Case Name :      Sonata Software Ltd., India: Building Global Competitive Advantage through an International Joint Venture

Authors :           Stephanie Hurt, Vijaya Narapareddy

Source :             North American Case Research Association (NACRA)

Case ID :            NA0331

Discipline :        Strategy

Case Length :    16 pages

Solution Sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

This case deals with how Sonata Software, an Indian software company, sought growth in Western Europe through TUI Infotec, a joint venture (JV) with TUI AG, a leader in travel and tourism in Germany. It provides a vehicle for reflecting on a firm’s choice of a JV as a means for entering a new overseas market while building new competencies and buttressing competitive advantage. The case opens in Bangalore in May 2010, with B. Ramaswamy, President and Managing Director of Sonata Software, preparing for a meeting with his management team to review the performance of TUI Infotec. The case traces the history of Sonata from its spinoff from its parent company to the JV design and implementation. This case challenges students to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of this international JV, and to consider the decision of whether to continue the JV or to dissolve it when the revenue commitments made by TUI AG were set to expire in 2011.