Research pick: Imagine the Bright Lights - "Case study: when a bright idea creates a business dilemma"

A fictional business case study of an imaginary company known as Bright Lights is discussed in a research paper in the International Journal of Teaching and Case Studies. As the case study pans out, so the authors of the paper allude to the ethical decisions that a company might need to make and how these affect its response to strategic challenges, and ultimately its bottom line.

Lee Tyner and M. Suzanne Clinton of the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma, USA, consider Jim, one of Bright Light’s top sales people. Jim’s enterprising response to the company’s new policies now has Bright Lights asking tough questions about loyalty, ethics, and the future of its corporate culture. Jim is known for generating strong sales through an innovative approach, but he is finding himself at odds with a major strategic shift initiated by the newly appointed national sales manager, Cindy. Cindy is a follower of the Pareto principle, 80% of revenue comes from 20% of clients. This has led her to nudge the company towards larger accounts, which has side lined smaller, loyal customers.

Cindy’s approach is a data-driven approach common among many real businesses and is usually aimed are warding off rising competition and declining market share. But, it is implemented at a cost of carefully cultivated relationships of the kind that traditional salespeople may have cultivated over a long period with smaller but high-margin clients. In the imaginary case study, many of the smaller clients, no longer serviced by Bright Lights, feel abandoned, and face dissatisfaction with new suppliers. A common side effect of implementing the Pareto principle in the real world of business.

Jim has spotted an opportunity that will help him sustain his income and the lifestyle it brings. Jim’s answer if not necessarily black hat, may nevertheless represent a grey area ethically speaking. Jim has formed a side business to fill the gap left by the strategic pivot of Bright Lights. This company buys up Bright Lights’ inventory and then sells it to Jim’s smaller clients who have been disenfranchised by Cindy’s approach. Jim is not working in competition with his employer, strictly speaking, but it presents a dilemma for Bright Lights.

Should the company applaud Jim’s initiative even if it blurs ethical lines and perhaps fragments the sales force or should it punish and so disenfranchise him, one of their top salespeople. How they respond will send a message to other salespeople in the company perhaps suggesting that innovative thinking and branching out in this way is not something the company wishes to promote.

The researchers suggest that the ethical dilemmas that their fictional case study raises could help companies examine the dynamics of their own place in the rapidly evolving business world where employees might take the initiative in improving their income.

Tyner, L. and Clinton, M.S. (2024) ‘Case study: when a bright idea creates a business dilemma’, Int. J. Teaching and Case Studies, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp.384–392.