Teaching with case-studies is an emerging theme in the innovation projects of the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC).
Supported by the School’s Learning & Innovation team and the Community for Learning and Innovation (CLI), teaching staff of all three departments took the initiative to investigate the potential and value of case-based teaching and learning within their programmes.
The #Burnberry case: a case-study about the balance between exclusivity and sustainability in the fashion industry
ESHCC’s Dr. Vidhi Chaudhri is well-acquainted the case-methodology. For several years now, her students from the course on Corporate Communication are writing case-study material as a way to demonstrate that they are able to connect the course material to an appropriate interesting case. As a communication consultant, students formulate a strategy to address the problem.
In Vidhi’s educational innovation project a paper-based case-study will be developed into a multimedia case-study. By adding multimedia sources such as interviews, interactive time-lines and animations the learning experience will be enriched and the case-study can be delivered in a blended format.
Recently Vidhi Chaudhri published a co-authored case-study about the luxury fashion industry. By taking Burberry as an example, the case focused on the balance between exclusivity and sustainability in this industry. The Burberry case was originally developed as part of the MA Media & Business course ‘Corporate Management with Social Media'. The case has now been published at The Case Centre.
Description of the case
The principle of building and maintaining a reputation of exclusivity has long been acknowledged as the key to the success of luxury brands. The way these ambitions are realized often remains hidden from the public eye. In June 2018, British luxury brand Burberry faced considerable backlash after news surfaced that the brand had burned excess stock worth GBP28.6m (USD37m) to reportedly safeguard its brand image. Various hashtags circulated, including the viral #Burnberry, publicly calling out the brand for its behavior. The case presents an interesting paradox between a sustainability focus on the one hand, and maintaining exclusivity on the other. Two months after the incident, Burberry gave in to pressure and announced that it would cease its burning practices.
About case-based teaching and learning
Case-based learning is an authentic learning approach that can be taken into consideration to develop learning activities that enable students to apply knowledge to real cases, to gain a better understanding of their skills, and develop employability skills. It provides students with an opportunity to see theory in practice and allows the development of analytic, communicative and collaborative skills along with the content knowledge they acquire.
If you have any questions or wish further information, please contact innovationhub@eshcc.eur.nl.
