Publications

February 2013 (Revised February 2013)
Case

Wayne Ferrari: iAutomation at a Crossroads

By: Jim Sharpe and Michael Norris

Wayne Ferrari has bridged the gap between being an independent entrepreneur and a "professional manager." After selling his business to a Private Equity (PE) firm, Ferrari takes on the role of CEO and with their support implements a roll-up strategy to attain growth... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurial Organizations; Leveraged Buyouts; Roll-up; Career Planning; Acquisitions; Pricing; Pricing Policies; Pricing Strategy; Pricing Structure; Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Distribution; Integration; System; Electronics Industry; Electronics Industry; United States

October 2018
Case

African Bank Investments Limited (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Africa; South Africa

Web

Competitiveness of States & Regions - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

critical drivers of competitiveness are regional—meaning such disparities can’t be addressed by macroeconomic policies alone. Working with policymakers and industry leaders, the Institute has developed new tools and collaborative... View Details

March 2022 (Revised July 2022)
Teaching Note

Camera IQ and the Metaverse: Building Augmented Reality Brand Experiences

By: Jill Avery

Camera IQ, a camera marketing software company that empowered brands to create and launch augmented reality experiences (AREs) across social platforms, had just raised an additional $5 million to fund further product development and expand its marketing and sales... View Details

Web

Modern Capitalism: Mergers and Syndicates - Railroads and the Transformation of Capitalism | Harvard Business School

Emeritus, at Harvard Business School, explains that during this period, “the growth of big business was the central trend of the American economy.” 35 By the dawn of World War I, America’s journey from an agrarian society to a leading... View Details

May 2009
Case

Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education

By: Allen S. Grossman and Geoff Eckman Marietta

Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education (MCBRE) was a business-public education partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) that promoted cross-sector knowledge sharing and academic excellence. Its suite of core student programs, such as “720,”... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Knowledge Sharing; Leadership; Partners and Partnerships; Education; Business and Community Relations; Education Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

2018
Working Paper

Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America During Globalization Waves

By: Geoffrey Jones

This working paper examines the impact of modern business enterprise on the natural environment of Latin America during the globalization waves between the 19th century and the present day. It argues that although global capitalism created much wealth for the region,... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Natural Environment; Outcome or Result; Business History; Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Tourism Industry; Latin America

SSRN

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09 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 9

concentrated industry activity creates pools of skilled labor and specialized suppliers and increases opportunities for knowledge spillovers. The strategic value of these agglomeration economies may vary by firm, depending upon the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Strategy & IT - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

and customers; and across geography. It allowed firms, for example, to closely integrate globally distributed supply chains. See below for “Strategy and the Internet.” These first two waves gave rise to huge productivity gains and growth... View Details

Web

Negotiating - Alumni

than money! Evaluate all aspects of an offer and prioritize those that are most important to you. These include: Organizational culture and values Paid vacation time Maternity/paternity leave Growth opportunities Career progression... View Details

2018
Book

Food Citizenship: Food System Advocates in an Era of Distrust

By: Ray A. Goldberg

The global food system is the largest segment of the world's economy. As agribusiness-studies pioneer Ray Goldberg suggests, it is also the largest health system on the planet. And it is changing fast. Its size and importance to human, environmental, and economic... View Details

Keywords: Food; System; Global Range; Health; Environmental Sustainability; Development Economics; Partners and Partnerships; Public Opinion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

Find at Harvard

February 2013 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Elasto Therm: The Next Step

By: Jim Sharpe and James Weber

Julia and Nate Burstein were living their dream running their own business and balancing the demands between their work and family obligations while creating a company that was responsive to their employees' and their customers' needs. The Bursteins had joined a large... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurs; Pricing; Pricing Policies; Pricing Strategy; Pricing Structure; Sales Force Management; Acquisitions; Work/family Balance; Family-owned Business; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Work-Life Balance; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

15 Jun 2021
News

Zone Defense

telling him. Ryan Tseng had already started two successful companies, and where Brandon saw a business opportunity in building AI software to operate unmanned systems for the military, Ryan saw a behemoth defense industry with high... View Details

Keywords: April White; drone technology; military; security; entrepreneurship; leadership; Air Transportation; Transportation

01 Aug 2001
News

Richard B. Fisher (MBA '62)

trading. As a result, the firm embarked upon a major growth strategy in 1971, with Fisher as one of its leading architects. From 1970 to 1983, revenues increased from $22 million to just over $470 million. In addition to supporting Morgan... View Details

Keywords: Richard B. Fisher; Warren A. Law; Alumni Achievement Award; Finance; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management

July 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Athletic Brewing Company: Crafting the U.S. Non-Alcoholic Beer Category

By: Ayelet Israeli and Anne V. Wilson

Athletic Brewing Company (“Athletic,” for short) was founded by Bill Shufelt and John Walker in 2017. In creating Athletic, Shufelt and Walker opened the first U.S. brewery and taproom fully devoted to the production of non-alcoholic (NA) craft beer. By 2021, Athletic... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Product Launch; Product Design; Product; Competition; Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

October 2018
Supplement

African Bank Investments Limited (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Africa; South Africa

December 2023
Case

Davivienda Bank's Upskilling and Reskilling Strategy in Colombia

By: Jorge Tamayo, Raffaella Sadun and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2022, this case describes the digital transformation strategy of Davivienda— a leading player in Colombia’s commercial banking and one of the companies belonging to Grupo Bolívar, a major Colombian financial conglomerate—and the bank’s upskilling and reskilling... View Details