Cases Program

Case Writing Competition 2020

Submitted case studies should be suitable for use in management, entrepreneurship and finance education and should address issues faced by real organizations and/or individuals.

• Applicants must be professors, teachers, research assistants or students currently affiliated to university institutions, without any geographical restrictions.
• Submitted cases may have multiple authors, but each author can submit one case only.

Rewards

Showcase
Be added to the oikos free Case Collection and gain wide visibility

Award
The finalist cases will be awarded three prizes: First Prize (1,000 CHF), Second Prize (500 CHF), and Third Prize (250 CHF).

Engage
Engage with peers and organisations and learn about their latest tools, actions and initiatives. The first winner will be invited to join the oikos FutureLab 2021 – Fees, accommodation and travel costs will be covered!

Inspire
Share your experiences and solutions with students across the globe and practitioners seeking innovations. 

Important dates

Submission deadline: May 15, 2020

Notification of first-round decision: June 30, 2020

Deadline for revision of finalist cases: August 15, 2020

Notification of final decisions: September 30, 2020

In case of questions on this Call for Cases, please visit our website or contact the oikos team at case@oikos-international.org

Evaluation Criteria

The Committees will pay particular attention to:

• Case Quality (5 points): The case study will be judged on the basis of the style of the writing, the clarity of the presentation of concepts and rigorousness in the use of data.
• Sustainability (5 points): The content will be reviewed by the relevance of the topic to sustainability and the potential positive impact of the solution on the environment. 
• Innovation and replication (3 points): Scoring will be reflecting the degree of innovation of the idea and concepts and consider the potential for replication of the case study’s subject of matter.  
• Innovative and Creative Teaching Note (5 points): The Teaching note evaluation will consider the clarity and comprehensiveness of the instructions and the innovativeness of the teaching method (e.g. use of new technologies, multi-disciplinarily, interactivity).
• Letter of support (1 point): An extra judging point will be awarded for presenting, at the time of the application, a letter of support from a relevant academic or faculty staff member of the home University. 
• One page presentation (1 point): An extra judging point will be awarded for the submission, at the time of the application, of a one-single page factsheet or one/two slide powerpoint presentation.

Review process

Accepted submissions are subject to a two-step and anonymous review process.

• In the first step, submitted cases will be reviewed by a Case Student Committee composed by selected students from universities worldwide. On a specific set of criteria, the Student Committee will score and select up to 10 cases.
• The 10 cases will be sent to and reviewed by a Case Faculty Committee composed by expert faculty members. The Case Faculty Committee will be sending back structured feedback and authors will have the opportunity to revise their work before submitting it for the second round of the review process.
• Once finalized by their authors, the 10 cases will be submitted for the second round to both the Case Faculty Committee and the Student Committee. 
• The 10 case studies will be scored both by the Student Committee and the Faculty Committee on the same set of criteria and, according to the score, three winning case studies identified and awarded.

Abstracts and further information about the winning and runner-up cases are available by award year below or in alphabetical order in the oikos Case Collection.

2019

1st Prize: B-LINE SUSTAINABLE URBAN DELIVERY: CAN LAST-MILE BICYCLE DELIVERY SURVIVE THE E-COMMERCE MINEFIELD?

By Prof. Madeleine Pullman, Prof. Jacen Greene, Prof. Wanying Shi, and Stephan Kaplan, Portland State University, Portland, USA.

2nd Prize: Authenticitys: who said unicorns are legendary?

By Chiara De Bernardi and Prof. Daniel Arenas Vives, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart – Milano, Milan, Italy; ESADE Business School, Barcelona, Spain.

3rd Prize: Sistema Biobolsa: Addressing Challenges of Climate Change, Sustainable Agriculture and Waste Management in Mexico 

By Indu Perepu, ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad, India

2018

Corporate Sustainability:

1st Prize: Eliminating Modern Slavery from Supply Chains: Can Nestlé Lead the Way?

By Syeda Maseeha Qumer & Debapratim Purkayastha, ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad, India

2nd Prize: Volkswagen’s Emissions Scandal: How Could it Happen?

By N. Craig Smith & Erin McCormick, INSEAD; France

3rd Prize: Candy Crush? Aligning Health, Business, and Pleasure in the Chocolate Industry

By Laura Heely & Pierre Chandon, INSEAD; France

Runner-up: ecostore – the Carbon CaptureTM Pak decision

By Michaela Balzarova & Pavel Castka, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

Runner-up: Employee Diversity at High Beam Global: An Inclusive Approach

By Reshmi Manna, Richa Bajpai (ICFAI Business School-Gurgaon, India) and Ankit Singh (Pantaloons, India)

Social Entrepreneurship:

1st Prize: Jaipur Rugs –Empowering Communities at the Bottom of the Pyramid through Social Innovation

By Syeda Maseeha Qumer & Geeta Singh, ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad, India

2nd Prize: Preserve: Growing a Sustainable Consumer Goods Company

By Sinan Erzurumlu, Babson College, USA

Runner-up: Sustainability International’s Alliance with ConsenSys – Leveraging Technology for Social Impact

By Shwetha Kumari, Amity Research Centers, Bangalore, India

Runner-up: Babban Gona’s Agri-Franchising Model: Scaling up Challenges

By Manish Agarwal & D Satish, ICFAI Business School Hyderabad, India

Sustainable Finance:

1st Prize: Can Barry Callebaut Attract Sustainable Investment with its ‘Forever Chocolate’ Strategy?

By Debapratim Purkayastha (ICFAI Business School Hyderabad, India), Trilochan Tripathy (XLRI, Jamshedpur, India) and Benudhar Sahu (ICFAI Business School Hyderabad, India)

2nd Prize: Saudi Aramco

By Alok Kavthankar & Indu Perepu,  ICFAI Business School Hyderabad, India

3rd Prize: Regulations for a Sustainable Finance Sector

By Gaya Branderhors, Harvard University, Extension School, USA

2017

Corporate Sustainability:

1st Prize: The venture Freitag: From recycled bags to sustainable fashion
By Reinhard von Wittken (TUM School of Management at Technical University of Munich, Germany)

2nd Prize: Uber and the Ethics of Sharing: Exploring the Societal Promises and Responsibilities of the Sharing Economy 
By Erin McCormick and N. Craig Smith (INSEAD)

3rd Prize: Wind in the Sails: Managing Social Acceptance of Large Wind Energy Projects in Switzerland
By Anna Ebers Broughel (University of Saint Gallen, Switzerland)

Runner-up: ‘Enrich Not Exploit’: Can New CSR Strategy Help Body Shop Regain Glory?
By Syeda Maseeha Qumer and Debapratim Purkayastha (both from ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad)

Runner-up:  Tongwei – Sustainability Entrepreneurship through Market-Political Ambidexterity
By Xuanwei Cao (XJTLU, China)

Social Entrepreneurship:

1st Prize: Dharani: Nurturing the earth, fostering farmers’ livelihoods
By Joseph Satish V (Centre for Knowledge, Culture and Innovation Studies at University of Hyderabad, India) and C Shambu Prasad (Institute of Rural Management Anand, India).

2nd Prize: 
Coming to Fruition: Fresh Truck Aims to Increase Food Access in Boston
By Nardia Haigh, Anya Weber, Jennie Msall (all from University of Massachusetts Boston, USA)

3rd Prize: Bridge International Academies
By Manish Agarwal and D. Satish (IBS Hyderabad, IFHE University, India)

Runner-up: eVidyaloka: Digital Classrooms for Underprivileged 
By Atul Kumar Singh and Vanishree Sattiraju (XLRI Jamshedpur, India)

Runner-up: Ten Thousand Villages in Crisis: Can the Fair Trade Pioneer Survive and Flourish in an Economic Downturn?
By Anna Kim (HEC, Canada)

Sustainable Finance:

1st Prize: A Burrito without integrity: Is this Chipotle for me?
By Vijaya (Narapareddy) Zinnoury (Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, US)

2nd Prize: The Fall of SunEdison – A Solar Eclipse?
By Alok Kavthankar and Indu Perepu (IBS Hyderabad, IFHE University, India)

3rd Prize: Refugee Labor Market Integration – An Impact Investment Case Study
By Marc Hassler (Maastricht University School of Business and Economics)

2016

Corporate Sustainability:

1st Prize: Guayakí: Securing Supplies, Strengthening the Mission
By Michael Russo and Michael Crooke (University of Oregon, US)

2nd Prize: The Rise of a New Industry: Business Model Innovation at the Intersection of Energy and Mobility
By René Bohnsack (Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Portugal) and Pico van Heemstra (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands)

3rd Prize: KTDAL – Building Sustainability through Inclusion
By D. Satish and Nagendra Kumar M. V. (IBS Hyderabad, IFHE University, India)

Runner-up: Alibaba.com between Economic Success and Corporate Responsibility
By Kannika Leelapanyalert, David Beschorner, Kim Nadine Reckmann and Marie Aslanian (College of Management, Mahidol University, Thailand)

Social Entrepreneurship:

1st Prize: Polarstern Energy – Sustainable Change Led by Innovative Entrepreneurs
By Julia K. Binder (TUM School of Management at Technical University of Munich, Germany)

2nd Prize: Friends of the Children: Strategies for Scaling Impact
By Jacen Greene, Nicki Yechin Lee and Eric Nelsen (Portland State University, US)

3rd Prize: Sanergy: Sustainable Sanitation
By Indu Perepu and Geeta Singh (IBS Hyderabad, IFHE University, India)

Runner-up: Dr. Devi Shetty of Narayana Hrudayalaya: Delivering Quality Cardiac Care to the Masses
By G.V. Muralidhara (IBS Hyderabad, IFHE University, India)

Runner-up: Social Franchising to Attain Scale and Sustainability: The Kibera Project in Kenya
By Karen Loeb and Vijaya Narapareddy (Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, US)

Sustainable Finance:

1st Prize: The Case for Divestment: Rockefellers’ Fortune?
By Katrin Gödker, Josua Oll, Franziska Sump and Julia Frech (University of Hamburg, Germany)

2nd Prize: IFC Funding of Dinant Project: Call for Overhaul of Risk Assessment for Sustainable Finance
By D. Satish and Manish Agarwal (IBS Hyderabad, IFHE University, India)

3rd Prize: Socially Responsible Investing: Data-Driven Decision Making
By Magali A. Delmas and Jinghui Lim (University of California, US)

Runner-up: Bandhan: Advancing Financial Inclusion in India
By Charles Dhanaraj (International Institute for Management Development, Switzerland) and Geetika Shah (Indian School of Business, India)

Runner-up: Catalyzing a Shared Sustainable Future: Responsible Banking at Yes Bank
By Debapratim Purkayastha, Benudhar Sahu and Trilochan Tripathy (IBS Hyderabad, IFHE University, India)

2015

Corporate Sustainability:

1st Prize: Hopworks Urban Brewery: A Case of Sustainable Beer
By Madeleine Pullman, Jacen Greene, Devin Liebmann, Nga Ho and Xan Pedisich (Portland State University)

2nd Prize: Apple and Conflict Minerals: Ethical Sourcing for Sustainability
By Debapratim Purkayastha and Adapa Srinivasa Rao (IBS Hyderabad, IFHE University)

3rd Prize: The German ‘Energiewende’: RWE’s Strategic Choice
By Timo Busch and Marcel Richert (University of Hamburg)

Runner-up: Planned Succession at Berrett-Koehler Publishers: Institutionalizing the “BK Way” and Protecting BK Values for Future Success
By Murray Silverman and Sally Baack (San Francisco State University)

Runner-up: From Sweatshops to Sustainability: Wal-Mart’s Journey in Bangladesh
By Surojit Mahato and Indu Perepu (IBS Hyderabad, IFHE University)

Social Entrepreneurship:

1st Prize: Fairphone: Organising for Sustained Social Impact
By Onajomo Akemu and Gail Whiteman (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University)

2nd Prize: Sistema Ser: Scaling Private Health Care for the Base of the Pyramid
By Silke Bucher (HEC Montréal), Urs Jäger (INCAE Business School) and Andrea M. Prado (INCAE Business School)

3rd Prize: Arunachalam Muruganantham: A Social Entrepreneur Innovating in a Woman’s World
By Doris Rajakumari John (Amity Research Center)

Runner-up: Building a Sustainable Enterprise with the Power of Local Communities – The Journey of Neev Herbal Handmade Soaps
By Saurav Kumar Das and Sanjana Grover (Xavier School of Management)

Runner-up: Roba Amiga: Social Entrepreneurship in Textile Waste Management
By Daniel Arenas, Pablo Sánchez and Solange Hai (ESADE Business School)

Sustainable Finance:

Winner: Dr. Jim Yong Kim’s Dilemma: International Finance Corporation and the Tata Mundra Power Plant
By Debapratim Purkayastha and Manish Agarwal (IBS Hyderabad, IFHE University)

2014

Corporate Sustainability:

1st Prize: Organic Growth at Sonnentor
By Dietmar Sternad, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences; Austria

2nd Prize: IKEA and the ‘Better Cotton Initiative’
By Stefano Pogutz, Università Bocconi; Italy

3rd Prize: Accenture Development Partnerships (A) (B)
By Michelle Rogan and Christiane Bode, INSEAD; France

Runner-up: Barrick Gold: A Perfect Storm at Pascua Lama
By Craig Smith and Erin McCormick, INSEAD; France

Runner-up: Terra Nova (A)
By Gilles van Wijk and Alireza Ahmadsimab, Essec Business School; France

Social Entrepreneurship:

1st Prize: Communauto: A Big Idea for a Big Market
By Raymond Paquin, Concordia University and Dror Etzion, James Povitz and Benjamin Gruber, McGill University; Canada

2nd Prize: Clean Water Grow: ‘Go or No Go?’
By Simon Ngawhika and Scott Marshall, Portland State University; USA

3rd Prize: Wellcome – Growth of a Social Enterprise
By Karin Kreutzer and Magdalena Kloibhofer, European Business School; Germany

Runner-up: MokshaYug Access (MYA) in India: Enriching India’s Dairy Farmers
By Rajan Shah, Amity Research Centers; India

Runner-up: Mannat Foundation: Building Social Enterprise for the ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’
By Trupti Karkhanis and Ritu Sinha, Indian Education Society – Management College and Research Centre; India

2013

Corporate Sustainability:

1st Prize: Florida Ice & Farm: Sustainability Champion from an Emerging Economy
By John Ickis, Ximena Garcia, and Andrea Prado; INCAE Business School; Costa Rica

2nd Prize: Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.: Food with Integrity
By Ram Subramanian, Montclair State University; United States

3rd Prize: “Protecting Our Oceans”: Sustainability at Holland America Line
By Murray Silverman, San Francisco State University; United States

Runner-Up: Embedding Sustainability At Novo Nordisk: The Compassion Vs Competitiveness Dilemma
By Debapratim Purkayastha and Adapa Srinivasa Rao, IBS Hyderabad; India

Runner-Up: Modernizing Dharavi: If you build, will they come?
By Abhijit Roy and Mousumi Roy, University of Scranton, United States

Best Reviewer Award: Friedrich M. Zimmermann, Karl Franzens University Graz; Austria

Social Entrepreneurship:

1st Prize: Madécasse: Competing with a 4x Fairtrade Business Model
By Scott Marshall, Darrell Brown, Bex Sakarias and Min Cai, Portland State University; United States

2nd Prize: Husk Power Systems: Lighting up the Indian Rural Lives
By Manish Agarwal and D. Satish, IBS Hyderabad; India

3rd Prize: Ziqitza Health Care Limited: Responding to Corruption
By N.Craig Smith and Robert J. Crawford, INSEAD; France

Runner-Up: All Good Bananas. Selling the Fair Trade Message
By Eva Collins, University of Waikato; Kate Kearins, Auckland University of Technology; Helen Tregida, Auckland University of Technology; and Steve Bowden, University of Waikato; New Zealand

Best Reviewer Award: Cheryl Kernot, Centre for Social Impact; Australia

2012

Corporate Sustainability:

1st Prize: Mind the Gap: Royal Dutch Shell’s Sustainability Agenda in Nigeria
by Esther Hennchen (ESADE Business School, Spain) and Josep Maria Lozano (ESADE Business School, Spain)

2nd Prize: Building and Scaling a Cross-Sector Partnership: Oxfam America and Swiss Re Empower Farmers in Ethiopia
By Jonathan Doh (Villanova University, USA), Ted London (William Davidson Institute/Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, USA) and Vasilia (Lea) Kilibarda (William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan, USA)

3rd Prize: Of Orangutans and Chainsaws: Cargill, Inc. Confronts The Rainforest Action Network’s Palm Oil Advocacy
By Ram Subramanian (Montclair State University, USA))

Runner-Up: Walmart: Love, Earth
by N. Craig Smith (INSEAD, France) and Robert J. Crawford (Independent Writer)

Runner-Up: Sustainable Development at PepsiCo
by Debapratim Purkayastha and Adapa Srinivasa Rao (IBS Hyderabad, India)

Best Reviewer Award: Renato Orsato (Academic Director at the Centre for Sustainability Studies (Gvces) at Getúlio Vargas Foundation / FGV S. Paulo, Brazil)

Social Entrepreneurship:

1st Prize: TerraCycle
by Jan Lepoutre (Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, Belgium), Stuart Read (IMD, Switzerland) and Philippe Margery (IMD, Switzerland)

2nd Prize: World Toilet Organization: Leveraging Resources for Social Impact
by Imran Chowdhury (ESSEC Business School, France / Pace University, USA) and Thierry Sibieude (ESSEC Business School, France)

3rd Prize: Crediamigo: Partnering with VivaCred?
by Emmanuel Raufflet (HEC Montréal, Canada) and Frédéric Lavoie (CECI, Canada)

Runner-Up: Bio-Vert: Green to What Limit?
by Catherine Bedard, Genevieve Grainger and Raymond Paquin (Concordia University, Canada)

Runner-Up: Nuru Energy
by Filipe Santos and Anne-Marie Carrick-Cagna (INSEAD, France).

Best Reviewer Award: Roberto Gutiérrez (University de los Andes, Columbia).

2011

Corporate Sustainability:

1st Prize: Coke in the Cross Hairs: Water, India, and the University of Michigan
By Andrew Hoffman (University of Michigan, USA), Sarah Howie (University of Michigan, USA) and Grace Augustine (University of Oxford, UK)

2nd Prize: Burgerville: Sustainability and Sourcing in a QSR Supply Chain
By Darrell Brown, Phil Berko, Patrick Dedrick, Brie Hilliard and Joshua Pfleeger (Portland State University, USA)

3rd Prize: Green Works: The Clorox Company Goes Green
By Ashley Nowygrod, Brian Moss, Nathan Springer, Craig Cammarata and Jennifer Gough (University of Michigan, USA)

Runner-Up: Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching
By Pamela Laughland, Brent McKnight and Tima Bansal (Richard Ivey School of Business, Canada)

Runner-Up: Corporate Social Engagement: How Aramex Crosses Boundaries By Luk Van Wassenhove (INSEAD, France) and Lea Stadtler (University of Geneva, Switzerland)

Social Entrepreneurship:

1st Prize: Better Place: Shifting Paradigms in the Automotive Industry
By Dror Etzion and Jeroen Struben (McGill University, Canada)

2nd Prize: Ndlovu: The clock ticks
By Charles Corbett (UCLA Anderson School of Management, USA) and Sarang Deo (Kellogg School of Management, USA

3rd Prize: Tropical Salvage: From Recession to Expansion
By R. Scott Marshall, Lisa Peifer and Erin Ferrigno (Portland State University, USA)

Runner-Up: Vodafone M-PESA (A): Turning a corporate social responsibility innovation into a mainstream business opportunity
By Loïc Sadoulet and Olivier Furdelle (INSEAD, France)

Runner-Up: How to Establish and Manage a Social Business at the Bottom of the Pyramid: The Case of OSRAM in Africa
By Pia Sophie von Nell (WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany)

2010

Corporate Sustainability:

1st Prize: Portland Roasting Company: Farm Friendly Direct
By Madeleine Pullman, Greg Stokes, Price Gregory, Mark Langston and Brandon Arends, Portland State University, USA

2nd Prize: Lululemon`s Commitment to the Environment: A tangle of Seaweed, Suppliers, and Social Responsibility
By Andrea Erin Bass, University of Nebraska-Omaha, USA

3rd Prize: Business Model Innovation by Better Place: A Green Ecosystem for the Mass Adoption of Electric Cars
By Ramalingam Meenakshisundaram and Besta Shankar, ICMR Center for Management Research, Hyderabad, India

Runner-Up: Farmstar Goes Global: Corporate Entrepreneurship Bringing Sustainable Value Innovation to Agribusinesses
By Benjamin Warr, Anne Marie, Carrick-Cagna and Luk Van Wassenhove, INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France

Runner-Up: Hunghom Peninsula in Hong Kong (A), (B) & (C): A Realistic Call for Corporate Social Responsibilities
Terence Tsai and Shubo Philip Liu, China Europe International Business School, Shanghai, P.R. China

Social Entrepreneurship:

1st Prize: So You Want to be a Social Entrepreneur: Starting Out, Scaling Up, Staying Committed
By Michael Gordon, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, USA

2nd Prize: Good Water: Standing on Holy Ground
By Steve Bowden and Eva Collins, Waikato Management School; Kate Kearins and Helen Tregigda, Auckland University of Technology

3rd Prize: WaterHealth International: Providing Safe Drinking Water to the Bottom of the Pyramid Consumers
By Hadiya Faheem and Debapratim Purkayastha, ICMR Center for Management Research, India

Runner-Up: ALTIS: A Microfinance Startup in Nepal
By Jacen Greene, Sustainable Harvest, USA and Scott Marshall, Portland State University, USA

Runner-Up: Noir/Illuminati II (A & B): Defining Socially Responsible Affordable Luxury Clothing
By Benoît Leleux and Barbara Scheel Agersnap, IMD, Switzerland

2009

Corporate Sustainability:

1st Prize: Michelin’s Strategic Partnership with Indigenous People
By Pamela Sloan and David Oliver, HEC Montreal, Canada

2nd Prize: TATA Power – Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability
By Rama Deshmukh, IES Management College and Research Centre, Banda, Mumbai, and Atanu Adhikari, IBS Hyderabad

3rd Prize: Sustainability Amidst Uncertainty: Columbia Forest Products’ Pursuit of Sustainability in a Changing Market
By Scott Marshall et al., Portland State University, USA

Runner-Up: The Ambrose Hotel: Eco-labeling Strategies for Sustainable Lodging
By Magali Delmas and Charles Corbett, University of California at Los Angeles, USA

Runner-Up: Coca-Cola India’s Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy
By Hadiya Faheem, IBS Hyderabad, India

Social Entrepreneurship:

1st Prize: Trevor Field & The PlayPumps Of Africa
By Debapratim Purkayastha, IBS Hyderabad, India

2nd Prize: The ReUse People: Turning Scrap into Sales
By Charles J. Corbett, William G. Powell, UCLA Anderson School of Management, USA

3rd Prize: Kapai New Zealand: Eat Your Greens!
By Helen Tregidga (Auckland University of Technology), 
Kate Kearins (Auckland University of Technology), and 
Eva Collins (Waikato Management School, Hamilton), New Zealand

Runner-Up: Jamii Bora and Kaputei Town: Affordable and Sustainable Housing for Urban Slumdwellers
By Lisa Jones Christensen, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA

2008

1st Prize: Scojo Foundation: A Vision for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid
By Ted London and Mary Christiansen, University of Michigan, USA

2nd Prize: Procter and Gamble´s PuR Water Purifier – The hunt for a Sustainable Business Model
By Lisa Jones Christensen and Jessica Thomas
, Kenan and Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, USA

3rd Prize: Living Homes
By Rebecca Henn and Andrew J. Hoffman,
University of Michigan, USA

Honorary Mention: Coastwide Laboratories
By Mike Russo and Derek Reiber, 
University of Oregon, USA

Honorary Mention: Greenpeace
By Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jordan Mitchell
, Harvard Business School, USA

Honorary Mention: Exiting in a state of Grace: Can Death be Sustainable?
By Eva Collins, University of Waikato; Kate Kearins, Helen Tregidga, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

2007

1st Prize: Seventh Generation: Balancing Customer Expectations with Supply Chain Realities
By Mike Russo and Dan Goldstein, University of Oregon, USA

2nd Prize: City Water Tanzania
By Kevin McKague, York University, Toronto, Canada

3rd Prize: The Body Shop: Social Responsibility or Sustained Greenwashing?
By Rajiv Fernando, Debapratim Purkayastha, ICFAI Hyderbad

Runner-up: Transforming the Global Fishing Industry – The Marine Stewardship Council at Full Sail?
By Alexander Nick, IMD Lausanne, Switzerland

Runner-up: TEMBEC Inc.: Creating Value by Managing Stakeholder Tension
By Tima Bansal and Tom Ewart, Ivey School of Business, Canada

2006

1st Prize: Hindustan Lever – Leaping a Millenium
By Wolfgang Amann, Ulrich Steger, Aileen Ionescu-Somers, IMD Lausanne, Switzerland

2nd Prize: Purchasing Strategies and Sustainability: The Migros Palm Oil Case
By Jens Hamprecht and Daniel Corsten, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland; London Business School, UK

3rd Prize: Kimpton Hotels – Balancing Strategy and Environmental Sustainability
By Murray Silverman and Tom Thomas, San Francisco State University, USA

Runner-up: Care Kenya: Making Social Enterprise Sustainable
By Tima Bansal and Tom Ewart, Ivey School of Business, Canada

2005

1st Prize: Building a Sustainable Venture from Ground-up – the Mountain’s Institutes Earth Brick Machine
By John Buffington and Ted London, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina

2nd Prize: The Fair Trade Story
By Kai Hockerts, INSEAD Fontainbleu, France

3rd Prize: Phoenix Organic: Valuing Sustainability While Desiring Growth
By Eva Collins and Steve Bowden, Wakato Management School and Kate Kearing, Auckland University, New Zealand

Runner-up: Aiming Toward a Hydrogen Economy: Icelandic New Energy Ltd.
By Pratima Bansal, Ken Mark and Michell Jordan, Ivey School of Business, Canada

Runner-up: Catamount Energy and Glebe Mountain Windfarm: Clean Energy vs. NIMBY
By Robert Letovsky, St. Michaels College, USA

2003

1st Prize: Mobility Car Sharing – From Ecopreneurial Start up to Commercial Venture
Kai Hockerts, INSEAD Fontainbleu, France

2nd Prize: Jari Cellulose S.A.
By Mark Milstein, Stuart Hart and Bruno Sadinha, Kenan-Flagler Business School University of North Carolina, USA

3rd Prize: Environmental Product Differentiation by the Hayward Lumber Company
By Magali Delmas, Erica Plambeck and Monifa Porter, UC St. Barbara & Stanford Graduate School of Business

4th Prize: Benziger Family Winery
By Murray Silverman, San Francisco State University, Thomas P. Lanphar, Cal EPA

The oikos Case Collection provides over 80 peer-reviewed cases on sustainability in management, entrepreneurship and finance to lecturers and other interested parties around the world. You find the cases in alphabetical order below.

Some cases in the collection are available for free as oikos Free Cases under the Creative Commons license. They are included with an asterisk below and you can browse them separately under oikos Free Cases.

If you are a faculty member and interested in teaching these cases, you can request a free teaching note by clicking here. 

You find the list of winning cases by year under Winners. You can also access all cases with further filter options in our Publications.

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z]

[A]

Accenture Development Partnerships (A) and (B) (2014)

Alibaba.com between Economic Success and Corporate Responsibility (2016)*

All Good Bananas. Selling the Fair Trade Message (2013)

ALTIS. A Microfinance Startup in Nepal (2010)*

The Ambrose Hotel. Eco-Labelling Strategies for Sustainable Lodging (2009)

Apple and Conflict Minerals: Ethical Sourcing for Sustainability (2015)

Corporate Social Engagement. How Aramex Crosses Boundaries (2011)

Arunachalam Muruganantham: A Social Entrepreneur Innovating in a Woman’s World (2015)*

[B]

Babban Gona’s Agri-Franchising Model: Scaling up Challenges (2018)

Bandhan: Advancing Financial Inclusion in India (2016)

Barrick Gold: A Perfect Storm at Pascua Lama (2014)

Benziger Family Winery (2003)

Business Model Innovation by Better Place. A Green Ecosystem for the Mass Adoption of Electric Cars (2010)

Planned Succession at Berrett-Koehler Publishers: Institutionalizing the “BK Way” and Protecting BK Values for Future Success (2015)*

Better Place. Shifting Paradigms in the Automotive Industry (2011)*

Bio-Vert. Green to What Limit? (2012)

‘Enrich Not Exploit’: Can New CSR Strategy Help Body Shop Regain Glory? (2017)

The Body Shop. Social Responsibility or Sustained Greenwashing? (2007)

Bridge International Academies (2017)

Burgerville. Sustainability and Sourcing in a QSR Supply Chain (2011)*

The Rise of a New Industry: Business Model Innovation at the Intersection of Energy and Mobility (2016)

[C]

Candy Crush? Aligning Health, Business, and Pleasure in the Chocolate Industry (2018)

Care Kenya. Making Social Enterprise Sustainable (2006)

Of Orangutans and Chainsaws. Cargill, Inc. Confronts the Rainforest Action Network’s Palm Oil Advocacy (2012)

Catamount Energy and the Glebe Mountain Windfarm. Clean Energy vs NIMBY (2005)

A Burrito without integrity: Is this Chipotle for me? (2017)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.: Food with Integrity (2013)

City Water Tanzania (2007)

Green Works: The Clorox Company Goes Green (2011)

Clean Water Grow: ‘Go or No Go?’

Coca-Cola India’s Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy (2009)

Coke in the Cross Hairs: Water, India, and the University of Michigan (2011)

Sustainability Amidst Uncertainty: Columbia Forest Products’ Pursuit of Sustainability in a Changing Market (2009)*

Communauto: A Big Idea for a Big Market

Sustainability International’s Alliance with ConsenSys – Leveraging Technology for Social Impact (2018)

Crediamigo: Partnering with VivaCred? (2012)

[D]

Dharani: Nurturing the earth, fostering farmers’ livelihoods (2017)

Modernizing Dharavi: If you build, will they come? (2013)

[E]

ecostore – the Carbon CaptureTM Pak decision (2018)

eVidyaloka: Digital Classrooms for Underprivileged

[F]

Fairphone: Organising for Sustained Social Impact (2015)

The Fair Trade Story (2005)

Farmstar Goes Global: Corporate Entrepreneurship Bringing Sustainable Value Innovation to Agribusinesses (2010)

Florida Ice & Farm: Sustainability Champion from an Emerging Economy (2013)

Can Barry Callebaut Attract Sustainable Investment with its ‘Forever Chocolate’ Strategy? (2018)

The venture Freitag: From recycled bags to sustainable fashion (2017)

Coming to Fruition: Fresh Truck Aims to Increase Food Access in Boston (2017)

Friends of the Children: Strategies for Scaling Impact (2016)*

[G]

Good Water: Standing on Holy Ground (2010)

Greenpeace (2008)

Guayakí: Securing Supplies, Strengthening the Mission (2016)*

[H]

Environmental Product Differentiation by the Hayward Lumber Company (2003)

Employee Diversity at High Beam Global: An Inclusive Approach (2018)

Hindustan Lever: Leaping a Millennium (A), (B) & (C) (2006)

“Protecting Our Oceans”: Sustainability at Holland America Line (2013)

Hopworks Urban Brewery: A Case of Sustainable Beer (2015)*

Hunghom Peninsula in Hong Kong (A), (B) & (C). A Realistic Call for Corporate Social Responsibilities (2010)

Husk Power Systems: Lighting up the Indian Rural Lives (2013)

[I]

Aiming Toward a Hydrogen Economy: Icelandic New Energy Ltd. (2005)

IKEA and the ‘Better Cotton Initiative’*

IFC Funding of Dinant Project: Call for Overhaul of Risk Assessment for Sustainable Finance (2016)

Dr. Jim Yong Kim’s Dilemma: International Finance Corporation and the Tata Mundra Power Plant (2015)

[J]

Jaipur Rugs –Empowering Communities at the Bottom of the Pyramid through Social Innovation (2018)

Jamii Bora and Kaputei Town: Affordable and Sustainable Housing for Urban Slumdwellers (2009)

Jari Cellulose S.A. (2003)

[K]

Kapai New Zealand: Eat Your Greens! (2009)

Kimpton Hotels: Balancing Strategy and Environmental Sustainability (2006)

KTDAL – Building Sustainability through Inclusion (2016)

[L]

Living Homes (2008)

Lululemon‘s commitment to the environment: A tangle of seaweed, suppliers, and social responsibility (2010)*

[M]

Madécasse: Competing with a 4x Fairtrade business model (2013)

Mannat Foundation: Building Social Enterprise for the ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’

Transforming the global Fishing Industry: The Marine Stewardship Council at full sail? (2007)

Michelin’s Strategic Partnership with Indigenous People (2009)

Purchasing strategies and sustainability: The Migros palm oil (2006)

Mobility Car Sharing: From Ecopreneurial Start Up to Commercial Venture (2003)

Eliminating Modern Slavery from Supply Chains: Can Nestlé Lead the Way? (2018)

MokshaYug Access (MYA) in India: Enriching India’s Dairy Farmers

Building a Sustainable Venture from the Ground up: The Mountain’s Institutes Earth Brick Machine (2005)

[N]

Ndlovu: The clock ticks (2011)

Building a Sustainable Enterprise with the Power of Local Communities – The Journey of Neev Herbal Handmade Soaps (2015)*

Noir/Illuminati II (A & B): Defining Socially Responsible Affordable Luxury Clothing (2010)

Embedding Sustainability At Novo Nordisk:The Compassion Vs Competitiveness Dilemma (2013)

Nuru Energy (2012)

[O]

How to Establish and Manage a Social Business at the Bottom of the Pyramid: The Case of OSRAM in Africa (2011)

Building and Scaling a Cross-Sector Partnership: Oxfam America and Swiss Re Empower Farmers in Ethiopia (2012)

[P]

Sustainable Development at PepsiCo (2012)

Phoenix Organic: Valuing Sustainability While Desiring Growth (2005)

Trevor Field and the PlayPumps of Africa (2009)

Polarstern Energy – Sustainable Change Led by Innovative Entrepreneurs (2016)*

Portland Roasting Company: Farm Friendly Direct (2010)*

Preserve: Growing a Sustainable Consumer Goods Company (2018)

Procter and Gamble’s PuR Water Purifier: The hunt for a Sustainable Business Model (2008)

[R]

Refugee Labor Market Integration – An Impact Investment Case Study (2017)

Regulations for a Sustainable Finance Sector (2018)

The ReUse People: Scrap to Sales (2009)

Roba Amiga: Social Entrepreneurship in Textile Waste Management (2015)*

The Case for Divestment: Rockefellers’ Fortune? (2016)

Mind the Gap: Royal Dutch Shell’s Sustainability Agenda in Nigeria (2012)

The German ‘Energiewende’: RWE’s Strategic Choice (2015)*

[S]

Sanergy: Sustainable Sanitation (2016)

Saudi Aramco (2018)

Scojo Foundation: A vision for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid (2008)

Seventh Generation: Balancing Customer Expectations with Supply Chain Realities (2007)

Sistema Ser: Scaling Private Health Care for the Base of the Pyramid (2015)

Dr. Devi Shetty of Narayana Hrudayalaya: Delivering Quality Cardiac Care to the Masses (2016)

So You Want to be a Social Entrepreneur: Starting Out, Scaling Up, Staying Committed (2010)*

Social Franchising to Attain Scale and Sustainability: The Kibera Project in Kenya (2016)

Socially Responsible Investing: Data-Driven Decision Making (2016)*

Organic Growth at Sonnentor

Exiting in a State of Grace: Can Death be Sustainable? (2008)

The Fall of SunEdison – A Solar Eclipse? (2017)

[T]

TATA Power: Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability (2009)

Ten Thousand Villages in Crisis: Can the Fair Trade Pioneer Survive and Flourish in an Economic Downturn? (2017)

TEMBEC Inc.: Creating Value by Managing Stakeholder Tension (2007)

TerraCycle (2012)

Terra Nova (A)*

Tongwei – Sustainability Entrepreneurship through Market-Political Ambidexterity (2017)

Tropical Salvage: From Recession to Expansion (2011)*

[U]

Uber and the Ethics of Sharing: Exploring the Societal Promises and Responsibilities of the Sharing Economy (2017)

[V]

Vodafone M-PESA (A): Turning a corporate social responsibility innovation into a mainstream business opportunity (2011)

Volkswagen’s Emissions Scandal: How Could It Happen? (2018)

[W]

From Sweatshops to Sustainability: Wal-Mart’s Journey in Bangladesh (2015)

Walmart: Love, Earth (2012)

WaterHealth International: Providing Safe Drinking Water to the Bottom of the Pyramid Consumers (2010)

Wellcome – Growth of a Social Enterprise

Wind in the Sails: Managing Social Acceptance of Large Wind Energy Projects in Switzerland (2017)

World Toilet Organization: Leveraging Resources for Social Impact (2012)

[Y]

Catalyzing a Shared Sustainable Future: Responsible Banking at Yes Bank (2016)

Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (2011)

[Z]

Ziqitza Health Care Limited: Responding to Corruption (2013)

The oikos Free Cases provide peer-reviewed cases on sustainability in management, entrepreneurship and finance to lecturers around the world for free under the Creative Commons license. You find them in alphabetical order below.

If you are a faculty member and interested in teaching these cases, you can request a free teaching note by clicking here. 

oikos Free Cases are also listed in the oikos Case Collection denoted with an asterisk. You can also access all cases with further filter options under Publications.

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z]

[A]

Alibaba.com between Economic Success and Corporate Responsibility (2016)

ALTIS. A Microfinance Startup in Nepal (2010)

Arunachalam Muruganantham: A Social Entrepreneur Innovating in a Woman’s World (2015)

Authenticitys: who said unicorns are legendary? (2019)

[B]

B-Line Sustainable Urban Delivery: Can Last-Mile Bicycle Delivery Survive The E-commerce Minefield? (2019)

Planned Succession at Berrett-Koehler Publishers: Institutionalizing the “BK Way” and Protecting BK Values for Future Success (2015)

Better Place. Shifting Paradigms in the Automotive Industry (2011)

Burgerville. Sustainability and Sourcing in a QSR Supply Chain (2011)

[C]

Sustainability Amidst Uncertainty: Columbia Forest Products’ Pursuit of Sustainability in a Changing Market (2009)

Sustainability International’s Alliance with ConsenSys – Leveraging Technology for Social Impact (2018)

[E]

ecostore – the Carbon CaptureTM Pak decision (2018)

eVidyaloka: Digital Classrooms for Underprivileged (2017)

[F]

The venture Freitag: From recycled bags to sustainable fashion (2017)

Coming to Fruition: Fresh Truck Aims to Increase Food Access in Boston (2017)

Friends of the Children: Strategies for Scaling Impact (2016)

[G]

Guayakí: Securing Supplies, Strengthening the Mission (2016)

[H]

Employee Diversity at High Beam Global: An Inclusive Approach (2018)

Hopworks Urban Brewery: A Case of Sustainable Beer (2015)

[I]

IKEA and the ‘Better Cotton Initiative’

[L]

Lululemon‘s commitment to the environment: A tangle of seaweed, suppliers, and social responsibility (2010)

[N]

Building a Sustainable Enterprise with the Power of Local Communities – The Journey of Neev Herbal Handmade Soaps (2015)

[P]

Polarstern Energy – Sustainable Change Led by Innovative Entrepreneurs (2016)

Portland Roasting Company: Farm Friendly Direct (2010)

[R]

Refugee Labor Market Integration – An Impact Investment Case Study (2017)

Regulations for a Sustainable Finance Sector (2018)

Roba Amiga: Social Entrepreneurship in Textile Waste Management (2015)

The German ‘Energiewende’: RWE’s Strategic Choice (2015)

[S]

Sistema Biobolsa: Addressing Challenges of Climate Change, Sustainable Agriculture and Waste Management in Mexico (2019)

So You Want to be a Social Entrepreneur: Starting Out, Scaling Up, Staying Committed (2010)

Socially Responsible Investing: Data-Driven Decision Making (2016)

[T]

Terra Nova (A)

Tongwei – Sustainability Entrepreneurship through Market-Political Ambidexterity (2017)

Tropical Salvage: From Recession to Expansion (2011)

[W]

Wind in the Sails: Managing Social Acceptance of Large Wind Energy Projects in Switzerland (2017)

World Toilet Organization: Leveraging Resources for Social Impact (2012)

Case Faculty Committee

We are pleased to present the committee members:

Angelo A. Camillo, Sonoma State University, United States

Julia Christensen Hughes, University of Guelph, Canada

Ewald Kibler, Aalto University, Finland

Martin Kupp, ESCP Europe, France

Dušan Kučera, University of Economics, Prague, Czech Republic

Carlos Romero Uscanga, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico