Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,393)
- Faculty Publications (222)
- February 2002
- Case
Strategy of the Firm Under Regulatory Review: The Case of Chilectra
By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Alexander Dyck
Discusses the largest electric distribution company in Chile and one of the five largest private Chilean companies. Introduces the exercise of operating control in order to improve the profitability of the investments, privatization, and international expansions. View Details
- October 2001 (Revised May 2010)
- Case
Sarnia Corporation
By: Thomas R. Piper
A division manager must explain why his division failed to meet its budgeted profit performance as well as meet with members of his management team to discuss corrective action. View Details
- May 2001 (Revised January 2003)
- Case
Calpine Corporation: The Evolution from Project to Corporate Finance
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Michael Kane
In early 1999, Calpine Corp.'s CEO Pete Cartwright adopted an aggressive growth strategy with the goal of increasing the company's aggregate generating capacity from approximately 3,000 to 15,000 megawatts (MW) by 2004. He believed there was a fleeting opportunity to... View Details
- November 2000 (Revised January 2003)
- Case
Yahoo!'s Stock-Based Compensation
By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen
Amy Maislos, an investor in Internet and technology companies, was excited to read that Yahoo! had reported a positive net income for 1998 operations. During the late 1990s, stock prices of Internet companies had risen rapidly even though most companies were reporting... View Details
- November 2000 (Revised December 2001)
- Case
iSteelAsia (A)
By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Pamela A. Yatsko
The chairman of a Hong Kong-based steel distributor starts an online Asian steel trading portal and contemplates different paths to profitability and growth. Barriers include industrial culture, weakened markets in the spring of 2000, and vulnerability to takeover by... View Details
- August 2000 (Revised August 2018)
- Case
The Atchison Corporation (A)
By: Joseph L. Bower
A new general manager uses a profit-center-based system to shake up an old line company. He then faces the task of placating a board member upset by the human consequences. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details
- November 1999 (Revised July 2001)
- Case
New Profit Inc.: Governing the Nonprofit Enterprise
By: Robert S. Kaplan
New Profit, Inc. (NPI) is an innovative venture philanthropy fund. Founded by social entrepreneur Venessa Kirsch, NPI intends to raise large donations from individuals who wish to invest in nonprofit enterprises that could have a significant social impact and the... View Details
- November 1999
- Case
Seminis Inc.
By: Ray A. Goldberg, Jonathan West, Carin-Isabel Knoop and David Benedict Pearcy
Seminis became the world leader in vegetable seeds through a series of acquisitions. This case describes the Seminis strategy toward capturing value, biotechnology, and international operations. View Details
- October 1999
- Case
Argentina's YFP Sociedad Anonima (E): A New Era
By: Michael Y. Yoshino, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis
In June 1999, Spain's former state-owned oil giant Repsol, acquired 97% of YPF, despite opposition from YPF management. The case describes the status of the two companies at the time of the acquisition and highlights concerns expressed by industry analysts on the deal. View Details
- March 1999 (Revised March 2001)
- Case
Nike, Inc.--Entering the Millennium
Traces the evolution of Nike from 1987 through 1998. Through a series of eight assignment questions, it examines how the company has created and sustained a competitive advantage, and how that competitive advantage is reflected in growth, profitability, and share price... View Details
- March 1999
- Case
MySoftware Company (A)
By: H. Kent Bowen and Nicole Tempest
In 1997, Gregory Slayton took the position as CEO of MySoftware, which had been experiencing revenue and operating losses for the past two years. Within 90 days, he stabilized the company through a combination of cost cutting, financial discipline, and accountability... View Details
- February 1999
- Case
Volant Skis
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Matt Verlinden
Volant brought innovation to the ski equipment industry in 1989 by developing a stainless steel ski. He claimed the skis could turn more easily, could hold an edge in icy conditions, and were more stable than aluminum or fiberglass skis. The company's "soft-flex"... View Details
- February 1999
- Article
The Persistence of Shocks to Profitability
By: Anita M. McGahan and Michael E. Porter
In this study, we use data for 1981 through 1994 on a large sample of U.S. companies to examine the persistence of incremental industry, corporate-parent, and business-specific effects on profitability. Our results indicate that the incremental effects of industry on... View Details
- October 1998 (Revised November 1998)
- Case
Newman's Own, Inc.
By: James E. Austin
Describes the creation and evolution of this food marketing corporation. All its after-tax profits are donated to charity by Paul Newman, the distinguished actor and social entrepreneur. The company has grown into a $100 million enterprise and donated cumulatively $89... View Details
- August 1998 (Revised February 1999)
- Case
Product Development at Dell Computer Corporation
By: Stefan H. Thomke, Vish V. Krishnan and Ashok Nimgade
Describes how Dell redesigned its new product development process after experiencing a major product setback and a significant decline in firm profits in 1993. Dell's new process is challenged during the development of a new line of portable computers when the incoming... View Details
- March 1998 (Revised April 1998)
- Case
Lehigh Steel
By: V.G. Narayanan and Laura Donohue
Lehigh Steel is a specialty steel manufacturer that plummeted from record profits to record losses in less than three years, driven by an inability to distinguish between profitable and unprofitable business. The scale and growth of service activities and overhead... View Details
- July 1997 (Revised April 1998)
- Case
Chase Manhattan Corporation: The Making of America's Largest Bank
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Cedric Escalle
Chase Bank and Chemical Bank intend to merge, producing the largest commercial bank in the United States, the fourth largest in the world. Projected financial benefits under the merger reflect significant planned reduction in operating costs, including 17,000 employee... View Details
- June 1997 (Revised May 1998)
- Case
Mobil USM&R (A1)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
First of a two-part case on the development and use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) at Mobil's US Marketing and Refining Division. Split from the original (A) case to give students an opportunity to suggest objectives and measures for the division's initial BSC, without... View Details
- June 1997 (Revised February 2000)
- Case
Walker and Company: Profit Plan Decisions
By: Robert L. Simons and Ramsey Walker
Ramsey Walker, a second-year MBA student, must decide how to control a family business as an absentee owner. After providing background details on the publishing industry, the case requires the reader to: 1) make a product segmentation decision; 2) prepare a profit... View Details
- Article
How Much Does Industry Matter, Really?
By: A. M. McGahan and M. E. Porter
In this paper, we examine the importance of year, industry, corporate-parent, and business-specific effects on the profitability of U.S. public corporations within specific 4-digit SIC categories. Our results indicate that year, industry, corporate-parent, and... View Details