Publications

28 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 28

decide whether now is the time to sell his firm's investment in Tri-Northern Distribution. Brazos, a middle-market leveraged buyout group, created the company two years earlier through the acquisition of two electronic security... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

Building ’Brandtopias’—How Top Brands Tap into Society

by a small start-up either in North Carolina or eastern Tennessee (the drink has two origin myths, he said with a smile), the high-sugar, high-caffeine, low-carbonation beverage battled very competitively against Coke and Pepsi before its View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

09 Sep 2024
News

Basket Chase

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Hi, this is Dan Morrell, host of Skydeck. On this episode, we’re featuring an excerpt from a new HBS podcast called Think Big, Buy Small. The show is hosted by Professors Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff... View Details

19 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 19, 2007

this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=207005 The Dubai Ports World Debacle and Its Aftermath Harvard Business School Case 707-014 Describes the political ramifications in the United States of Dubai-based DP World's View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Six Lessons from Mobile Money Ventures in Developing Countries

Telesom ZAAD initially made mobile money services free and managers focused on customer acquisition and training employees to effectively explain the service to prospective customers. In addition to gaining indirect revenue from a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Telecommunications

26 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 26

acquisition (CPA). However, these standard online advertising metrics are plagued with attribution problems and do not account for dynamics. These issues can easily lead firms to overspend on some actions and thus waste money, and/or... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Democratizing development: Inequality in Latin America | Institute for Business in Global Society

asks students to consider whether Tata Motors should pursue the acquisition of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands owned by US-based Ford Motor Company. The Globe: Segmenting the Base of the Pyramid (2011) By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Michael Chu,... View Details

Web

Online Entrepreneurial Marketing Course | HBS Online

Plan Featured Exercises Formulate and test a customer value proposition Calculate the ratio of a business’s customer lifetime value (LTV) to customer acquisition cost (CAC) 4-5 hrs Module 2 Understanding the Customer Determine who your... View Details

August 1996 (Revised December 1999)
Case

J Boats, Inc.

By: Robert L. Simons

During the 20-year evolution of a family-owned, entrepreneurial sailboat company, two founders leverage their design and marketing skills to build one of the most recognized brands in the recreational boating industry. The founder then considers management succession... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Family Business; Risk Management; Financial Management; Leveraged Buyouts; Brands and Branding; Competitive Strategy; Capital Markets; Valuation; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry

01 Mar 2010
News

Alumni Books

market capitalization. The book examines how misguided investment and acquisition strategies have created the paradox that, in media, the faster revenues grow, the worse their stocks perform. The Elements of Investing by Burton G. Malkiel... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Finance; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

March 2009 (Revised September 2010)
Case

HOYA Corporation (A)

By: W. Carl Kester and Masako Egawa

In 2007, HOYA of Japan must decide whether to change its friendly exchange offer for Pentax into a hostile cash tender offer. A surprising sequence of events had caused a friendly merger agreement to fall apart, resulting in a boardroom coup at Pentax and the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Investment Activism; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Governing and Advisory Boards; Negotiation Tactics; Business and Shareholder Relations; Valuation; Japan

October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Supplement

Dulcie Madden (B)—A Difficult Choice

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

This is part of a three-case series that follows Dulcie Madden's journey as a founder over five years. Case (A) is about managing growth and cash flow; Case (B) is about the exit decision and conditions on a sale; Case (C) shows Madden dealing with adversity and the... View Details

May 1983 (Revised December 1987)
Case

Technical Data Corp.

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a decision confronting the president of a small company about selling some or all of the shares in his company to another firm. Technical Data Corp. provides analytical services to professional bond market traders over a system of computer terminals operated... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Valuation; Negotiation Tactics; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Strategy; Horizontal Integration; Information Industry; Service Industry

April 1997
Case

ABB Germany

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven

Describes Europe's most famous postwar multinational merger between Asea of Sweden and Brown Boveri of Switzerland. Gives background on both companies and focuses particularly on BBC's geographic organization, its corporate culture, and the relationship between its... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Multinational Firms and Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Goals and Objectives; Organizational Culture; Performance Improvement; Geographic Location; Rank and Position; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Sweden; Switzerland; Germany

Find at Harvard

06 Feb 2023
Blog Post

Meet the Black Investment Club

co-founded a Southern-Africa focused VC firm, Zenga Ventures. At HBS, Akapelwa is able to share his experience both as an entrepreneur and as an investor. Over the course of his career to date, Akapelwa has participated in closed leveraged buyout transactions, add-on... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Venture Capital; Investment Management / Hedge Fund

01 Dec 2016
News

Case Study: Sweat the Technique

their apps (minimizing Nix’s customer acquisition costs), and then used and repurposed by vast communities of fitness consumers in novel ways that only escalate the value to them and to Nix. Yes, Nix still needs the physical product, but... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell

June 2007 (Revised November 2008)
Case

Nordic Telephone Company's Bid for TDC

Nordic Telephone Company, formed by a consortium of private equity firms, has made a public tender offer for Denmark's leading telecommunications company, TDC. TDC's board of directors approved the take-private transaction, and 88% of shareholders have accepted the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Communication Technology; Decision Choices and Conditions; Negotiation Offer; Privatization; Telecommunications Industry; Denmark

January 1998 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Viacom, Inc.: Carpe Diem (Condensed)

By: Joseph L. Bower and Thomas R. Eisenmann

Viacom has built a powerful position in the global entertainment industry through skillful and bold acquisitions. Now its expansion is challenged by the moves of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Different businesses within Viacom have contradictory positions on how to deal... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Cost vs Benefits; Decisions; Entertainment; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

October 1988 (Revised December 1994)
Case

Maytag in 1984

By: David J. Collis and Nancy Donohue

Highlights Maytag's unique position in the industry in 1984. Maytag, a much smaller player than its competitors has prior to 1984 been successful in producing high quality merchandise and charging a premium for it. By 1984 Maytag is also attempting expansion.... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business or Company Management; Production; Quality; Rank and Position; Competition; Expansion; Electronics Industry