DANBURY, CONN. — Two current students and three alumni of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Western Connecticut State University have earned prestigious recognition with recent publication of their case studies for the office supply retail giant Staples to plan growth of retail operations in Asia’s two largest markets, India and China.

Current MBA candidates Vaida Whipple and Nolan Rabinowitz collaborated with Associate Professor of Marketing Dr. Karen L. Koza to write a case study of Staples’ plans for expansion of retail activity in India. Their work, titled “Staples-Pantaloon Retail Limited Tie-Up: Going for Growth in India’s Modern Retail Market,” recently was accepted for publication in the academic case journal of the international Society for Case Research (SCR). On average, the journal accepts only 20 to 25 percent of cases submitted for publication. Whipple and Rabinowitz also presented their case to peers at SCR’s 2009 Summer Case Writers Conference.

“This is a big honor for these students,” Koza observed. “Their case will be published in a scholarly journal, where they were required to go through two extensive reviews by two separate case reviewers. In addition, their case will provide a valuable learning tool and resource for future MBA students.”

A previous case study on Staples’ retail growth plans in China, originally published in the SCR academic case journal in 2008 by Koza and three MBA students who have since earned their degrees, also has received new recognition. “Staples Inc.: Planning for Sustained Growth in China’s Retail Market” has been included in the 2010 edition of Global Marketing Management published by Wiley, an international house specializing in scholarly, scientific and educational works in print and electronic formats. MBA graduates who collaborated with Koza in writing the case study are Jeffrey Shpunt, Charles Price and Shingai Majuru.

For more information, contact Koza at kozak@wcsu.edu or the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics
of New England’s best small private universities.