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- All HBS Web
(3,598)
- People (5)
- News (1,118)
- Research (1,501)
- Events (12)
- Multimedia (137)
- Faculty Publications (1,015)
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- March 2018
- Case
Sachem Head's Activism at Autodesk
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher
In 2015, activist hedge fund Sachem Head Capital, led by founder Scott Ferguson, launched an activist campaign at computer aided design (CAD) software maker Autodesk. The activist campaign, waged mainly in private, was over Autodesk's lackluster financial performance,... View Details
Keywords: Shareholder Activism; Investing; Activist Investing; Technology; CEO Turnover; Hedge Fund Activism; Benchmarking; Corporate Governance; Information Technology; Investment Activism; Performance Improvement; Management Succession; United States
Srinivasan, Suraj, and Quinn Pitcher. "Sachem Head's Activism at Autodesk." Harvard Business School Case 118-086, March 2018.
- Teaching Interest
Launching Technology Ventures
This course takes the perspective of founders struggling to achieve product market fit in their early-stage startups. Our cases focus on founder decision during this search and discovery phase, both in the experiments that they design and run as well as the... View Details
- 15 Nov 2017
- Research & Ideas
How Does a Social Startup Decide to Commercialize? It May Depend on the Founder's Gender
organizations: Businesses focus on commerce, while charities engage in activities that support social welfare. Increasingly, however, founders of social ventures interested in improving society are pursuing hybrid business models, which... View Details
Keywords: by Carmen Nobel
- January 2015
- Case
The Blonde Salad
By: Anat Keinan, Kristina Maslauskaite, Sandrine Crener and Vincent Dessain
In 2014, Chiara Ferragni, a globe-trotting founder of the world's most popular fashion blog The Blonde Salad, and Riccardo Pozzoli, her co-founder and business partner, had to decide how to best monetize her blog as well as her shoe line called the "Chiara Ferragni... View Details
Keywords: Social Media; Digital Influencers; Fashion Blogger; Brand Authenticity; Digital Marketing; Brands; Start-up; Fashion; Shoe; Chiara Ferragni; Celebrity Endorsement; Celebrity Management; Lifestyle Brand; Digital Brand; New Brand Development; Branding; Instagram; Online Followers; Fashion Blog; Marketing Partnerships; Brand Portfolio; Luxury Brand; Louis Vuitton; Dior; Designer Brands; Authenticity; Luxury; Blogs; Product Positioning; Commercialization; Consolidation; Brands and Branding; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Fashion Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Publishing Industry
Keinan, Anat, Kristina Maslauskaite, Sandrine Crener, and Vincent Dessain. "The Blonde Salad." Harvard Business School Case 515-074, January 2015.
- July 2008 (Revised November 2012)
- Case
Negotiating Equity Splits at UpDown
By: Noam Wasserman and Deepak Malhotra
Michael Reich is having severe doubts about how he split the equity with his co-founders two months ago, when they completed a one-page "November Agreement." Since then, Michael has found an angel investor and has worked non-stop on the business, while one co-founder... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Capital; Venture Capital; Equity; Compensation and Benefits; Negotiation; Partners and Partnerships
Wasserman, Noam, and Deepak Malhotra. "Negotiating Equity Splits at UpDown." Harvard Business School Case 809-020, July 2008. (Revised November 2012.)
- June 1999 (Revised December 2003)
- Case
Snapple
By: John A. Deighton
Tells the story of Snapple's rise and fall, and poses the question "Can it recover?" Many soft-drink brands flourished in the 1980s serving New York's Yuppies, but only Snapple made the big time. It went from local to national success and was poised to go international... View Details
Keywords: Strategic Planning; Industry Growth; Failure; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry
Deighton, John A. "Snapple." Harvard Business School Case 599-126, June 1999. (Revised December 2003.) (request a courtesy copy.)
- January 2021 (Revised April 2022)
- Case
Best Buy's Corie Barry: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic
By: William W. George and Amram Migdal
This case examines the leadership of Corie Barry, the new CEO of Best Buy, with a focus on actions the company took in 2020 to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The case includes a history of Best Buy’s strategy and leadership, including the transitions between the... View Details
Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Change; Disruption; Volatility; Communication; Competency and Skills; Customers; Decision Making; Ethics; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Finance; Cash Flow; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Goods and Commodities; Corporate Governance; Health Pandemics; Human Resources; Executive Compensation; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Jobs and Positions; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Job Design and Levels; Job Interviews; Job Offer; Labor; Employment; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Law; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Succession; Management Systems; Management Teams; Risk Management; Operations; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Logistics; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Outcome or Result; Personal Development and Career; Retirement; Work-Life Balance; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Science; Strategy; Retail Industry; North and Central America; United States; Minnesota
George, William W., and Amram Migdal. "Best Buy's Corie Barry: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic." Harvard Business School Case 321-073, January 2021. (Revised April 2022.)
- 2015
- Working Paper
What Do Private Equity Firms Say They Do?
By: Paul A. Gompers, Steven N. Kaplan and Vladimir Mukharlyamov
We survey 79 private equity investors with combined assets under management (AUM) of over $750 billion about their practices in firm valuation, capital structure, governance, and value creation. Investors rely primarily on internal rate of return (IRR) and multiples to... View Details
Keywords: Governance; Value Creation; Private Equity; Capital Structure; Valuation; Management Practices and Processes
Gompers, Paul A., Steven N. Kaplan, and Vladimir Mukharlyamov. "What Do Private Equity Firms Say They Do?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 15-081, April 2015.
- 2020
- Working Paper
Building the Professional Firm: McKinsey & Co.: 1939-1968
By: Amar Bhidé
This case history analyzes how the founders of McKinsey & Co. built one of the world's leading management consulting firms by developing a “system” of professional norms, approach to serving clients, personnel policies, organization, governance, and ownership. The... View Details
Keywords: McKinsey & Co.; Company History; Professional Norms; Vision; Organizations; Business History; Business Model; Strategy; Consulting Industry
Bhidé, Amar. "Building the Professional Firm: McKinsey & Co.: 1939-1968." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 95-010, January 1995. (Revised July 2020.)
- January 1999 (Revised March 2004)
- Case
Mobile Communications Tokyo, Inc.
Describes a young Japanese telecommunications equipment and software company. The founder and president, Hatsuhiro Inoue, has just seen revenues double over the last two years and expects further rapid growth. The company currently has three product lines:... View Details
Keywords: Growth Management; Initial Public Offering; Financial Markets; Telecommunications Industry; Tokyo; United States
Kuemmerle, Walter. "Mobile Communications Tokyo, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 899-077, January 1999. (Revised March 2004.)
- October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
- Supplement
Dulcie Madden (C)—A Final Chance?
By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai
This is part of a three-case series that follows Dulcie Madden's journey as a founder over five years. Case (A) is about managing growth and cash flow; Case (B) is about the exit decision and conditions on a sale; Case (C) shows Madden dealing with adversity and the... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Cash Flow; Success; Failure; Acquisition; Business Model; Technology
Ghosh, Shikhar, and Shweta Bagai. "Dulcie Madden (C)—A Final Chance?" Harvard Business School Supplement 820-054, October 2019. (Revised January 2020.)
- November 2006 (Revised May 2007)
- Background Note
Merton's Ethos of Science: Excerpts and Summaries
Robert K. Merton wrote a series of papers on the sociology of science in the 1940s and 1950s and is commonly recognized as the founder of the field. Merton laid out four norms that constitute the "ethos" of science: community-wide fundamentals that he proposed were... View Details
Fleming, Lee, and Christopher C. Liu. "Merton's Ethos of Science: Excerpts and Summaries." Harvard Business School Background Note 607-047, November 2006. (Revised May 2007.)
- January 2000 (Revised April 2000)
- Case
AsiaMail.com: What's in a Name?
By: Myra M. Hart and Sharon Peyus
Three founders of an international Internet company (e-mail-based marketing) struggle with naming the company. As they prepare to invest more than $10 million of first-round venture funding in advertising and marketing, they search for a name that will have power and... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Brands and Branding; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Advertising; Marketing; Information Technology Industry; Service Industry; Asia
Hart, Myra M., and Sharon Peyus. "AsiaMail.com: What's in a Name?" Harvard Business School Case 800-132, January 2000. (Revised April 2000.)
- July 1989 (Revised February 1993)
- Case
National Demographics & Lifestyles (B)
Picks up where National Demographics & Lifestyles (A) left off, describing the company's financing and very successful performance through 1987. At this point, the founders and venture backers face some difficult choices around how and when to harvest the value they... View Details
Keywords: Demographics; Financing and Loans; Initial Public Offering; Marketing; Success; Performance; Value Creation; Industrial Products Industry
Roberts, Michael J. "National Demographics & Lifestyles (B)." Harvard Business School Case 390-006, July 1989. (Revised February 1993.)
- Research Summary
Dissertation topic: The invisible hand and the good of communities: How institutional logics matter in local banks
How do individuals’ backgrounds and identities influence the strategies and success of newly founded ventures? In my dissertation, I explore the impact on local bank startups of their founders’ community and financial identities. Those identities have... View Details
- November 1991 (Revised July 1995)
- Case
Body Shop International
Describes the start-up and rapid growth of a company whose founder holds strong, non-traditional beliefs about the role of the corporation and its responsibility to society. After profiling Anita Roddick as a person, the case describes the anti-mainstream approach she... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Business Growth and Maturation; Leadership Style; Management Succession; Management Teams; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Values and Beliefs; Global Strategy; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Body Shop International." Harvard Business School Case 392-032, November 1991. (Revised July 1995.)
- 24 Aug 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Why Did Pet Concierge Startup Baroo Fail?
- February 2010
- Case
Go Mobile: The Phirbol Franchise
By: Rajiv Lal and Natalie Kindred
To grow Phirbol, a telecom retail franchise chain in Delhi, India's underdeveloped markets, its founders were exploring ways to offer more value to the franchisees. In mid-2009, the Phirbol franchise was comprised of some 150 franchisees that had converted their small... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Innovation and Management; Brands and Branding; Service Operations; Franchise Ownership; Value Creation; Telecommunications Industry; Delhi
Lal, Rajiv, and Natalie Kindred. "Go Mobile: The Phirbol Franchise." Harvard Business School Case 510-020, February 2010.
- January 2014 (Revised October 2014)
- Case
Andreessen Horowitz
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Liz Kind
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a venture capital firm launched in 2009, has quickly broken into the VC industry's top ranks, in terms of its ability to invest in Silicon Valley's most promising startups. The case recounts the firm's history; describes its co-founders'... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Venture Capital; Disruption; Entrepreneurship; Industry Structures; Financial Services Industry; California
Eisenmann, Thomas R., and Liz Kind. "Andreessen Horowitz." Harvard Business School Case 814-060, January 2014. (Revised October 2014.)
- September 2015 (Revised September 2017)
- Case
Pershing Square 2.0
By: Robin Greenwood, Samuel Hanson and David Biery
In June 2015 William A. Ackman, the CEO and founder of New York hedge fund Pershing Square Capital, reflects on the success of the fund he has spent over a decade building. Since its inception in 2004, Pershing Square's assets under management had grown from $500... View Details
Keywords: Activism; Value Investing; Portfolio Management; Management; Investment Portfolio; Investment Activism
Greenwood, Robin, Samuel Hanson, and David Biery. "Pershing Square 2.0." Harvard Business School Case 216-003, September 2015. (Revised September 2017.)