Publications

January 2017 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Fitbit

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Christine Snively and Sarah Mehta

In 2019, Fitbit lost its leadership in the wearable sensor market to Apple and to cheaper alternatives.
Why did it lose its market position?
How will the proposed acquisition affect it and Google? View Details

Keywords: Wearable Sensors; Smart Watches In Health Care; Google Acquisition; Health Care and Treatment; Information Technology; Acquisition

July 2013 (Revised October 2014)
Case

Value Retail: Opportunities for European Expansion

By: Arthur I Segel

Scott Malkin, CEO of Value Retail, a developer and operator of European outlet villages serving luxury brands, is planning on developing a 18,503 m2 open-air outlet village to be built 98 kilometers south of Milan on land he was about to acquire for 7.26 million lira.... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Investment; Risk and Uncertainty; Expansion; Retail Industry; Milan

July 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Peter Jepsen

By: Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J. Roberts and James M. Sharpe

About to break bank covenants, Peter Jepsen has to deal with a contentious prior owner, improve profitability and staff appropriately all while maintaining credibility with his investors, in the furniture hardware company he has owned for less than a year. View Details

April 2010
Case

Talent Agencies

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Toby E. Stuart and Lauren Barley

The case overviews the talent agency industry in Hollywood in 2009. Focuses on the role of the talent agent, the dynamics of professional service firms, the challenges facing agencies in light of major changes in the entertainment industries, and a possible merger... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Problems and Challenges; Change; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Los Angeles

May 2007
Teaching Note

Shinsei Bank: Developing an Integrated Firm (TN)

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Terence Heymann

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Business Ventures; Integration

September 1993
Case

Rhone-Poulenc (A)

Rhone-Poulenc, France's largest chemical firm, with revenues of more than $7 billion in 1985, seeks to dramatically expand its presence in the United States. From 1986 to 1990, Rhone-Poulenc undertakes 18 separate acquisitions, ranging from small entrepreneurial firms... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Globalized Firms and Management; Acquisition; Chemical Industry; France

28 Mar 2018
News

Fueling the Future

entrepreneur-in-residence at the Stevens Institute of Technology’s Venture Center in New Jersey, advising startups in the energy space, specifically clean-tech. She is also an adjunct professor, teaching entrepreneurial management.... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken

Career Coach

Mo Fong

Mo Fong (HBS ‘02, Stanford ‘95 ChemE, ‘96 MA Education ) Mo is currently the Executive Director at Stanford Technology Ventures Program in the School of Management and Engineering focusing on entrepreneurship research, programs and... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Education; Government; Social Enterprise; Consumer Finance; Financial Services (All); Commercial Banking; Financial Services (All)

October 2023
Case

To Fizzle Out or Heat Up? PepsiCo and Coca-Cola’s SodaStream and Costa Coffee Acquisitions

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

U.S. beverage giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola shared many similarities by August 2018—both were founded by pharmacists in the 1890s, grew to offer hundreds of drink brands, and championed rival flagship products that drove loyalists into taste-testing wars. That month,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Acquisition; Diversification; Expansion; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry

September 2013
Supplement

The Abraaj Group and the Acibadem Healthcare Investment (B)

By: Paul A. Gompers, Bora Uluduz and Firdevs Abacioglu

This case provides an update on the ultimate outcome of the transaction presented in The Abraaj Group and the Acibadem Healthcare Investment (A). View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Leveraged Buyouts; Private Equity; Health Care and Treatment; Europe

August 2010 (Revised March 2012)
Supplement

The Dow Acquisition of Rohm and Haas (E)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton

Dow completed the acquisition of Rohm and Haas and escaped a battle in a Delaware courtroom View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Legal Liability; Managerial Roles; Complexity

November 2008 (Revised January 2009)
Case

The Restructuring of Daiei

By: Richard S. Ruback

In 2004, the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan (IRCJ) was given the task of restructuring Daiei, one of the largest Japanese retailers and the country's most prominent zombie companies. The IRCJ was a government-sponsored organization that was funded with... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Performance Effectiveness; Retail Industry; Japan

Find at Harvard

August 2008
Supplement

Lenovo Chief Marketing Officer and Senior VP E-Commerce, Deepak Advani, Interviewed by Professor John Quelch

By: John A. Quelch

Professor John Quelch interviewed Lenovo CMO, Deepak Advani, regarding Lenovo's buy-out of IBM's personal computer business, and Lenovo's marketing strategy leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Leveraged Buyouts; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Hardware; Computer Industry; China

October 2006 (Revised October 2006)
Case

DLA Piper: Becoming a Global Firm

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Alexis Chernak

Focuses on DLA Piper, a global law firm resulting from the merger of the combined U.S. firm Piper Rudnick Gray Cary and the British firm DLA. At the time of the merger, the firms had similar strategies for the future and approaches to clients. While figuring out some... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Global Strategy; Leadership; Alignment; Expansion; Legal Services Industry; United States

April 1971 (Revised February 1984)
Case

Gould, Inc.: Graphics Division

Describes the decision of a battery manufacturer to diversify into the computer field through acquisition and the development of a new product. Among the issues to be discussed are the company product fit, phases in new product introduction, product positioning, and... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Market Entry and Exit; Acquisition; Product Development; Computer Industry; Battery Industry

May 1992 (Revised May 1993)
Supplement

Jan Carlzon: CEO at SAS (B)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Summarizes Carlzon's new focus externally on building alliances and acquiring travel service companies. Describes the financial problems resulting from the recession and the Gulf War crisis. Designed as an in-class handout to highlight the long-term management... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Financial Crisis; Problems and Challenges; Planning; Leadership; Alliances; Strategy; Air Transportation Industry