Publications

March 2012 (Revised September 2014)
Supplement

Clarks at a Crossroads (C)

By: John A. Davis and Suzanne Stroh

Clarks (C) describes the turnaround of C&J Clarks Ltd., 1993-2002. It describes the roles of family chairman Roger Pedder, and CEO Timothy Parker, in this successful effort. View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Apparel and Accessories Industry

July 2015 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Ron Johnson: A Career in Retail

By: Das Narayandas, Joshua D. Margolis and Ryan Raffaelli

In April 2013, Ron Johnson (HBS '84) stepped down after just 18 months as CEO of J.C. Penney. In his brief tenure, Johnson, an acclaimed retailer respected for his innovation and success in shaping the retail image at Target and Apple, introduced dramatic departures... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Leadership Development; Legal Industry; Procurement; Professional Service Firms; Pricing; Organizational Behavior Modification; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Situation or Environment; Failure; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Competition; Retail Industry; United States

September 2019
Case

JTC: Stronger Together with Shared Ownership

By: Ethan Bernstein and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of Jersey-based financial services firm JTC, firmly believed that "shared ownership" was at the heart of his company’s successful track record. The firm had seen its revenues, profits, and number of clients and staff grow steadily throughout its... View Details

Keywords: Ownership; Employee Ownership; Leadership Style; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Culture; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Going Public; Mission and Purpose; Management Practices and Processes; Human Resources; Financial Services Industry; Channel Islands; Europe; United States

25 Apr 2018
News

Satya Nadella takes leadership lessons from Nancy Koehn's book 'Forged in Crisis'

November 2000 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Meg Whitman at eBay Inc. (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Maria Farkas

Meg Whitman takes over as CEO of eBay from the founder. She must figure out how to lead the company through a stage of phenomenal growth without compromising eBay's unique external customer culture and internal culture--its key success factors. A rewritten version of... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Organizational Culture; Success

April 1994 (Revised August 1996)
Case

American Express (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

In January 1993, the American Express board met to decide who would succeed James D. Robinson, III as chairman and CEO. The board needed to act in the spotlight of intense media and investor scrutiny, and after leaks had revealed that there was a conflict among the... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Corporate Governance; Resignation and Termination; Leadership; Management Succession; Performance Evaluation

June 2014 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Access Health CT: Marketing Affordable Care (A)

By: John A. Quelch and Michael Norris

At the close of open-enrollment in March of 2014, Kevin Counihan, CEO of Access Health CT, Connecticut's state health insurance exchange, stops to consider the success it has experienced so far and think about how to ensure its long-term sustainability. View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Health Care Industry; Health Care Policy; Public Health Insurance Exchange; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Connecticut

14 Dec 2021
News

Trustees Capital

16 Nov 2017
News

Language and Globalization: The Mandate to Speak English at Rakuten

October 2011
Case

Patricia Gottesman at Crimson Hexagon

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Mary Beth Findlay

After successful capital raises and significant progress in gaining market acceptance of its tools for analyzing public opinion, Crimson Hexagon's CEO prepares to address the company's investors on the question of exit strategy. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Strategic Planning; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Policy; Information Industry; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

September 1983 (Revised July 1991)
Case

Orthoteks USA (A)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Richard G. Hamermesh

A series on implementing strategy as the head of the U.S. subsidiary of a successful Swiss medical products firm. Traces the actions of the CEO over a four year period and highlights his negotiations with the Swiss parent and the way functional components of the... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Trade; Health Care and Treatment; Leadership Style; Agreements and Arrangements; Strategy; Health Industry; Switzerland; United States

November 2008
Case

Adnexus Therapeutics, Inc.: Considering the Exit

By: Vicki L. Sato and Rachel Gordon

Dr. John Mendlein, CEO of Adnexus Therapeutics Inc. (Adnexus), a private biotechnology company, must decide whether to pursue acquisition talks with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) after a successful six-month collaboration or continue with Adnexus' planned IPO. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Initial Public Offering; Corporate Strategy; Biotechnology Industry

June 2017
Case

Maggie Wilderotter: The Evolution of an Executive

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott and Robin Abrahams

In a career that spanned over 30 years, Maggie Wilderotter served as CEO of two publicly traded companies and served on 32 corporate and 9 association and nonprofit boards of directors. As CEO of Frontier Communications, a U.S. telecom company with over $25 billion in... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Managing People; Networks; Strategy And Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Personal Characteristics; Leadership Style; Social and Collaborative Networks; Gender; Power and Influence; Telecommunications Industry; United States

20 Apr 2021
Cold Call Podcast

What Went Wrong with the Boeing 737 Max?

Keywords: Air Transportation

February 2021
Case

Lidya: Bringing Nigerian FinTech Innovation to Global Small and Medium Enterprises

By: Lauren Cohen and Spencer C.N. Hagist

Lidya CEO Tunde Kehinde must size up options for the expansion of his novel lending practices that drastically reduce the credit cycle in his developing Nigeria, and determine if expansion into Eastern Europe will prove successful or disastrous. View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Economics; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Strategy; Expansion; Nigeria

August 2020 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Skillz: Esports and Skill-Based Mobile Gaming

By: Andy Wu, David B. Yoffie and George Gonzalez

Founded in 2012, Skillz offered a platform for mobile app developers to monetize skill-based games via prized tournaments. Skillz had over 20,000 registered developers that had created thousands of Skillz-powered games played by over 30 million registered users... View Details

Keywords: Video Games; Mobile; Esports; Applications and Software; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology; Digital Platforms; United States

January 2017 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Classtivity: Payal's Pirouette

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

A few months after launching a new fitness technology product, the small staff of New York startup Classtivity gathers on a Saturday in April 2013 to take stock. With one successful pivot under its belt, Classtivity is finally generating revenue and enthusiasm among... View Details