Publications

January 2022
Case

SpartanNash Company: The Amazon Warrants (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty, E. Scott Mayfield and Daniel Fisher

As of 12/31/21, Amazon held $22 billion of equity and warrants in related companies. In fact, it often requests a free grant of warrants when it enters into a new commercial agreement with a supplier. Over the past 20 years, Amazon has gotten warrants in almost 20... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Value Creation; Consumer Behavior; Negotiation; Distribution; Ownership; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Equity; Distribution Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

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Frequently Asked Questions | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

What is the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative? The HBS Social Enterprise Initiative applies innovative business practices and managerial disciplines to drive sustained, high-impact social change. It's grounded in the mission of Harvard... View Details

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

protection, such as patents, trade secrets, and trademarks. A trademark offers a way to capture the brand equity of a company or a product. BusinessWeek recently calculated that the value of the Coca-Cola brand was worth more than $65... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

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Past Issues - Alumni

not-too-distant future of tomorrow’s sustainable cities Breaking News With a novel funding and ownership model, the National Trust for Local News offers a path to keep local newspapers in local hands—and sustained for the future Launch... View Details

20 Nov 2012
First Look

First Look: November 20

capacity and new products only when attractive, low-risk opportunities are identified and can be funded internally. The firm's culture of risk aversion extends to financing decisions with a clear preference for equity finance over debt... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

August 2013 (Revised December 2014)
Case

Taking Dell Private

By: David J. Collis, David B. Yoffie and Matthew Shaffer

In July 2012, Michael Dell, CEO and founder of Dell, Inc., met with a representative of Silver Lake Partners to explore taking his company private. The company, which he had founded in his dorm room as a college freshman and which had made him the youngest Fortune 500... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Going Private; The PC Market; Market For Corporate Control; Corporate Strategy; Leveraged Buyouts; Change Management; Private Equity; Market Entry and Exit; Private Ownership; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Computer Industry; Technology Industry; United States

April 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Restaurant Brands International: Version 2.0

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2010, 3G Capital acquired Burger King, the second largest burger chain globally. 3G expanded Burger King’s operations via acquisitions into a multi-brand business, renamed Restaurant Brands International. The acquisition had been a financial success story for 3G.... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Growth and Development; Performance Evaluation; Private Equity; Franchise Ownership; Culture; Change Management; Strategy; Human Resources; Information Technology; Competition; Retail Industry; United States

Research Summary

Supply Chain Inventory Planning

My work studies management decision-making in demand and supply planning contexts with a focus on forecasting and inventory planning decisions. I examine these decision-making processes from both a supply chain (i.e. across firm) and an... View Details

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Events - Private Capital Project

Associate Professor, HBS) The Measurement of Impact Investors in an Age of Skepticism May 16, 2023 “The Measurement of Impact Investors in an Age of Skepticism” with Lisa Hall (Impact Chairperson, Private Equity at Apollo), David... View Details

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Courses by Faculty Unit - Course Catalog

Base of the Pyramid (also listed under General Management) Natalia Rigol Benjamin N. Roth Fall 2024 Q1Q2 3.0 The Coming of Managerial Capitalism Tom Nicholas Spring 2025 Q3Q4 3.0 Data for Impact: Impact Measurement from Startup to Fortune... View Details

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Finance Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Private Equity Research Paper for “Investing Outside the Box: Evidence from Alternative Vehicles in Private Equity” ( Journal of Financial Economics , January 2022) with Jason Mao, Antoinette Schoar, and Nan R. Zhang. Emily R. McComb :... View Details

January 2022 (Revised January 2024)
Case

ReNew Power: Leading the Energy Transition in India

By: Gunnar Trumbull and Malini Sen

Founder-CEO of one of India’s largest clean energy companies, ReNew Power, which develops, builds, and operates utility-scale wind and solar energy projects, has to decide the way forward for the company as the country and the world stand poised at the cusp of an... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Energy Sources; Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Initial Public Offering; Forecasting and Prediction; Trends; Transformation; Private Ownership; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Industry; India; Asia