Publications

August 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Whole Foods: Balancing Social Mission and Growth

By: Christopher Marquis, Marya Besharov and Bobbi Thomason

In 2009, Whole Foods stands at a crossroads. Their incredible growth over the past 25 years has vaulted them into the ranks of the largest US supermarkets and they have arguably led to the widespread acceptance of natural and organic foods in the United States. Yet... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; United States

April – May 2010
Article

Banking Deregulations, Financing Constraints and Firm Entry Size

By: William R. Kerr and Ramana Nanda

We examine the effect of US branch banking deregulations on the entry size of new firms using micro-data from the US Census Bureau. We find that the average entry size for startups did not change following the deregulations. However, among firms that survived at least... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Market Entry and Exit; Banking Industry; United States

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Article

When Being a Model Minority Is Good...and Bad: Realistic Threat Explains Negativity Toward Asian Americans.

By: W.W. Maddux, A. Galinsky, A.J.C. Cuddy and M. Polifroni

The current research explores the hypothesis that realistic threat is one psychological mechanism that can explain how individuals can hold positive stereotypical beliefs toward Asian Americans yet also express negative attitudes and emotions toward them. Study 1... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Prejudice and Bias; Ethnicity; Groups and Teams; Attitudes; Emotions

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April 2006 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Black Duck Software

By: Constance E. Bagley and David Lane

Black Duck Software involves a venture-backed start-up that converted software developers' concerns about violating copyright licensing agreements or open source protocols into an opportunity to help firms use technology to better manage their compliance efforts.... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Law; Open Source Distribution; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Copyright

June 2001
Case

Bang Networks- The First Customer (A)

By: Jay O. Light and Mary N. Caravella

In November 2000, six-month-old start-up Bang Networks is preparing a proposal for its first paid subscription contract. The recent MBA founders of the new San Francisco--based company believe they have a unique new solution for effective delivery of real-time Web... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Negotiation Tactics; Internet and the Web; Valuation; Value Creation; Negotiation Preparation; Information Technology Industry; San Francisco

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January 2005 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Kohler Co. (A)

Kohler Co., best known for its plumbing fixtures, is a large, private family firm. As part of a recapitalization aimed at preserving family ownership of Kohler Co., nonfamily shareholders, who held 4% of common stock, were required to sell their shares to the company.... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Stocks; Price; Family Ownership; Business and Shareholder Relations; Valuation

May 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Supplement

Odebrecht's 'Transformation Journey' (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Pedro Levindo

The case describes the changes in Odebrecht’s board of directors while the company had to file for court-supervised reorganization and cope with an ongoing feud within its founding family, and the new challenges that the Group’s leadership has to face. The changes in... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Misconduct; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Reputation; Mission and Purpose; Business and Government Relations; Engineering; Family Business; Emerging Markets; Construction Industry; Brazil; Latin America

December 2019 (Revised January 2021)
Supplement

The Leveraged Buyout of TXU: (B) Energy Future Holdings

By: Trevor Fetter, Erik Snowberg and Rebecca M. Henderson

This case is designed to support a lively discussion about the relative merits of shareholder vs. stakeholder perspectives in the context of a company that provides a vital public service that has important environmental implications. The 2007 purchase of TXU, the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Transformation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Environmental Sustainability; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Energy Generation; Utilities Industry; Energy Industry; Texas

April 2007 (Revised July 2011)
Case

The Tale of the Lynx (A)

By: Noam Wasserman

The founders of Lynx Solutions have survived major challenges within their board of directors, the firing of Lynx's founder-CEO and departure of its successor CEO, and a crisis sparked by media allegations that it had been spying on its users. Now that the company is... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Conflict and Resolution; Business Strategy; Computer Industry

2007
Working Paper

Intra-Industry Foreign Direct Investment

By: Laura Alfaro and Andrew Charlton

We use a new firm level data set that establishes the location, ownership, and activity of 650,000 multinational subsidiaries -- close to a comprehensive picture of global multinational activity. A number of patterns emerge from the data. Most foreign direct investment... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Business Subsidiaries; Foreign Direct Investment; Geographic Location; Supply and Industry; Vertical Integration

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March 1995 (Revised July 1996)
Case

Mattson Foods, Inc. (Revised): The Bardolini Division

By: Steven C. Wheelwright

The Bardolini Division of Mattson Foods, with plants in the northeast and midwest, wants to open up the western market for its pizza. Management must decide whether to build a new plant on the West Coast, and what type of technology to put in the plant if they decide... View Details

Keywords: Logistics; Emerging Markets; Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Plan; Capital Budgeting; Expansion; Buildings and Facilities; Strategic Planning; Marketing Strategy; Technology; Economic Systems; Food and Beverage Industry

01 Mar 2006
News

Can the United States Avoid a Fractured Future?

ENRIQUEZ: People take too much for granted. PHOTO BY JEFF THIEBAUTH As CEO of Biotechonomy, a life-sciences research and venture capital firm, Juan Enriquez (MBA ’86) has examined the impact of life sciences on the global economy. In his... View Details

Keywords: Lewis I. Rice; Finance; Health, Social Assistance

01 Apr 2021
Blog Post

An Aerospace Engineer Provides a Lift for Underrepresented Innovators and Entrepreneurs

understand what was going on behind those closed doors and demystify the venture funding process,” she said. “I wanted to understand the business implications that were driving these decisions. And I also... View Details

01 Sep 2010
News

Noted & Quoted

“If I had been leaving Harvard in 2010, this would be the area I would want to be going into.” — Sir Ronald Cohen (MBA ’69), a founder of the European venture capital industry, referring to his latest venture, Social Finance, a social... View Details

Keywords: Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; Hospitals; Health, Social Assistance

01 Dec 2010
News

How to Survive Past Start-up

Art by Craig Frazier Related Links Alumni New Venture Contest Opens Webinar series (ongoing) Entrepreneurship at HBS (video) Harvard Launches Innovation Incubator Why is it that even when smart, educated, well-networked people launch new... View Details

Keywords: Bill Murphy Jr.; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Health and Personal Care Stores; Retail Trade

April 1998 (Revised May 2001)
Supplement

Acquisition of Consolidated Rail Corporation (B), The

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Lori A. Flees and Mathew M Millett

Eight days after CSX announced it was going to buy Consolidated Rail (Conrail) for $88.65 per share, Norfolk Southern made a hostile $100 per share bid for Conrail. Over the next several months, the potential acquirers upped their bids while exchanging criticism in the... View Details

Keywords: Law; Valuation; Rail Transportation; Bids and Bidding; Governance Controls; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Strategy; Corporate Finance; Rail Industry; United States

September 2020
Teaching Note

Commonwealth Joe Coffee Roasters

By: Alexander J. MacKay

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 719-451. View Details

Keywords: Cold Brew Coffee; Specialty Coffee; On-premise Coffee Market; Retail Expansion Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Strategy; Decision Making; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Management; Competition

November 2010 (Revised September 2015)
Case

American International Group - 2010

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton

The AIG Board underwent significant restructuring after the company was bailed out by the U.S. government in September 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Business and Government Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Restructuring; Financial Services Industry