Top 50 Bestselling Case Authors 2022/23: No. 36

Michelin, a worldwide leader in the tyre industry, launched in 2000 a comprehensive tyre-management solution offer for large European transportation companies, called Michelin Fleet Solutions (MFS). With this new business model, the company ventured into selling kilometers - instead of selling tyres. After three years, however, expansion was far below expectations and profitability was terrible - despite the outside help of a strategy consulting firm. The case presents the decision point in 2003, whereby MFS' future had to be decided.

Danone is a leading European food multinational company who has been aggressively pursuing societal ('CSR') objectives for more than 40 years, and has developed an even more ambitious dual project since 2008. In 2011, in the aftermath of the worldwide crisis, the firm found it increasingly difficult to meet its growth and profit objectives. Some voices in the Executive Committee complained that the societal agenda was putting undue pressure on the business. The case briefly outlines Danone’s history and describes the organisation and platforms enabling the firm to implement its new vision, which integrates business and societal objectives.

Schneider Electric is a multinational company providing energy management and automation. The case briefly outlines the company's history and describes the progressive integration of sustainability efforts into its overall strategy. This 20-year journey culminates in 2021 when Corporate Knights ranked Schneider Electric No. 1 worldwide for its sustainability performance. The protagonist, Gilles Vermot Desroches, who spearheaded the effort, looks back at how this remarkable achievement came about and how he is now confronted with the difficult task of imagining the company's next steps.