oikos Case Quarterly 8

1

Autumn 2012 Issue 8 | wwwoikosinternationalorgacademic

ldquoHerbstrdquo by Wolfgang Staudt Attribution 20 Generic (CC BY 20)

bull Foreword

bull JohnLawrence(Universityof IdahoUSA)Repurposing Sustainability Cases

Thinking Outside the Business School

bull RosaMaria Fischer andDecio Zylbersztajn (University of Sao Pablo) -Orsa

Group the challenge of sustainable development in the Amazon

bull JensHamprecht (ETHZurich Switzerland) andDanielCorsten (IEBusiness

SchoolSpain)-The Migros Palm Oil Case

bull ScottMarshall(PortlandStateUniversityUSA)MelliePullmanZachAnderson

DanGambettaJacenGreeneandMattFlax-Sustainability admist uncertainty

Columbia Forest Productsrsquo pursuit of sustainability in a changing market

bull ScottMarshall(PortlandStateUniversityUSA)LisaPeiferandErinFerrigno-

Tropical Salvage From Recession to Expansion

bull Forthcomingcaseteachingeventsandothernews

bull Howtosubscribe

Featured Case Writers and Cases

Issue 8 Fall 2012

Sustainable Forestry

Case QuarterlyTeaching Cases in Action

oikos

2


growth strategy from sourcing and logistics to finance and information systems The second case narrates the worring situation of one of the leading players in the US hardwood plywood producers in view of a de-clining house market The case dis-cusses whether the further pursuit of a strategy based on sustainability principles would lead to an impact on the firmrsquos competitiveness

These two cases are part of the oikos free case collection and a free online copy can be downloaded If you are a faculty member and you are interested in teaching this case you can request a free teaching note by sending us an email to freecaseoikosinternationalorg

We hope that you will enjoy reading the Autumn 2012 issue and exploring examples of decisions and discussions around the sustainable practices related to forestry As usual we would be very happy to receive your feedback including suggestions for new issues so do send us an email to caseoikosinternationalorg

Dear reader

Foreword

Jordi Vives Gabrieloikos Case Quarterly Editor

Forests as with many other natural resources are currently under threat by over-exploitation and mismanage-ment by business coporations This is a fact that has not passed unnoticed to sustainability case writers Forest-ry as this issue will demonstrate is also the target of intrepid social entrepreneurs and concerned man-agers who try to develop business models considering social and en-vironmental aspects in their opera-tions In this respect we are glad to welcome Prof John Lawrence to our tribune to share his thoughts and expe-riences on the benefits of business case teaching for environmental science students

Our first featured case is entitled ldquoOrsa Group the challenge of sustain-able development in the Amazonrdquo This case is kindly shared by the So-cial Enterprise Knowledge Network (SEKN) with whom oikos established a partnership for the promotion of social entrepreneurship cases The Orsa Group case tackles the turnaround challenges that a family business had to undergo when it acquired an old and bankrupted cellulose manufacturer

in an impoverished community in the Amazon

The Swiss retailer Migros is the focus of our second case In the late 90s Migros management realized the potential damage that the palm oil plantations represented for defores-tation and for their own firmrsquos repu-tation Migros was processing palm oil in many of its products At that time palm oil was still not perceived as an issue by the public opinion How-ever Migros developed a joint strategy with WWF to set standards and controls along its supply chain The case is planned to be developed in three sessions (45 min each) and consti-tutes an excellent opportunity to introduce students to Institutional Theory

Professor Scott Marshall (Portland State UUSA) and his team are the authors of the third and fourth cas-es featured in this issue on forest-ry Tropical Salvage and Columbia Forest Products The first case ex-plores the difficulties and dilemmas a dedicated sustainable wood manufac-turer had to confront to actualize its

Next issue of oikos Case Quarterly (winter 2012) will be focused on the topic of energy and we will feature the following cases

bull Mind the Gap Royal Dutch Shellrsquos Sustainability Agenda in Nigeria (by Esther Henchen)

bull Nuru Energy (by Filipe Santos Anne-Marie Carrick-Cagna)

bull HOCOL (by Elsa Margarita Uribe Roberto Gutierrez Andres Barragan )

3


Repurposing Sustainability CasesThinking Outside the Business Schoolby Jahn Lawrence

Sustainability-themed business cases are invaluable pedagogical tools for preparing our business students to manage in more sustainable ways At the University of Idaho these same cases are also used to teach environmental science students about business

ldquoEnvironmental sci-ence students can feel out of place in tradition-al business courses and many avoid them for this reasonrdquo

Environmental science graduates can bring technical expertise creativity and enthusiasm to bear on complex environmental problems but they typically arenrsquot well prepared to address the organizational context in which these environmental solutions are considered By helping environmental scientists understand the tools and logic of business we hope to better position them to work with business leaders to find and implement solutions to todayrsquos environmental challenges

Environmental science students can feel out of place in traditional busi-ness courses and many avoid them for this reason Teach the business con-cepts in a context that environmental

science students care about how-ever and these same students em-brace business courses Cases written to teach business students about sus-tainability provide that context

For example I wrote a case for fi-nancial planning courses entitled ldquoThe Green Duplexrdquo about a couple considering building a sustainably designed duplex as a retirement in-vestment When my environmental science students read the case they get excited because they want to live in a rental like the one proposed in the case I ask students whether they would advise their parents to invest $250000 of their retirement money to build such a duplex Once students appreciate the need for a financial analysis and hoping to prove that green duplexes can be a good investment they become en-gaged in concepts like time value of money future cash flow estima-tion net present value and return on investment

I follow this case with The Southern Company (Harvard case 9-792-060) about a utility trying to determine how to address regulations to curb acid rain drawing parallels to cur-rent and potential regulation of green house gases Students must financially evaluate SO2 scrubbers

low sulfur coal and buying SO2 cred-its as means to meet pending SO2 emission requirements The envi-ronmental context again engages the student as we explore additional financial concepts

ldquoThe feedback from stu-dents has been over-whelmingly positive Students report feeling much better positioned to get the environmen-tal solutions they hope to develop actually implementedrdquo

I have taught business courses spe-cifically for environmental science students in two contexts ndash as an elective course for undergraduates called Business Principles for En-vironmental Scientists and as a required component of our Profes-sional Science Masters (PSM) degree in environmental science Our PSM degree requires two business cours-es - one on managing scientific proj-ects that covers accounting finance and project management concepts and one on managing scientific in-novation These courses are loaded with sustainability-themed cases that engage students in learning business concepts

John Lawrence is a Professor of Business and the Coeur drsquoAlene Mines Executive MBA Faculty Fellow at the University of Idaho He teaches strategy innovation and project and process management in the UIrsquos Executive MBA Professional Science Masters and undergraduate integrated business programs His research

focuses on the development of strategy and sustainability cases and he serves on the editorial board of the Case Research Journal Professor Lawrence holds a PhD and MBA from The Pennsylvania State University and bachelors and masters degrees in engineering from the University of MichiganJohn Lawrence

4


The feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive Students report feeling much better positioned to get the environmental solutions they hope to develop actually implemented They also report that these added business skills are very well received when interviewing for jobs

ps Stephen Bowden and I are guest-editing an upcoming special issue of the Case Research Journal focused on sustainability-themed cases Wersquod love to consider cases from the Oikos community for that special edition (the submission deadline is 18 January 2013)

Favourite cases

My current favorite sustainability-focused case is Arcadia Biosciences (Harvard case 9-709-019) ndash it illustrates how alternative business models can exist for bringing sustainability innovations to market and I have used it with both my PSM and EMBA students I also like Namasteacute Solar (Ivey 910M49) on the challenge of scaling up an organization and its impact without compromising the values that the organization was built on and Glegg Water Company (Ivey case 901M03) on driving the adoption of environmental innovation in a B2B setting where industry standards play a critical role

ldquoGolden Structurerdquo by Katarzyna Woźniak copy 2011 Katarzyna Woźniak

5


The Case StoryThis case describes the unprece-dented process of acquisition of the Jari Celulose company an indebted venture embedded within the Amazon forest by the Brazilian Orsa Group a family-owned business in the field of Paper amp Cellulose industry

This negotiation process took an adventurous aspect The company originated in the Jari Project carried out by American billionaire Daniel Ludwig in the 1960s in one more failed attempt to tame the forest In 2000 on the occasion of the negoti-ation the interested parties should pay the banks a debt of US$ 400 mil-lion Moreover a total business re-construction would be necessary if on the one hand the business location was strategic for international ex-ports and its infrastructure allowed the full vertical integration of pro-duction on the other hand was the condition of abandonment of the factory of the plantation forest re-serves harbor and roads

ldquothe Amazon is stillan unknown andforgotten immensityrdquo

In what could be interpreted as a joke the Orsa group CEO a self-made man who had built a corpo-ration in 20 years offered to pay frac14 of the value of the Jari company deb-it over a ten-year period This ap-parently insignificant offer won the acquisition process for two reasons Not only did the Orsa Group commit to revitalize the production modernize the company and generate employ-ment thereby improving the im-poverished local economy but also offered a ldquosocial currencyrdquo whose value was superior to all this busi-ness investment

This social currency was repre-sented by Orsa group sound exper-tise in creating and executing social investment programs through its Fundaccedilatildeo Orsa Besides the social actions aimed at reducing poverty

Rosa Maria Fisher - Full Professor Faculty of Economics and Business Administration University of Sao Paulo with Habilitation at the Faculty of Administration PhD in Political Science and a Masters in Social Sciences from the Faculty of Philosophy Letters and Sciences University of Sao Paulo He founded and directs the CEATS Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Management in the Third Sector Co-founder of SEKN - Social Enterprise Knowledge Network He was a member of the board of directors of ISTR - International Society for Third Sector Research Has a seat in the councils of the Itauacute Social Foundation Itauacute Fund for Excellence Orsa Foundation Center Ruth Cardoso Ethos Institute of Business and Social Responsibility

Rosa Maria Fischer Decio Zylbersztajn

Decio Zylbersztajn is Professor at the School of Economics Business and Accounting of the University of Satildeo Paulo-Brazil PhD degree in economics at the North Carolina State University ME degree in economics at the same University a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics at the School of Agriculture Luiz de Queiroz from the University of Satildeo Paulo and holds a BS in Agronomy at the same University Teaches courses at the graduate level Economics of Agroindustrial relations Economics of Property Rights and Law Economics and Organization Within the MBA in Social Entrepreneurship he teaches Governance in Non Profit Organizations

Orsa Group the challenge of sustainable development in the Amazonby Rosa Maria Fischer amp Decio Zylbersztajn

in the places where the group op-erated the Fundaccedilatildeo was beginning actions to develop entrepreneurs in these communities These activities were guided by a framework based on sustainable socioenvironmental development

The Jari acquisition allowed Orsa group to involve the surrounding com-munities in the creation of ventures able to generate wealth arising from the sustainable use of biodiversity

6


Teaching the CaseThe case is extremely attractive to Brazilian and foreign students because the Amazon is still an un-known and forgotten immensity It is a region with low socioeconomic in-dicators where the greatest wealth of biodiversity reserve of humani-ty lives in poverty of the majority population in the states of Para and Amapa

Students are surprised by the existence of an enterprise as Jari in this scenario as well as the audacity of the CEO to acquire an estate destined to failure This leads them to motivate themselves to get more information about the group the profile of the entrepreneur in an attempt to understand the success

ldquoThe controversy that is established in the class-room is very beneficial to clarify concepts and practices of Responsibil-ity and Sustainabilityrdquo

Students are invited to analyze the production costs the costs of in-vestments to modernize the factory and revitalizing plantings and always arrive to discouraging results Invited to analyze the socials commitments assumed by the Group the students tend to divide into two groups the skeptics who consider a philoso-phy of responsibility social facade and positively surprised that identi-fy Orsa Foundationrsquos proposals the differential of a responsibilities ef-fectively ingrained in the mindsets of cultural values organizational

The controversy that is established in the classroom is very beneficial to clarify concepts and practices of Re-sponsibility and Sustainability en-couraging students to research the existing types of social performance of companies and entities that drive corporations to that effect In class we provoke the following questions 1) examine the financial perfor-mance of Jari in period subsequent to the acquisition 2) Map the busi-ness potential that can be developed with local entrepreneurs 3) evalu-ate the results obtained with the companyrsquos social programs in the region vis-agrave-vis the Orsa Founda-tionrsquos investments in these actions

4) identify the trend of price devel-opments in the international pulp market vis-agrave-vis the performance the group and their commitment to social investments made

This type of analysis provides students with objectivity and concreteness to 1) ascertain the possibility of in-tegrating a commitment to social in-vestment egrave own corporate strategy 2) understand how the social dimen-sion can be incorporated into cor-porate strategy and may open new possibilities for business 3) develop management skills to integrate social strategies trade and sustainability

One of the biggest challenges faced by students in the analysis and dis-cussion of this case is to find metrics for assessing the social value gener-ated by the business and socio-in-clusive stimulated by Orsa While the economic value generated by these enterprises can be measured by assessment systems already es-tablished the social value they are certainly capable of generating it is still diffuse intangible and sub-ject to diverse influences It is then placed to the students the best of challenges to continue seeking ways to undertake manage and evaluate that improve the competence of or-ganizations to obtain results that go beyond the financial and economic to produce positive social and envi-ronmental impacts

Use this case in MBAs and post graduate programs in business and management in the disciplines of strategy sustainability corporate responsibility and sustainable de-velopment It is also successfully employed in training programs for entrepreneurs focused on the topics of leadership and negotiationFavorite CasesThere are other cases linked to the SEKN authors exploiting links be-tween these organizational a culture of responsibility and sustainability and business strategies and manage-ment One such case is that of ldquoMov-ing Mountains Felipe Porto Carrero the Universidad del Pacifico Peru and the sequence of cases that describe the companyrsquos historical Indupalma Colombia prepared by the team at the University Los Andes

ldquoOne of the biggest chal-lenges faced by students in the analysis and dis-cussion of this case is to find metrics for assessing the social value gener-ated by the business and socio-inclusive stimulat-ed by Orsardquo

New Case DevelopmentDue to the importance agribusiness economy for various Latin-American countries especially those geared to the international market the study of strategies of responsibili-ty and sustainability these compa-nies brings a major contribution to rethink the role they can play in the development of the regions where they operate In Brazil we have studied both cases of large corpora-tions such as Agropalma producer of palm oil which is part of the small farmers around the production of raw materials and initiatives such as the social entrepreneurship com-munity APAEB case which is a sisal processing industry and the manufac-ture of carpets created and managed by an association of small producers in the region

Developing and using case studies to demonstrate the opportunities and constraints to engage in sustain-able and responsible business con-tributes to demystify these issues They encourage students to be-come innovative entrepreneurs who are both committed to the genera-tion dos economic values required by the market and the social values that provoke impacts of transforma-tion in the contexts of poverty and inequality

Case Purchase Information This case can be purchased directly from the Harvard Business Review store website More information available at the SEKN portal

7


ldquoRiver-mirrorrdquo by Katarzyna Woźniak copy 2011 Katarzyna Woźniak

8


The Migros Palm Oil Case by Jens Hamprecht amp Daniel Corsten

The Case StoryIn 1999 senior managers of the Swiss retailer Migros learnt about a very negative but little known im-pact of the palm oil supply chain its potential contribution to the deforestation of the rain forest Quickly the Swiss media had dis-covered the theme of pristine rain forest that is cleared for palm oil plantations As Migros was process-ing palm oil in many products it wanted to make sure that its repu-tation was not damaged due to the palm oil issue The retailer decided to set up a strategic collaboration with the WWF Jointly Migros and the WWF developed a standard for sustainable palm oil supply chains and made it compulsory for each of Migrosrsquo private label suppliers The retailer gained a significant reputa-tional advantage for following this strategy it was awarded by the United Nations Migros leveraged that recognition by communicating that strategy in the Swiss media In order to ensure a sustainable palm oil supply chain on a larger scale and to reduce its purchasing costs Migros pioneered talks on an inter-national palm oil standard Today this standard is supported by an in-creasing number of multinationals

ldquoAs Migros was process-ing palm oil in many products it wanted to make sure that its repu-tation was not damaged due to the palm oil issuerdquo

Teaching the CaseCoursesThis case is designed for Execu-tive MBA or MBA classes on strategic management corporate sustain-ability and strategic supply chain management

Preparation for the ClassTeaching this case provides the stu-dents with an opportunity to apply several theoretical perspectives Particularly these are institutional theory and institutional work No prior experience in these literatures

is requiredStructure of the LessonIdeally teaching the case compris-es three lessons of 45min each The scope of the first lesson is to provide the student a background on (1) the empirical case and (2) supportive theoretical perspectives for discussing the case The next two lessons are then used for the actual discussion of the case

This approach leads to the following structure

1stlesson(45min)bull Introduce the students to the em-pirical phenomenon The following two videos are suitable to explain to students how NGOs pressure cor-porations to purchase sustainable palm oilhttpwwwgreentvorangutans_specialset_location=en

httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=QV1t-MvnCrA

bull Provide the students with a back-ground on the theoretical framework of the case The theory that is ar-guably best suited to analyze how NGOs pressure corporations is insti-tutional theory (IT)

The teaching note of the case pro-vides an overview on the key con-cepts of IT that are particularly supportive for analyzing the Migros Palm Oil case The remainder of the lesson should focus on introducing these concepts

bull Hand out the case (part A and B) and assign the students the ques-tions concerning Part A of the case (as summarized in the teaching note)

2ndand3rdlesson(90mintotal)

The second and third lesson (total 90 min) are best conducted one week after the first lesson to provide stu-dents sufficient time for reading the Migros case and addressing the questions regarding part A The fol-lowing structure has proven highly effective in teaching the case

bull Warm up what struck the students

Daniel Corsten

Jens Hamprecht is a Senior Researcher at the Chair of Sustainability and Technology at ETH Zurich He is Vice Chairman of the European Bioplastics Association and he has extensive experience in developing markets for sustainable product innovations His research interests include the management of corporate sustainability and strategic management He holds a PhD from University of St Gallen and he has studied engineering at ETH Zurich and Imperial College London

Daniel Corsten is Full Professor of Operations and Technology Management at IE Business School in Madrid Before he was Associate Professor at University St Gallen where he was also Vice Director of the Institute of Technology Management Daniel holds a PhD from the University of St Gallen and a MS (Business Diploma) from the University of Cologne Germany His research interests include Sustainability Supply Chain Management and Marketing Channels

Jens Hamprecht

9


8 Case Purchase InformationInspection copy of the case ldquoThe Migros palm oilrdquo is available from the oikos Case Collection This case is also available for purchase from ecch (606-045-8)

about the Migros case

bull Discuss the questions on part A of the case About 10 minutes should be assigned to the discussion of each question of Part A

bull Discuss part B of the case with the students to this end set up groups in the class that shall each discuss the following situation

The competitor Coop Switzerland did not know about Migrosrsquo palm oil strategy until it was communicated to the public Put yourself in the position of the assistant to the CEO of Coop Switzerland How would you have responded to Migrosrsquo attempt to fuel the demands for sustainable purchasing of palm oil

Let the groups present their solu-tions for addressing this situation Conclude the lesson by revealing the strategy that Coop actually chose (cf the teaching note) Learning objectivesThe learning objectives of this case study are the following

1 Explore the difficulties of judging scientific data in the management of corporate sustainability Investi-gate how opinion makers use num-bers and ratios to let one and the same issue in the management of the natural environment appear as either dramatically important or completely irrelevant

2 Explore that launching a strategy in the field of corporate sustainability is not only an issue of doing what the market demands Furthermore it involves forming and transforming the rules norms and standard models of customers as well as institutions 3 Identify how a business can respond to attempts of a competitor to trans-form the demands of institutions

Favorite CasesOther favorite cases include It of-ten remains a challenge to link the emerging empirical phenomena of corporate sustainability with estab-lished literatures of management research Following is a publica-tion that is outstanding both in the richness of the case study as well as in the depth of its theoretical

framing Zietsma C amp Lawrence T B (2010) Institutional work in the transformation of an organization-alfieldTheinterplayofboundarywork and practice work Adminis-trative Science Quarterly 55(2) 189-221 The paper provides a detailed nar-rative on how NGOs have pressured for the creation of sustainable forest-ry practices in British Columbia Rich accounts on the interaction be-tween NGOs and corporations are also provided in multiple cases au-thored by Michael Yaziji at IMD in Switzerland

ldquoThe theory that is argu-ably best suited to ana-lyze how NGOs pressure corporations is institu-tional theory (IT )rdquo

New Case DevelopmentThe palm oil value chain that is central to our case deserves fur-ther analysis Consider that the re-tail German retail giant REWE has set up a forum for sustainable palm oil supplies together with Hen-kel and the WWF A follow up case should explore why REWE and Hen-kel have recently set up this forum and did not promote the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil as pioneered by Migros

Future cases should also examine biobased value chains in the chemi-cal industry particularly at BASF The company manages both a port-folio of fossil based and nonbio-degradable products (ie plastics from conventional sources) and an emerging product range of bio-based biodegradable plastics The market development of this new product category provides an excel-lent case study on institutional work and stakeholder management across several regions

10


ldquoBlackoutrdquo by Katarzyna Woźniak copy 2012 Katarzyna Woźniak

11


Tropical Salvage From Recession to Expansion by Scott Marshall Lisa Peifer amp Erin Ferrigno

The case storyTim OrsquoBrien was ready to launch a growth strategy for his company He had spent ten years building the sourcing production and marketing capa-bilities of Tropical Salvage OrsquoBrien had many key business decisions to make to actualize his growth strategy OrsquoBrien is aware of some significant challenges First there abundant salvageable wood in Indonesia but additional sources will be needed to ensure efficient salvage and trans-port processes Second Tropical Sal-vage lacks a formal computer-based system to track and control its in-ventory which may be strained with one or more branded retail loca-tions Third increased demand for its furniture is necessary in order for Tropical Salvage to expand operations OrsquoBrien considers marketing to be his greatest challenge And finally

OrsquoBrien needs to determine how to finance the expansion Each option presents different pros and cons and he needs to weigh each before mov-ing forward

ldquoIt combines interna-tional operations distri-bution and marketing to consider how the compa-ny can increase the scale of its operations through product diversification beyond its core product line and forward vertical integration into branded retailrdquo

Teaching the caseThis case is most effectively used to assess the potential for growth in social enterprise It combines inter-national operations distribution and

marketing to consider how the com-pany can increase the scale of its operations through product diver-sification beyond its core product line and forward vertical integra-tion into branded retail It can be used in a strategy course to con-duct a competitive analysis of a so-cial enterprise It can also be used in a marketing course by focusing on the plan to move into branded retail with a sustainability-focused product line Similarly the case study can be incorporated into an entrepreneur-ship course to highlight the strate-gic challenges confronted by social entrepreneurs as they seek to scale their businesses

The classroom discussion is best served by clearly delineating a defi-nition of social enterprise and how it is argued to be distinct from com-mercial enterprise The classroom discussion can then focus on (1) How can social entrepreneurs effective-ly compete against traditional com-mercial entrepreneurs (2) What key challenges do social entrepre-neurs confront that their commercial competitors do not and (3) What are the key drivers of competitive success for social entrepreneurs given the key challenges

The case study provides a lot of in-formation on the competencies of the company as well as some insights into the structure and competitive dynamics in the hardwood furniture industry Conducting an assessment of Tropical Salvagersquos competencies is quite important early in the case discussion We believe that this ex-ercise works best by utilizing stu-dent teams during class Each team derives VRIO assessments and shares them with their peers This process permits students to gain a deeper grasp of the opportunities and chal-lenges of Tropical Salvagersquos pro-posed expansion plans

The article by Bloom and Chatterji (2009) in ldquoCalifornia Management Reviewrdquo provides the SCALERS framework for evaluating the capacity of a social

Scott Marshall has a BA in business economics Willamette University an MA in international affairs George Washington University and a PhD in international strategy University of Oregon Dr Marshall a Professor of Management and Associate Dean for Graduate Programs at the School of Business Administration Portland State University

Lisa Peifer is the General Manager at Tropical Salvage and Director of Outreach and Social Media at the Public House Theatre Company She obtained her MBA at the Portland State Universtiy School of Business in 2010

Erin Ferrigno is an MBA alumna with a strong background in customer service and an interest in corporate responsibility She is the accounts receivable staff accountant at Montage Deer Valley

Scott Marshall

Erin Ferrigno

Lisa Peifer

12


OSU Special Collections amp Archives Commons

enterprise to meet its social and economic objectives In the class-room the instructor asks students to map their work on the VRIO to a SCALERS assessment This requires students to look more closely at the competencies of Tropical Salvage particularly as they relate to the social (and environmental) mission that OrsquoBrien has set forth For ex-ample the first competency noted in the VRIO framework above is Raw Material Sourcing and Cost Map-ping this competency to the SCAL-ERS framework involves considering Tim and Agusrsquo relationships with lo-cal government officials their per-ceived expertise of salvaging and potential competition in log salvag-ing in Indonesia

ldquoThe case study provides a lot of information on the competencies of the company as well as some insights into the struc-ture and competitive dy-namics in the hardwood furniture industryrdquo

Based on the assessments from the VRIO and SCALERS exercises it is impactful for students to derive a

simplified tool for looking the Pros and Cons of different options for Tropi-cal Salvage One of the most criti-cal discussions should focus on the financing options The financial in-formation provided in Appendix 11 reveals that FY 2010 is likely to be weak financially And projections do not incorporate assumptions on a particular financing strategy On the other hand the financial infor-mation does portray relatively high gross margins and significant fore-casts for sales as the branded retail rolls out

Favourite casesGood Water Standing on Holy Ground by Steve Bowden Eva Collins Kate Kearins Helen Tregigda 2010 This is an excellent case study for supply chain courses when considering the challenges and opportunities of creating closed loop systems and making choices around materialsUPS and Corporate Responsibil-ity Proactively Managing Risk by James Rubin and Barbara Car-micheal Darden School of Busi-ness 2008 When combined with the most recent UPS CSR Report this case study is useful in strategic

management courses to look at cor-porate strategy and disclosure as it pertains to sustainability

New case developmentXerox Look at the impact of its sol-id ink technology in terms of over-all environmental footprint and the challenges of pushing this technology with competing technologies with much higher environmental foot-prints in the same company Such a case study would be useful in both marketing and organizational behav-iour courses

ldquoOne of the most criti-cal discussions should focus on the financing options The financial informationrdquo

Daimler Trucks North America Con-sider the subsidiaryrsquos Project 2020 which strives to lead the industry in fuel economy performance and reach a 20 reduction in fuel consumption for its entire product portfolio by the year 2020 Would be a case study would be useful in strategic manage-ment product innovation manage-ment and organizational behaviour courses

Case Purchase InformationThis case is part of the the oikos Case Collection Download a free online copy If you are a faculty member and you are interested in teaching this case you can request a free teaching note by sending us an email to freecaseoikosinternationalorg

13


Sustainability admist uncertaintyColumbia Forest Productsrsquo pursuitof sustainability in a changing marketby Scott Marshall Mellie Pullman Zach Anderson Dan Gambetta Jacen Greene Matt Flax

The case storyColumbia Forest Products (CFP) was one of the largest players in the US hardwood plywood products market At the point in the case the con-struction of new homes had fallen across the US and the fate of CFP was tightly bound to the US housing

market CFP has over a 40 market share in hardwood plywood products most of which go into new home con-struction Over the past three years CFP embarked on a journey into sus-tainability marked most profound-ly by the introduction of PureBondcopy non-formaldehyde plywood in 2006

A first in the industry PureBondcopy provides significant health benefits to CFP employees and customers by removing a known carcinogen from its products It also catalyzed CFPrsquos pursuit of a more comprehensive sustainability strategy But in the midst of the dreadful housing mar-ket in the US CFP executives

Scott Marshall has a BA in business economics Willamette University an MA in international affairs George Washington University and a PhD in international strategy University of Oregon Dr Marshall is Professor of Management and Associate Dean for Graduate Programs at the School of Business Administration Portland State University

Mellie Pullman is an associate professor of operations management She earned her PhD in business administration at the University of Utah in 1997 She has previously taught in Graduate and Executive programs at Cornell University London Business School Southern Methodist University CSU CU and University of Utah

Zach Anderson an MBA alumnus from Portland State University is a senior consultant at Milepost consulting He specializes in sustainability supply chain analysis applied integral theory risk analysis business development and scenario planning

Scott Marshall Mellie Pullman

Zach Anderson

Dan Gambetta has a MPA Indiana University Bloomington a MSES Indiana University Bloomington and an MBA Portland State Dan is an environmental compliance specialist at Bonneville Power Administration

Jacen Greene is an MBA alumnus from Portland State and an Ames Fellow for Social Entrepreneurship at Portland State University He coordinates PSUrsquos management training and leadership programs for Mercy Corps Digital Divide Data Blount International and other global organizations

Matt Flax received his Master of International Management from the Portland State University School of Business Currently he is a technical editor at Huawei focusing on editing technical documents including manuals instructions release notes feature descriptions press releases presentations and white papers for Huaweirsquos wireless telecom business

Dan Gambetta Jacen Green

Matt Flex

14


of the importance of legitimacy and the difficulties in challenging ac-cepted institutional practices Next the discussion can utilize Por-terrsquos Five Forces Model to analyse the structure of the forest products industry What are the power distri-butions among suppliers manufac-turers contractors retailers and final consumers This question is im-portant given Columbiarsquos attempt to use FSC certification and Pure-Bondreg as points of differentiation in a commodity market Such an analy-sis highlights the tenuous position of hardwood plywood manufacturers explains reasons why competitors have been restructuring and the motivations for Columbia to differ-entiate products and brands Next a resource-based theory ap-proach permits students to analyze the extent to which FSC certifica-tion the PureBondreg brand em-ployee ownership and other characteristics of Columbia provides market positioning based on lsquoassetsrsquo that are (1) valuable (2) rare (3) in-imitable and (3) opportunity for ex-ploitation (VRIO) An RBT approach will lead the students into the final portion of the case as they attempt to determine the best future direc-tion for Columbia

A systems-thinking approach is use-ful to evaluate potential leverage points in the hardwood plywood in-dustry and how Columbia may be able to influence the relationships through its introduction of Pure-Bondreg How did the introduction of PureBondreg alter Columbiarsquos rela-tionships in the industry What are the roles of the downstream supply chain members

The frameworks focus studentsrsquo analyses on the competitive envi-ronment in the hardwood plywood

6

industry and the potential for Co-lumbia to differentiate itself in this environment In examining the op-tions for Columbia it is interesting to consider the potential for a ldquoBlue Ocean Strategyrdquo in a commodity-based market particularly as it re-lates to the commercialization of environmentally-sound products Competition in the hardwood ply-wood industry has been historically characterized by restructuring but not escaping Red Ocean strategies Is it possible through environmen-tally-sound technologies and prod-ucts to differentiate and pursue a Blue Ocean strategy

ldquoA systems-thinking ap-proach is useful to eval-uate potential leverage points in the hardwood plywood industry and how Columbia may be able to influence the rela-tionships through its in-troduction of PureBondreg How did the introduction of PureBond regrdquo

Faviurite casesThree excellent cases to use are Portland Roasting Company Farm Friendly Direct by Mellie Pullman and her MBA students Method En-trepreneurial Innovation Health Environment and Sustainable Busi-ness Design by Andrea Larsen and Nestle Sustainable Agriculture Ini-tiative by Forest Reinhardt These three cases provide great opportu-nities to explore innovative business strategies that confront challeng-ing institutional environments Also using all three in the same course provides an opportunity to look at three different scales ndash Portland Roasting is a small 30-employee coffee roasting company Method is a medium-sized household cleaning and hygiene products company and Nestle a global corporation

wondered if further pursuit of a sustainability strategy would be detrimental to their companyrsquos competitiveness

Teaching the caseThis case describes the issues and dilemmas facing a company in de-ciding to adopt a sustainability strategy The company developed and promoted an innovative sus-tainable building product in a very traditional wood products industry The case is designed to highlight de-cisions related to strategy adverse industry reactions public policy and health claims This case is written for advanced undergraduate and MBA courses in strategy marketing or supply chain management

ldquoThis case can be used to highlight sustainable in-novation in a strategy class but can also be used in a marketing class to cover new product de-velopment and market launchrdquo

This case can be used to highlight sustainable innovation in a strategy class but can also be used in a mar-keting class to cover new product development and market launch For a supply chain class the case could highlight the both the role of supply chain structure in the de-velopment of sustainable product lines and the industry retaliation to products promoting sustainability features

To start the class share information about formaldehyde and ask stu-dents to discuss other examples of products with known health prob-lems and how industry and government have chosen to address the issues This discussion can be framed from an institutional perspective in terms

15


New case development

OrganizationLaughingPlanet

bull Highly successful small chain of restaurants with highly progressive supply chain focused on regionally-grown products from socially- and environmentally conscious farmers

bull Could be delivered primarily in supply chain management courses

OrganizationEcova

bull Rapidly growing energy efficien-cy and carbon management consult-ing firm

Case Purchase Information

This case is part of the oikos Case Collection Download a free online copy If you are a faculty member and you are interested in teaching this case you can request a free teaching note by sending us an email to freecaseoikosinternationalorg

ldquoSpeculation of the silencerdquo by Katarzyna Woźniak copy 2011 Katarzyna Woźniak

bull Could be delivered primarily in strategic management and marketing courses

OrganizationGerding-EdlenDevelopment

bull Leading lsquogreenrsquo commercial real estate developer that reinvented it-self during the commercial real es-tate crisis in the US

bull Could be delivered in strategic management and organizational be-haviour courses

16


The Social Entrepreneurship Knowl-edge Network (SEKN) has launched a new portal that covers relevant events and news relating to the so-cial entrepreneurship scene and of course case writing topics are also featuredJust type httpwwwseknorgcmsindexphpnoticiashtml in your web browser

The School House new case availa-ble at CaseplaceorgThe Aspen Institute via his Case-placeorg site is very pleased to an-nounce the publication of a new teaching case School House It is part of an ongoing focus on low-wage work jointly sponsored by As-penrsquos Center for Business Education and the Hitachi Foundation Stay tuned for the next case in the se-ries on Cascade Engineering coming soon For more information on this new case series please contact Miguel PadroCasePlaceorg has also spotlight-ed a number of new teaching top-ics in the Search of the Week series including

bull CSR Building a Sustainable Future

bull Responsible Management Education

bull Regulation in France

We also post new material weekly at New CasePlace and tweet on issues related to business sustain-ability education and society AspenBizEd

Ecch also provides customised pro-grammes that can be held at your site or in your region of the world These unique events are developed in close collaboration with your or-ganisation to ensure that learning objectives time span and budget are metwwwecchcomcustomisedworkshops

News amp calls for cases

New SEKN web portal on news amp events

The School House new case available at Caseplaceorg

ECCH offers customised programmes

EmeraldGUCAS China-focused teaching case competition with US$1500 prizeEmerald Emerging Markets Case Studies collection and GUCAS are proud to announce their first China-focused case competition Experts on Chinese management are invited to contribute stimulating teaching cases for this competition Deadline December 15 2012

Click here for more details

EEMCS amp AIB MENA teaching case competition with US$1000 prize

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies and the Academy of Interna-tional Business ndash Middle East North Africa (AIB-MENA) are proud to an-nounce the 3rd teaching case-writ-ing competition aimed at authors who base their cases on organisa-tions operating in the Middle East and North Africa region Deadline May 31 2013

For further details please click here

Case Research Journal Special Issue on Business amp Sustainability

The Case Research Journal will publish a special issue on business and sus-tainability to be guest-edited by Professor John J Lawrence of the University of Idaho and Dr Ste-phen Bowden of the University of Waikato

The deadline for submission to this special issue is January 18 2013 for publication in 2014

The Case Research Journal published quarterly by the North American Case Research Association (NACRA) and XanEdu Custom Publishing is dedi-cated to enhancing case research and publishing exceptional teaching cases Founded in 1980 the CRJ is double-blind refereed and accepts about fifteen percent of manu-scripts submitted

DomainoftheSpecialIssue

The domain of the special issue is broadly defined as teaching cases that address issues of sustainability in busi-ness Sustainability here reflects the idea that we as a society should be able to meet our own needs in ways that wonrsquot compromise the ability of fu-ture generations to meet their needs (the classic Brundtland Commission conceptualization of sustainability) and that this encompasses steward-ship of environmental social and economic systems (the classic three pillars of sustainability)

FocusandMethods

Focus Cases should be focused on a decision issue or problem facing an individual an organization or a group of organizations After studying the case students should be able to put themselves into the situation and formulate and defend alterna-tive courses of action

Methods Cases should be based on original primary research Exam-ples of such research include (but are not limited to)

bull Field research in the organization

17


11

bull Interviews with key decision-mak-ers in the organization

bull Interviews with stakeholders im-pacted by an organizational deci-sion issue or problem

bull Review of primary materials such as legal proceedings congressional testimony or internal company or stakeholder documents

The CRJ typically does not publish cases based solely on secondary sourc-es such as journalistic accounts It also does not publish fictionalized composite or hypothetical cases

An Instructorrsquos Manual (teaching note) must accompany each case submission The IM should follow the guidelines

At the time of submission at least one author must be a member of NACRA (Membership information is available at wwwNACRAnet

Further Information

For further information regarding this issue or a potential submission please contact either one of the guest editors for the special issue or the journalrsquos editor

John J Lawrence Guest Editorjjluidahoedu or (208) 885-5821

Stephen Bowden Guest Editorsbowdenwaikatoacnzor (647)-838-4472

Deborah Ettington EditorCase Research Journaldettingtonnacranet

Case Writing WorkshopsStart Writing Cases14-15 February 2013 at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Ireland

Tutor Trevor Williamson

This practical and intensive work-shop will offer a maximum of twelve inexperienced case writers the op-portunity to take time out to work on an idea they already have for a case The skills and knowledge that participants will acquire at this workshop will enable them to

develop their case and to identify and prepare additional support ma-terial that will enhance the learning experience of their target audience

wwwecchcomstartwritingcases

International Case Study Conference 2012December 14-15 2012

IBS Hyderabad is organizing an In-ternational Case Study Conference on December 14-15 2012 Case au-thors are invited to participate and present unpublished case studies in all areas of management and on the theme topic lsquoSocial Media and Busi-nessrsquo A Preconference Workshop on Case Writing will be conducted by ecch on December 13 2012 There will also be a Concurrent Workshop on Case Study Methodology on De-cember 14-15 2012 The venue for the conferences is the sprawling IBS Campus in the historic city of Hyder-abad India

Registration fees for the conference Academics (USD150) Corporate Dele-gates (USD200) Doctoral ScholarsStudents (USD100)

Discounts1 Early bird (before August 30 2012) - 10 discount2 ecch members -10 discount

3 3 or more participants from an organization ndash10 discount

4 Registration for multiple events (Conference and Workshop) ndash 10 discount

A participant can avail only one of the above discounts The total dis-count will not exceed 10 Sepa-rate registrations are required for attending the Preconference Work-shop on Case Writing (Dec 13 2012) and the Concurrent Workshop on Case Study Methodology (Dec 14-15 2012)

The conference fee includes confer-ence kit copy of proceedings use of facilities working lunches and teacoffee

The Case Study Case Teaching Workshops

Case Teaching in Finance and Accounting8-9 January 2013 at London School of Economics and Political Science UK

Tutor Ruth Bender

This workshop is designed to provide teachers with the opportunity to ex-plore the case method as applied in finance and accounting where broad class discussion is important but where often there is a lsquorightrsquo answer to reach by the end of the session The tutor will introduce practical tips and skills for teaching with cases and will provide guidance on case selection and instructor preparation for class

wwwecchcomcaseteachinginfinance

Library at the Fowler Center for Sustainable Value is now liveThe Fowler Center for Sustainable Value identified sustainability-themed business cases that serve as teaching resources for faculty across management disciplines

The Sustainable Value Case Inventory includes

bull cases that addressed an issue of heretical or disruptive change

bull cases in which sustainable value was embedded in the core of the or-ganizationrsquos operations

bull cases in which business value rath-er than regulatory compliance or other ethical issues drove decisions

Up to now the Case Study Library has collected 50 sustainability-re-lated cases (and growing) Links to sites where the cases may be ac-cessed or purchased are provided Check out the Case Study Library website here

18


wwwoikosinternationalorgacademicbe informed get involved make a difference

ContactWe would like to hear your experiences of teaching innovative corporate sustainability and social entrepreneurship cases If you have any suggestions for improving this periodical or information you may want to share with the community of case writers and instructors we would appreciate your feedback Please send us an email at caseoikosinternationalorg or give us a call at +41 71 224 2698

To subscribeTo subscribe please feel in an onlineform Should you wish to unsubscribe please send an email to case-unsubscribeoikosinternationalorg

Partners

ldquoMorning Tearsrdquo by Josef F Stuefer Creative Commons License Attribution 20 Generic (CC BY 20)

2


growth strategy from sourcing and logistics to finance and information systems The second case narrates the worring situation of one of the leading players in the US hardwood plywood producers in view of a de-clining house market The case dis-cusses whether the further pursuit of a strategy based on sustainability principles would lead to an impact on the firmrsquos competitiveness

These two cases are part of the oikos free case collection and a free online copy can be downloaded If you are a faculty member and you are interested in teaching this case you can request a free teaching note by sending us an email to freecaseoikosinternationalorg

We hope that you will enjoy reading the Autumn 2012 issue and exploring examples of decisions and discussions around the sustainable practices related to forestry As usual we would be very happy to receive your feedback including suggestions for new issues so do send us an email to caseoikosinternationalorg

Dear reader

Foreword

Jordi Vives Gabrieloikos Case Quarterly Editor

Forests as with many other natural resources are currently under threat by over-exploitation and mismanage-ment by business coporations This is a fact that has not passed unnoticed to sustainability case writers Forest-ry as this issue will demonstrate is also the target of intrepid social entrepreneurs and concerned man-agers who try to develop business models considering social and en-vironmental aspects in their opera-tions In this respect we are glad to welcome Prof John Lawrence to our tribune to share his thoughts and expe-riences on the benefits of business case teaching for environmental science students

Our first featured case is entitled ldquoOrsa Group the challenge of sustain-able development in the Amazonrdquo This case is kindly shared by the So-cial Enterprise Knowledge Network (SEKN) with whom oikos established a partnership for the promotion of social entrepreneurship cases The Orsa Group case tackles the turnaround challenges that a family business had to undergo when it acquired an old and bankrupted cellulose manufacturer

in an impoverished community in the Amazon

The Swiss retailer Migros is the focus of our second case In the late 90s Migros management realized the potential damage that the palm oil plantations represented for defores-tation and for their own firmrsquos repu-tation Migros was processing palm oil in many of its products At that time palm oil was still not perceived as an issue by the public opinion How-ever Migros developed a joint strategy with WWF to set standards and controls along its supply chain The case is planned to be developed in three sessions (45 min each) and consti-tutes an excellent opportunity to introduce students to Institutional Theory

Professor Scott Marshall (Portland State UUSA) and his team are the authors of the third and fourth cas-es featured in this issue on forest-ry Tropical Salvage and Columbia Forest Products The first case ex-plores the difficulties and dilemmas a dedicated sustainable wood manufac-turer had to confront to actualize its

Next issue of oikos Case Quarterly (winter 2012) will be focused on the topic of energy and we will feature the following cases

bull Mind the Gap Royal Dutch Shellrsquos Sustainability Agenda in Nigeria (by Esther Henchen)

bull Nuru Energy (by Filipe Santos Anne-Marie Carrick-Cagna)

bull HOCOL (by Elsa Margarita Uribe Roberto Gutierrez Andres Barragan )

3















4




Favourite cases



5













6















7



8

















Daniel Corsten



Jens Hamprecht

9















10



11














Scott Marshall

Erin Ferrigno

Lisa Peifer

12













13










Zach Anderson





Matt Flex

14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


3















4




Favourite cases



5













6















7



8

















Daniel Corsten



Jens Hamprecht

9















10



11














Scott Marshall

Erin Ferrigno

Lisa Peifer

12













13










Zach Anderson





Matt Flex

14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


4




Favourite cases



5













6















7



8

















Daniel Corsten



Jens Hamprecht

9















10



11














Scott Marshall

Erin Ferrigno

Lisa Peifer

12













13










Zach Anderson





Matt Flex

14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


5













6















7



8

















Daniel Corsten



Jens Hamprecht

9















10



11














Scott Marshall

Erin Ferrigno

Lisa Peifer

12













13










Zach Anderson





Matt Flex

14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


6















7



8

















Daniel Corsten



Jens Hamprecht

9















10



11














Scott Marshall

Erin Ferrigno

Lisa Peifer

12













13










Zach Anderson





Matt Flex

14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


7



8

















Daniel Corsten



Jens Hamprecht

9















10



11














Scott Marshall

Erin Ferrigno

Lisa Peifer

12













13










Zach Anderson





Matt Flex

14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


8

















Daniel Corsten



Jens Hamprecht

9















10



11














Scott Marshall

Erin Ferrigno

Lisa Peifer

12













13










Zach Anderson





Matt Flex

14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


9















10



11














Scott Marshall

Erin Ferrigno

Lisa Peifer

12













13










Zach Anderson





Matt Flex

14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


10



11














Scott Marshall

Erin Ferrigno

Lisa Peifer

12













13










Zach Anderson





Matt Flex

14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


11














Scott Marshall

Erin Ferrigno

Lisa Peifer

12













13










Zach Anderson





Matt Flex

14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


12













13










Zach Anderson





Matt Flex

14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


13










Zach Anderson





Matt Flex

14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


14





6









15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


15






OrganizationEcova









16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


16
























FocusandMethods




17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


17


11







Further Information




















Tutor Ruth Bender









18





Partners


18





Partners


Documents

oikos Case Quarterly 8