Publications

April 1998 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.: Supply Management

By: Francis Aguilar, Paul Clark and Xin Xi He

This case depicts the supply-management practices--including planning, production, and distribution--at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, the world's leader in the genetically engineered hybrid crop-seed industry. Set in the context of a supply-management planning... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Production; Distribution; Marketing Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Logistics; Planning; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry

February 2020 (Revised March 2020)
Case

Prime Coalition: Catalytic Capital for Climate Innovation

By: Ramana Nanda, Benjamin N. Roth and Olivia Hull

With long development timelines and high risk, new energy technologies were often left to languish in the “valley of death,” unable to raise enough funds to bring a product to market. In 2014, Sarah Kearney founded the nonprofit Prime Coalition to solve this problem.... View Details

Keywords: Energy Conservation; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Investment; Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Mission and Purpose; Science-Based Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Enterprise; Energy Industry; Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States

November 1996 (Revised August 1997)
Case

Project "Dial-Tone"

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Bob Hellman, a partner in a West Coast middle-market buyout firm, is attempting to simultaneously acquire and merge three disparate firms in the rapidly consolidating telemarketing services industry. Hellman must value the individual companies as well as the combined... View Details

Keywords: Complexity; Private Equity; Integration; Mergers and Acquisitions; Negotiation Deal; Strategic Planning; Investment; Opportunities; Valuation; Service Industry

February 2016 (Revised July 2017)
Case

An Australian Ballot for California?

By: David Moss, Marc Campasano and Dean Grodzins

In early 1891, California lawmakers were considering a plan to reform the state's elections through the introduction of an “Australian” ballot. Under this new system, candidates from all qualifying parties would appear on official ballots, which would be printed by... View Details

Keywords: Voting; Ethics; Political Elections; Laws and Statutes; Change; California

February 2019 (Revised November 2021)
Case

MoviePass

By: Willy Shih

Mitch Lowe, the CEO of MoviePass, was having trouble convincing people of the viability of the company's business model. The company was building a multi-sided platform and was planning to extract value from increasing traffic to movie theaters through a number of... View Details

Keywords: Start-up; Start-up Growth; Start-ups; Business Model Innovation; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Multi-Sided Platforms; Business Startups; Planning; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States

June 2003 (Revised May 2004)
Exercise

The Pacific Sentinel: Role for Alex Martinez

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Dina R. Pradel

A new publishing company has just purchased the Pacific Sentinel, a fictional West Coast newspaper. The new publisher is willing to invest $1 million in the future success of the paper and has asked the executive editor and advertising manager to develop a joint plan... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Acquisition; Business Strategy; Publishing Industry; Western United States

February 1993 (Revised March 2003)
Case

India (A)

By: Richard H.K. Vietor, Waleed J. Iskandar and Max L. Weston

Outlines India's import substitution strategy and its planned development process. The effects of the difficult political and social context on economic development are analyzed. The failure of the system to achieve sustainable growth and improvement leads to attempts... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Ethnicity; Development Economics; Trade; Economic Growth; Policy; Government and Politics; India

Find at Harvard

Web

Curriculum - MBA

semester (e.g., additions, deletions, substitutions) and several of the courses overlap, so students should discuss their exact plan of study with their academic advisor. Bioethics Neuroethics This seminar undertakes a survey of the... View Details

Web

Organizational Behavior - Doctoral

coursework, students prepare and present a dossier that includes a qualifying paper, at least two other research papers, and a statement outlining a plan for their dissertation. Before beginning work on the dissertation, students must... View Details

February 1999
Case

Tektronix, Inc.: Global ERP Implementation

By: Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan, George Francis Westerman III and Mark J. Cotteleer

Reviews Tektronix's implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution in all three of its global business divisions. This case tells the story of three implementations, each with its own character and requirements. Tektronix managers needed to... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Transformation; Globalized Markets and Industries; Information Management; Management Skills; Management Style; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Electronics Industry

January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Commercial Sales Transformation at Microsoft

By: Doug J. Chung

Industry leaders should adapt to changes in the business context and consider different ways to grow. Advances in technology had shifted software demand to the cloud. As a result, Microsoft announced a strategic shift in direction from its existing ‘Windows first’... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Strategy; Transformation

August 2018 (Revised April 2023)
Case

Facebook—Can Ethics Scale in the Digital Age?

By: George A. Riedel and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Since its founding in 2004, Facebook has built a phenomenally successful business at global scale to become the fifth most valuable public company in the world. The revelation of Cambridge Analytica events in March 2018, where 78 million users' information was leaked... View Details

Keywords: Facebook; Ethics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Trust; Business Model; Corporate Accountability; Social Media

December 2011
Case

Bergerac Systems: The Challenge of Backward Integration

By: David A. Garvin and Sunru Yong

Bergerac Systems is a small, rapidly growing manufacturer of diagnostic instruments used in veterinary practices. The company introduced the OmniVue chemistry analyzer, which enables veterinarians to run a wide range of blood and blood chemistry tests on their animal... View Details

Keywords: Financial Analysis; Manufacturing Strategy; Strategy; Production; Supply Chain Management; Vertical Integration; Performance Capacity; Financial Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

August 1989 (Revised May 1991)
Case

Grosvenor Park

By: William J. Poorvu and Katherine Sweetman

Dick Dublin believes he has designed a townhouse development which will appeal to mobile young professionals. Dublin has removed some market risk by locking in a forward commitment for low interest rate loans for future purchasers at Grosvenor Park. The pricing... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Projects; Financing and Loans; Property; Financial Strategy; Price; Strategic Planning; Business and Government Relations; Real Estate Industry; Maryland

20 Oct 2011
News

Herman Cain's Retirement Proposal

03 Dec 2019
News

Why CalSTRS Chooses to Engage with the Gun Industry

Venture Capital Journey

Venture Capital Journey (VCJ) is an MBA elective field course for students who plan to embark on a career in venture capital. The focus of the course is to provide students with frameworks, tools, a network, and hands on experience in preparation... View Details

August 2022 (Revised June 2024)
Exercise

How Should Netflix Add an Ad-Supported Tier?

By: Elie Ofek and Olivier Toubia

In the summer of 2022, it became clear that Netflix would introduce an ad-supported tier alongside its existing subscription plans in the near future. Speculation abounded as to the details of the new tier: How many minutes of advertising would it include? What picture... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Television Industry; Price; Marketing Strategy; Digital Platforms; Customer Value and Value Chain; Competitive Strategy; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment and Recreation Industry