Publications

March 2002 (Revised January 2010)
Case

BP and the Consolidation of the Oil Industry, 1998-2002

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and David J Hanson

Examines the economics of the oil and gas industry with a focus on 1998 through 2001. Discusses the rationale behind using a growth in scale as a means to increase profitability and to gain competitive advantage. Also examines the classic strategic implications of... View Details

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Competitive Advantage; Consolidation; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Energy Industry

October 2015
Case

Facebook: The First Ten Years

By: Shane Greenstein, Marco Iansiti and Christine Snively

Facebook celebrated its ten year anniversary in February 2014. Over the past decade it has grown into the largest social network in the world with one billion users. After filing an IPO in 2012 at a $104 billion valuation (the third largest IPO in U.S. history), the... View Details

Keywords: Social Networks; Technology; Facebook; Entrepreneurship; Profit; Open Source Distribution; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Social Media; Information Technology Industry

Profile

Wendy Lim

San Francisco: as New Marketing Manager, Head of User Support and Content, and her current assignment, Director of Sales and Advertising Operations. “There are just so many HBS people on the West Coast who can connect you to the right View Details

Fast Answer

Commodities Research: data and reports

rgb(51, 122, 183); text-decoration-line: none;">Factiva - Current news on the commodities markets from a variety of sources (including Barron's, Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, New York Times, etc.). View Details

February 2010
Case

Amyris Biotechnologies: Commercializing Biofuel

By: Gary P. Pisano and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

In 2009, Amyris Biotechnologies was building a plant in Brazil that used synthetic biology to convert sugarcane into both renewable fuels and renewable chemicals. The Amyris' marketing team was investigating the commercial interest for both types of products, while the... View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Chemicals; Risk Management; Product Marketing; Product Development; Production; Environmental Sustainability; Commercialization; Biotechnology Industry; Brazil

Fast Answer

Sustainability Resources for HBS MBAs

Compiled by HBS Business and Environment Initiative and Katie Kross, this list is included as a part of the Sustainability research guide via Baker Library's website. Section Resources Top News sources (subscription... View Details

Web

Blog | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

powerful force humans have ever created. It’s been the source of both enormo... From Learning to Teaching Business and Entrepreneurship Alex Landon Kaitlin Klaustermeier 28 Jun 2018 Five weeks ago on May 24, we graduated from Harvard... View Details

Web

Innovating at Scale - Course Catalog

existing sources of revenue or involves risky and uncertain investments. History is littered with established companies (Blockbuster, Kodak, etc) that failed to meet these challenges and innovate. This course centers on how to innovate... View Details

01 Jun 2011
News

Perception versus Reality

regions around the world entered this year’s competition, with the finals taking place on campus in late April (see article). Without a doubt, the entrepreneurial ferment so evident today traces its source to the legacy of Professor... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; contests; awards; meta

09 Nov 2016
News

The Seeds of Learning

manner, and the issues that are facing the planet and what they can do about them. “They don’t know, most of the time, about where their food comes from. We’re incredibly disconnected, in this modern society, from the sources of our food... View Details

22 May 2020
In Practice

Post-COVID Health Care: More Screens, Less Red Tape?

world for the better over the next two years, and will prepare us for the inevitable pandemics that follow. William A. Sahlman is a Baker Foundation Professor and the Dimitri V. D'Arbeloff - MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus. John... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

03 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

The Competitive Advantage of Global Finance

In the process, he shows how organizations can best equip themselves to take advantage of potential sources of competitive advantage that arise in the global setting. In International Finance: A Casebook, Desai provides case studies on... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services

October 2009 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Cosan: Thinking Outside the Barrel

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Noel Maurer and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

The Cosan case introduces students and executive education participants to political economy and business strategy in the biofuels industry. Cosan, based in Brazil, is the largest grower and processor of sugarcane in the world and the largest sugar and ethanol producer... View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Global Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Industry Structures; Business and Government Relations; Business Strategy; Vertical Integration; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Energy Industry; Brazil

April 1994 (Revised September 1994)
Case

KENETECH Corporation

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Involves a strategic decision about how fast to ramp up sales. Improvements in technology have driven down the cost of electric power generated from wind turbines to the point where they are competitive with fossil-fuel plants. KENETECH needs to raise equity capital to... View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Initial Public Offering; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Going Public; Sales; Competition; Energy Industry

Find at Harvard

November 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Mid-Missouri Energy: Ethanol from Corn

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Noel Michele Holbrook, James Weber and Karla Sartor

Mid-Missouri Energy (MME) is a farmer-owned cooperative that produces ethanol from corn. The cooperative has performed well in comparison to other producers, but margins in the industry had declined as industry production levels neared market demand limits. MME farmers... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Renewable Energy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Growth and Development Strategy; Cooperative Ownership; Business and Government Relations; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

November 2003 (Revised May 2016)
Case

Weetman Pearson and the Mexican Oil Industry (A)

By: Geoffrey Jones and Lisa Bud-Freirman

Taught in the MBA Evolution of Global Business course, a business history course on the growth of multinationals. Explores the role of the British entrepreneur Weetman Pearson in developing the Mexican oil industry before 1914. Shows this entrepreneur's evolution from... View Details

Keywords: History; Risk and Uncertainty; Non-Renewable Energy; Growth Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Developing Countries and Economies; Energy Industry; Mexico