25 Apr 2019

INSEAD emerges as biggest winner in the 2018 EFMD Case Writing Competition

EFMD , Chandon , Monteiro , Petriglieri , Singh , Smith , Awards

INSEAD professors have received five category awards in the 2018 EFMD Case Writing Competition. This represents the most number of awards won by a single business school this year, making INSEAD the biggest overall winner.

Organised since 1988, the Competition recognises innovative and impactful case writing and teaching in 17 categories representing critical management areas.

 “Congratulations to Professors Pierre Chandon, Felipe Monteiro, Gianpiero Petriglieri, Jasjit Singh and Craig Smith for their winning cases”, says Ziv Carmon, Dean of Research and The Alfred H. Heineken Chaired Professor of Marketing, “We are delighted with the consistent and exemplary performance of our faculty in international case writing competitions. This is another testament of INSEAD’s dedication to the case study method and reaffirms our commitment to offer relevant and rigorous research and education by integrating current real world management issues into our curriculum.” 

Pierre Chandon, Professor of Marketing at INSEAD and The L'Oréal Chaired Professor of Marketing - Innovation and Creativity, and Shilaan Alzahawi, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, have won the Entrepreneurship category with “The Carrot Rewards Wellness App: Innovating in the Behaviour Change Market

This decision-oriented case examines the health and wellness market and the theme of behaviour modification. Created in close collaboration with social entrepreneur Andreas Souvaliotis, CEO of Carrot Insights, students are empowered to address key and tough questions in order to help Andreas and his team help people take better care of themselves—while making a profit.

Professor Chandon comments that, “I have written many popular cases. But Carrot Reward is unique in its ability to inspire every student, from idealistic social justice warriors to hardened private equity veterans, to want to emulate Andreas Souvaliotis, so that they too can one day impact social change at scale, while turning a profit.”

Felipe Monteiro, Affiliate Professor of Strategy at INSEAD, and Katia Kachan, Mediaquest, have won the MENA Business Cases category with “Fashion Forward Dubai (FFWD): Digitally Transforming the Fashion Industry?

The case discusses the globalisation of fashion and the trajectory of Fashion Forward Dubai (FFWD). The case allows students to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the emergence and development of a new fashion cluster in Dubai, using digital as an enabler, seen from the perspective of the global strategy options of an entrepreneurial firm based out of Dubai. 

Professor Monteiro shares that, “The case offers a unique scenario of a luxury and fashion company in the UAE, an exciting emerging market for companies. It illustrates how companies can leapfrog into highly-competitive markets dominated by the most sophisticated companies by leveraging digital. The case explores to what extent the global fashion industry is ripe for digital transformation and presents a prime example of innovative practices from an emerging region, allowing us to be inspired by new business models in sync with challenges ahead.”

Gianpiero Petriglieri, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, and Jaimie Stettin, The Business Romantic Society have won the Responsible Leadership category with “Google and Project Maven – (A) Big Tech, Government and the AI Arms Race(B) An Eventful Week in June”.

Tackling management topics in Responsible Leadership, Ethics, and Innovation, the case explores the controversy around Google’s collaboration with US Department of Defence’s Project Maven, launched to integrate AI and machine learning into defense strategies. While Google described its role as “non-offensive,” a memo signed by over 3,000 of its employees argued that Google’s involvement might hurt the company’s reputation and ability to attract talent when public trust in technology was waning. The case aims to help students reflect on their roles as citizens and leaders of companies and society.

Professor Petriglieri states that, “I have found that the case provokes a vibrant and thoughtful debate about the meaning of responsible leadership in an age in which technology pervades our lives. The case helps managers realise that some of the most consequential decisions leaders make are about technology—the tech they build, adopt, endorse, and sell. Technology is, now more than ever, an expression of leaders’ responsibility. The more artificial our intelligence becomes, the more human our leadership need to be.”

Jasjit Singh, Professor of Strategy at INSEAD and the The Paul Dubrule Chaired Professor of Sustainable Development, and Joost Bilkes, Credit Suisse, have won the Finance and Banking category with “Credit Suisse: Building an Impact Investing Business in Asia”.   

The case describes how an intrapreneur helped Credit Suisse launch a commercially viable impact investing business in Asia. It specifically details the investment strategy and process for a new impact fund aligning social impact objectives with commercial goals of the bank. The case presents a perfect scenario for students to learn about impact investing, sustainable investing and responsible finance. 

Professor Singh says that, “It is a delight to see that the work we at INSEAD are doing on issues at the intersection of business and society is being recognised as high quality externally. We need to continue having candid conversations like those in the Credit Suisse case: highlighting not just the opportunities but also challenges in using business as a force for good, and sharing how inspiring individuals at the frontier are helping make progress nevertheless.”

Craig Smith, The INSEAD Chaired Professor of Ethics and Social Responsibility, and Erin McCormick, freelance, have won the Corporate Social Responsibility category with the case series “Tata Motors (A): A History of Service in a New Era of Corporate Social Responsibility" and "Tata Motors (B): More from Less for More”.

In 2013, India introduced legislation that mandated corporate social responsibility. Set against the backdrop of India’s great poverty and overcrowding, this case explores the context for this legislation of CSR and how one company, Tata Motors Ltd. (TML), has responded. The (A) case provides an opportunity to explore the meaning of corporate social responsibility and raises the question of whether a company should put community projects before profits. The (B) case examines TML CSR programmes in more depth and provides an opportunity for students to consider the impact of CSR programmes and challenges them to develop their own ideas for using the philosophy of “more from less for more” to address the issues of poverty and lack of education in India.

Professor Smith comments that, “Recognition for this case is really due to the story it tells of Tata Motors and corporate social responsibility in the incredibly rich yet challenging context of India. It raises fundamental questions about what CSR means, the reasons for doing it, whether it should be mandated by law, and how company social impacts should be measured. Its scope provides for thought-provoking engagement on the purpose and responsibilities of business with almost any audience, be they undergraduates fresh to business or seasoned senior executives.”

EFMD is recognised around the world as a high quality accreditation body with 937 institutional members from academia, business, public service and consultancy across 91 countries. An international judging panel, who reviews more than 400 cases every year, selects the winning cases based on the evaluation criteria:

  • Content: The ability to create a strong and interesting learning experience
  • Form: A good balance between a well-told story and sufficient data
  • The teaching notes: Accompanying each submission to enhance the learner’s experience
  • Innovation: Ideas should improve teaching and student engagement