Broadcast: News items

We’re delighted to announce that Dr. Xiangming (Tommy) Tao, Assistant Professor in Innovation & Project Management, at the University of Sussex Business School’s Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), has won the prestigious Outstanding New Case Writer award at The Case Centre Awards 2026.

The Case Centre Awards recognise excellence in case writing and teaching across business schools worldwide and are a highly competitive and prestigious competition. These awards have been running globally since 2011, and 2026 marks their 36th year.

Dr Tao outlined his case study on the global business expansion of Asian food platform Hungry Panda and reflected on the impact of his success and recognition:

“My case, ‘From Dorm to Doorsteps: The Rise of Hungry Panda in Global Food Delivery’ is built around a current leadership dilemma: how to scale a platform business internationally while managing profitability pressures, intensifying competition, and growing scrutiny around responsible business practices.

“In Hungry Panda’s context, that includes balancing continued international expansion with questions about market saturation, post-COVID growth slowdown, and the ethical responsibilities associated with gig-economy work. The case aligns particularly well with modules in Global Strategy, Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship, International Business and Business Ethics. It also works well for teaching digital platform strategy and growth under constraint, because the protagonist must choose between continued international expansion or broadening the customer base into new markets, while addressing gig worker welfare concerns.”

Advice for Case writers

Dr Tao provided some advice for colleagues considering entering the Awards:

“For any aspiring Case writers at Sussex, I would advise starting from a clear decision point and a “real” dilemma rather than a retrospective success story. Write with classroom discussion in mind (what would you like students to debate, decide, and justify?), and invest much more time in the teaching note: clear learning objectives, discussion questions, and suggested analyses. Lastly, test early drafts with colleagues and students; that feedback loop makes a huge difference to the final submission.

The impact of winning a Case Centre Award

Dr Tao continued:

“I am incredibly honoured and humbled to receive this recognition. For a fresh Case writer, this award means a lot to me; it affirms the vital role of phenomenon-driven, practice-based, and research-led teaching in modern business education. More importantly, it endorses the need for more inclusive, diverse, and culturally grounded perspectives within the classroom.

“This experience has strengthened my dedication to bridging research, teaching and practice. As co-chair of the Inclusive Teaching working group at the Business School, I’m committed to applying inclusive teaching approaches to build a portfolio of cases that translate cutting-edge research and real-world issues into compelling classroom decisions, and to use case research as a pathway for deeper engagement with entrepreneurs and practitioners worldwide.

“I am truly grateful to the colleagues, students, and practitioners who provided invaluable feedback throughout the writing process, and to the Business School, SPRU, The Case Centre, and the Case Research Foundation for their unwavering support.”