Publications

May 2003
Supplement

Jim Sharpe: Extrusion Technology, Inc.

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Paul W. Marshall

Jim Sharpe discusses his early career at General Electric to his decision to purchase and run a small company. The discussion includes a detailed acquisition financing proposal, which resulted in Sharpe being able to raise virtually all of the financing from some... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financing and Loans

February 2019
Technical Note

Can Multiunit Organizations Remain Agile as They Grow?

By: Tatiana Sandino

This note discusses how multiunit organizations incorporate flexibility into their management control systems, some by authorizing all or a select number of their dispersed units to make input and process decisions, some by investing in data-analytic technologies to... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Flexibility; Management Systems; Business Units; Decision Making

March 2024
Supplement

Miracle Therapeutics (B)

By: Satish Tadikonda, William Marks and Wendi Yajnik

Supplements the (A) case. Following on the negotiations detailed in the Miracle Therapeutics (A) case, Beth Sharp and Jennifer Brilliant from Miracle Therapeutics face new challenges with their company's funding and intellectual property (IP) after several missteps.... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Intellectual Property; Problems and Challenges; Business or Company Management

December 2011 (Revised January 2012)
Supplement

Pierre Frankel in Moscow (B): Plowing Ahead

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Matthew Bird

After several months into his turnaround of a global technology company's Russia subsidiary, a young and upcoming French executive reflected on how to institutionalize the subsidiary's transformation by further driving cultural change and breaking down internal silos.... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Business Subsidiaries; Leadership; Manufacturing Industry; Russia

December 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney (A): Negotiating a Client Service Predicament

By: Ashish Nanda

Sherif Mityas, recently promoted as project manager at A.T. Kearney, faced a client service challenge in his very first project experience. Mityas had been working closely for six weeks with the management team of the U.S. subsidiary of a Japan-headquartered consumer... View Details

Keywords: Management; Conflict of Interests; Business Subsidiaries; Trust; Consumer Products Industry; Japan; United States

August 1974 (Revised April 1983)
Case

Peter Olafson (A)

By: John J. Gabarro

Describes the problems facing a recent MBA graduate in his job as general manager of a cable television company owned by a parent corporation. Raises issues of corporate divisional relationships and the difficulties facing an inexperienced manager who seems to be... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Television Entertainment; Managerial Roles; Organizational Design; Problems and Challenges

Find at Harvard

12 Jul 2019
News

The Power of Entrepreneurship

opportunity for all citizens. “IGNIA is a venture capital firm. Today we're the largest VC firm in Mexico. We focus on investing in businesses in Mexico that serve the emerging middle class or View Details

Keywords: Finance

15 Nov 2021
News

Charles P. Waite (MBA 1959)

Charles P. Waite (MBA 1959) Two institutions completely changed the life of Charles P. Waite, says Patti Waite Bishop about her late father, a venture capital pioneer and founding partner at Greylock Management: the US Army and Harvard... View Details

01 Mar 2013
News

Delivering the Power to Dream Big

Bart Howe (MBA 2011) envisions a time when tablet computers are self-charging and when buildings will generate their own power. Ubiquitous Energy, a company he cofounded that is creating a new generation of solar cells, puts these innovations within reach. The... View Details

Keywords: solar power; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

Career Coach

Alejandro Maldonado

key players in the industry and was then acquired by a strategic player. Since 2012, Alejandro has trained and been a coach for students and alumni at Harvard Business School, where he developed his passion for talent and career... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Education; Emerging Markets; Investment Banking; Financial Services (All); Private Equity; Financial Services (All); Social Enterprise; Impact Investing; Financial Services (All)

15 Oct 2019
News

Innovative Thinking Fuels Nascent Startup Scene

on the rise in the MENA countries. The company was cofounded by a woman—women represent about 25 percent of entrepreneurs in MENA countries as compared with the global average of 10 percent—and it capitalizes on the region’s high digital connectivity. BulkWhiz... View Details

25 Jul 2012
News

Movie Magic

swipe of a credit card. “Automated retail sounds better,” suggests Gregg Kaplan (MBA 1997). Recruited by McDonald’s to help start new businesses within the fast-food giant, in 2002 Kaplan oversaw the installation of six kiosks in... View Details

Keywords: vending machines; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment; General Merchandise Stores; Retail Trade

1990
Chapter

Measurement, Coordination and Learning in a Multi-plant Network

By: W. B. Chew, K. B. Clark and T. Bresnahan

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Organizational Structure; Networks; Business Model; Measurement and Metrics; Cooperation

February 1999 (Revised June 1999)
Case

Investitori Associati: Exiting the Savio LBO (A)

By: Josh Lerner, Dino Cattaneo and Giampiero Mazza

Investitori Associati seeks to exit a leveraged buyout investment. Choosing the appropriate way in which to undertake their exit-an initial public offering or sale of the firm-proves problematic. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Initial Public Offering; Business Exit or Shutdown; Leveraged Buyouts

May 2017
Supplement

Betfair (C)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, John Heilbron and Neil Campbell

Prompted by a takeover bid from CVC, Betfair reassesses the strengths and weaknesses of the exchange model. View Details

Keywords: Betfair; Exchange; Betting; Betting Markets; Diversification; Market Design; Business Model; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Europe

January 2014 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Open English

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Lisa Mazzanti

Open English, a Miami-based startup offering online English language learning services, had more than 30,000 active students across Latin America in 2012. The company had just closed a $43 million financing round in order to rapidly scale its service to the next level.... View Details

Keywords: Technology Strategy; Product Management; Startup; Online Learning; Digital Platforms; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Technology Industry; Miami; Venezuela

January 2013
Supplement

SMARTBITES (B): May 2009

By: Michael Roberts and Amar Bhide

The case describes a Turkish brother and sister team who are evaluating the option of acquiring and operating a franchise of a large US bakery/cafe for Turkey. They are comparing this option to that of simply starting a similar business. View Details

Keywords: Franchising; Start-up; Franchise Ownership; Business Startups; Food and Beverage Industry; Turkey

2006
Article

The Long-Term Value of M&A Activity to Enhance Learning Organizations

Viewing the automobile industry as being made up of independent learning-organisations may reveal some tie-ups that can generate value not easily revealed by traditional financial metrics. The key question to be answered when considering M&A activity between automakers... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Processes; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry