Ivey Business School (Canada)
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Heritage Chickens: The Challenge of Genetic Sustainability
Joel Gehman; Marni Devlin Moses; Leanne HedbergCase IVEY-9B17M057-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyThe Poultry Research Centre at the University of Alberta farm was an internationally recognized research, development, and learning hub. It began the Rare Poultry Conservancy Program in 1986 as a way to maintain heritage chicken breeds. In 2009/10, as a result of the global financial crisis, university funding was reduced, and every campus department needed to cut programs or find creative ways to finance them outside of the traditional methods. ...Starting at €8.20
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Kombi Sports Inc.: Staying Ahead of the Curve
Heather Calvert; Raymond L. Paquin; Rajshree PrakashCase IVEY-9B21M063-EMarketing, StrategyIn January 2020, Kombi Sports Inc. was at a strategic crossroads in a changing industry. The Montreal-based firm had evolved from a niche provider of alpine performance gloves to a premium Canadian winter apparel brand. Its success could be attributed, at least in part, to its strong collaborative stance and interesting partnerships. However, increasing competition in the industry, particularly among brick-and-mortar retailers, raised questions f...Starting at €8.20
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Blacbiblio: Hold Steady or Change Course
Raymond L. Paquin; Bharathram Sivasubramanian; Rajshree PrakashCase IVEY-9B20M050-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyBlacbiblio.com, Inc., an educational materials start-up in Montreal, Canada, launched its first and only product, the ABCs of Canadian Black History Kit, in 2016. The product received strong positive reviews at the time of its launch, but its initial price of CA$2,500 per kit left it out of reach for most of its intended customers. The company founder, a historian and educational content creator, shifted to a flexible pricing strategy, offering t...Starting at €8.20
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Earth’s General Store: Balancing People, Planet, and Profit in Organic-Food Retailing
Joel Gehman; Ashton Paulitsch; Maninder Pardais; Bernard Streeper; Brian Ballman; Taylor Love; Leanne HedbergCase IVEY-9B17M099-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyThe owner and operator of two stores that sold organic groceries and fair-trade goods in Edmonton, Alberta was proud of what he had built; however he was worried about the financial sustainability of his downtown location. Since its opening in 2014, the downtown store had constantly struggled to remain profitable in the face of extremely high overhead costs. The original Whyte Avenue location of Earth’s General Store, highly popular with its loya...Starting at €8.20
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Fruits of Sherbrooke: Creating a Sustainable Business
Joel Gehman; Amy Hingston; Cuong Pham; Andrew Phelan; Matthew Townley; David Vetters; Leanne HedbergCase IVEY-9B17M088-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyIn 2010, three friends created Fruits of Sherbrooke as a way to rescue local fruit that would otherwise be wasted. The founders knew their efforts would be beneficial for the environment and for people in need of food. In February 2016, having grown their business into a successful social enterprise entirely through the help of volunteers, they faced important decisions. Realistically, they would not always be able to run the organization, which ...Starting at €8.20
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EPCOR Utilities Inc: Modernizing Alberta's Electricity System
Joel Gehman; Jennifer Keith; Chelsey McLeod; Jolene Proulx; Leanne HedbergCase IVEY-9B18M109-EStrategyIn 2010, EPCOR Utility Inc.’s application to implement new metering technologies was denied by the Alberta Utilities Commission. By 2014, however, several key changes had taken place in regulations and in the cost of smart meters. With another application to the Alberta Utilities Commission due in just four months, the director at EPCOR Utility Inc. was contemplating several options, all of which involved carefully considering the interests of ma...Starting at €8.20