Publications

January 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Background Note

A Note on Direct Selling in Developing Economies

By: Michael Chu and Joel Emilio Bregman Segre

Informal and formal direct selling play a particularly important role in developing countries characterized by markets with limited retail sectors. This note explores the practice of direct selling for the company, the sales person, and the consumer, as well as the... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Developing Countries and Economies; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Emerging Markets; Sales

June 2005 (Revised July 2006)
Case

fortu PowerCell GmbH

By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman, Vincent Dessain, Monika Stachowiak and Anders Sjoman

Describes the financing, strategy, and growth decisions facing fortu, a young German battery company. The company is contemplating a facility in East Germany, where state subsidies make the finances appealing. A sudden offer to license fortu technology for application... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Battery Industry; Germany

Find at Harvard

September 2003 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Emergence, Valhalla, and Orchid: Divergent Models for Venture Capital Funds

By: William A. Sahlman and Matthew Willis

Compares and contrasts three different venture capital funds from the perspective of a potential investor. The first fund has a technology-enabled services preference, the second a Mid-Atlantic region preference, and the third a seed round preference. Students are... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Entrepreneurship; Service Operations; Information Technology; Venture Capital

November 2001 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Evolution of Treatment, The: The Case of Diabetes

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, Jeffrey D. Street and Laura Feldman

Scientific knowledge surrounding diabetes mellitus has grown over the last century to include its cause, treatment, and prevention strategies. However, the type and level of care that patients receive is suboptional. This case examines the forces in industry,... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation and Management; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Health Industry

March 2001
Case

Corruption in International Business (A)

By: Robert E. Kennedy and Rafael M. Di Tella

Explores various aspects of corruption in international business, in two sections. The first section provides a broad discussion of the ethical, business, and legal aspects of corruption. The second section provides a series of "caselets" that are designed to promote... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Emerging Markets; Policy; Globalization

07 Dec 2019
News

You Received A Salary Counteroffer. Now What?

June 2018
Case

Forta Furniture: International Expansion

By: John A. Quelch and Karthik Easwar

The Forta Furniture case highlights the need to consider new market expansion to grow a firm. It demonstrates that simply doing what has always been done is not sustainable when other competitors enter the market with differentiated or potentially superior offerings.... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Global Range; Decision Making; Analysis; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Expansion

Program

Women on Boards

1.800.427.5577 (outside the U.S., call +1.617.495.6555). Nominating Statement To gain a deeper understanding of your background and your potential as a leader, we require a nominating statement from a senior executive with corporate board... View Details

May 2012 (Revised August 2014)
Case

McKesson

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Natalie Kindred

McKesson, a large, diversified drug distribution and health care IT company, is considering development of new business offerings to help private practice physicians remain independent. The company, with $122 billion in 2010 revenues, just made its first foray into... View Details

Keywords: Health Care Industry; Health Care Policy; Organizational Transformations; Health Services; Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Service Operations; Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology; Policy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry; United States

February 2012
Case

Henkel: Building a Winning Culture

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case illustrates a CEO-led organizational transformation driven by stretch goals, performance measurement, and accountability. When Kasper Rorsted became CEO of Henkel, a Germany-based producer of personal care, laundry, and adhesives products, in 2008, he was... View Details

Keywords: Performance Measurement; Performance Appraisals; Human Resource Management; Values; Organizational Transformations; Pay For Performance; Strategy Execution; Values and Beliefs; Work-Life Balance; Organizational Culture; Human Resources; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits

August 2007 (Revised July 2008)
Background Note

Take Advantage of Your Diaspora Network

By: William R. Kerr and Daniel J. Isenberg

Diaspora networks (DNs) are an important resource for global entrepreneurs. Discusses several features of DNs, combining both academic and practitioner perspectives. Describes the history and prevalence of DNs in many ethnicities, documents the broad resources DNs can... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Diasporas; Entrepreneurship; Globalized Markets and Industries; Social and Collaborative Networks

January 2002 (Revised July 2002)
Case

Vialog Corporation

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Michele Lutz

Traces the origin of Vialog Corp.--from its founding in 1996 through a roll-up of several independent teleconferencing companies in 1997 and its initial public offering (1999) and eventually to a potential merger or acquisition in June 2000. The company has grown... View Details

Keywords: History; Business Exit or Shutdown; Internet and the Web; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships; Initial Public Offering; Business Growth and Maturation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Processes; Information Technology Industry; Europe

2022
White Paper

The Emerging Degree Reset: How the Shift to Skills-Based Hiring Holds the Keys to Growing the U.S. Workforce at a Time of Talent Shortage

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Christina Langer, Julia Nitschke, Layla O'Kane, Matthew Sigelman and Bledi Taska

Employers are resetting degree requirements in a wide range of roles, dropping the requirement for a bachelor’s degree in many middle-skill and even some higher-skill roles. This reverses a trend toward degree inflation in job postings going back to the Great... View Details

Keywords: Skills; Workforce; Talent; Human Resource Management; Selection and Staffing; Competency and Skills; Talent and Talent Management; Human Resources

August 2017 (Revised July 2019)
Case

GROW: Using Artificial Intelligence to Screen Human Intelligence

By: Ethan Bernstein, Paul McKinnon and Paul Yarabe

Over 10% of all 2017 university graduates in Japan used GROW, an artificial intelligence platform and mobile app developed by Tokyo-based people analytics startup IGS, to recruit for a job. This case puts participants in the shoes of IGS founder and CEO Masahiro... View Details

Keywords: Big Data; Artificial Intelligence; Talent and Talent Management; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Resources; Information Technology; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Financial Services Industry; Air Transportation Industry; Advertising Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; Japan