News > 2009 > Two Management Professors Win the 2009 oikos Global Case Writing Competition

Two Management Professors Win the 2009 oikos Global Case Writing Competition

May 15, 2009

Management professors Pamela Sloan and David Oliver have won the 2009 oikos Foundation Global Case Writing Competition in the Corporate Sustainability Track. Their case, entitled Michelin’s Strategic Partnership with Indigenous Peoples, beat out all the other cases entered by competitors from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.

The case looks at Michelin Canada’s strategy for integrating indigenous communities in Nova Scotia. The company has three large tire manufacturing plants in the province. “Michelin wants good employees and the Aboriginal partners want good jobs for people in their communities,” explains Professor Sloan. “Beyond this, the partnership reflects a deeply human experience with unexpected moments, surprises and unforeseen outcomes.”

Co-author David Oliver adds that “It was a privilege to get to know all of the partners who, by their readiness to take leaps of faith, were able to break down longstanding barriers and misunderstandings. We could not have written this case without the partners and their willingness to share their knowledge and feelings in such a frank way.”

The oikos annual case-writing competition is intended to promote the development of new high-quality teaching cases in the areas of sustainable management and strategy. This year, the first prize comes with a cash prize of 5,000 Swiss francs, to be presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, in Chicago on August 8.

“The Award committee especially valued the way the authors focused on how Michelin has integrated indigenous people as important stakeholders and involved them in building a win-win corporate strategy" explains Dr. Jost Hamschmidt, Managing Director of the oikos Foundation, located at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

The oikos Foundation for economy and ecology was founded in St. Gallen (Switzerland) in spring 1990. Its purpose is to enhance the integration of the ecological and social dimensions into the research and teaching of economics and business administration.

The case can be consulted on the oikos Foundation Website