Chicanery is common in the start-up world: With so much at stake, founders are apt to exaggerate, obfuscate, and otherwise stretch the truth when courting investors and other important stakeholders. Such deception locks up resources by prolonging the life of doomed ventures and makes it hard for VCs and employees to know where best to invest their money or labor. It also exacts a personal toll on founders themselves. The authors take a multidisciplinary .....more

This package begins with "What the West Gets Wrong About China," by Rana Mitter and Elsbeth Johnson, which discusses three fundamental misconceptions: that economics and democracy are two sides of the same coin; that authoritarian political systems can''t be legitimate; and that the Chinese live, work, and invest like Westerners. "The Strategic Challenges of Decoupling," by J. Stewart Black and Allen J. Morrison, contains .....more

Everyone knows that success at work depends on being--and being seen as--both competent and likable. You need people to notice your growth and accomplishments while also enjoying your company. But if you draw attention to the value you''ve created, to ensure that managers and peers recognize it, you risk coming across as a shameless self-promoter. No one likes a braggart. In this article the author explains how to highlight your accomplishments .....more

Set in July 2020, this case talks about a solar park public-private partnership (PPP) project in Madhya Pradesh, India. Manu Srivastava, Chairperson of Rewa Ultra-Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL), and his team had decided to go ahead with the project without the support of viability gap funding (VGF). However, the project faced a setback when the central government lowered the solar VGF tariff by 10%, forcing RUMSL to look for innovative ways of attracting .....more

In August 2004, Interbolsa''s risk management committee had to decide upon a request to double the authorized quota for repurchase agreements (repos) on Interbolsa''s own stock. Two months earlier, Jorge Arabia had joined Interbolsa, the largest stock brokerage firm in Colombia, as CFO. In this role, he had a seat in the risk management committee. Arabia had noticed that these repos carried large and diverse risks, not only for the .....more

In August 2004, Interbolsa''s risk management committee had to decide upon a request to double the authorized quota for repurchase agreements (repos) on Interbolsa''s own stock. Two months earlier, Jorge Arabia had joined Interbolsa, the largest stock brokerage firm in Colombia, as CFO. In this role, he had a seat in the risk management committee. Arabia had noticed that these repos carried large and diverse risks, not only for the .....more

The case guides students to resolve a number of questions when embracing a new technology, with a focus on Blockchain, a radical new technology that has attracted a lot of hype although the adoption rate remains low among firms. Consequently, there are few successful business applications and many challenges, uncertainties and risks to be overcome. The case emphasizes two aspects of Blockchain. How to adapt a business''s involvement with .....more

This case describes how the Chinese internet healthcare company Ping An Good Doctor created a nondisruptive solution for addressing a key challenge in China''s healthcare industry: Seeking healthcare was difficult for many Chinese people due to the relative scarcity and uneven distribution of high-quality healthcare services. While the government and some internet healthcare market pioneers tried to increase the supply of medical resources .....more

PUB, Singapore''s National Water Agency, is one of the heaviest users of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in the public sector. As of 2020, it had awarded seven PPP contracts for a total of five desalination and three NEWater plants. Among the key features of PUB''s PPP projects were the adoption of the Design, Build, Own and Operate (DBOO) project structure; a 25-year concession period; and small-sized project teams. The .....more

nam.R, a data-driven start-up based in Paris, embarked on an ambitious plan to contribute to address global warming using open data. From its launch in 2017, using open-data sources augmented by sophisticated data analytics, nam.R has constructed a "digital twin" of every single building in France by early 2020. It requires vast quantities of data to be extracted, aggregated, cleaned and reorganized in diverse formats from different providers. .....more