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Publications
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(1,629)
- Faculty Publications (326)
- June 2004
- Case
Aventis SA (A): Planning for a Merger
By: Joshua D. Margolis and Carin-Isabel Knoop
Eight executives at Hoechst and Rhone-Poulenc must make four crucial decisions on the eve of merging their companies to become Aventis--what would become the world's third largest pharmaceutical firm. In addition to formulating a vision and strategy, the two firms must... View Details
- May 2004
- Background Note
56K Modem Battle
By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier
Examines the battle to set the standard for the 56K modem. Set in 1996, this case looks at how computers accessed the Internet via a telephone line, or dial-up connection, and a hardware modem. In 1995, there were 18.6 million total modem unit shipments, with market... View Details
- 2004
- Working Paper
Regulation and Reaction: The Other Side of Free Banking in Antebellum New York
By: David A. Moss and Sarah Brennan
Free banking, which first appeared in the United States in the late 1830s, comprised two essential features: general incorporation for banks and rigorous security requirements for note issue. Because the general incorporation feature is what allowed free entry, it has... View Details
- February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
- Case
Fuel Cells: The Hydrogen Revolution?
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Ryland Matthew Willis
The challenges faced in establishing hydrogen fuel cell-powered transportation in the United States, which promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on imported oil is examined. Foremost among these challenges is a "chicken-and-egg" dynamic: consumers... View Details
- October 2003 (Revised February 2004)
- Case
Cape Wind
By: John T. Gourville and Kerry Herman
Cape Wind has proposed placing a 170-tower wind farm, with each tower more than 400-feet tall, in Nantucket Sound. Not surprisingly, public reaction is mixed. Some view the wind farm as clean, renewable energy. Others view it as an eyesore and a desecration of a valued... View Details
- February 2003 (Revised October 2003)
- Case
Cable Data Systems
By: Paul W. Marshall and Todd H Thedinga
Describes the operating challenges of Cable Data Systems (CDS), a minority-owned cable installation company with a dual mission of maximizing profits and providing employment opportunities to minorities in urban markets. Following the merger of two cable installation... View Details
- November 2002 (Revised March 2003)
- Case
Water Policy Priorities Along the U.S.-Mexico Border
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Jose M. M. Porraz
The United States and Mexico face the challenges of managing shared water resources. The supply is limited and demand is growing on both sides of the border as a result of increased irrigated acreage and population growth. View Details
- September 2002
- Case
Align Technology, Inc.: Matching Manufacturing Capacity to Sales Demand
By: H. Kent Bowen and Jonathan P Groberg
Align Technology is a four-year-old medical products company that has invented a new product requiring new manufacturing processes. Demand for the new product has grown more slowly than initial forecasts predicted, and the cost structure is preventing the company from... View Details
- July 2002 (Revised August 2002)
- Case
Washington Hospital Center (D): Emergency Medicine After September 11
By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Michelle Heskett
The all-risks-ready emergency room prototype project becomes widely accepted as a need after September 11, 2001. The already operational medical informatics system, Insight, comes under heavy demand after its strong performance during crises and is noticed by various... View Details
- June 2002
- Case
Vans: Skating on Air
By: Youngme E. Moon and David Kiron
Vans is best known for selling footwear and apparel to skateboarders, surfers, and other alternative sports athletes. In April 2002, Gary Schoenfeld, the CEO, is facing a number of challenges. With respect to footwear, he must decide what to do about two product lines... View Details
- May 2002
- Case
Mellon Investor Services
By: Thomas J. DeLong
James Aramanda, head of Mellon Investor Services, must decide how to change the focus of his business. He works with consultants to create a change strategy to enhance a business that is already doing well. Will he be able to interest his professionals in changing the... View Details
- April 2002 (Revised July 2002)
- Case
Imagicast
By: John T. Gourville and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld
Imagicast has brought to market an interactive, multimedia retail kiosk designed to increase product sales. In spite of promising projections by industry analysts and detailed demand forecasts by Imagicast management, the company has yet to sell a single kiosk. Time... View Details
- March 2002 (Revised November 2003)
- Case
Satellite Radio
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alastair Brown
In early 2002, XM and Sirius were fighting for control of the emerging U.S. market for satellite radio. Each company targeted consumers in automobiles, providing 100 channels of CD-quality audio for a monthly subscription fee of $10-$13. Wall Street analysts predicted... View Details
- February 2002 (Revised April 2011)
- Case
The Future of Hybrid Electric Vehicles
By: John T. Gourville, Alice Tzou and David Lane
Set in 2002, this case looks at the potential for hybrid electric vehicles in the United States. Looks at the pressures on the automotive industry to produce a commercially viable, environmentally friendly vehicle and the consumer behavior surrounding purchase of those... View Details
- January 2002 (Revised September 2022)
- Case
Aqualisa Quartz: Simply a Better Shower
By: Youngme E. Moon and Kerry Herman
Harry Rawlinson is managing director of Aqualisa, a major U.K. manufacturer of showers. He has just launched the most significant shower innovation in recent history: the Quartz shower. The shower provides significant improvements in terms of quality, cost, and ease of... View Details
- August 2001 (Revised October 2005)
- Case
Sony AIBO: The World's First Entertainment Robot
By: Youngme E. Moon
The Sony AIBO is the world's first "entertainment" robot. Positioned as a household "companion," the $1,500 AIBO has become a smash hit in Japan, appealing to both the young and the old, including those with little technical expertise. In the United States, the AIBO is... View Details
- February 2001 (Revised August 2001)
- Case
Henry Heinz: Making Markets for Processed Foods
By: Nancy F. Koehn
Outlines many of the supply-side innovations, such as improved transportation, communication, and technological developments, that greatly expanded the productive capacity of the United States in the late 19th century. Explores a range of demand-side shifts, including... View Details
- November 2000 (Revised May 2002)
- Case
FleetBoston Financial: Online Banking
By: Frances X. Frei and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar
As the ninth largest bank holding company in the United States in 2000, FleetBoston Financial Corp. provided a myriad of financial services, including retail banking, loan origination, and brokerage accounts. This case explores how FleetBoston responded to the Internet... View Details
- February 2000 (Revised August 2000)
- Case
Priceline.com: Name Your Own Price
By: Robert J. Dolan
Priceline.com is a new concept shifting the setting of price from sellers to buyers. The company aspires to use its patented process of advertising units of demand at named prices to suppliers in many categories. This case focuses on its initial use in the airline... View Details
- January 2000 (Revised October 2002)
- Case
Cambridge Hospital Community Health Network - The Primary Care Unit
By: V.G. Narayanan, Lisa Brem and Ryan Moore
The Cambridge Hospital Community Health Network needed to gain a better understanding of its unit-of-service costs, which had been rising at a rate of 10% per year. The network's step-down costing system gave only aggregate costing information, and there was some... View Details