MGM Marmi: Challenging Tradition with Entrepreneurial Leadership and Business Communication

This case explores the concept of entrepreneurial leadership. It aims to foster students’ reflection on leadership roles and traits and on the barriers, challenges, and opportunities new leaders and entrepreneurs face when they take over the management of an established, family-owned business. The case focuses on MGM Marmi, a family-owned company established in 1960 in Italy, before and after the company was formally taken over by the founder’s successor. Particular attention is paid to the figure of Laura Olivari, the wife of Umberto Guarda, the founder’s son, and the impact she exerted on the company. The difficulty level of this case is appropriate for first year undergraduate students who are toward the end of an organizational behaviour module or for second-year undergraduates at the beginning of a leadership module. Aspects of business communication, diversity, and culture (à la Hofstede) are encompassed in the case context; therefore, students’ prior knowledge of such issues may facilitate discussion. The case is designed to be taught in a one-hour seminar and is expected to require one hour of individual preparation for students. Although it aims to foster a critical evaluation of the actor’s profile against the major leadership theories suggested, it also hopes to stimulate students to reflect upon the consequences that roles and traits may exert on a company’s choices. The company website indicated in the text and bibliography enrich the case-study experience by showing the products of the company as well as its presence in the national and international press. This case was prepared for classroom discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative, ethical, or legal decision by management. Information was gathered from public as well as corporate sources.