Publications

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Henry McGee joined the HBS faculty in 2013 after retiring as President of HBO Home Entertainment, the digital and DVD program distribution division of Home Box Office, the pioneering premium television company. A member of the Entrepreneurial Management Unit,... View Details

Keywords: television; motion pictures; media; e-commerce industry; entertainment; broadcasting; distribution; health care; journalism; wholesale; arts; nonprofit industry

December 2021 (Revised January 2023)
Supplement

Katerra (B)

By: Lindsay N. Hyde, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Tom Quinn

In May 2020, SoftBank executives, having invested nearly $2 billion in Katerra, decided the vision of an end-to-end, vertically-integrated construction process was worth saving—with some major changes to company structure. The SoftBank Vision Fund invested $200 million... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Failure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Entrepreneurship; Construction; Real Estate Industry; Construction Industry; Technology Industry; United States

24 Apr 2006
News

Keeping the Core Healthy

May 1996 (Revised July 1998)
Case

Enron Development Corporation: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (A)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Krishna G. Palepu, Ahu Bhasin, Mihir A. Desai and Sarayu Srinivasan

A large, lucrative power plant is negotiated for construction/operation by an American power company in India's evolving privatized power sector. The process of incorporating the project is captured in this case. The American company will own and operate the plant in... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Private Sector; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Agreements and Arrangements; Private Ownership; Projects; Energy Industry; India; United States

February 1999 (Revised August 2004)
Case

I Lost My Volvo in New Haven: Tennis Event Sponsorship

By: Stephen A. Greyser, Brian R. Harris and Mitchell Truwit

Focuses on event management and sponsorship from the perspective of the event owner (rather than that of the sponsorship company). Describes in depth the search by one of the tennis tournaments on the professional circuit for a principal sponsor. Detailed economics of... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Decision Choices and Conditions; Management; Product Positioning; Television Entertainment; Sports; Partners and Partnerships; Sports Industry

March 1998 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Concordia Electronic Systems Test

By: Thomas R. Piper

The management of an electronics company must decide whether to use a single hurdle rate for all projects or to move to a system of different hurdle rates for each of its two divisions. The divisions differ substantially in terms of risk and seem to have substantially... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Risk and Uncertainty; Cost of Capital; Valuation; Business Divisions; Electronics Industry

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26 Dec 2018
News

With Sluggish Economy, Chinese Auto Industry Eyes U.S. Market

June 2012
Article

Leadership Is a Conversation

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind

Globalization and new technologies have sharply reduced the efficacy of command-and-control management and its accompanying forms of corporate communication. In the course of a recent research project, the authors concluded that by talking with employees, rather than... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Management Style; Interpersonal Communication; Leadership; Cooperation; Partners and Partnerships

Read Now

27 Feb 2017
Research & Ideas

Reputation is Vital to Survival in Turbulent Markets

companies to compete. The reality is much different in developing economies, where the rule of law might be poorly enforced, social anarchy flourishes, or the military runs the government. So, it is quite remarkable when entrepreneurs in... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Cable Data Systems

By: Paul W. Marshall and Todd H Thedinga

Describes the operating challenges of Cable Data Systems (CDS), a minority-owned cable installation company with a dual mission of maximizing profits and providing employment opportunities to minorities in urban markets. Following the merger of two cable installation... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Employment; Forecasting and Prediction; Urban Scope; Cost Management; Infrastructure; Labor Unions; Demand and Consumers; Demographics; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Boston

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April 1991 (Revised July 1991)
Supplement

RJR Nabisco Board: Guardians of the Gate? (B)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

The special committee of the RJR Nabisco board has extended the bidding deadline for the company by 10 days. The case explains the process by which Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the management group bid against one another for ownership of RJR Nabisco. The board of... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Situation or Environment; Bids and Bidding; Decision Making; Managerial Roles; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2012 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Lit Motors

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alex Godden

In mid-2012 Lit Motors had created both engineering and design prototypes and conducted initial customer tests on less than $750,000 of investment. Lit Motors' founder, Daniel Kim, had started the company to design and manufacture an efficient electric 2-wheeled... View Details

Keywords: Lean Startup; Prototyping; Electric Vehicle; Urban Vehicle; Customer Tests; Gyroscope; Entrepreneurs; Development Stage Enterprises; Creativity; Disruptive Technologies; Consumer Surveys; Market Segmentation; Manufacturing Costs; Entrepreneurship; Auto Industry; United States; California

December 2017
Case

Charity or Bribery?

By: Eugene Soltes and Brian Tilley

Filip Kowalski, a senior manager at the pharmaceutical company Healthgen, leads sales for the firm’s Polish division. While pitching Healthgen’s products, he develops a relationship with a director of a regional health fund who also runs a private foundation. After a... View Details

Keywords: Bribery; Crime and Corruption; Law; Ethics; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States; Europe

October 2001 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Anagene, Inc.

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Christina L. Darwall

An entrepreneurial, publicly traded biotech company has begun production and sales of its core product--cartridges that permit DNA samples to be analyzed on a microchip. In the early quarters, sales are difficult to forecast and the company has experienced fluctuating... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Financial Reporting; Production; Performance Capacity; Risk and Uncertainty; Genetics; Governing and Advisory Boards; Biotechnology Industry; California

19 Jul 2020
News

Remote Work Revolution

October 2018
Case

BBVA: Corporate Governance & Corporate Strategy

By: Krishna Palepu and Jordi Canals

BBVA is a very successful Spanish bank facing a number of challenges as a result of significant industry and regulatory changes. The company takes pride in its board structure and excellent corporate governance. The Chairman of the Board was wondering how best to... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Corporate Governance; Strategy; Change Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Banking Industry; Spain

12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

sharing networks, Danone had helped managers connect with each other and share good practices peer-to-peer, rather than relying on traditional hierarchical lines of communication or IT repositories. From 2004 to 2007, Mougin and his team... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Dec 2019
Book

Creating the Experimentation Organization

subtle tweaks to everything from varying shades of color to alternative placement of links and menu options for booking properties. It’s part of an innovative culture of experimentation that pervades every aspect of how the company... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

March 2020 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Culture at Google

By: Nien-hê Hsieh, Amy Klopfenstein and Sarah Mehta

Beginning in 2017, technology (tech) company Google faced a series of employee-relations issues that threatened its unique culture of innovation and open communication. Issues included protests surrounding Google’s contracts with the U.S. government, restrictions of... View Details