Publications

26 Jan 2015
Working Paper Summaries

The Rise and Fall of Demand for Securitizations

Keywords: by Sergey Chernenko, Samuel G. Hanson & Adi Sunderam

June 2024
Case

SnapTravel: Betting on 'Super.com'

By: Reza Satchu and Tom Quinn

This case explores SnapTravel, a travel startup offering discounted hotel rooms, and its founders’ desire to pivot to a “super app” that saved customers money across many different purchase types. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hussein Fazal and Henry Shi saw SnapTravel... View Details

November 2016 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Radial Analytics Probes Post-Acute Care

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Olivia Hull

Thaddeus Fulford-Jones and Eric Weiss, founders of healthcare technology startup Radial Analytics, have been busy developing a software program designed to save hospitals money and improve patient outcomes by producing customized care plans for patients leaving the... View Details

Keywords: Electronic Medical Records; Electronic Health Records; Data Science; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention; Growth Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Health Industry; Technology Industry; Cambridge; Massachusetts

07 Nov 2014
News

Taylor Swift and the Economics of Music as a Service

January 2011 (Revised January 2015)
Case

Matrix Capital Management (A)

By: Malcolm P. Baker and David Lane

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Asset Management; Cash Flow; Stock Shares; Financial Markets; Investment Funds; Measurement and Metrics; Mathematical Methods; Strategy; Valuation; Financial Services Industry

16 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Getting the Message: How the Internet is Changing Advertising

raised a lot of money that has been spent on marketing brands through traditional offline media rather than online." While many observers agree with Deighton, who says that this surge in offline... View Details

Keywords: by Susan Young

2010
Case

Vander Mining Partners, IPADE

By: Roberto Charvel

In 2010 Vander Mining was trying to raise one of the few private equity funds specialized in mining. This was difficult among other things because institutional investors did not have a private equity team specialized in mining and emerging markets. View Details

Keywords: Real Assets; Business Startups; Business Plan; Economics; Metals and Minerals; Mining; Assets; Private Equity; Public Equity; Goods and Commodities; Emerging Markets; Market Participation; Mining Industry; Financial Services Industry; North and Central America

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

15 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

The Right Connections

capital on their ability to secure resources. "In biotech it can take eight to ten years to develop a product and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to bring it to market," says Higgins. "Therefore, funding is... View Details

Keywords: by Judith A. Ross

19 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 19, 2019

simple move: Fox offered more money than CBS. A closer analysis, however, suggests a far more complex reality with ten broader lessons for negotiators facing challenging situations. Download working paper:... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

September 2022
Article

A Spanner in the Works: Category-Spanning Entrants and Audience Valuation of Incumbents

By: Rory M. McDonald and Ryan T. Allen

Previous work has examined how audiences evaluate category-spanning organizations, but little is known about how their entrance affects evaluations of other, proximate organizations. We posit that the emergence of category-spanning entrants signals the advent of an... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Industries; Industry Dynamics; Organization And Management Theory; Technology Strategy; Technology And Innovation Management; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Strategy; Management; Theory; Innovation and Management

Find at Harvard

Read Now

March 2007 (Revised October 2008)
Case

The Vancouver 2010 Olympics

By: Anita Elberse, Catherine Anthony and Joshua Callahan

It is February 2007, exactly three years before Vancouver hosts the 2010 Winter Olympics. Judy Rogers, City Manager for the City of Vancouver and a member of the Board of Directors for Vancouver's Organizing Committee (VANOC), is keen to ensure the Games will have a... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; Social Marketing; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Sports; Public Administration Industry; Sports Industry; Vancouver

November 2007
Case

AXA MONY

By: Lucy White and Andre F. Perold

AXA's friendly bid for MONY is contested by activist hedge funds suspicious of management's generous change in control contracts. Votes trade after the record date. AXA financed the bid using an unusual conditionally convertible bond which may have affected incentives... View Details

Keywords: Bonds; Ethics; Bids and Bidding

January 2011
Supplement

Matrix Capital Management (B)

By: Malcolm P. Baker and David Lane

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale... View Details

Keywords: Public Ownership; Cash Flow; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Valuation; Partners and Partnerships; Markets; Performance Efficiency; Patents; Stock Shares; Decisions; Financial Services Industry

September 2021
Case

Worldreader: Helping Readers Build a Better World

By: Marco Bertini, Elie Ofek and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2010, Worldreader was an international nonprofit organization that promoted reading to children around the world. For many years, Worldreader distributed e-readers to under-resourced communities and funded its operations primarily through philanthropic... View Details

November 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment

By: Ray A. Goldberg, James Weber and James M Beagle

Monsanto is the biotechnology leader in agriculture. How does it use its leadership in Round Up to fund long-term research and development in biotechnology that is acceptable to the priority system of consumers in different parts of the world? Includes color exhibits. View Details

Keywords: Research and Development; Science-Based Business; Food; Business or Company Management; Agribusiness; Industry Growth; Customer Focus and Relationships; Globalization; Leadership; Biotechnology Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

24 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 24

PublicationsHigher Risk, Lower Returns: What Hedge Fund Investors Really Earn Authors:Ilia Dichev and Gwen Yu Publication:Journal of Financial Economics (forthcoming) Abstract The returns of hedge fund... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2011
Supplement

Matrix Capital Management (C)

By: Malcolm P. Baker and David Lane

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale... View Details

Keywords: Public Ownership; Cash Flow; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Valuation; Partners and Partnerships; Markets; Performance Efficiency; Patents; Stock Shares; Decisions; Financial Services Industry