Winners of Case Centre awards in 2024. Half of the winning cases focused on AI or sustainability
The Case Centre hosts the world’s largest collection of management case studies, articles, and award-winning books — so it’s significant when trends emerge as plainly as they did in the UK-based nonprofit’s 2024 Awards and Competitions, its 34th annual event.
About half of the winning cases — 7 of the 15 — revolved around the themes of artificial intelligence and sustainability, both of which have become central topics across disciplines in B-school curricula.
“This year’s Awards and Competitions underscore the agility and insightfulness of case writers globally,” says Vicky Lester, CEO of The Case Centre. “They are swiftly producing high-quality cases on cutting-edge topics, which are promptly embraced by educators aiming to introduce the latest subjects to their students.”
TOP AI CASE AWARD WINNERS
This year, AI took center stage for four of the 15 winning case awards. Of the four, three winning cases pertained to ChatGPT.
ESSEC Professor Harris Kyriakou took home two awards this year – Overall Winner, as well as an individual award category in Outstanding Compact Case, which accounts for two of the three winning cases in AI. His case ChatGPT vs Google and the Future of Search took the spotlight, which explores potential threats to Google from ChatGPT, TikTok, and Instagram diverting market attention.
“Winning the award and the competition means a lot to me and feels like the culmination of many years of striving to improve my effectiveness as a case teacher,” says Harris Kyriakou on the Case Centre’s website. “It is truly satisfying that so many colleagues in top schools and around the world find the case valuable for their own teaching and for enriching their students’ learning journeys.”
The other winning case was a case called ChatGPT: The Future of AI? From M Vasudha and J Shalom Jenifer of Amity University. They took home the win in the Knowledge, Information and Communication Systems Management category. Vasudha says on the Case Centre’s website, “The contemporariness of the topic was a key reason behind its popularity. The various controversies generated by generative AI also made it ideal for a lively and informative discussion in class.”
“It is an honor and a privilege to receive the Knowledge, Information and Communication Systems Management award,” she adds. “Receiving this award strengthens our commitment and increases our desire to learn further.”
TOP SUSTAINABILITY CASE AWARD WINNERS
Twenty-seven of the 30 winners had their first time in the spotlight, winning their first Case Centre award this year.
The final award went to professors Shane Greenstein and Sarah Gulick of Harvard Business School for their case Zebra Medical Vision, a case exploring algorithms that produced diagnoses from X-rays, mammograms, and CT-scans to assist doctors in making diagnoses.
Professor Euvin Naidoo
“It is challenging to find examples that illustrate the general experiences and lessons of the first generation of firms to translate neural nets into commercial services,” said Greenstein regarding the case on the Case Centre’s site. “As it happened, Zebra’s early experience in using AI to diagnose X-rays illustrates many crucial general lessons.”
Sustainability was similarly spotlighted, accounting for three of the awards this year. One of the three awards was given to the case Does Sustainability Pay? Barry Callebaut’s Sustainability Improvement Loan by INSEAD professor Lucie Tepla and Dr. Lisa Duke.
The main focus of their case is the use of sustainable financing by corporations as a way of aligning financing with sustainability strategy. Their case won in the Economics, Politics, and Business Environment category.
“Because of the multiple perspectives, the case has proven to appeal to very different audiences (real economy businesses, banks, consulting firms),” says Tepla on the Case Centre’s website. “Beyond the intended use, many groups have used it to discuss sustainability strategy and to what extent it can diverge from standard shareholder value creation.”
The next award was given in the Free Case category, for ESADE’s professor Ivanka Visnjic and Angeliki Malizou’s case Enel – Delivering a Sustainable Impact from Innovation to the Business, which looks at Innovation Management within the company Enel and all the necessary aspects of transitioning to a sustainable business model.
“Winning this award is a recognition of the importance of our work and, more importantly, the recognition for the demand for the topic that we feel passionate about – sustainable innovation,” the two say on the Case Centre’s website.
The third award was given to professors Julia Binder and Heather Cairns-Lee with IMD Business School, for their case ‘Carbon Is the New Calorie’: Logitech’s Carbon Impact Label to Drive Transparency in Sustainability, winning the Outstanding Case Writer: Hot Topic category.
“It means a great deal to us to win this prestigious award because we believe that the topic of driving transparency in sustainability is essential, and we are passionate about socializing this within organizations,” the authors share on the Case Centre’s website.
MORE OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS IN COMPETITION
Every year, there are six competitions: two honor individual achievements, while four acknowledge excellence in case writing across various management fields that are evaluated anonymously by expert panels.
Professor Shimin Chen
This year, professor Shimin Chen – a dedicated case author who is committed to promoting the utilization of China-focused cases at CEIBS and in business schools worldwide – is the winner of the Outstanding Contribution to the Case Method competition.
“The rapid development of the CEIBS Case Centre and ChinaCases.Org over the years comes from the considerable investment by the School, the strong support of our stakeholders, and the hard work of our team members,” says Shimin Chen on the Case Centre’s site.
“I am most proud to be a facilitator in this process, integrating various resources to maximize their value, particularly the evolvement of the Case Centre into three dedicated professional teams.”
Another highlight was in the Outstanding Case Teacher competition, won by professor Euvin Naidoo of the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Accounting, financial reporting and control are his topics of focus, and Professor Naidoo uses cutting edge digital tables to present a high-impact case experience for his students. He also engages them in role playing scenarios to simulate workplaces.
“Teaching with cases is an opportunity to bring real-world challenges into the classroom, encouraging critical thinking and practical application of theoretical frameworks,” explains Naidoo on the Case Centre’s website.
“The joy and impact of case teaching lies in seeing students teach each other, with the professor guiding the discussion towards deep, actionable insights. I am humbled by this recognition, seeing it as a celebration of the collective effort of our community, grounded in curiosity, problem solving and smart experimentation,” he continues.
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