The Case Centre Awards are an annual celebration of excellence in case writing and teaching at schools of business, management and government worldwide. It is not the first time professor Jamie Anderson of Antwerp Management School has won one of the awards. This time, though, he managed to take home the top prize, i.e. the Overall Winning Case.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 there will be no big awards ceremony in London this year, but otherwise, professor Jamie Anderson of Antwerp Management School could not be happier. He has been internationally recognized for his excellent case writing before, but this time he and his coauthors Nader Tavassoli and Karin Kollenz-Quétard managed to win the prestigious overall prize with their case of the Dollar Shave Club.

The case looks into disruption in the shaving industry and has been popular with users worldwide. No wonder, Professor Jamie Anderson explains: “First of all, shaving is just part of everyday life, it is a topic that students can easily relate too. Secondly, the story of The Dollar Shave Club is an amazing underdog story. Along comes this small start-up with no budget disrupting the big guys of the shaving industry simply by making the most of social media. Their commercials make for real entertainment in the classroom but at the same they demonstrate the potential of innovative marketing.”

Thanks to the coauthorship though, the case is about much more than marketing: “I have a background in innovation management, Nadar Tavassoli (London Business School) brings in high-level marketing expertise and Karin Kollenz-Quétard (EDHEC Business School) excels in strategic management. By combining this threefold expertise, we ended up with a beautifully integrated case that can be used across different fields. We also provided extensive teaching notes, offering varying formats so that lecturers can easily adapt it to their curriculum and their students’ needs.”

The Case Centre too, appreciates the authors’ thoroughness and flexibility, as Richard McCracken, Director of The Case Centre, explains: “Educators have faced challenges during the pandemic, especially to take teaching – including case classes – online. This has highlighted the need for cases to adapt. The authors of the Overall Winning Case are integrating this flexibility, including guidance for educators worldwide, in their comprehensive teaching note, and offering direct dialogue and a webinar.”

Professor Jamie Anderson could not be more pleased with this international recognition of his expertise. Winning the Case Centre Award has already boosted his popularity as a Case Centre’s author, putting him in the company of eminent experts such as Christopher A. Bartlett. More importantly, it has boosted his energy to keep on writing engaging cases. Thus, he is already working on new cases, such as M-KOPA a company that provides affordable and sustainable rural lighting in Kenya.

Read more about the case The Dollar Shave Club here.

Webinar: The Case Centre organizes a webinar lead by Jamie, Karin and Nader about their award-winning case. This will take place on 23 March. www.thecasecentre.org/WebinarAwards2021

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 organization and registered charity.