Case Studies

In 2018, the Singapore-based telecommunication operator StarHub Ltd. (StarHub) acknowledged that in 2017 its total revenue was relatively flat and its net profit had declined. In the face of rising competition and a slowing global economy, the company needed to explore new sources of revenue growth. Two areas of growth seemed promising. The first area involved the launch of StarHub's smart retail analytics for small and medium enterprises in the retail food and beverages industry, which had been experiencing a high churn rate. The second area would apply StarHub's new robotics and automation solutions in the labour-intensive hospitality industry, which suffered from an oversupply of properties and would likely see exits and consolidation. StarHub needed to choose between the two investment options. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

In December 2017, the corporate vice-president of Microsoft Corporation’s Devices division was considering two options to chart a strategic course for the next few years. Since first joining Microsoft Corporation in 2004, one of the vice-president's key roles had been to oversee the strategic direction of the personal computing hardware business. The company, which was headquartered in Washington State in the United States, had a multitude of products and services that presented both opportunities and challenges for its future. Microsoft Corporation had to decide between two project options that represented growth in different business areas in Asia Pacific. The first option was to launch new products from the company's Surface division in the Asia Pacific market. This could be Microsoft Corporation’s opportunity to showcase its holistic devices ecosystem to prospective customers in the region. The second option was to intensify efforts to market and sell the firm’s cloud solutions. This could further differentiate Microsoft Corporation as an early mover enabling enterprises to migrate to the cloud. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

Kapap Academy Pte. Ltd. (Kapap Academy) was established in 2007, following the tragic death of the founder’s older brother, with a mission to empower everyday people to learn realistic self-defence skills. The founder and his apprentice-turned-business partner formulated a simple yet functional brand of self-defence, which they named the Modern Street Combatives method. Kapap Academy’s social mission was evident in its provision of both heavily discounted and completely free training sessions for needy and vulnerable segments of society—in particular, women who were victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, as well as the elderly. Kapap Academy was able to sustain this social mission with a dual income stream. After its 10th-year anniversary, Kapap Academy was looking to export its brand of Modern Street Combatives overseas. This posed various challenges; in particular, whether to adopt a licensing model or a franchise arrangement. Each model had its pros and cons, but a decision had to be made. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

In 2017, the president of Fujitsu Asia Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Fujitsu Limited (Fujitsu) needed to decide between two project options that represented growth in different industries in Asia. Both projects represented Fujitsu's vision of connected services and could potentially be much-needed engines of new growth for Fujitsu Singapore over the next 5 to 10 years. The first option was to offer its Japanese-engineered cloud-computing platform to engage small and medium enterprises in the manufacturing industry. Given the high costs of customizing the existing platform for local use, the president wondered whether small and medium manufacturers would generate sufficient demand to justify such a costly investment. The second option was to leverage the success of Fujitsu’s intelligent agricultural cloud-computing project with the Japanese government to offer vertical farming to Singapore and other Asian cities that faced similar space constraints but valued food resilience. But was it the right time to enter the agricultural industry? The president had limited time and resources, and needed to make a decision very soon. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

Three students joined the NUS Business School some years ago with very different backgrounds; as they were about to graduate, they started to reflect on their experiences at the University and how it prepared them for their first jobs. Throughout their student lives, they had taken on a combination of internships, leadership roles and case competitions, and in the process, they had developed different career aspirations. However, the future was still uncertain as they struggled with making momentous decisions regarding their careers. With so many options and possibilities before them, what was the 'best choice' for these individuals?

Established in 2013, Glints was an online job search service for new graduates, marketing itself as “LinkedIn for youth.” The Singapore-based company was founded by three 21-year-olds who chose to put their university education on hold and forfeit their scholarships in order to pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions. Using the lean start-up approach, Glints pivoted its business model several times before finding a suitable position in a resegmented job-search market. As a young company, Glints’ biggest challenge was growth. Having raised seed capital of SG$475,000 from its investors, Glints was expected to sustain its exponential growth in revenue base and the number of subscribers. Its young co-founders had to identify ways to make that growth happen. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

In 2010, two entrepreneurs launched Joyful Frog Digital Incubator (JFDI), Southeast Asia’s first start-up accelerator in Singapore. They aimed to help develop Singapore’s start-up environment through a structured program that provided access to early stage funding and mentorship. More than 70 start-ups had graduated from the program, and more than half had raised substantial funding. However, five years later, in 2015, JFDI faced challenges as a result of Singapore’s small market size, the more than 20 accelerators that had entered the market, and an uncertain macroeconomic climate. The founders wondered whether JFDI should open up new revenue streams by diversifying into advisory and consultancy services, such as in-house accelerator programs in established corporations. Alternatively, should the company expand geographically to broaden its access to capital, talent, and new markets? Or were there still other options that the founders should pursue? For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

In 2008, the chairman of the Zuellig Family Foundation and former Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Philippines, asked the foundation’s president to take up the challenge of providing health care for the poor of the Philippines. The foundation’s president was particularly struck by the health inequities between the urban rich and the rural poor. The rich had a life expectancy above 80 and the poor below 60; the maternal mortality ratio was 15 among the rich but over 150 among the poor. The foundation’s president had spent much of his career working to bridge fundamental divides within Philippine society. Within four years, he led the foundation to complete a health care program with remarkable success in selected areas of the country, which transformed the inert and broken health care system into a living, thinking, intelligent network of stakeholders. A dignitary praised the program and asked the foundation’s president to roll out the program country-wide. Could the foundation succeed with such a broad undertaking while preserving the efficacy, soul, and sustainability of the program? For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

The eHomemakers project was founded in 1998 to provide skills and employment for disadvantaged women in Malaysia. The women worked from home, weaving baskets out of recycled magazines from which they could generate income. This means of self-support was particularly beneficial to stay-at-home mothers and disabled women who were unable to work. By 2011, the enterprise was struggling for viability in Malaysia, which led the founder to consider crossing the border to Singapore to explore opportunities in that country to avoid having to give up on her social enterprise altogether. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

This case addresses the challenges that the NUS Museum faces regarding its awareness amongst the NUS Community. Trina, as the new Outreach Assistant Manager, had to update herself on the NUS Museum’s current situation. Apparently, the NUS Museum’s visitorship has remained stagnant since 2008, despite consistent programming efforts. The NUS Museum is the first university museum in Singapore and was established in 1955. It is located within the main Kent Ridge campus of National University of Singapore in southwest Singapore. The NUS Museum has over 8,000 artifacts and artworks divided across four permanent collections. Donors to the collection include Lee Seng Tee and the late Ng Eng Teng. With such rich and diverse Collections to boast, what could be the factors leading to the lack of awareness amongst the NUS Community? What steps should Trina take to increase awareness amongst the NUS Community?