Asian Case Research Journal

This case portrays the experimental foray of Eveready Industries Limited in a new line of business when faced with dire consequences of survival of its core battery business. The battery business was severely hit because of cheap Chinese imports and from a position of domestic market leader, Eveready saw its position untenable during 2006 to 2008. Mr. Khaitan the Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Eveready Industries Ltd. felt that the company's problems were much deeper. On top of its falling domestic demand, the company did not have the license to sell Eveready batteries in many overseas markets.

Thus born out of sheer necessity of survival, Eveready Industries made its experimental foray of entering the LED lantern (lamp) business. This entry into a new business could, on one hand, create a new growth opportunity for catering to the BOP customer in an emerging country like India. On the other hand, these lamps would need batteries to operate on, which would create a further traction for his existing battery business. Further, if it could be provided cheaper than traditional kerosene lamps, it would fill a significant void in the market.

This experimental foray led to unprecedented success which changed the fortunes of the company from 2009 onwards. Built on the philosophy of giving better light at a lower monthly cost than running kerosene lanterns, this experimentation was a huge success. What then were the challenges and pitfalls faced by Eveready Industries in taking an alternative growth path? What were the strategies adopted in revitalizing the Company? It is quite rare in the Indian market that a consumer product can catch such a customer fancy in such a short span of time as with the LED lamps. However challenges remain as rechargeable batteries and solar lanterns could be a potential threat to the LED lantern. This case describes the innovation in the business model and leadership issues during a crisis, which resulted in revitalization of the company.

Turkish Airlines was founded in 1933 as Turkey's first flight carrier under the Ministry of Defense. In 1956, it was reorganized and operated under special legislation and renamed Türk Hava Yolları A.O. Since this time, it has continuously expanded its fleet. Under successful growth strategies, Turkish Airlines had added new flight destinations and aircrafts to enhance its values. Turkish Airlines decided to join the Star Alliance on 4 August. It had been nominated “The Best Airline” in its region and received the Aircraft Finance Journal's “2008 European Deal of the Year” award for the financing of aircraft. Turkish Airlines is known for its impeccable service, flight safety and connectivity worldwide. With its global headquarters in Istanbul, it is a gateway between east and west.

In recent years, Turkish Airlines had achieved 12% growth in its operating profits and 15% growth in its sales revenues. The number of aircraft grew by 4%, from 127 to 132. International routes accounted for 79% and domestic routes 21% of revenues from scheduled services. Turkish Airlines had established the Anadolu Jet brand and transported 13.4 million passengers to 119 destinations in 5 continents. Turkish Airlines had kept growing even during the economic crisis. This case examines the vision and mission of Turkish Airlines and its growth strategies. It also examines the marketing strategies used to pursue growth.

Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India, had plunged into a crisis due to deteriorating electricity supply and worsening law and order situation. The reason behind it was agitation by employees of Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Board (UPSEB) against the power sector reforms undertaken by the state government. As part of the reforms, the government backed unified board structure was trifurcated into separate corporate entities. The State Energy Secretary was pondering over reasons behind this impasse between UPSEB employees and the UPSEB management represented by the Uttar Pradesh Government. He had to evaluate a few available options to resolve the crisis and select the most appropriate one.

This case highlights the importance of understanding change management process. It also looks at various industrial rela-tions issues to be addressed while undergoing transition, especially in an organizational setting where the Government is a majority stakeholder. It examines the reasons behind resistance to change; and external and internal factors that may lead to industrial relations problems. The case also highlights the need for communication among all stakeholders during transition in order to avoid industrial relations problems.

Most foreign brands target first tier cities in China, thinking that demand in lower tier cities is unable to support their stores. The case describes how Xtep, a Chinese sportswear brand, succeeded in building a strong position in second and third tier cities by tapping into youth's need for expression through competitive pricing and aggressive sports and entertainment marketing. By targeting customers in less developed cities, it also avoided direct competition with wellknown brands.

This case also describes the sportswear industry, the development of second and third tier cities in China and the consumer behaviour of residents. The case requires analysis of some of the changes that are taking place in second and third tier cities in China and their implications for firms.

This case describes an American leather firm in China that has obtained a reputation for high productivity, excellent quality without QC inspectors, and very low turnover, in spite of offering only industry average compensation. Though many scholars and practitioners contend that “soft” management practices are ineffective in a high power distance country such as China, Barrington has successfully adapted programs such as “character first” and “open door policy” to create a high-involvement culture with a mix of control and commitment human resource management practices. Barrington now faces the need for rapid growth in a highly competitive, low entry barrier niche market, and management is concerned about how to maintain the intimate company culture.

The teaching notes provide background for reviewing Barrington's challenges in evolving a healthy corporate culture and management-labor relationships within the context of China's unique historic, cultural and political contexts dynamics. Yet another perspective upon these challenges is given by briefly addressing the similar experiences of China's Asian neighbors, as well as the implications of some scholars' arguments that, even in the West, commitment HRM may be more prevalent in theory than in practice.

After discussing Barrington's HRM practices of control, commitment, or hybrid, and their potential influence upon employee motivation and job satisfaction, students argue the pros and cons of the rapid expansion strategies that Barrington is considering to cope with intensifying competition and their potential influence upon the firm's company culture.

Eko Financial Service Private Limited is a young Indian start-up that uses mobile technology for bringing banking to the bottom of the pyramid market. Eko leverages the Banking Correspondent model propagated by the Reserve Bank of India, to provide bank accounts and remittance services for those who have been excluded from the formal banking institutions. With an innovative low-cost technology solution which uses open-source software and cloud computing, the case illustrates how Eko hopes to leverage the mobile revolution sweeping the country to provide financial services to the masses.

This case describes the process that the Australian juice retail chain, Boost Juice, has used to internationalize to Malaysia. The main objective of this case is to demonstrate good practice in regard to internationalization. The case provides the background of the juice bar industry in Malaysia and determines that it is an attractive market for new start-up juice bars. An analysis of Boost Juice's capability determined that the company utilized the skills of its staff, product innovations, branding and marketing as core competencies to support its internationalization into Malaysia. In particular, the company's distinctive capabilities of organizational flexibility, management skill, brand and communication enabled it to convert these core competencies into competitive advantage and secure market share in Malaysia. The Boost Juice franchise process is analysed and the control and management tools that Boost Juice utilized to support its internationalization into Malaysia are identified.

This case describes how Fujian CTS Group, a state-owned company in Fujian Province, China, transformed from a company suffering from three consecutive years of losses to a profitable conglomerate through strategic restructuring. This case focuses on the whole process of strategic restructuring, including the background of the restructuring, the formulation and implementation of the strategic restructuring plan, as well as the results of the restructuring.

FJ CTS group was founded in December 1949 as “Xiamen Overseas Chinese Service”, known as the first travel agency of PR China. After 60 years of development, Fujian CTS Group has developed into a conglomerate with core businesses of travel service, hotel, and tour bus. With the rapid development of China's tourism industry and quick change of business environment, Fujian CTS Group faced fierce competition from many domestic and foreign tourism enterprises, and the company had suffered from three consecutive years of losses since 2003. At the end of 2005, in order to get the company out of financial difficulties and achieve profitability, the board of directors of the group started to work on strategic restructuring program. At the end of 2006, the restructuring plan was completed. In early 2007, the group began the implementation of restructuring plan. Since then, with two years' great efforts, the restructuring of the group had been completed successfully. The company's overall revenue rose steadily, operating performance greatly improved. Until the end of 2009, the total assets of the group reached 13.52 billion Chinese yuan and the three core businesses (travel service segment, hotel segment, and tour bus segment) of the group all achieved good financial performance. The group has achieved turnaround through effective restructuring.