A former athlete who transitioned from a two-decade career in insurance, Simone D’Alessandri founded Phoenix Gym, a performance-driven boxing centre near Rome, Italy, in 2018. Known for blending intuition, strategic thinking, and psychological coaching, he gained recognition among both amateur and professional fighters. As smart coaching tools and artificial intelligence-supported systems were becoming more common in sports in 2025, D’Alessandri began .....more

At Milan Fashion Week’s spring/summer menswear show in June 2025, Prada S.p.A. (Prada) ignited a major controversy when it featured open-toe braided leather sandals that were nearly identical to traditional Indian Kolhapuri chappals. Despite the Kolhapuri chappal’s centuries-old heritage and its 2019 geographical Indication status, Prada described its sandals simply as “leather footwear,” failing to credit their Indian origin. This omission led to .....more

This case follows Quantum Temple (QT), a Web3 platform founded in 2021 to preserve cultural heritage and promote regenerative tourism through blockchain and non-fungible tokens. By 2024, QT had piloted its model in Bali, demonstrating how immersive, community-led travel experiences could generate economic value while safeguarding intangible traditions. As QT prepared to scale, the team faced a strategic dilemma: how to expand into new regions (like .....more

In January 2025, Alessandro Riggio, the founder and president of Iron Corporation (Iron), a leading social-media agency known for managing the digital presence of global celebrities, faced a strategic dilemma. The Milan, Italy–based firm had built a strong brand across platforms like Instagram and TikTok, but Riggio aspired to move into cinema, his original passion. He had three strategic options: deepening the firm’s focus on social-media management, .....more

Carlsberg Breweries A/S, a global brewing leader based in Denmark, aimed to reduce the environmental impact of traditional draught beer systems, which contributed to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions through the use of CO2 tanks and the transportation of heavy steel kegs. Carlsberg developed the DraughtMaster system, which replaced CO2 tanks with recyclable plastic kegs, reducing emissions but raising concerns about plastic waste. In late 2021, Carlsberg’s .....more

Chiara Ferragni, a globally recognized Italian influencer, faced a significant reputational crisis following the Pandoro Pink Christmas campaign. The campaign claimed to support a children’s hospital, but this claim was deemed misleading by the Italian Competition Authority. This decision led to substantial fines, public backlash, and the withdrawal of key commercial partnerships. The case explores Ferragni’s challenges as she navigated legal scrutiny, .....more

CZM Foundation Equipment (CZM) was a manufacturer of foundation drilling rigs founded in Brazil in 1976. The company set up a subsidiary in the USA in 2012, which was so successful that it turned into the headquarters. Twelve years later, CZM’s executives were considering expansion in Europe, which could provide CZM with opportunities to enhance the design and development of its machines, improve the efficiency of its global supply chain, and open .....more

This experiential exercise is designed to teach students how joint ventures can entail inherent tensions that resemble a real-world prisoner’s dilemma. In the context of a (hypothetical) international collaboration in the global bicycle industry, students are put in the position of the parent firms’ decision-makers and must decide between accessing the other’s knowledge versus wanting to acquire (i.e., own) it. Students are thereby incentivized to .....more

This disguised case set in April 2016, based on true events, describes an existential crisis faced by an English law firm operating in Italy. English law firms entered Italy in the 1990s through alliances with reputed Italian firms. The intention was to gain access to the lucrative Italian legal market. When they started operations, these firms aimed to achieve a leading position in the Italian market (top three strategy). Hence, their Italian operations .....more

A young paralegal joined the London, UK law firm Darby & Fox LLP in August 2020. The position was a one-year contract during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paralegal was subjected to employee discrimination and harassment, starting with a requirement to be in the office, unlike other workers, because she was a newly-hired contract-based employee. She endured overwork, job threats, and simultaneous work assignments from an associate partner, as well .....more