February 2013

		Featured Case in Organizational Behaviour & Leadership
		Ivey Cases Win in Six of 14 Categories at 2012 EFMD Case Writing Competition
		Opportunities in China
		New Director of Ivey Publishing

Family Business Succession in Asia (Simplified Chinese version)

The Wang Group was created by Alfred Wang in Hong Kong after fleeing China during the turbulence at the beginning of the Communist regime. After successfully building up a diversified trading business and expanding to various other Asian countries, the business was taken over in 1995 by his second son, Charles Wang, a charismatic leader. Charles wished to create a more sustainable family business, attuned to global trends and run by non-family members. To this end, Charles hired an outside CEO to carry out his vision after implementing a far-reaching corporate change program. The global economic crisis that started in 2008, however, affected the company halfway through this reorganization, and brought losses and the departure of the newly hired CEO. Charles Wang had no other option than to again take up the top job himself, and he had to reconsider the path towards a sustainable future for the family firm.

Learning Objective:
The objective of the case is to understand issues related to the transition of a family firm towards a professionally managed entity. The case can be used to discuss this from the following angles:

• Succession and leadership of family firms: As the Wang Group developed into a billion-dollar group, the firm’s owner attempted, on one hand, to influence the organization and, on the other hand, to step back and allow a hired CEO to implement his vision. The unsuccessful first attempt towards family firm professionalization allows students to understand the mutual responsibilities of family owners and non-family managers, and to appreciate the difficulties families face when transforming a firm from family-run to family-owned and professionally run. This case is particularly useful to highlight the characteristics of Asian family firms.
• Change management: The Wang Group was experiencing a profound strategic change process as the second-generation leader took over. Charles Wang tried to instill family values and prepare the firm for a sustainable future. The case allows students to see how business development and family leadership are intertwined, and subsequently assess what type of leadership is necessary to take over after the change process.

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We are pleased to announce that the following Ivey cases were winners in the 2012 EFMD Case Writing Competition. There were more winning cases from Ivey than any other business school in the world. Over 200 cases were submitted by authors from 30 countries to this prestigious case competition. The goal of the competition is to facilitate quality case writing involving European companies and institutions as well as topics concerning other geographical or subject areas which are generally underrepresented among available sources.

• Chabros International Group: A World of Wood, Paul W. Beamish, Bassam Farah (MENA Business Cases)
• Veja: Sneakers With a Conscience, Oana Branzei, Kim Poldner (Latin American Business Cases)
• Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor, Charles Dhanaraj, Oana Branzei, Satyajeet Subramanian (Indian Management Issues and Opportunities)
• Launch of Durra: Women in Islamic Banking, Alexandra Roth, David T.A. Wesley (Euro-Mediterranean Managerial Practices and Issues)
• Danfoss - Global Manufacturing Footprint, Torben Pedersen, Jacob Pyndt (Supply Chain Management)
• Novo Nordisk: Managing Sustainability at Home and Abroad, Jette Steen Knudsen, Dana Brown (Corporate Social Responsibility)

Winning cases have been entered into the "Best of the Best" category and the overall winner will be announced in April. Congratulations to all!

The Ivey collection contains over 3,800 cases and 600 articles. Hundreds of these cases focus on issues specific to China and over 540 of which are available in Simplified Chinese. We are in the process of translating over 100 additional Ivey cases and have recently hired dedicated staff in China to respond to the increasing market demand.

To learn more about the opportunities in China, please contact our office.

In late January, Ivey Publishing welcomed Matthew Quin as its new Director. The latest member of the Ivey Publishing team joins the organization with a background in marketing, PR and communications.

“This is a very exciting role in an important part of the Ivey family,” notes Quin. “Ivey Publishing has a great team and publishes a world-class product.”

Quin joins Ivey Publishing from King’s University College where he established the communications and media relations department. He also brings experience from the non-profit and corporate environments.

"Ivey Publishing is a leader in the industry which is something that London and Canada should be proud of,” he continues. ”Ivey Publishing cases are used around the world and connect students and faculty to the latest business thinking and to the case method - I’m excited to be a part of the organization that does such important work.”

Many thanks go to Greg Yantz for his tremendous leadership and dedication during his tenure. We wish him all the best in his new role as Director, Admissions & Recruiting in the Ivey MBA Recruiting & Admissions office.