Publications

September 2009 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Urban Decay: A Great Idea

By: Lena G. Goldberg

Casual discussions of ideas for a new business can have unintended legal consequences and expectations about founder status and ownership shares may diverge widely. Using facts from a litigated case, the concept of inadvertent formation of a partnership is explored. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Spoken Communication; Lawsuits and Litigation; Ownership Stake; Partners and Partnerships

28 May 2014
Video

Sal Khan - Making A Difference

November 2016
Case

Bayern Munich in China

By: Karim Lakhani, Sascha L. Schmidt, Michael Norris and Kerry Herman

In 2015, German football club Bayern Munich is considering how to enter the Chinese market. Should it build its own infrastructure or rely on third-party partnerships to reach this massive football fan base? View Details

Keywords: Football; Soccer; Bundesliga; Digital Technology; Market Entry; Sports; Global Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Online Technology; Sports Industry; Germany; China

March 1991 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Berkshire Partners

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

Berkshire Partners is a limited partnership engaged in the acquisition of companies valued between $25 million and $250 million. The purpose of the case is to examine the resources of the firm and discuss the firm's competitive advantage vis-a-vis other types of... View Details

Keywords: Working Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Advantage; Acquisition; Corporate Finance

28 Jul 2020
Video

Sizwe Nxasana

Sizwe Nxasana, the founding partner of SizweNtsalubaGobodo, the largest Black accounting firm in South Africa, as well as the former CEO of Telkom and FirstRand Group, recounts how the... View Details

April 1996 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Jason Bosworth

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Jason Bosworth is a real estate investor who wants to purchase apartments for a $300 million limited partnership in which he is the general partner. This case is part of a negotiation game simulation that includes Sunshine Villas, Silver Lane Apartments, and Major... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Property; Negotiation Tactics; Partners and Partnerships; Management; Real Estate Industry

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February 1991 (Revised August 2001)
Case

Ann Hopkins (A)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Ilyse Barkan

Intended to help students understand the many barriers organizations face as their members and their management ranks grow more diverse. As a case on business ethics, it encourages students to discuss what "fairness" and "diversity" mean when an organization is also... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Problems and Challenges; Groups and Teams

August 2022 (Revised February 2023)
Case

NewLab: Scaling an Innovation Engine

By: Tarun Khanna and George Gonzalez

Silicon Valley-veteran Shaun Stewart is the CEO of NewLab, a dynamic technology hub headquartered in the storied Brooklyn Navy Yard. Founded in 2016, NewLab fostered a community of entrepreneurs, corporate and government partners, and investors, all seeking to apply... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Social and Collaborative Networks; Global Range; Partners and Partnerships; Networks; Growth and Development Strategy; Opportunities; Brooklyn

October 2002
Case

A Father's Love: Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Bradley Campbell

John Crowley, CEO of Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, a start-up biotechnology firm developing an orphan drug to treat a rare lysosomal storage disorder from which his children suffer, must choose between a partnership and a buyout to have sufficient funds and support to get... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business Startups; Partners and Partnerships; Financing and Loans; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Sales; Price; Product Development; Motivation and Incentives; Decision Choices and Conditions; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

18 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

Wrap-up: Software, Telecom, and Recovery

Venture capital firms ask themselves tough questions these days. Among them: how can they dig out of the dot-com collapse? How should they invest going forward? How should the leader of a firm strike the right note for the future? And is it a field that graduating MBAs... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild & Martha Lagace; Financial Services; Technology; Communications; Telecommunications

06 Oct 2014
News

New tool maps economic clusters

30 Mar 2011
News

Microsoft Co-Founder Hits Out at Gates

May 2025
Case

Fidji Simo: Growing the Pie at Instacart

By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Barnett

In January 2025, Instacart CEO Fidji Simo considers strategies for continuing to grow Instacart from a grocery delivery platform to a holistic grocery technology company, including in-store grocery technology and expanding partnerships across the grocery sector. View Details

November 2004 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Mall of America (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner

Explores fiduciary duty issues that arose in litigation among partners in the partnership that owned and controlled the Mall of America. Describes the complex real estate transaction in which one partner attempted to purchase an additional interest in the mall from a... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Business Organization; Lawsuits and Litigation; Partners and Partnerships; Property; Investment; Retail Industry; United States

January 1993 (Revised November 1993)
Case

FCB and Publicis (A): Forming the Alliance

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Two of the largest ad agencies form a partnership to be able to offer their clients global capabilities. After five years, how is the alliance faring? May be used with FCB and Publicis (B): Managing Client and Country Diversity and (C): The German-Led Network. View Details

Keywords: Alliances; Partners and Partnerships; Globalized Firms and Management; Advertising; Global Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Market Timing; Outcome or Result; Advertising Industry; United States; France; Germany

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January 2017 (Revised April 2017)
Supplement

Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

In late 2016, Bridj was expanding its digital platform to help address urban mobility problems faced by cities across the country and the world. Its founder and CEO, Matt George, weighed up several possible strategies for growth as he aimed to responsibly build the... View Details

June 1997
Supplement

MicroFridge: Robert Bennett, President and CEO, OPM Presentation

By: Norman A. Berg

Robert P. Bennett of MicroFridge discusses a number of topics including his philosophy, his company's market focus, the reorganization of the selling organization, reduction of overhead, the company's poor performance in the past year, its partnership with Sanyo, and... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Salesforce Management; Markets; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Performance

February 2014
Teaching Note

The Slingshot: Improving Water Access

By: John A. Quelch

Entrepreneur Dean Kamen has inked a multimillion dollar partnership with Coca-Cola (CC) to mass produce and distribute the Slingshot, a low energy device that can convert raw sewage into potable water for poor people and communities in developing economies. View Details

Keywords: DEKA; Dean Kamen; Coca-Cola; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Commercialization; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Health Industry; North Africa; South Africa; Asia; South America