Case Study: Change Management in Lush Start-up, Analysis

This case study examines change management within the Lush start-up, a leader in the cosmetic industry known for its ethical and sustainable practices. It explores stakeholder analysis, identifying key stakeholders like investors, customers, and employees, and highlights the core values essential for start-up success, including innovation, transparency, and integrity. The study discusses the processes for achieving these values and identifies potential reasons for start-up failure, such as poor management or lack of innovation. Recommendations include continuous market research and adopting strategies for designing organic products to maintain a competitive edge. The case study also references Netflix's innovative approach and its compassionate, customer-focused business model, providing a comparative perspective on start-up strategies.

Change management in
start-ups

Case study summary
 Lush has become one leading innovator in
case of the cosmetic industry by promoting
the environmental and social stewardship.
 Having more than 900 stores all over the
world, the company is introducing several
exciting products periodically (Lushusa.com,
2019).
 The main agenda of this company is to
establish ethical as well as sustainable
business practices, thus enhancing its
customer loyalty and business value
(Wilson, 2016).

Stakeholder analysis in start-ups
 Identifying and engaging suitable stakeholders plays a vital role in
ensuring success of a business.
 Stakeholders are usually the individuals who affects or get affected by
the organizational activities.
 They can be internal or external and can directly and indirectly affect
the daily organizational functionality and even success of a business
(Haines, 2016).
 Government, employees, sponsors, investors and customers are some
important stakeholders in every business.

Contd…
 In case of the cosmetic business of Lush, the list of stakeholders for
start-up can be as follows;
1. Investors
2. Business consultants (Konecnik Ruzzier & Ruzzier, 2015)
3. Customers
4. Government (Local and state)
5. Suppliers
6. Community
7. Employees

Core values of start-ups
 In order to achieve success, every start-up need to uphold following
core values;
1. Innovation or creativity
2. Transparency
3. Excellent client service
4. Integrity and diligence (Chuang, 2013)
5. Accountability
6. Perseverance and discipline

Process of achieving core values
 Below certain steps are there, following which the discussed core
values can be achieved.
1. Identifying the shared values
2. Testing the commitments against the values
3. Maintaining effective workplace communication
4. Demonstrating the values to the employees

Reason of failure of start-ups
 Poor leadership and management skill, unpredictable business model,
inefficient financial management are certain factors that can contribute
higher towards failure of the start-ups.
 In case of start-up business of cosmetic industries, changing continuous
innovation can be the major reason of failure.
 Cosmetic industry is one of the rapid growing industry and based on the
current environmental condition, several products are getting launched
(Salamzadeh & Kawamorita Kesim, 2015).
 Continuous innovation of new products might become a major reason,
for which start-ups can loose customers.

Recommendation
 Continuous market research can provide idea about the recent trend
and customer demands.
 In addition, with the changing environment condition, the cosmetic
company needs to adopt strategies for designing organic products
(Salamzadeh & Kawamorita Kesim, 2015).
 Adopting successful promotional strategies and acknowledging the
customers in a broader aspect, which on other hand will help the
organization to grab more profit and creating competitive advantages.

References
 Chuang, S. F. (2013). Essential skills for leadership effectiveness in diverse workplace
development. Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development, 6(1), 5.
 Haines, T. (2016). Developing a startup and innovation ecosystem in regional Australia.
Technology Innovation Management Review, 6(6), 24-32.
 Konecnik Ruzzier, M., & Ruzzier, M. (2015). Startup branding funnel: A new approach for
developing startup brands.
 Lushusa.com. (2019). Home | Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics. Lushusa.com.
 Salamzadeh, A., & Kawamorita Kesim, H. (2015). Startup companies: Life cycle and
challenges. In 4th International conference on employment, education and entrepreneurship
(EEE), Belgrade, Serbia.
 Wilson, M. (2016). Bigger is better for Lush. Chain Store Age, 92(1), 12–13. (Beech 283-286)