Happy Shrimp Farm: Social responsibility & multiple stakeholders

Many C-suite executives are torn between the need for a green transition and maintaining a competitive advantage. Here are five ways to find a clear path ahead.

GEA Chief Sustainability Office Nadine Sterlye explains how the engineering giant is working with upstream suppliers and downstream customers to reduce Scope 3 emissions

Leaders must balance conviction with caution. Speaking Up and Staying Strategic explores how to advance inclusion goals while navigating polarized workplaces.

IMD Professor Omar Toulan speaks with Dan Luo at OWP Singapore about driving growth, profitability, and leadership across global brands like Heinz and Lego.

European innovation can be a force for resilience, transformation and global leadership. And yet it is often overlooked due to the geographical bloc’s fragmented markets, risk-averse culture, regulatory complexity and limited access to growth capi...

The case examines how DNB Bank, Norway's largest financial services company, reshaped its growth strategy by focusing on startups and SMEs, a segment traditionally considered unprofitable. In 2013, DNB launched a bold SME strategy, deliberately choosing a gross approach to win new startups early in their life cycle rather than a net approach focused on the profitability of existing accounts. This strategy, enabled by a significant investment in digitalization and a cultural shift toward customer lifecycle engagement, generated exceptional results and by 2025, the SME segment delivered the highest return on allocated capital. The journey, however, was not linear. A European regulatory crackdown in 2019, following the Danske Bank money laundering scandal, forced DNB to shift its focus from growth to compliance. The bank reallocated 1,000 employees to KYC units, dismantling its startup-friendly onboarding process and causing customer acquisition to stall. As competitors advanced, DNB had to orchestrate a strategic Restart effort to rebuild its SME leadership. This involved launching superior digital tools, providing automated lending decisions within a minute, and renewing its customer-centric focus. By 2025, the recovery was well underway, with one in three Norwegian SMEs banking with DNB. The case challenges students to evaluate DNB's past choices, the critical balance between growth and compliance, and the future of SME banking as AI and digital agents transform customer interactions.

Las estrategias de economía circular y regeneración están transformando el crecimiento empresarial frente al cambio climático, la escasez de recursos y la tensión geopolítica, dentro de los límites del planeta.

Las economías emergentes impulsan una nueva era energética: de Brasil a India, la energía se convierte en ventaja competitiva y motor del crecimiento sostenible.

Novonesis CEO Ester Baiget shares how advanced tech and a unique ‘library of strengths’ are transforming food production and laundry solutions globally.

The case follows Kristin Hull, founder and CIO of Nia Impact Capital, a mission-driven investment firm in California, as she faces a pivotal decision in July 2025: Should she file a shareholder resolution against Tesla, Inc.? Hull and Nia have engaged Tesla for over five years on issues of human capital management, workplace equity and board oversight. In 2025, the stakes are higher. Tesla is facing mounting reputational, legal and operational risks, including civil rights litigation, governance controversies and product recalls, compounding the previous year's 53% decline in profits. Now, Hull must decide between two draft resolutions: one framed in the language of social justice, the other in terms of business efficiency and governance. A third option is to total withdraw from the engagement. This decision must be made in a shifting US political and regulatory context marked by heightened scrutiny of environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and a national rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitments. The polarized climate makes language and framing not just strategic choices but also existential ones: How can impact investors continue to advance their missions while maintaining legitimacy and influence in an increasingly hostile environment? Designed to mirror the complexity of real-world decision making, the case immerses students in an environment of competing pressures, contradictory information and media "noise." It reflects the paradoxes impact investors face: staying true to the mission vs. maintaining strategic influence; framing issues in values-based vs. efficiency-based language; and exercising leadership amid political backlash and reputational risk. The case is suitable for courses on sustainable finance, non-market strategy, governance and leadership. It challenges students to explore fiduciary duty, rethink the role of shareholder engagement, and consider how language and framing can serve as tools of influence in turbulent times.