Publications

February 2009
Case

Avid Radiopharmaceuticals: The Venture Debt Question

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf and Ann Leamon

The CEO of a promising biotech company must decide how to respond to the macro-economic slump of late 2008. He had planned to pursue an aggressive schedule, moving the firm's Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease imaging compounds through clinical trials and into the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Entrepreneurship; Borrowing and Debt; Venture Capital; Financial Management; Investment; Health Testing and Trials; Expansion; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

Web

10 Reasons Why HBS Peek Weekend was worth the trip across the pond - a british perspective - MBA

Government Health Care / BioTech Manufacturing Private Equity Real Estate Retail Social Enterprise Technology Venture Capital Audiences Audiences FirstGen+ College Diverse Perspectives International LGBTQ+ Military Socioeconomic Inclusion... View Details

01 Dec 2019
News

Case Study: Farming It Out

thereby leveraging its core into both market expansion and product enhancements. —Jean-Louis Danis (MBA 1974) Got a case? To take part in a future “Case Study,” send an outline of your company’s challenge to bulletin@hbs.edu View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Agriculture

October 2000 (Revised September 2002)
Case

NTT DoCoMo (A): The Future of the Wireless Internet?

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Matthew Sandoval

NTT DoCoMo was established in 1992 and became publicly held in 1998. This case tracks how DoCoMo became the number one mobile phone company in Japan and how its i.mode service revolutionized the cellular phone market. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Information Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Japan

Web

Working with Professors at HBS - MBA

Government Health Care / BioTech Manufacturing Private Equity Real Estate Retail Social Enterprise Technology Venture Capital Audiences Audiences FirstGen+ College Diverse Perspectives International LGBTQ+ Military Socioeconomic Inclusion... View Details

01 Dec 2014
News

Case Study: Growing the Family Business

centers profitable more quickly. — Bob Poulin (MBA 1985) The premium in the hourly rates is well deserved, but you are giving too much value away by not covering fixed/setup costs. I believe the source of funds to finance the expansion is... View Details

Keywords: childcare; Finance

01 Dec 2018
News

Hard Choices

the way I want to discuss it is by asking questions. They may sometimes seem rhetorical, but they’re not. They may sometimes seem straightforward, but they’re not. Because these choices are usually hard ones, and tests not just of intellect but of character. They are... View Details

Keywords: Seth Klarman (MBA 1982)

April 1985 (Revised September 1986)
Case

CML Group, Inc.: Going Public (B)

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of some issues confronting management of CML Group as the company progresses toward making an initial public offering. Among the issues and topics addressed in the case are: considerations in choosing an underwriting team, the initial public... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Initial Public Offering; Financial Markets; Financial Strategy; Planning; Cost vs Benefits; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

07 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 7, 2008

and a major expansion. The case explores how in 2000-2008 Gazprom's management has pursued the strategy defined by the politicians. Gazprom's impressive expansion strategy... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

11 Feb 2008
Research & Ideas

Does Democracy Need a Marketing Manager?

Dean's youthful Internet backing failed to generate enough votes at the polls. In the recent New Hampshire primary, Hillary Clinton's surprise win is attributable in part to her superior grassroots organizing there—the political equivalent of View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

07 Nov 2015
News

This Ivy League School is Turning Out Fashion's Hottest Startups

Keywords: Birchbox; Rent the Runway; Gilt Groupe; Stitch Fix; Shoptiques; Retail Trade; Retail Trade

18 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 18

strategy as well as whether she is the right person to continue to lead the organization. Purchase this case: http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/410013-PDF-ENG Executive Pay and the Credit Crisis of 2008 (B) Harvard Business School... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2022 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Perch

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Stacy Straaberg and Julia Kelley

In May 2021, Perch CEO Chris Bell needed to decide whether his e-commerce aggregator company, which bought and scaled Amazon Marketplace brands, should acquire up to three acquisition targets. The prospective acquisitions, Web Deals Direct, HomeCo, and Future Brands,... View Details

Article

The Upside to Large Competitors

By: Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan and Jill Avery

Large companies are often viewed as a major threat for startups and small companies; big companies have more financial resources and greater scale, market power, and brand awareness than small ones. However, our research finds that a smaller brand can actually benefit... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Competition; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

October 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Asda (A1)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Crisis Management; Management Teams; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom

May 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Harlem Children's Zone, The: Driving Performance with Measurement and Evaluation

By: Allen S. Grossman and Daniel F. Curran

Geoffrey Canada, CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone, wanted his organization to grow dramatically to reach thousands of poor and underserved children in Harlem. The agency ran a variety of successful social service programs throughout New York City that were separately... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Goals and Objectives; Measurement and Metrics; Organizational Structure; Performance Evaluation; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Nonprofit Organizations; Expansion; Valuation

October 1984
Case

NIKE (F1)

Concerns a specific strategic decision--should the apparel division expand rapidly? The teaching plan would highlight the pros and cons of such a move. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Cost vs Benefits; Expansion; Business Divisions; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry