IMD business school for management and leadership courses

This case is designed to discuss the tradeoffs between independent venture capital (IVC) and corporate venture capital (CVC). Students also have the opportunity to analyze two startup investment opportunities based on Nine Realms’ criteria. The case concludes with a discussion about a strategic choice faced by Nine Realms: should it continue as an IVC, list on the stock market or shift to a CVC? This allows students to debate the tradeoffs between the two approaches for the individuals involved.

The case series is an experiential exercise in virtual collaboration based on the commercial printing industry. Teams are located in Switzerland, Germany and Italy. One team is mandated to oversee the production of two prototype printers, while the other two teams are responsible for producing the new flexographic and rotogravure protypes. The teams are given strict deadlines, budgets and operating constraints. The C case assigns the Italian team responsibility for manufacturing the rotogravure prototype.

The case series is an experiential exercise in virtual collaboration based on the commercial printing industry. Teams are located in Switzerland, Germany and Italy. One team is mandated to oversee the production of two prototype printers, while the other two teams are responsible for producing the new flexographic and rotogravure protypes. The teams are given strict deadlines, budgets and operating constraints. The B case assigns the German team responsibility for manufacturing the flexographic prototype..

The case series is an experiential exercise in virtual collaboration based on the commercial printing industry. Teams are located in Switzerland, Germany and Italy. One team is mandated to oversee the production of two prototype printers, while the other two teams are responsible for producing the new flexographic and rotogravure protypes. The teams are given strict deadlines, budgets and operating constraints. The A case mandates the Swiss team with overall responsibility for managing the production of the two prototypes.

Orsières (Valais, Switzerland) April 2020. Opaline, an original juice production company with high social and environmental standards had begun in 2010. It took founder Sofia de Meyer over 10 years to build a responsible and impactful company aligned with her own aspirations, not just a lifestyle venture but one that would capitalize on her deeply rooted values, shared with many in the valley. Opaline was her experiment to prove to the world that a different type of capitalism was possible, one that put human and environmental aspects where they belonged – at the epicenter of a business revolution. De Meyer had regularly been asked in interviews why Opaline was not trying to grow faster, rather than ensuring that its existing suppliers and distributors developed alongside the company. She always replied by drawing an analogy with a growing forest, in which no tree stood much higher than the others or else it would fall, alone, with the next storm. The analogy proved robust but now a more violent storm – a global pandemic – was brewing that was hurting everyone at once. What would it mean for all the projects the team had set out for 2020? And more fundamentally, could Opaline weather this storm as it had already done several times thanks to its strong ecosystem of partners? Would it pay the price for not having extended its roots deep enough when it could?

When SASCAR was acquired by Michelin in 2014, it was barely staying afloat, selling telematic services on price. The case describes how the new CEO and CMO turned SASCAR around in five years. Without explicitly referring to it, they used customer-centric principles: they focused on customer benefits (value conception), achieved buy-in from customers and third parties (value delivery) and got beyond the fixed-pie mindset (value capture). The results were startling: despite the growing competition, SASCAR evolved from a money losing, “me-too” local fleet management firm into a profitable leader in a growing market. The case goes on to discuss issues that the company will need to address, including performance-based business models, a branding strategy, international expansion and relations with Michelin.