Case library

38 cases from the lectures and tutorials. Each case page sets out the facts, applies module theory to it and lists the discussion questions used in class.

Showing all 38 cases

Week 1Dialogue Social Enterprise (Andreas Heinecke)Germany · Social enterprise — experiential exhibitions and workshopsA social franchise that reverses roles so blind guides lead sighted visitors, changing attitudes to disability and creating jobs.Read the case
Week 1Ooni (Kristian Tapaninaho and Darina Garland)United Kingdom (Scotland) · Consumer products — outdoor cookingA founder’s frustration with home pizza became a portable pizza oven sold to a global audience from launch.Read the case
Week 1RUR Greenlife (Monisha Narke)India · Waste management and recyclingA Mumbai venture that makes waste a resource through at-source composting, recycling partnerships and eco-education.Read the case
Week 1Calendly (Tope Awotona)United States · Software as a service (SaaS) — schedulingA scheduling app born from a salesperson’s frustration, grown through a free version that spreads every time a link is shared.Read the case
Week 1Neumarkter LammsbräuGermany · Brewing and beverages (organic)An organic brewery that solved two social dilemmas with farmers by self-commitment and collective commitment.Read the case
Week 2Airbnb: an aggregator business model in lodgingUnited States · Travel and accommodation platformA created opportunity turned into a platform business model that competes with hotels without owning any rooms.Read the case
Week 2Toyota: where innovation leads to competitivenessJapan · AutomotiveHow the four framework strategies combine to sustain a firm in global markets.Read the case
Week 2Intuitive Surgical and the da Vinci Surgical SystemUnited States · Medical technologyA discovered opportunity created by shifts in technology, demand and regulation.Read the case
Week 2Netflix versus BlockbusterUnited States · Film rental and streamingFrom filling a gap (no late fees) to creating an opportunity (films by broadband).Read the case
Week 3Secrets of Success in Long-Lasting Family Firms (Frescobaldi, Takanashi, Miele)Italy, Japan, Germany · Wine and hospitality; food and beverage distribution; household appliancesWhy a few family firms thrive for centuries: 25 principles, four categories and three living examples.Read the case
Week 3The Seibu Group: The Fall of the Seibu EmpireJapan · Railways, hotels, resorts and propertyA succession and governance failure: how protecting family control at any cost destroyed a family empire.Read the case
Week 4Grameen Bank: Muhammad Yunus and microcreditBangladesh · MicrofinanceChanging the collateral rule to let the poor borrow — the tutorial’s model of social business.Read the case
Week 4SEKEM: Ibrahim Abouleish and navigating ambivalenceEgypt · Biodynamic agriculture, organic food, pharmaceuticals, textiles and educationA holistic venture in the Egyptian desert used to teach practical reasoning when goals seem to conflict.Read the case
Week 4TOMS: the One for One modelUnited States · Footwear and accessoriesA for-profit giving model that tests the line between social value and social change.Read the case
Week 5Keurig Kold at-home soda machineUnited States · Consumer appliances and beveragesA large firm skipped the feasibility questions a start-up cannot afford to skip.Read the case
Week 5You Be the VC: Beyond Meat and Go-JekUnited States and Indonesia · Plant-based food; ride-hailing and deliveryScoring two start-up pitches on team, opportunity, industry and business model.Read the case
Week 5Beyond MeatUnited States · Plant-based foodAn investor presentation that builds the case for a plant-based meat start-up.Read the case
Week 5BirchboxUnited States · Beauty e-commerce (subscription)Using a business plan and a competition to test an idea, then pivoting the plan.Read the case
Week 5Rent the RunwayUnited States · Fashion rental e-commerceHow supplier and customer testing reshaped an idea before launch.Read the case
Week 5Embrace Infant WarmerIndia · Medical devices (social venture)Field research that turned a cheaper incubator into a new product for rural villages.Read the case
Week 6Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs: Fin Gourmet and The Object EnthusiastUSA · Food processing; craft potteryWhy funding needs change by stage, and why the right source is the one that fits the business model.Read the case
Week 6Airbnb: scaling a platform born globalUSA · Accommodation (sharing-economy platform)How a team without international experience built and defended a global advantage through a platform, culture and speed.Read the case
Week 6Uber: aggressive international expansionUSA · Transport (ride-hailing platform)How finance, experienced founders and a confrontational entry strategy drove rapid internationalisation, and where first-mover advantage ran out.Read the case
Week 6A New Era of Born Global Companies (Copenhagen Business School)Denmark (study); cases from the USA and Finland · Sharing-economy platformsHow platform-based born globals in the sharing economy differ from the born globals described in the research.Read the case
Week 6Món Huế: from rapid growth to widespread closureVietnam · Restaurants (multi-brand food service chain)What happens when expansion outpaces quality control, demand and cash flow.Read the case
Week 7TNA: a Malaysian prayer-outfit brand opens in JakartaMalaysia → Indonesia · Apparel (women’s prayer outfits); textiles and retailHow a small apparel brand moved from online exports to a wholly owned greenfield store in a psychically close market.Read the case
Week 7Lessons from international expansion: eight retailers and restaurant chainsNorth America, Europe and China · Retail and restaurants (service companies)Why Target, Tim Hortons, Best Buy, Tesco and Walmart stumbled abroad while Aldo, Carrefour and Nordstrom succeeded.Read the case
Week 7Walmart in GermanyUSA → Germany · Discount retailHow a global retailer’s acquisition-led entry failed when its US formula met German customers, competitors, unions and law.Read the case
Week 8Bill Gates’s network: Microsoft and the IBM DOS contractUnited States · Computer softwareHow one relationship outside the firm bridged a small software company to a corporate giant.Read the case
Week 9RylaUnited States · Call centre and customer care servicesHow mission-aligned venture capital added board support, recruitment and follow-on funding to a fast-growing call centre firm.Read the case
Week 10JD: Creating a Winning Marketing MixUnited Kingdom · Sports and casual fashion retailHow a single-shop retailer grew into the UK’s leading sports-fashion chain by building every P of its marketing mix around its customers.Read the case
Week 11Household Appliances Ltd and the HOTTA kettleConsumer goodsOne product, several rights: mapping each feature of a new kettle to the right form of IP protection.Read the case
Week 11Coca-Cola: overlapping IP rightsFood and drinkHow one famous product is protected by four different IP rights at once.Read the case
Week 12Tesco HomePlus virtual stores (South Korea)South Korea · Grocery retailHow a retailer entering a foreign market designed a digital service around local routines.Read the case
Week 12Rolls-Royce “Power by the Hour” (TotalCare)United Kingdom · Aerospace enginesBusiness model innovation: from selling engines to selling flying hours, made possible by IoT data.Read the case
Week 12Anyyogi, kawaloo and LogCorp: launching platform start-upsGermany · Digital platforms (fitness, storage, courier logistics)Three German start-ups show three ways to solve a platform’s chicken-and-egg problem.Read the case
Week 12Jolla: the power of the crowdMobile technologyReward-based crowdfunding used to fund a product, test demand and build an international customer base at once.Read the case
Week 12LebMall and WIB: digital entrepreneurship in LebanonLebanon · E-commerce (multi-vendor marketplace; beauty and health retail)What weak institutions, costly infrastructure and strong personal networks mean for online businesses in a developing country.Read the case