in an SME; identify examples of the innovation types of an SME; and discuss the organizational conditions to answer the creativity and innovation challenges in an SME. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Crediamigo: partnering with Vivacred?

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Frédéric Lavoie, Emmanuel Raufflet) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – Crediamigo: partnering with Vivacred? Subject area – Microfinance organizations, strategy. Study level/applicability – The case is suitable for undergraduate and MBA courses: strategic management, social entrepreneurship. Case overview – In Fortaleza, January 2008, an urban microfinance manager and the planning committee of Crediamigo, Brazil's largest microfinance institution need to devise an entry strategy to Rio de Janeiro's microfinance market. A part of the Banco do Nordeste, and a regional development bank for ten years, Crediamigo has 400,000 clients in the Northeast of Brazil. Its objective is to double its clients base for 2011; Rio de Janeiro's market was the next priority. Crediamigo has two options. The first consists of partnering with VivaCred, a small experienced microcredit non-governmental organization (NGO) which operates in Rio de Janeiro's slums. VivaCred was a microfinance NGO with relatively low organizational capabilities and with a low performance in terms of loan repayment. Its lending methodologies were different from Crediamigo's experience. The second option was to set up a new branch of Crediamigo in Rio and to shape it in Crediamigo's image. The committee was aware that this, “far away from home”, would be a costly and slow venture. Expected learning outcomes – After using this case, students will: have been exposed to the strategic, managerial and operational challenges of microfinance expansion in an emerging country; understand better the market entry strategy (acquisition/integration of an organization vs green field) in such a context; have discussed the conditions related to the replication of microcredit methodologies (individual, group and village lending methodologies) in their contexts of operations. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Should “Tbgo” be dropped from UCF's product portfolio?

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Prafulla Kumar Das) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – Should “Tbgo” be dropped from UCF's product portfolio? Subject area – Business administration, brand management, marketing management, international marketing, strategic marketing. Study level/applicability – This case is suitable for MBA students with exposure to marketing strategy and basic marketing. It may also be useful for junior and middle level marketing professionals during their training programs. This case-study may find its application while teaching strategic marketing, marketing management, international marketing and pharmaceutical management. Case overview – Unicare Formulations was a reputable pharmaceutical company in India. It started small and with the growth of the industry, it could capture significant market share in it chosen segments. It introduced brands in small and niche areas with low innovation and where bigger companies showed little interest. It also infused new blood through outside talent. It brought newer brands to its brand portfolio. A relatively new but promising brand – Tbgo – was struggling. Its marketing head was confused whether to continue with the brand. He needs advice based on management principles. Expected learning outcomes – After covering this case study, a student should be able to: use SWOT and environmental analyses to solve complex business problems; explain segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) and shall be able to use those for preparing marketing strategy; use 4Ps in different combinations in planning brand strategies; use Ansoff's model (product-market grid); use Porter's generic strategy to analyze brand performance and to take appropriate action for brand revival; and internalize the intricacies of brand-building and their impacts on the business performance of a firm. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Why are China's companies doing overseas M&As? The case of Geely and Volvo

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Chunjia Han, Stephen Rhys Thomas) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – Why are China's companies doing overseas M&As? The case of Geely and Volvo. Subject area – Mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategy. Study level/applicability – This case could be applied in several courses: a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) course, to introduce the various motives for firms doing M&A, a strategy course exploring a company's strategy exploration and decision processes, or in a marketing course as an example about emerging and global market interaction. The target audience is primarily final year or Masters' and MBA students. It would also be useful for executive education seminars. Case overview – The Case provides learning opportunities about how companies encounter threats due to changing market or fiscal conditions, find ways to address their individual challenges yet achieve mutual benefit, by taking advantage of market-induced opportunities for strategic change, which have been triggered by a combination of situational factors. Expected learning outcomes – The case can be used to illustrate and discuss several important aspects of the growth of companies in emerging markets, including: motives for making M&As; strategic options and selection in the emerging industry; and how regional firms can respond to globalization. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSR in banking in emerging markets – stakeholder perspective

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Stephanie Jones) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – CSR in banking in emerging markets – stakeholder perspective. Subject area – This case considers the attitudes of stakeholders in a risk management challenge of a major foreign bank operating in an emerging market country in the Mediterranean region. The case provides insights into the task facing an international organisation trying to operate in a socially-responsible way in a developing economy, where operating conditions are quite different from the head office environment. Study level/applicability – The case is designed for MBA and MSc students studying corporate social responsibility (CSR), international business, emerging markets, country risk (and related subjects). Case overview – The case discusses the implications of the actions of a negligent/possibly dishonest lawyer in undermining an international bank's risk management systems. The lawyer did not register the sale of a house, causing it to be repossessed by the bank, thinking that the property still belonged to the vendor, who had allowed a large overdraft to accumulate. By chance, the repossession of the house and subsequent forced judicial sale was averted, but to ensure undisputed ownership the real owner of the house was left with heavy legal bills. There were several players possibly at fault here: the lawyer; the bank; the vendor; the local courts; and the real estate agents (who recommended the dishonest lawyer to the purchaser in the first place). Expected learning outcomes – These include a clearer understanding of the different stakeholder perspectives, and a greater appreciation of the challenges of doing business for a Western multinational company now operating in emerging markets worldwide. Social implications – The concept of CSR in emerging markets is very different from the way CSR is viewed in more developed ones – posing several challenges for international companies (especially banks) in the way they operate. Making assumptions of ethical ways of doing business can cause great problems, as discussed in this case – especially in the way that different stakeholders are impacted. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Denbigh Showground: a potential “agri-cultural” attraction concept for tourism in Jamaica

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Gaunette Sinclair-Maragh) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – Denbigh Showground: a potential “agri-cultural” attraction concept for tourism in Jamaica. Subject area – The proposed areas of study for this case are strategic management, marketing, tourism planning and development, hospitality management, attraction management and special event planning and management. Study level/applicability – The case is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing courses in the areas of strategic management, marketing, tourism planning and development, hospitality and tourism management, attraction management and special event planning and management. Case overview – The Denbigh Showground located in the parish of Clarendon, Jamaica, is the venue of the annual Agricultural and Industrial Show. Three separate studies conducted indicated the need for its development to enable the use of the facility all year round and to contribute to the socio-economic development of the parish. Suggested development options from these studies included a fun and amusement park, a site for eco-tourism and a multi-purpose agri-cultural facility with linkages to the parish's cultural legacies and places of interest. The large land acreage could facilitate its development, making the property a leading “agri-cultural” attraction concept. Expected learning outcomes – The students should be able to: identify the typology of the Denbigh Showground as an attraction; categorize the product offerings of the Denbigh Showground from a marketing perspective; explain the factors to consider regarding the development of the showground; analyze the socio-economic contributions of the facility to the parish of Clarendon and the community's attitude towards the development of the showground; discuss the potential uses of the Denbigh Showground that can make it a leading international “agri-cultural” attraction; synthesize the concept of sustainable tourism development and its importance to the development and viability of the attraction for future generations; and assess other tourism concepts such as community-based tourism, special interest tourism and alternative tourism and how they relate to the development of the Denbigh Showground. Social implications – This case study will help students understand the concept of an agri-cultural attraction and its impact on the socio-economic development of the surrounding communities and the country as a whole. The case will contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the areas of community development and residents' perception regarding tourism development. It offers insights to both potential and current investors; provides practical guidance to the government and other tourism planners to enable better planning for the areas' future growth and development; and serves as a reference for academicians as well as undergraduate and graduate students. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or e-mail: support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Feixiang to FOTILE: growth of a family business

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Jianchang Liu, Kathryn Carlson Heler) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – Feixiang to FOTILE: growth of a family business. Subject area – Strategy. Study level/applicability – The case is suitable for upper level undergraduate business and MBA students. Case overview – FOTILE, one of the family businesses in Zhejiang, China, has now become the leading brand in the China kitchen appliance industry and has successfully entered into the global market. It has gone from a traditional family business in the 1980s to a modern enterprise because of the successful transformation from the first generation (Father: Lixiang Mao) to the second generation (Son: Zhongqun Mao) and the blending of a family business with the modern enterprise system. They both have strong beliefs that family businesses have their own advantages, but they have different ways and strategies of running the business. The case describes the process of how the father and his son worked together designing the strategies to successfully grow FOTILE. Expected learning outcomes – The case is a vehicle for exploring strategies to operate a family business, to successfully develop a sustainability model, to manage a growing company through its entrepreneurial stage, and to merge western business culture with Chinese Confucian culture. It should help students to: explore strategies of managing/leading a family business and transferring successfully the business from one generation to the next; understand the importance of marketing, focusing on overall strategy and sustainability; know how to identify market opportunities, exhibit start-up intent, perform start-up planning, mission development, and feasibility analysis, and acquiring initial resources; and appreciate the close link between culture and strategy. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or e-mail support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Noah Wealth Management

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – Noah Wealth Management. Subject area – Entrepreneurship. Study level/applicability – This case is suitable for MBA, EMBA and advanced undergraduate students. Case overview – Noah Wealth Management was founded by Ms Wang Jingbo, a lady in her mid 30s with a team of less than 20 members in 2005. Exploiting market opportunities offered by a lack of good wealth management products and services, Noah grew rapidly from one branch office in 2005 to 59 branch offices in 2011, reaching a staff size of 1,031. Noah listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in November 2010. In 2011, Noah was ranked No. 38 among the 100 Top Potential Enterprises in China. Nonetheless, Noah faced several problems of internal management during the course of its fast expansion. In the first quarter financial report of 2012, Noah suffered a 52.6 percent decrease in net income over the corresponding period in 2011. Faced with a rapidly declining share price, Noah announced on May 22, 2012 a US $30 million share repurchase program. Expected learning outcomes – The case supports a basic lesson on the entrepreneurial cycle, including assessing a business opportunity, resource mobilization, identifying a business model, growth of the venture, listing on the stock market, and subsequent growth challenges. Students can learn about some of the typical dilemmas faced by founders of entrepreneurial ventures, including how to maintain the corporate culture while growing fast and how to prevent members of the founding team from becoming bottlenecks to the development of the organization. The case can also provide management students with an overview of China's wealth management industry. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

The rule of traffic forecasting in railway logistics: the case of the central corridor in East Africa

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Japhet Gabriel Mbura) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – The rule of traffic forecasting in railway logistics: the case of the central corridor in East Africa. Subject area – This case study intends to add knowledge and understanding of supply chain management particularly with respect to international logistics. Study level/applicability – The case study can be used in both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Students pursuing Master of Science in Logistics, Supply Chain Management and those doing bachelor degrees in the same areas can have a better insight and special interest of the case. Professional boards may also use the case to empirically make students understand this area. Case overview – The railway sub-sector in East Africa – Tanzania in particular – is an important transport mode but has a declining performance. The market share is estimated at only 4 percent of the freight market. Still knowledge about traffic, particularly for freight, is scant. The main dilemma is whether traffic of the central corridor is more intra- or inter-Tanzania. The case studies techniques appropriate for meaningful traffic forecasting and through a simple regression model it resolves the freight conflicts between Kenya rail and the Central Corridor. It provides students with applied traffic forecasting tools. Expected learning outcomes – The case focuses on techniques of traffic forecasting, development of traffic scenarios and on issues related to intermodal transport especially between road, rail and ocean. At the end of using this Case students should be able to: explain the methods, techniques and models used in traffic forecasting; understand intermodal linkages in international Logistics; use different approaches to make logistics market assessment; and forecast traffic in all modes using different scenarios. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or e-mail support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

High rise in Ho Chi Minh City

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Sundar Venkatesh) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – High rise in Ho Chi Minh City. Subject area – The case covers capital budgeting practice in a real estate company in Vietnam. Study level/applicability – The case is ideally suited for participants in MBA, Executive MBA, and Masters in Finance programmes. It can be taught near the end of a course on corporate finance/financial management. It can also be taught as an advanced topic in financial management courses. Case overview – A real estate company in Vietnam has prepared a capital budget for, what it claims is, a 600 billion VND project. The weighted average cost of capital used by the company is 10.64 percent. An analyst in a consulting company is asked to thoroughly review the capital budget of what appears to be a project that is too good to be true. Lending rates in Vietnam at this time were around 15 percent. Expected learning outcomes – Participants will learn how to correctly apply the principles of computing: net after tax cash flows from a project; and weighted average cost of capital, particularly in the context of real estate companies. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

A new business model to Chinese style agricultural industrialization

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Zheng Wang, Guiping Lin) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – A new business model to Chinese style agricultural industrialization. Subject area – Start-ups in emerging markets, entrepreneurship, business models and strategy. Study level/applicability – The case is suitable for MBA and EMBA graduate and undergraduate students in strategic management, finance and the relevant areas. Case overview – This case provides a real-life entrepreneurial situation in agricultural industry in China. The protagonist of the case is the founder and CEO of the start-up Harvest Agricultural Technology and Development Company Limited (Harvest). From his perspective, the case depicts the current business environment for private companies in China, and presents the opportunities and challenges a new start-up faces in this environment. Agricultural industry plays an important role in the Chinese economy. Especially because in China land is owned by the state or collective, agricultural industrialization has more significance and experiences greater difficulties. The company in the case explores the situation of integrating the different stakeholders of agricultural production and delivery given the current political and economic environment. The case describes the characteristics and quality that a typical Chinese entrepreneur has and questions why such factors matter so much in China. The case emphasizes the strategic planning process of Harvest and its unprecedented business model design. The case also touches upon the growth pattern of entrepreneurial companies in China. All the above issues deserve discussion and in-depth analysis. Expected learning outcomes – After studying this case, students should be able to: describe the business environment in China and identify the stakeholders of the agricultural industry in China; describe the process and value chain of agriculture production and delivery by adopting management models if necessary; discuss the personality and quality of the founder and CEO and compare his characteristics with that of western entrepreneurs and analyse why these characteristics are helpful (or detrimental) to the start-up company; analyse the development of business model designs, and identify the merits, drawbacks and risks of each version of business model; analyse the competitive advantages of Harvest, and identify the key resources and capacities with management models if necessary; discuss different possibilities of Harvest's future with evidence and process analysis; discuss whether the business model and the development strategy of Harvest are applicable to other companies or industries; discuss how setting the goal of going public on the first day Harvest was founded will affect the development of the company; and compare the business models of Harvest with other companies serving as a platform in a different industry (i.e. Taobao marketplace). Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Financing technology startups: an entrepreneur's dilemma

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Arun Kumar Gopalaswamy, Saji K. Mathew) — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 +0100

Title – Financing technology startups: an entrepreneur's dilemma. Subject area – Entrepreneurship, finance, technology and innovation, general management. Study level/applicability – This case is suitable for students in finance, entrepreneurship and general management. The case seeks to understand the challenges of funding in technology startups and how they vary from product to service areas. Case overview – Availability of capital, short term and long term, is a major constraint faced by entrepreneurs. In India, in the technology sector, services companies have been able to innovate and grow whereas product-based companies that survived the challenges of funding have been scarce. Aluru Karthik Prasanth is presented in the case as a young entrepreneur with passion and drive to pursue the commercialization of an idea he developed during his undergraduate studies in engineering. Leaving behind the beaten paths of MTech and employment, he decides to pursue MS entrepreneurship at IIT Madras. As he starts with his program, he analyses the challenges faced by previous technology start ups, Karthik has a dilemma – deciding whether to follow a product idea or change his plans to a technology service. Expected learning outcomes – A detailed analysis of the case would help students address the following questions in entrepreneurial decision making: should an entrepreneur in technology in India pursue a product idea or service idea?. What are the pros and cons of each choice in financing? How can an entrepreneur pursue a product idea and minimize his/her risks? How does an entrepreneur's personal attributes influence his/her course? (e.g. family background, need for control) What are the challenges and opportunities in each kind of funding: debt, venture, angel, etc. in the Indian context? Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Drop-offs in the Asian electronics market: unloading Bolipps and Canssonic

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – Drop-offs in the Asian electronics market: unloading Bolipps and Canssonic. Subject area – International business – sell-off and joint venture. Study level/applicability – This case is suitable for graduation and post graduation (BBA, MBA) and other management programs. The courses include multinational business environment and strategic management. Case overview – A significant increase in the Asian electronics business has created a global platform for international vendors and customers. Indeed, Chinese and Korean firms have become the foremost manufacturing and fabrication nucleus for electronic supplies in the world economy. In fact, it is an example of success from Asian emerging markets. This case presents the strategies of Asian rivals in the electronics business that shows both Bolipps and Canssonic redesigning and restructuring global tactics for long-term sustainable success in the given market. It also discusses the reasons behind their current mode of business and post-deal issues. Expected learning outcomes – The case describes a way to impart managerial and leadership strategies from regular business operations happening in and around the world. Solely, it focuses on designing inorganic choices such as sell-offs, joint ventures, shuffle and merging strategies through theory to application. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Ethical decision making in a critical development phase

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Hao Chen, Xiaoming Zheng, Lijuan Liu) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – Ethical decision making in a critical development phase. Subject area – Ethical decision making, business ethics. Study level/applicability – This case is applicable to MBA, EDP and EMBA courses. Case overview – TOREAD, a professional provider of outdoor equipment in China, started in business by producing and selling tents. To meet market demand, TOREAD expanded its product line which ranges from outdoor durable tent products to “pan-outdoor” products including footwear and clothing. During the critical expansion phase, TOREAD was challenged by a quality problem in a batch of outsourced sandals that had been manufactured by a contracted supplier. By researching different options and going through an ethical decision making process, TOREAD made the choice of destroying all “problem sandals”. Since then, TOREAD has focused development on product quality improvement and product innovation to establish a sustainable brand image and generate social benefits. TOREAD's decision making in the critical development phase helped it to become the leader in the outdoor product industry in China. Expected learning outcomes – This case may be used for courses such as business ethics and strategy. By learning this case, students can understand the process of making ethical decisions when facing moral dilemmas among corporate decision makers, employees and relevant interested parties, and learn how to make strategic decisions to balance company profit growth and social benefits in critical development phases. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Ommune IT Solutions: make or break

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Monica Singhania, Syed Ashraf Husain) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Title – Ommune IT Solutions: make or break. Subject area – Accounting and finance, entrepreneurship and business strategy. Study level/applicability – The case is suitable for the following courses: post graduate programs in entrepreneurship; executive training programs for middle and senior level employees; and MBA/post graduate programs in management in strategic management. Case overview – The case deals with an entrepreneurship venture whose initial business model appeared to be faltering with the founder wondering about the future of the company. After Ommune Solutions’ (founded 2010) initial business plan failed, the company started offering IT outsourcing services to Indian customers. However, the company was spending more that it was earning and the CEO generated additional revenues through independent consulting. By 2012 a customer relationship management (CRM) tool was also ready for release. The company was another IT start up yet to find a firm footing. The CEO wondered whether he should continue to build the company and, if so, in which direction? Expected learning outcomes – These include: the use of SWOT analysis as a tool to aid strategic decision making along with Porter's five competitive forces model and the BCG matrix; using cost benefit analysis for evaluating business decisions; understanding the complexities involved in a strategic planning process; and identifying unnecessary cost and increasing revenue generation for expansion and maximizing profitability. Social implications – The case provides insight on challenges faced by a venture at an early stage in the business environment and the venture is analyzed in depth. It gives students a perspective on decision making and adapting to scenarios where initial business plans appear not to have succeeded. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.