Publications

Web

2021 Symposium - Race, Gender & Equity

few—all stemming from structural features and systemic pressures related to race, capitalism and democracy, our themes for today. And of course, we are also seeing how these themes are intertwined this year, with the interdependence... View Details

2011
Book

Dirección estratégica en países emergentes: Elementos fundamentales para plantear el crecimiento de las empresas latinoamericanas [Strategic management in emerging countries: Fundamental tools to plan the growth of Latin American firms]

By: Roberto Vassolo and Luciana Silvestri

This book seeks to help managers in emerging economies formulate and implement strategy, design their organizational structure, and nurture their organization's identity as part of an integrated, holistic process. Chapters cover classic topics such as industry analysis... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Identity; Organizational Alignment; Emerging Economies; Strategy; Business or Company Management; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Developing Countries and Economies

October 2010
Case

innocent

By: William A. Sahlman and Harry Wake

This case describes a set of issues confronting the founders of innocent, a 10-year old beverage company that dominated the UK smoothie market. The team must decide how to proceed with expansion of the product line and outside the UK and Ireland. They must also decide... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Expansion; Capital Structure; Corporate Finance; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

July 2007 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Berkshire Partners: Purchase of Rival Company (A)

Berkshire Partners, a private equity firm in Boston, was pleased with their recent investment in the Holmes Group, a home comfort consumer electronics company. The portfolio company was exceeding key financial targets and Berkshire Partners was confident that it would... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Capital Structure; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Acquisition; Financial Services Industry; Boston

November 1988 (Revised September 1991)
Case

Simmons Japan Ltd.

By: W. Carl Kester and Richard P. Melnick

Concerns the first leveraged buyout to occur in Japan. Analytic tasks include a valuation of the company and an assessment of its debt capacity. Also provides opportunities to discuss agency costs associated with alternative capital and equity ownership structures,... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt; Capital Structure; Cost; Equity; Production; Valuation; Japan; United States

Profile

Mengwen Zhao

in." Expanding beyond specific functions to general management Reflecting on the HBS curriculum, Mengwen says, "The course structure doesn't just give us technical knowledge; it gives us the intuition that informs our View Details

Keywords: Consulting; CPG; Healthcare/Biotech

Profile

Alika Phipps

Ratings and Capital Structure Advisory Group, “advising clients on the optimal capital structure to maintain a favorable credit rating. JP Morgan was a great experience. But although I gained a lot of... View Details

11 Jan 2000
Lessons from the Classroom

New Game, New Rules: Developing Managers for a Competitive World

The Program for Global Leadership assembles senior executives from organizations worldwide who participate and interact in a unique, multi-phased educational process. The program's unusual structure helps them to gain fresh insight about... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

November 1991 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Oak Industries Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Burton C. Hurlock

Describes Bill Antle's proposed restructuring plans for Oak Industries, a company composed of nine divisions which seem to be experiencing operating difficulties. During the last ten years the company has been involved in a number of acquisitions and divestitures, as... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Operations; SWOT Analysis; Organizational Structure; Restructuring; Financial Management; Acquisition; Financial Markets

Find at Harvard

February 1997 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Stone Container Corporation (A)

By: W. Carl Kester and Kirk Goldman

In early 1993, Stone Container was heavily burdened by debt following a series of highly leveraged acquisitions. A prolonged depression in paper prices necessitated the development of a comprehensive financial plan to relieve the financial pressures on Stone. Among the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Borrowing and Debt; Capital Structure; Equity; Price; Strategic Planning

Web

Strategy for Entrepreneurs - Course Catalog

hardest to test. SfE is structured to help you learn in the face of all these challenges. Beyond the course frameworks and cases, SfE will guide you and give you time to build with Generative AI tools, which if used effectively will... View Details

January 1990 (Revised September 1994)
Case

Cray Research, Inc.: Preparing for the 1990s

By: Francis Aguilar

Describes the major changes Cray Research faced from 1985 (the time of the original case) to 1990. The dramatic decision to divide the company into two separate firms sets the stage for an analysis of the major strategic and organizational challenges facing senior... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Management Systems; Change Management; Technology Adoption; Business Units; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Management Teams; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology

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Web

JD/MBA | MBA

JD/MBA Joint degree with Harvard Law School The JD/MBA offered by Harvard Law School (HLS) and Harvard Business School (HBS) is the oldest MBA joint degree program at Harvard. Structured to be completed in... View Details

October 1998 (Revised September 1999)
Case

Mercedes-Benz in Alabama: Lessons from the Field

By: William J. Bruns Jr., Carin-Isabel Knoop and Anthony St. George

Details the establishment of the Mercedes Benz M-Class plant in Vance, AL. The plant was established as an independent "teaching field" for parent company Daimler Benz. The case reviews the different lessons from the plant and looks at issues going forward,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Banks and Banking; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Business Ventures; Teaching; Organizational Structure; Auto Industry; Alabama

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January 2018 (Revised February 2025)
Teaching Note

Collage.com: Scaling a Distributed Organization

By: Christopher Stanton and Shikhar Ghosh

Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-038. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Employees; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy

January 1994
Case

National Convenience Stores, Inc.

By: Steven R. Fenster, Stuart C. Gilson and Roy Burstin

National Convenience Stores seeks to emerge from Chapter 11. Central to the nature of the reorganization plan is the company's determining enterprise value. The various constituencies (secured debt, unsecured debt, etc.) will seek to find an enterprise value that... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Valuation; Restructuring; Strategic Planning; Borrowing and Debt; Food and Beverage Industry; Texas