Author: Dr. Rajeev Kumar Gupta, Dr. Vishal Bhole, and Dr. Joe Lopez

Editor: Dr. Gayatri Kaple

ISBN: 978-81-69857-68-0

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59646/820

Date of Publication: September 17, 2026

Preface

The contemporary business environment is characterized by rapid technological transformation, shifting customer expectations, global competition, workforce disruption, and increasingly complex strategic decisions. Organizations across industries are being challenged not merely to adopt new technologies, but to rethink how they create value, manage people, design operations, respond to uncertainty, and sustain growth. Against this backdrop, CaseCraft: A Handbook of Contemporary Management Cases presents a collection of contemporary business cases designed to connect management concepts with real-world organizational challenges. The cases bring together diverse industries, geographies, business models, and transformation contexts, enabling readers to examine how organizations respond to emerging opportunities and complex managerial situations.

A central theme of this handbook is the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, Agentic AI, machine learning, cloud computing, Internet of Things, digital twins, real-time analytics, and data-driven decision-making on modern management. The cases explore how technology is increasingly embedded within enterprise strategy rather than treated as an isolated information-technology function. From Tech Mahindra’s AI-first enterprise transformation and IBM’s “Client Zero” strategy to Reckitt’s predictive pricing initiatives and Air India’s cloud, AI, and customer-experience transformation, the cases demonstrate the strategic implications of digital technologies across different organizational settings. Other cases examine intelligent manufacturing, AI-enabled project governance, data strategies, employee development, generative AI adoption, and digitally enabled operational efficiency, thereby illustrating the expanding role of intelligent technologies in contemporary business management.

The handbook also extends beyond technology adoption to examine the human, organizational, operational, and strategic dimensions of transformation. Cases involving Hyundai Glovis, Deutsche Telekom, Jubilant Ingrevia, and edForce highlight employee adoption, workforce development, skills transformation, and corporate learning in an environment where the nature of work is continuously evolving. The experiences of organizations such as Allianz, Caterpillar, Emirates Global Aluminium, and Toshiba Tec provide opportunities to examine how large enterprises integrate digital capabilities with customer value creation, industrial transformation, business performance, and real-time decision-making. These cases encourage readers to consider an important managerial question: how can organizations transform technology investments into sustainable organizational capabilities?

A further strength of CaseCraft lies in its inclusion of entrepreneurial ventures, emerging business models, sustainability-oriented enterprises, and sector-specific innovations. Cases on Chalo, Dehurdle, Navalt, Amentum Sports, Renaissance Services, Curatal, and Arya.ag expose readers to strategic challenges associated with international expansion, AI-powered services, sustainable supply chains, sports ventures, food-waste management, technology-enabled recruitment, and agricultural-market transformation. The inclusion of Amar Chitra Katha and its digital transformation journey further demonstrates how established organizations can respond to disruption while preserving relevance in changing markets. Similarly, the case on ACL Digital illustrates the application of machine learning to healthcare analytics, demonstrating how data-driven approaches can address complex sectoral challenges.

Rather than presenting management as a collection of static theories, this handbook encourages readers to view management as a process of analysis, interpretation, experimentation, and decision-making. Each case provides an opportunity to examine the underlying business problem, identify relevant stakeholders, evaluate strategic alternatives, understand implementation challenges, and consider the broader consequences of managerial decisions. Readers can use the cases to develop skills in strategic analysis, critical thinking, problem-solving, technology assessment, organizational evaluation, and evidence-based decision-making.

The cases have been selected to reflect the multidimensional character of contemporary management, where business strategy increasingly intersects with technology, people, sustainability, innovation, operations, customer experience, and new business models. Consequently, CaseCraft can serve as a valuable resource for management students, educators, researchers, executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals seeking to understand how organizations navigate transformation in practice. It is particularly suited to classroom discussions, case-based teaching, executive education, management workshops, group analysis, and independent study.

Ultimately, CaseCraft: A Handbook of Contemporary Management Cases seeks to transform the study of management from theoretical understanding into practical managerial inquiry. By examining diverse organizations and their responses to contemporary challenges, readers are encouraged to question assumptions, interpret evidence, debate alternatives, and develop informed approaches to complex business situations. The handbook therefore serves not simply as a compilation of cases, but as a platform for understanding how modern organizations innovate, transform, compete, and create value in an increasingly intelligent and interconnected business environment.