Virginie P. Khare

In spring 2024, Nana Bonsu-Hammond, founder and owner of Jax Bread Company in Jacksonville, Florida, was interviewed by a local public radio station. The interview asked her to consider the new challenges her company faced, notably shifting consumer preferences and expectations. Jax Bread Co. was a unique bakery that provided its customers with sustainable, preservative-free products. She needed to understand customer preferences to determine the most effective way to promote the company and grow her clientele.

At the beginning of 2024, Sephora, a French luxury beauty retailer, had yet to react to social media posts from employees and shoppers complaining about the behavior of tweens in their US stores. This new group of consumers, Generation Alpha, was born after 2010. They had grown up in a digital world and were technologically savvy. Many were interested in beauty products, often responding to social media influencers. When visiting stores, these young consumers were seen destroying product displays, screaming at their parents, and fighting for the last high-end product. Some of them had suffered from the effects of harsh ingredients that were not generally suited for young skin. The #SephoraKids social media posts had created obstacles for Sephora, its shoppers, and its employees. The protagonist was a twenty-year-old Sephora customer who was upset by such misbehavior and wondered whether she would continue shopping at Sephora stores.

Amy Hill had hiked to the top of her 44-acre property with her 6-year-old son and was having second thoughts about her family starting a woman-owned small seasonal business, Creekside Maple Syrup. She had been approved for a $55,000 start-up loan at 5% interest for five years. She and her husband, Matt, had been considering this option for some time and had a post-and-beam barn that could house the new operation. Due to Matt’s job requiring travel, Amy knew she would have the sole responsibility to run the seasonal business. Second thoughts and questions that were on her mind included, “It’s not about making a ton of money because it is part-time, and I have my college teaching position. It is about building a future for our growing family and farming our land. Still, I wonder if we are taking on too much risk? What if the climate changes and the sugaring season shortens? Will we ever earn our investment back and turn a profit?”
This decision-based critical incident includes building a 5-year decision model with scenario analysis for a “good” vs. “poor” climate of maple production and an (optional) NPV (net present value) calculation. It is designed for discussion use in an undergraduate entrepreneurship course or a family-entrepreneurship course. Alternatively, it can be used as an example of spreadsheet modeling and forecasting for data-driven decision-making for a small business in a management or finance course.

This case was prepared by the authors and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. The views represented here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Society for Case Research. The views are based on professional judgment. Copyright © 2025 by the Society for Case Research and the authors. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of the Society for Case Research.

Earl’s Cyclery and Fitness, located in Burlington, Vermont, is a specialty retailer in bicycles, accessories, and fitness equipment. Earl’s business success depended exclusively on traditional advertising methods and building strong customer relationships “with a handshake.” Roger Frey, owner of Earl’s for almost 30 years, had set a meeting with his operations manager to discuss whether to expand their advertising methods to social media platforms. Frey was skeptical about the potential effectiveness of social media advertising for his business. He did not believe specialty bikes and fitness equipment would sell online. Frey wondered if he had a handle on how technology was seemingly taking over all aspects of his business. Earl’s recently developed a website and Facebook page, and neither had received many hits. Nevertheless, his operations manager was pushing for Earl’s to engage in social media actively.

Carol Perry was the sole owner of Perry Pottery, LLC, a small pottery studio and school. She was struggling with an expansion decision under the uncertainty of the economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She had already expanded her studio once, in 2016, when her part-time business selling her pottery grew. At that time, she also started to teach pottery classes to a couple of students at a time. In March 2020, when Vermont’s governor issued the COVID-19 State of Emergency and shut down non-essential businesses, Perry had been approved for a small business loan to expand the studio again to accommodate up to six students. At the time, she deferred the decision. Even though she was able to re-open her studio by implementing COVID-19 safety protocols, Perry, who was semi-retired, worried about the financial risk of taking the loan and wondered if she would need to take a part-time job if she was not able to maintain her part-time pottery business. As she was working with students, the bank called for her answer. Should she take the loan?

Gulfshore College, a small liberal arts college in the Southern United States, switched to remote instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dean of Faculty Philip Johnson gathered a team of college officials to evaluate their first response to the crisis and determine future courses of action. The case ends with a challenge as the college will likely continue delivering classes remotely, and several issues have ensued from their experience of quickly adapting to a new communication approach during the Spring semester.

The case took place at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the CEO of Chuck E. Cheese prepared for a virtual meeting with his executive team to discuss alternatives to improve the company’s bottom line. The entertainment center giant had just lost 94% of revenues from a year prior and switched to a takeout and delivery model because of the pandemic. Among the alternatives to consider were marketing moves to increase revenue. The restructuring committee also needed to evaluate the possibility of filing for bankruptcy.

This study first examines the influence of educational factors on a consumer’s willingness to buy green products and on building a brand’s green image. Second, it explores the effects of environmental concern and perceived consumer effectiveness in mediating the relationships between educational factors and green buying behavior. Third, it takes a cross-country perspective by investigating green buying behavior under distinct cultural contexts (collectivism versus individualism). The hypothesized model was tested with data collected in the United States and Brazil and using structural equation modeling analysis. Findings reveal that sustainability education, whether initiated by the consumer or by the organization, contributes positively to promote a brand’s green image. Environmental concern and perceived consumer effectiveness both mediate the relationships between educational factors and green buying behavior. Lastly, the moderating effects of culture highlight the importance of environmental concern in a collectivist country and perceived consumer effectiveness in an individualist country.