NASBITE International is pleased to announce Shravya Ramesh, Ben Staelber, Hannah Bagaric and Luke Boldman representing the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University received second place in its undergraduate 2023 Student Case Competition.
“The teams from Michigan State have been top contenders in past competitions and consistently deliver actionable solutions for the sponsoring companies. I’m so glad we get to recognize their hard work and great advice as our runner up this year,” said Laurie Wolff, Distinguished Fellow and case competition lead for NASBITE International.
Each year the competition challenges teams of undergraduates from international business programs to identify the best international market and market entry strategy to meet a challenge presented by a U.S. exporter. The case is developed with the sponsoring company and allows students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to obtain the Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) credential.
The company was especially interested in entering markets in Africa. “This year’s competition was unique in that the product was a cloud-based, health care service. Many of the traditional tools students might use to research potential markets wouldn’t work,” said Wolff. “Exporting doesn’t have to mean goods physically cross borders, especially as our economy shifts toward even more knowledge-based services.”
Bagaric said it was a challenge. “This competition allowed me to explore an industry and market that I previously was unfamiliar with, and the number of lessons I learned regarding problem solving and teamwork were invaluable. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity!”
Steve Baker, President and CEO of this year’s case company, Procedural Technologies, thought the team’s pricing scheme was especially helpful. “The recommended GDP-based pricing scheme is built to scale Procedural Tech globally and will be used to assist us contour our regional pricing.”
"Being able to take part in this competition was an amazing learning experience that pushed me to the boundaries of my knowledge. As opposed to other competitions, NASBITE being a longer case competition, let our team dig deep into our research to justify and fortify our ideas and suggestions,” said Staebler. “This level of knowledge on this specific topic would not have been possible in any other competition. In addition, being able to present to someone that works in and makes decision for the company was a very rewarding experience because it felt like our ideas were being heard and actually have a chance at implementation."
The team identified Nigeria as the market with the best potential in Africa and targeted specific regions as having the best potential. “The team’s comprehensive analysis has increased our awareness of intra-country differences and will inform our strategic decision-making as we expand our presence in Nigeria,” Baker said.
According to Ramesh, the brainstorming process the team undertook for the competition was incredible. “I never would've imagined that a case competition could open up so many connections and that as students, we could be making a real-life impact on an organization with our ideas."
“People may be surprised that winning isn’t so much about the specific market the team selects, but more about the supporting package of analysis they deliver. A systematic way to establish prices in countries with different levels of income was one of the challenges, and this team definitely had the best solution for that,” said Wolff. “Procedural Technologies is the real winner because now Steve has leads in multiple markets to pursue.”
NASBITE International hosts the competition to improve the practice of international business education, and Janhavi Venkatesh, who served as the team’s advisor, reports that it is working. “The NASBITE case competition provided the students with a unique opportunity to apply classroom knowledge to a real-world problem, “ Venkatesh said. “It is a valuable experience for any student interested in a career in business and provides that “extra edge” for students preparing to enter the workforce.”
This year’s competition was partially sponsored by an International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) U.S. Department of Education grant. The contents and results of the competition do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and no one should assume endorsement by the federal government.