Publications

September 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Katie Couric Media: Landing the First Client

By: N. Louis Shipley and William R. Kerr

In May 2018, celebrated journalist Katie Couric and her husband, John Molner, had recently launched a full-service media firm called Katie Couric Media (KCM). Couric treasured the opportunity to address important social issues like gender equality, environmental... View Details

Keywords: Customer Acquisition; Subscription Model; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Media; Customers; Acquisition; Social Issues; Brands and Branding; Media and Broadcasting Industry

01 Sep 2018
News

Case Study: A Good Fit

where there may be a more favorable business model in the near term, or should it double down in the established wellness space? Or should the team continue to explore how their technology could be used in other View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

14 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

Should You Bring Advertising Expertise In-House?

If Mad Men advertising hotshot Don Draper was operating on Madison Avenue today, he would find competition coming from more than just other ad firms. A recent study by Harvard Business School professor emeritus Alvin J. Silk and... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Advertising

February 1978
Case

Sierra Log Homes, Inc. (A)

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes the history and evolution of the log home manufacturing industry, a rapidly growing embryonic industry capitalizing on the back-to-basics lifestyle changes in the United States. Focuses on one of the leading firms in the industry, but allows a discussion of... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Change Management; Industry Structures; Supply and Industry; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; United States

Student-Profile

Erica Moszkowski

active research agenda.” In the PhD program in Business Economics at HBS, Erica receives the same rigorous economic training as her colleagues in the Economics department within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, but with a special... View Details

June 2005 (Revised November 2005)
Case

The Harrison and HIA

By: Jay O. Light

A large East Coast insurance company is thinking of selling its investment management subsidiary. Several Eurobanks are thinking of acquiring this subsidiary. View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Subsidiaries; Investment; Bids and Bidding; Negotiation; Valuation; Insurance Industry

Find at Harvard

June 2002 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Pokemon: Gotta Catch 'Em All (Abridged)

By: Youngme E. Moon

Pokemon, the colloquial name given to a collection of 150 fantastic, animal-inspired creatures with organic powers and the capacity to evolve, are the stars of video games, trading card games, and TV cartoons. Conceived in Japan in 1996, Pokemon quickly became that... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Age; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Copyright; Video Game Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; Asia; United States

January 1985 (Revised November 1985)
Background Note

Note on the Microcomputer Software Industry--January 1982

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a history of the microcomputer software industry from the mid-1970s through early 1982. During that period growth was explosive. Many new companies were formed. However, the eventual structure of the industry was not yet clear. No truly dominant firms had... View Details

Keywords: Industry Growth; Business Strategy; Software; Computer Industry

01 Mar 2008
News

Faculty Books

in entrepreneurship, the historical origins of "born global" companies; the importance of networks in new international market development; the role of public policy in shaping cross-border entrepreneurial activity; and the effect of... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

01 Feb 2001
News

New Fitzhugh Professorship Celebrated

University in 1934. Fitzhugh became engrossed in his experience at Howard, which stretched into the next three decades and left an indelible mark on the school and its business curriculum. He worked diligently to build Howard's View Details

Keywords: H. Naylor Fitzhugh (MBA '33); Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

02 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Digital Initiative Summit: Big Messages, Small Screens, Many Choices

Business Administration and Chair of the General Management Program at HBS. Gupta, whose current academic interests lie in mobile advertising, mobile payments, and mobile commerce, described the difficult landscape confronting View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising

April 2017
Case

Luminopia: Improving Treatment for Visual Disorders

By: Doug J. Chung and Sarah Mehta

Luminopia—a start-up founded in January 2016 by three Harvard College freshmen—uses virtual reality technology to treat amblyopia (more commonly called “lazy eye”), the single biggest cause of visual disorders among children. By February 2017, the three founders had... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Virtual Reality; Startup; Marketing; Marketing Channels; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Business Startups; Price; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Cambridge; Massachusetts; United States

December 2004 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Nestle and Alcon--The Value of a Listing

By: Mihir A. Desai, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman

In response to a perceived undervaluation by the capital markets, Nestle is considering divesting a part of its ophthalmology subsidiary, Alcon, and must decide on a listing location. In the process, students are challenged to wrestle with the valuation of a... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; International Finance; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Markets; Taxation; Business Subsidiaries; Valuation; Food and Beverage Industry; Health Industry; Europe; United States

January 2003 (Revised July 2006)
Exercise

Travelexis.com Role for Robin Knight from TravelPlanner.com

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Nicole Nasser

Two fictional travel companies, SCOUT and TravelPlanner, engage in competitive bidding to acquire a third party, Travelexis. This exercise consists of three roles, one representative from each of the three companies. It is based on the actual negotiations between... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Bids and Bidding; Acquisition; Travel Industry