Volkswagen on the Touch-stone P. Bala Bhaskaran 1 Prabir Kumar Bandyopadhyay 2 Abstract The case is structured around the Volkswagen (VW) fiasco wherein large number of cars sold by the company was found to violate the emission norms of EPA significantly. The case traces the origin and history of the firm. Then the case narrates accidental observation of the violation of the emission- norms and response of the firm to the situation. The case contrasts the responses of other firms in the industry who were affected by similar, albeit much smaller level, violation of emission-norms. The case explores the possible courses of punitive actions and the overall impact on each of the stakeholders. The case leaves the reader to explore the responsibilities of each stakeholder and the need to balance the expectations and impacts from the course of action that need to be followed. Keywords Environment protection, emission-norms, fuel efficiency, defect-device, on-board diagnostics, corporate social responsibility, long-term sustainability of firm Introduction On 18 September 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of USA issued a notice on the German automobile giant Volkswagen (VW) Group for violation of the Clean Air Act and ordered recall of nearly half-a-million vehicles. The EPA was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the car maker had deliberately manipulated the device monitoring the release of obnoxious nitrogen oxide (NOx) gases and managed to show the vehicles within the tolerable limits, whereas the actual quantum of release was far in excess of the Case South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases 7(1) 1–10 © 2018 Birla Institute of Management Technology SAGE Publications sagepub.in/home.nav DOI: 10.1177/2277977917751502 http://journals.sagepub.com/home/bmc Disclaimer: This case is written for classroom discussion and is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation, or to represent successful or unsuccessful managerial decision-making, or endorse the views of the management. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of South Asian Journal of Business & Management Cases. 1 Director, Shanti Business School, Ahmedabad, India. 2 Professor, Symbiosis International University, Pune, India. Corresponding author: P. Bala Bhaskaran, Director, Shanti Business School, Ahmedabad, India. E-mails: bala.bhaskaran@gmail.com; bala@shantibschool.edu.in