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Product cover image for Integral Hockey: Growth of an Entrepreneurial Venture

Integral Hockey: Growth of an Entrepreneurial Venture

William Holmes

Product #:W42731
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:Entrepreneurship, Sustainability
Setting:Canada, 2024
Details:Case (PDF) • 11 pages • 2025-06-03

Subjects:

Business growthDisruptive innovationStrategic positioningSocial entrepreneurshipDiversificationStart-upsLeadership and managing peopleEntrepreneurshipManagement

Geography:

CanadaNorth America
Your Price:$10.54

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Randy Langille, founder and CEO of Integral Hockey, was considering the challenges and opportunities facing the company he had started in Port Alberni, British Columbia. He had pioneered a patented process to repair broken carbon fibre composite hockey sticks, offering players a cost-effective alternative to purchasing expensive new sticks. He had incorporated Integral Hockey in 2011 and launched the first franchise later that year. By the end of 2024, Integral Hockey had 101 franchisees, including two in Europe. The company had strong ties with the hockey community and was becoming a disruptive force in the hockey equipment industry. With opportunities for further geographic expansion and new product lines, Langille faced critical strategic decisions. How should he position the company for growth? And as Integral Hockey evolved, how would his role as founder and entrepreneur need to change?

Learning Objectives

This case is suitable for graduate and senior undergraduate courses in entrepreneurship and strategy. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:

  • Discuss strategies that address the competing narratives of profitability and social purpose.
  • Describe the process of entrepreneurial effectuation: the application of skills, attributes, experience, and other assets already at the entrepreneur’s disposal in the attempt to develop a solution to a problem.
  • Explore the viability of franchising as a business model.
  • Explain the benefits of patenting with respect to products and processes.
  • Investigate strategies for revenue generation through diversification of product offerings/benefits and international expansion.
  • Explore transition strategies for founder entrepreneurs whose startup companies grow into mature enterprises.
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Case Study: Integral Hockey: Growth of an Entrepreneurial Venture (English version) | Ivey Publishing