• 2017
• Working Paper

Merchants and the Origins of Capitalism

By: Sophus A. Reinert and Robert Fredona

N.S.B. Gras, the father of Business History in the United States, argued that the era of mercantile capitalism was defined by the figure of the “sedentary merchant,” who managed his business from home, using correspondence and intermediaries, in contrast to the earlier... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; History; Business History

Citation

SSRN

Read Now

Related

Reinert, Sophus A., and Robert Fredona. "Merchants and the Origins of Capitalism." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-021, September 2017. (Forthcoming in Routledge Companion to the Makers of Global Business. Edited by Teresa da Silva Lopes, Christina Lubinski, Heidi Tworek (2018).)

• November 2004 (Revised June 2006)
• Case

Hala Madrid: Managing Real Madrid Club de Futbol, the Team of the Century

Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid, a leading European soccer team, is preparing for a press conference in which he will be asked about his plans for the coming season. Economic success and some sports mishaps during the prior season represent the scenario... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Strategic Planning; Value Creation; Risk Management; System; Budgets and Budgeting; Sports Industry; Spain

Citation

Educators

Purchase

Related

Martinez-Jerez, Francisco de Asis, and Rosario de Albornoz. "Hala Madrid: Managing Real Madrid Club de Futbol, the Team of the Century." Harvard Business School Case 105-013, November 2004. (Revised June 2006.)

• 23 Jun 2023
• HBS Case

This Company Lets Employees Take Charge—Even with Life and Death Decisions

care teams after experiencing firsthand as a nurse, and then a decade as a senior leader of two large health care organizations, how the health care system managed quality... View Details

Keywords: by Annelena Lobb; Health

• 15 Nov 2010
• Lessons from the Classroom

Connecting Goals and Go-To-Market Initiatives

are, what they know, how you hire, and how you develop their skills and attitudes over time. Performance management practices, including compensation, incentives, values, View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

• 14 Nov 2017
• First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 14, 2017

suited for a young, entrepreneurial organization. Start-up joiners need to do three things well: manage uncertainty, push the limits, and think like an owner. He then outlines four steps for choosing the... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

• July 2005 (Revised August 2011)
• Case

Jesse Holman Jones and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation

By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Bridget Gurtler

Jesse Holman Jones is regarded as one of the most influential men in reviving the American economy from the Great Depression. With only an 8th grade education, he rose to the top of the banking, real estate, and lumber industries, as well as the upper echelons of... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Financial Strategy; Business History; Leading Change; Managerial Roles; Business and Government Relations; Power and Influence

Citation

Educators

Purchase

Related

Nohria, Nitin, Anthony Mayo, and Bridget Gurtler. "Jesse Holman Jones and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 406-029, July 2005. (Revised August 2011.)

• July 2000 (Revised April 2001)
• Case

Agricultural Biotechnology and its Regulation

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

In the United States, genetically modified corn and soybeans are now widely grown and consumed. In Europe, however, they have been dubbed "Frankenstein foods," shunned by packaged food manufacturers, and subjected to a host of governmental restrictions. This case... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Genetics; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Corporate Strategy; Trade; Law; Goods and Commodities; Safety; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Europe; United States

Citation

Educators

Purchase

Related

Reinhardt, Forest L. "Agricultural Biotechnology and its Regulation." Harvard Business School Case 701-004, July 2000. (Revised April 2001.)

• 16 Apr 2001
• Research & Ideas

Strategy and the Internet

Internet commerce partners. Rather than make trade-offs, they have rushed to offer every conceivable product, service, or type of information. Rather than tailor the value chain in a unique way, they have aped the activities of rivals. Rather than build View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter

• November 2023
• Supplement

'Care in Every Drop': Ayala Corporation and Manila Water (B)

By: Debora L. Spar, Paul Healy, Tricia Peralta and Julia Comeau

Since 1834, eight generations of the Ayala family have used their conglomerate to fund nation-building projects in the Philippines, including investments in tramcars, telecommunications, hospitals, and schools. In 1997, Ayala’s subsidiary, Manila Water, took control of... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Economic Growth; Social Entrepreneurship; Climate Change; Natural Resources; Crisis Management; Failure; Privatization; Social Issues; Urban Development; Adaptation; Infrastructure; Utilities Industry; Philippines

Citation

Purchase

Related

Spar, Debora L., Paul Healy, Tricia Peralta, and Julia Comeau. "'Care in Every Drop': Ayala Corporation and Manila Water (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 324-039, November 2023.

• 21 Aug 2000
• Research & Ideas

Inside the OR: Disrupted Routines and New Technologies

organizations successfully integrate new technologies into their operations. "In an industry context in which individual heroism and skill are assumed to be critical determinants of important outcomes," they write, "this... View Details

Keywords: by Hilah Geer

• November 2005 (Revised December 2016)
• Case

Bally Total Fitness (A): The Rise, 1962–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

From a single, modest club in 1962, Bally Total Fitness had grown to become—in management’s words—the “largest and only nationwide commercial operator of fitness centers” in the United States in 2004. Bally had faced its share of challenges, but the last couple of... View Details

Keywords: Bally Total Fitness; Fitness; Gyms; Health Clubs; Chain; Securities And Exchange Commission; Paul Toback; Weight Loss; Exercise; Contracts; Personal Training; Retention; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Accrual Accounting; Finance; Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Public Equity; Financing and Loans; Revenue; Revenue Recognition; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Management; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Trends; Cost Management; Profit; Growth and Development; Leadership Style; Five Forces Framework; Private Ownership; Opportunities; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; United States; Illinois; Chicago

Citation

Educators

Purchase

Related

Wells, John R., Elizabeth A. Raabe, and Gabriel Ellsworth. "Bally Total Fitness (A): The Rise, 1962–2004." Harvard Business School Case 706-450, November 2005. (Revised December 2016.)