The inaugural SmithSoc Case Competition will be a 3‐day event highlighting Adam Smith Society member teams from 9 top‐tier MBA programs from across the country. In addition to the case competition, the event will feature a dinner and an optional ski trip to the world‐famous Sundance Mountain Resort in Sundance, Utah.

Case competitions foster meaningful dialogue around complicated business issues and their impact on society—an exercise that's critical to the Adam Smith Society and its mission. Chapter teams, each comprised of four members, are pitted against one another to strategize the best solution to a business-related case study.

Participating Schools:

• Baylor Hankamer
• BYU Marriott
• Chicago Booth
• NYU Stern
• Rice Jones
• UNC Kenan Flagler
• USC Marshall
• UVA Darden
• Yale SOM

Case Overview: Facebook and the 2016 Election  

• This case invites students to explore how Facebook’s executive team should respond to some of the issues arising from the 2016 US presidential election. The case will focus on the allegations that foreign powers used false Facebook profiles and advertising accounts to spread disinformation and other materials with the aim of influencing the outcome of the election.
• Students will analyze the sources of Facebook’s competitive advantage, as well as the strategic, tactical and policy challenges Facebook will encounter as it responds to the allegations from the election. Students will grapple with three key questions:

1. What internal mechanisms or policies should Facebook change in response to these allegations?
2. What challenges does the company face in external relations as it navigates these issues?
3. What larger societal interests might/should be considered in response to the issues from the 2016 election cycle?