Ivey Business School (Canada)
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iQmetrix and Straker Translations: Evaluating First Contact
Ann C. Frost; Chris Street; Maurice ThibodeauCase IVEY-9B18A069-EEntrepreneurship, MarketingUsing raw, uncut footage, this video case asks students to evaluate the effectiveness of the first contact that took place in November 2016 between representatives from two technology companies—iQmetrix and Straker Translations. The two firms are contemplating a business partnership in which Straker will provide iQmetrix with translation services. First contact calls generally precede every business partnership and are normally completed only aft...Starting at €8.20
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Banishing Performance Ratings at iQmetrix
Justin Feeney; Ann C. Frost; Chris StreetCase IVEY-9B20C006-ELeadership and People ManagementIn 2018, Software development corporation iQmetrix Software Development Corp. (iQmetrix), headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, had experienced exponential growth and success over the past two decades. The company’s head of People and Culture, was interested in the debate over the ideal performance appraisal process. After reading a few articles in the Harvard Business Review, she was considering dropping traditional performance appraisals and repl...Starting at €8.20
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REfficient: Preparing for Growth
David Sparling; Ken MarkCase IVEY-9B14M062-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyIn early 2011, the founder of REfficient, an asset recovery service based in Hamilton, Ontario, was thinking about how she should manage the rapid growth that seemed just around the corner. Founded in 2010 to help cable firms generate value from their stock of surplus equipment, REfficient, with no direct competitors in the Ontario market, had grown rapidly and had a list of corporate customers, two warehouses and five employees. The company was ...Starting at €8.20
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iQmetrix: The Customer Is Always Right
Chris Street; Darren Meister; Tracy ThibodeauCase IVEY-9B16M028-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyIn 2015, iQmetrix, a company founded in 1999, developed and sold point-of-sale (POS) software using the software-as-a-service model. Two iQmetrix enterprise account managers were discussing strategies for closing a software subscription deal with a large customer who asked for significant customization to be completed before the deal could be signed. The customization appeared to be critical for the customer, and the account managers thought the ...Starting at €8.20
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Challenges and Opportunities at the Protospace Makerspace
Chris Street; J. Robert MitchellCase IVEY-9B17M087-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyIn early 2017, the directors at Protospace, a makerspace in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, faced some challenges. The nine-year-old member-run organization operated as a “do-ocracy,” with a minimum of official oversight. However, the directors and some of the membership wondered whether Protospace could and should scale its growth by recruiting and accepting new members. Would a larger membership help or hinder the membership-driven makerspace? Should...Starting at €8.20
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Food and Health Policy in the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
David Sparling; Pamela LaughlandCase IVEY-9B11M045-EStrategyRapid increases in obesity and chronic disease rates are stressing health care systems and government budgets globally. They are also causing individuals, governments, and businesses to examine closely the relationship between food and health. The issue is complex and involves many stakeholders from government and non-governmental agencies, as well as businesses. Food and health can have both positive and negative impacts on the food industry.As ...Starting at €8.20
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Organizational Design at iQmetrix: The Holacracy Decision
Chris Street; Ann C. Frost; Clayton CaswellCase IVEY-9B17C045-EEntrepreneurship, Leadership and People ManagementSoftware development company iQmetrix Software Development Corporation (iQmetrix), headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, had enjoyed success and growth for over two decades. In July 2017, iQmetrix was confronted with the challenge of managing this growth while maintaining its organizational culture as a non-hierarchical, innovative, and open place to work—a place where the best ideas could come from anywhere and where people shared ideas openly and...Starting at €8.20
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Image Pipeline Services: Weighing the Buyout Offer
David Sparling; Ken MarkCase IVEY-9B11D004-EEntrepreneurship, Finance, Service and Operations Management, StrategyThe president of Image Pipeline Services, a pipeline flushing and inspection firm, is taking a step back from the past few weeks, where he has spent virtually all his waking time working on his new business in Edmonton’s oil sands industry. A few months after starting his business, he controls virtually the entire market, but competitors will be encroaching soon. One competitor has offered to purchase his business and the president wants to weigh...Starting at €8.20
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Selling at ServiceBox (A): Jon Clifford's Perspective
Chris Street; J. Robert MitchellCase IVEY-9B16M015-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyIn 2012, an entrepreneur and his business partner have created ServiceBox, a web-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) work order management system for use in plumbing and heating businesses. The product was developed in response to a request from a friend, who owns a plumbing business. The entrepreneur is now ready to sell this product, relying on a subscription-based SaaS business model for revenue. He has scheduled a meeting with a heating contra...Starting at €8.20
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Business Models and the Online Venture Challenge (A): The Decision Over Version 2.0
Chris Street; J. Robert MitchellCase IVEY-9B17M050-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyIn January 2016, two entrepreneurial brothers attended an academic conference on small business and entrepreneurship to sell their product, the Online Venture Challenge, a web-based software-as-a-service retail simulation system. The brothers also hoped to demonstrate their second product idea, Launchboard, an interactive product that enabled users to make development plans and record their progress. Both products were intended as tools for entre...Starting at €8.20