The John Molson Case Publications initiative was founded to support the development of business case studies under the John Molson School of Business banner.
The initiative is in partnership with Ivey Publishing.
The John Molson School of Business’ Bob and Raye Briscoe Centre in Business Ownership Studies is proud to announce the winners of this year's competition.
To write, publish and distribute business cases written by the John Molson community to schools around the world.
To support John Molson academic programs through an ever-growing body of work reflecting contemporary and diverse businesses of relevance to faculty and students.
Raymond Paquin is director of the John Molson Case Publications initiative and a professor in the Department of Management.
His research explores how firms create collaborative environmental, social, and economic value above and beyond what can be done through the actions of individual firms. In particular, he has an in expertise social networks, industrial symbiosis, and sustainability-oriented business model innovation.
Business case studies examine a real challenge faced by a business and propose solutions. Explore recent cases from John Molson School faculty members.
How might social entrepreneurs achieve their dreams of providing affordable healthcare to 50 million people in underserved rural areas while overcoming different barriers?
That’s the question that Associate Professor Suchit Ahuja and his MBA student Jyoti Shrivastava from the John Molson School of Business, and Associate Professor Nadege Levallet of Maine Business School addressed in a recently published case - “iKure Health Platform: Strategic Growth in a Challenging Rural Environment” as part of the Ivey-Molson co-branded case collection.
In 2010, Sujay Santra founded iKure TechSoft Pvt. Ltd. (iKure) in Kolkata, India, with a mission to provide accessible and affordable health care to 50 million rural individuals by 2025 and achieve zero mortality in primary health care. iKure wanted to address the challenges and inefficiencies of the healthcare system at scale by leveraging digital technology, an innovative, affordability-driven business model, and ecosystem development via community partnerships.
Rural healthcare in India presented a complex challenge in the form of overcoming inadequate infrastructure, financial constraints, logistical hurdles, and a lack of health education. A scarcity of skilled healthcare workers exacerbated the situation. Bridging the digital gap and promoting community engagement was crucial, alongside effective policy implementation and obtaining sufficient funding. To address these issues, iKure not only needed innovation in healthcare service delivery, but also needed to innovate on price-market fit, technology interventions, affordable business models, and engaging with local, national, and international partners for funding and resources.
iKure decided to follow a four-pronged approach:
How do entrepreneurs sustain their business while preserving their innovative ideas and vision? This is a fundamental challenge in the hospitality industry, where businesses must balance creativity with profitability in competitive and ever-evolving markets.
Assistant Professor Sumin Song and her student Kevin Vesnaver explore this dilemma in their case study, “Los Borrachos: Sparkling Strategies for Expanding the Customer Base,” published as part of the Ivey-Concordia co-branded case collection.
Case: Los Borrachos was a specialty bar with a cozy ambience near Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. The co-founders, leveraging their extensive knowledge of wine and wine pairings, envisioned an intimate gathering place that celebrated sparkling wines and European-style dishes. Their unique concept attracted a dedicated customer base, allowing the bar to cover its monthly expenses. However, despite this success, Los Borrachos struggled to generate significant profits, putting its long-term sustainability in question.
Context: The broader industry landscape posed additional challenges. Seoul’s nightlife is highly competitive, with new bars frequently emerging and customers eager to explore alternative venues. Securing repeat patronage is difficult, especially as younger consumers gravitate toward non-alcoholic social experiences. Beyond customer behaviour, operational constraints also shaped the business landscape. The bar relied on foreign suppliers for its distinctive beverage selection, limiting flexibility and giving suppliers considerable bargaining power. At the same time, any strategic change, whether in menu offerings, marketing, or service structure needed to align with the bar’s staffing and procurement capabilities while maintaining its distinctive value proposition.
Problem and strategic options: The co-founders faced a critical decision: How can they grow their business without compromising their original vision? To address this challenge, they considered three strategic options: (1) launching a loyalty program to encourage repeat visits and strengthen customer retention, (2) enhancing event-hosting services to boost group bookings and expand revenue streams, and (3) introducing a bundling menu that paired wines with complementary dishes to offer a unique customer experience. Each option represented a different type of innovation, from process improvements to service differentiation. The decision was not just about increasing revenue; it was about selecting the most effective strategy that aligned with their brand identity, available resources, and competitive positioning.
Key takeaways: This case provides a compelling learning opportunity for students and business professionals studying innovation management, entrepreneurship, and strategic decision-making. It encourages the analysis of business growth in resource-constrained environments and demonstrates how frameworks like Porter’s Five Forces, value-chain analysis, and the balanced scorecard can help assess market positioning and long-term sustainability. At its core, the Los Borrachos case study highlights a common entrepreneurial dilemma: how to scale a niche business while maintaining its original essence. The case encourages students to think critically about market differentiation, customer retention, and sustainable business models - issues that extend beyond hospitality and apply to a wide range of industries.
Scaling impact while navigating constraints of low-resource environments is a fundamental challenge in the K-10 education sector. It’s especially evident in emerging markets, several countries in the Global South and many regions within the Global North, where innovative, community-based and impact-focused solutions must be developed to bridge resource gaps without having access to abundant infrastructure.
The case of ThinkZone, an EdTech start-up, explores how a mission-driven venture responded to the disruption of COVID-19 by creatively leveraging accessible technologies and now faces the challenge of evolving to achieve its broader vision of delivering quality education at scale.
Assistant Professor Arman Sadreddin, Associate Professor Suchit Ahuja and their PhD student Abby Golub explore this topic in their case study, “ThinkZone 2.0: How to Develop Capabilities to Scale EdTech in Rural India?” published as part of the Ivey-Concordia co-branded case collection.
In 2015, Binayak Acharya founded an EdTech start-up called ThinkZone. Its mission was to improve students’ learning outcomes in low-resource settings by implementing high-quality education programs. During the pandemic, it quickly pivoted to deliver content via readily available technologies, such as radio, television, interactive voice response (IVR), feature phone messaging and offline-enabled mobile apps, ensuring continued learning even in areas with no internet access. Now, in the age of AI, ThinkZone must transition into its next phase by building on its early innovations and planning for sustainable, scalable growth.
India’s education landscape is shaped by geographic and linguistic diversity, home to 22 official languages, and persistent infrastructure gaps. In 2021–2022, 66% of schools lacked internet connectivity, and nearly 60% of students were unable to access online learning.
In this context, platforms like ThinkZone emerged to address these challenges. By using activity-based learning methods that didn’t depend on digital connectivity, ThinkZone brought meaningful education to some of the country’s most marginalized communities. It also developed novel business models and created an impact-focused ecosystem consisting of parents, teachers, community leaders, local and provincial governments, and NGOs.
This case offers a rich and practical learning opportunity for students, educators, and policymakers interested in digital innovation, transformation, and entrepreneurship in resource-constrained environments. Through ThinkZone’s experience, readers can apply strategic tools such as PESTEL and SWOT analyses to assess decisions, understand contextual challenges, and explore how simple technologies can have a significant impact. The case also highlights the importance of organizational learning and capability development for achieving long-term success.
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