Based upon the PhD findings of lead author, Onajomo Akemu, the case was supported by Gail Whiteman and Tao Yue.
Fairphone: Organising for Sustained Social Impact is a teaching case which gives an insight into an entrepreneurial venture whose development doesn't fit standard narratives and was successful in bringing together ethical and sustainability issues with a commerically viable product.
Onajomo Akemu said "In our experience, students can relate to the struggles of the principal actors in the case. Questions such as, ‘How do you stay true to your values while running a commercial enterprise?’ and ‘How do you make decisions under uncertainty?’ are central to the discipline of management."
Gail Whiteman said "This case prepares students for seeing social good as the route to profitable entrepreneurship."
Richard McCracken, Director of The Case Centre said: “This year’s Awards and Competitions are characterised both by strong performances from established case producing schools such as Harvard Business School and INSEAD, and by five first-time winning schools. We also have more first-time winning case authors than ever before. This shows us that faculty at ever more institutions are developing successful teaching cases of a topicality, relevance and pedagogical quality that faculty at other schools worldwide want to use them in their own classrooms. The subjects of winning cases also give us a unique annual insight into what future business people are being taught. Cases on multinational business, and negotiating the new digital media landscape, remain well represented, with many companies: Amazon, BP, Tesla, Unilever, Uber and Zappos, appearing for a second, third or even fourth year. But in 2018 we also see a strong representation of dilemmas around ethics, sustainability, and the highly topical issue of sexual harassment. 2018 also sees for the first time a posthumous Award. The judges felt unanimously that few have contributed so much to the practice and understanding of the case method of learning as David A Garvin, whose lifelong contribution, both at Harvard Business School and far beyond, was cut short by his untimely death.”
The Case Centre is the independent home of the case method and is dedicated to advancing the case method worldwide, sharing knowledge, wisdom and experience to inspire and transform business education across the globe. It is a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity. Now in their 28th year, the Case Awards celebrate excellence in case writing and teaching, at business schools worldwide. The winning cases this year are used for teaching at 120 institutions in 31 countries.
You can find the full results of the Case Awards at www.thecasecentre.org/winners2018 and more info about this specific case is at www.thecasecentre.org/educators/ordering/selecting/featuredcases/CompetitionWinners/Fairphone