Publications

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October 1987 (Revised October 1998)
Case

CVD, Inc. vs. A.S. Markham Corp. (A)

Describes the legal odyssey of two engineers who left their old employer to start a company that was directly competitive. The issues include employment contracts, technology licenses, antitrust, trade secrets, and confidential information. Provides a good opportunity... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Human Resources; Contracts; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Intellectual Property; Ethics; Legal Liability; Business Startups; Monopoly

20 May 2013
Op-Ed

Making America an Industrial Powerhouse Again

focused center, particularly if regional stakeholders become overly dominant, and the implicit goal becomes to support local industries. If this occurs, the NNMI is doomed to failure, since no one region has a monopoly on the expertise... View Details

Keywords: by Gary Pisano; Manufacturing

July 1989 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Colonial Homes

By: David E. Bell

Colonial Homes supplies a complete raw materials package to build entire homes. The price of the package is guaranteed at the signing of the sales contract, while delivery (and payment) are not effected for up to six months. In an effort to reduce its exposure to... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Contracts; Price; Price Bubble; Fluctuation; Monopoly; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Accommodations Industry; Real Estate Industry

July 2017
Teaching Plan

'Clarín Lies!': Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War

By: Rafael Di Tella and Sarah McAra

Teaching Note for HBS No. 718-008. View Details

Keywords: Media Regulation; Media; Government and Politics; Policy; Newspapers; Government Legislation; Business and Government Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Monopoly; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Argentina

July 2016
Case

The EC Rains on Oracle/Sun (A)

By: Lena G. Goldberg

Oracle's proposed acquisition of Sun was on a fast track until the EC's antitrust concerns about open-source MySQL ignited a transatlantic war of words delaying the deal. Sun's performance suffered and its customers were approached by competitors while regulatory... View Details

Keywords: Law; Antitrust; EC Regulation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Multinational Firms and Management; Laws and Statutes; Monopoly; Business and Government Relations

13 Dec 2011
First Look

First Look: Dec. 13

against foreign monopolies and cartels. In the article we examine how the Norwegian authorities interacted with international cartels and trusts in seven different cases in the interwar period. The study shows that although there was a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month | Baker Library

existence. It was issued in 1758 by the Real Compañía de Comercio de Barcelona, the best known of the Spanish royal trading companies, which had a monopoly on trade with Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, and Margarita Island, off the Venezuelan... View Details

December 2013 (Revised April 2025)
Case

The PGA Tour (A)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Cole Magrath

In 1994, the PGA Tour (the "Tour"), the dominant incumbent professional golf circuit, had created tremendous value for its players. In the 1974 season, players competed for $8 million in prize money; by the 1994 season, the total prize purse had increased to $56... View Details

Keywords: PGA Tour; Tim Finchem; Deane Beman; Golf; Professional Golf; Business Model; Value Creation; Competition; Adaptation; Monopoly; Globalization; Sports; Business Strategy; Sports Industry; United States

14 Jun 2011
First Look

First Look: June 14

Abstract This paper provides a simple model of platforms with direct network effects, in which users value not just the quantity (i.e., number) of other users who join, but also their average quality in some dimension. A monopoly platform... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

The Potential Downside of Win-Win

the negotiation. In April 2001, the FTC filed a complaint accusing pharmaceutical companies Schering-Plough and Upsher-Smith of restricting trade. Upsher-Smith had been preparing to introduce a generic pharmaceutical product that would threaten a near View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman

07 Sep 2021
News

Skydeck Voices: For My Next Act

about how do you get a monopoly to behave in a manner that treats its customers with respect, that drives efficiency and innovation as it would if it was competing for its business and for its life. If you'd asked me would I want to do... View Details

06 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

Should Entrepreneurs Pitch Products or Ideas for Products?

idea because the monopoly surplus is higher than that from a duopoly,” Luo explains. This intuition was originally developed by her colleagues Dennis Yao at Harvard Business School and Jim Anton from Duke University. “This threat is more... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Motion Pictures & Video; Entertainment & Recreation; Banking

November 1995 (Revised November 1999)
Case

National Power and the Privatization of the British Power Generation Industry

By: Willis M. Emmons III and Ed Simnett

The British government privatized the nation's electric utility sector in 1991 through a complex process involving the restructuring of the industry as well as the creation of a new regulatory oversight body. National Power plc, the largest of the privatized power... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Trade; Energy Generation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Markets; Monopoly; Privatization; Opportunities; Diversification; Expansion; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry

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05 Jun 2019
Research & Ideas

If Your Customers Don't Care What You Charge, What Should You Charge?

market power dynamics, MacKay says. Market power, which is sometimes referred to as monopoly power, refers to the ability of a firm to charge a price above the level that would prevail under normal competition. The researchers argue that... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Energy

Fast Answer

Historical Research - India

Subjects covered include trade regulations on Indian imports and exports, specifically the textile, dyeing and cotton industries; the introduction of steam navigation, including the Calcutta railroad system and the East India Railway Company; debates on the East India... View Details

23 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Historically Speaking: A Roundtable at HBS

suppliers in particular. Intel became a near monopoly in microprocessors, and Microsoft, which provided the operating system, is probably the most powerful regulated monopoly in the history of U.S. industry.... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

01 Dec 2020
News

The Camel and the Unicorn

become even more popular as the COVID-19 pandemic has made both the Valley’s products and its real estate prices seem ever more impractical. But if those dire predictions come true, it might not be because of inflated valuations. It could be because Silicon Valley has... View Details

May 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Case

EU Verdict Against Microsoft

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

In 2004, following an investigation that began in 1998, the European Commission (EC) issued an antitrust judgment against Microsoft Corp., levying a record fine of 497 million euros ($613 million) and mandating changes of commercial behavior and bundling of Windows... View Details

Keywords: Judgments; Governance Compliance; Lawsuits and Litigation; Monopoly; Business and Government Relations; Competitive Strategy; Software; European Union; United States