UTIA Associate Professor Coauthors Winning Case Study for Use in International Competition

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Top Business Schools Compete Using Original Case Study Codeveloped by Carlos Trejo-Pech

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Carlos Trejo-Pech, an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, and clinical professor emerita Susan White from the University of Maryland coauthored a case study that was selected as one of six winning cases used at the 2024 John Molson MBA International Case Competition, held earlier this year in Montreal, Canada.

“Our case study explores managerial and financial issues related to the ongoing potential merger between Kroger and Albertsons, which was still under review by the Federal Trade Commission when the case was written,” said Trejo-Pech. “Given that this would be the merger of the two largest competitors in the highly competitive traditional supermarket business in the U.S., it is a controversial deal and provides a rich case study for students and scholars to analyze. This winning case manuscript is the sequel of a financial analysis case study that has been accepted for publication in the Applied Economics Teaching Resources journal, which I use in the finance courses I teach.”

The winning case studies, representing a variety of business disciplines, were used for student teams to solve during the MBA International Case Competition, considered the world’s largest, oldest and most prestigious event of its kind. Students were given three hours to analyze and present their findings, using the skills, knowledge and experience acquired from their respective MBA programs. A total of 36 student teams from around the globe presented their feasible solutions and detailed plans of action before panels of live judges, competing for the Concordia Cup.

The competition is a nonprofit event, organized by the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.

Trejo-Pech joined the UT Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics in 2016, where he teaches advanced agribusiness finance and agricultural finance and risk management. His research focus includes agribusiness, agricultural economics, and finance. His case studies have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals.

The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the Institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.

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Tina M. Johnson

Agricultural and Resource Economics