In early April 2025, Hussein Hakim, general manager of Al Abdalla Restaurants, a popular Lebanese fast-food chain renowned for its charcoal-grilled chicken, was confronted with an unexpected challenge after launching a humorous advertising campaign. The campaign capitalized on Lebanese sarcasm to position the brand as the authentic and superior choice in a crowded market. Then a new competitor emerged, publicly embracing the advertising campaign to .....more

Teaching note for product W48178.

<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong>Winner of the Best Case Award at the Third Case Conference organized by The Case Hub at the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut.</strong></p><br><br>Akrim is a digital platform that allowed customers to pay cashless tips directly to service workers using the QR code reader technology. Service workers from different industries, .....more

Teaching note for product W44428.

Mariam Assi was the founder of Marazal—a small business dedicated to repurposing empty bottles, primarily empty liquor, wine, and beer bottles. In August 2023, Marazal’s Facebook account, the primary platform she used for marketing, sales, and engaging with her 2,500 followers, was blocked because it had been reported by the manufacturer of Belvedere Vodka. She was in a state of disbelief as she had never intended to misuse the brand; instead, she .....more

Teaching note for product W39481.

At the end of 2019, Walid Madi, managing director of Talabat, a leading delivery company in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, was assessing the company’s performance of its non-food vertical division, and in particular the grocery segment. He identified recurring customer complaints regarding grocery delivery times and product unavailability, which could impact the company’s successful food vertical. Madi decided to explore the feasibility of .....more

Teaching note for product W40078.

Teaching note for product W37140.

On a day in early June 2017, Fadi Kanaan, a member of the organizing committee of the Beirut International Model United Nations (BEYMUN) conference at the American University of Beirut (AUB), sat in front of college hall feeling very excited yet worried. He had just received an email informing him that he would be the secretary-general of the annual Model United Nations conference at AUB in the spring of 2018. BEYMUN invited students from universities .....more