More from these Authors

• Case | HBS Case Collection | April 2018

  Wilderness Safaris: Ecotourism Entrepreneurship

  James E. Austin, Megan Epler Wood and Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard

  Wilderness Safaris sees itself as a conservation company that is built on a business model of providing high-end, premium-priced wildlife safaris in various locations in Africa. Dependent on functioning, healthy ecosystems for its long-term survivability as a business, it invests heavily in conservation efforts, both directly, with communities and governments, and with partners and competitors. It may be reaching saturation of the high-cost, high-priced, low-volume, luxury travel product in its existing locations, so to continue its growth it is now trying to expand into East Africa, where the traditional safari approach by most providers has been a high-volume, low-cost, low-priced product. As a publicly- listed company, can Wilderness Safaris find a sustainable growth path that will allow it to profitably expand its business and meet its shareholder’s interests while still achieving its priority purposes of protecting and investing in the ecosystems and communities on which its services are based? Brief Description: Wilderness Safaris was started by wildlife guides in the 1980s as a Botswana-based business that expanded to operate in several other countries in southern Africa. Built on a business model of providing high-end, premium-priced wildlife safaris in remote camps with only a small number of guests at any one location at a given time, WS recognizes that it is completely dependent on the existence and availability of functioning, healthy ecosystems for its long term survivability as a business, so it invests heavily in conservation efforts, both directly, with communities and governments, and with partners and competitors. Its strategy is based on the “4 Cs:” Commerce, Conservation, Community, and Culture, and it believes that its success lies in the interdependence among these, so that performance on each of these dimensions is essential. WS may be approaching saturation of the high-cost, high-priced, low-volume, luxury travel product in its existing locations, so to continue its growth it is now trying to expand into East Africa, where the traditional safari approach by most providers has been a high-volume, low-cost, low-priced, bare-bones product – more or less the opposite of the approach, philosophy, and values upheld by WS. Can WS find a sustainable growth path that will allow it to profitably expand its business and meet its shareholder’s interests while still protecting and investing in the ecosystems and communities on which its services are based – and successfully navigate and balance the complex interests of the communities, governments, partners, and competitors with whom it works?

  Keywords: strategy; social enterprise; sustainability; social entrepreneurship; conservation planning; corporate social responsibility; ecotourism; Strategy; Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Tourism Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Travel Industry; Africa; Botswana;

  Citation:

  Austin, James E., Megan Epler Wood, and Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard. "Wilderness Safaris: Ecotourism Entrepreneurship." Harvard Business School Case 318-040, April 2018.  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducators

  Related

• Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2013 (Revised April 2016)

  StriveTogether: Reinventing the Local Education Ecosystem

  Allen Grossman, Ann Lombard and Noah Fisher

  StriveTogether aimed to improve education outcomes by coordinating the actions of diverse community stakeholders—nonprofit service providers, school districts, government, parents, businesses and others. StriveTogether had an intense focus on collective impact—"the commitment of a group of important actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem"—and the use of data to drive decisions. In the case, managing director Jeff Edmondson is faced with two dilemmas: how to attract business engagement in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego, California, and how to achieve greater results in the communities that had implemented the StriveTogether framework.

  Keywords: education reform; education; not for profit; communities; collaboration; collective impact; Nonprofit Organizations; Education; Business and Community Relations; Education Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Grossman, Allen, Ann Lombard, and Noah Fisher. "StriveTogether: Reinventing the Local Education Ecosystem." Harvard Business School Case 314-031, October 2013. (Revised April 2016.) (available here.)  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase

  Related

• Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2013 (Revised February 2016)

  A Long, Bumpy and Unfinished Road: Education Reform in Memphis, Tennessee

  Allen Grossman, J. Puckett and Nithya Vaduganathan

  In 2010 the Memphis City School District merged with the neighboring Shelby County School system under the supervision of a single board of education and superintendent. It promised much more than just administrative synergies—it was an opportunity to change a culture, as well as policies and practices that had existed for decades.

  By 2010 Shelby County school system had about 50,000 students, approximately 55 percent white and 37 percent economically disadvantaged. The Memphis student body, which numbered around 100,000, was about 85 percent black and 87 percent economically disadvantaged. In 2010, residents from within and outside the city each contributed about 50 percent of the tax revenue for the two systems, but, based on enrollment, two-thirds of the budget was allocated to Memphis City schools.

  Pitt Hyde and the Hyde Family Foundation saw the merger as a once-in-a-lifetime fresh start for public education in Memphis and he was determined to do what he could to make sure the merger realized its potential. Many interests, practices and players were deeply entrenched in the Memphis schools. But Hyde and his wife had encountered like-minded reformers—educators, government officials, business people and not-for-profit leaders who were willing to put a shoulder to the wheel. Prior to the merger, the Hydes had notched some considerable successes, starting with the legislation that permitted establishment of the state's first charter schools. They had established valuable partnerships, and developed performance standards and accountability for teachers and administrators. They had helped inaugurate pay-for-performance for teachers and a teacher evaluation system based on student outcomes. Building relationships, raising the money, getting others involved were critical steps along the way. They had brought new voices into the campaign. He also remembered some false steps and some lost battles, but overall their decisions had been sound, their efforts focused, and perhaps most important, their perseverance relentless.

  Keywords: education; education reform; public education; business engagement; Public Sector; Education; Business and Community Relations; Education Industry; Tennessee;

  Citation:

  Grossman, Allen, J. Puckett, and Nithya Vaduganathan. "A Long, Bumpy and Unfinished Road: Education Reform in Memphis, Tennessee." Harvard Business School Case 314-064, November 2013. (Revised February 2016.)  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase

  Related