Publications

16 Nov 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Data.gov: Matching Government Data with Rapid Innovation

while transparency of government data overall was an important goal in principle, Data.gov should prioritize its acquisition efforts and pursue specific high-value targets. One CTO recommended giving... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Technology

November 2006 (Revised December 2011)
Case

HCA, Inc. (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback

Focuses on the buyout of HCA by three private equity firms: Bain Capital, KKR, and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity. It provides an opportunity to discuss a variety of issues related to leveraged buyouts including the process, the role of private equity, the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Private Equity; Investment; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Valuation

12 Jan 2016
First Look

January 12, 2016

increase efficiencies by expanding its scale, diversification, and reach. The acquisition of a large competitor presented the best opportunity to achieve this goal, and, as a result, Belda was particularly... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

January – February 2008
Article

The Dangers of Wishful Thinking

By: Richard S. Tedlow and David Ruben

Too many U.S. businesses (including tires, super-markets, and information technology) have been infected with the disease of denial. The answer? In Lincoln's words, “We must disenthrall ourselves.” View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Success; Behavior; Cognition and Thinking

Find at Harvard

June 1996
Case

Pathfinder Capital

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Two former consultants have raised a search fund and are looking for a company to buy and run. After eight months of looking at deals, they have just signed a letter of intent to buy the second largest book retail chain in Canada in a turnaround situation. They must... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Leveraged Buyouts; Financing and Loans; Venture Capital; Change; Decisions

May 2024
Supplement

DRSi (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

In March of 2019, Jen Ransom Fuller purchased DRSi. DRSi, located in Bellevue, Washington, printed and reproduced architectural plans and drawings. Fuller planned to use her first year of ownership to learn the business and to run it in much the same way as the seller.... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Small Business; Cost vs Benefits; Decisions; Business Education; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Problems and Challenges; Health Pandemics; Selection and Staffing; Employee Relationship Management; Production; Logistics; Safety; United States; Washington (state, US)

June 1999 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Sirona

By: Walter Kuemmerle and Chad S Ellis

Sirona, the dental systems business of Siemans AG is being sold through an auction. In September 1997, buyout firm Schroder Ventures has to decide whether to make a binding offer for the business. Schroder has done extensive due diligence with support from a team of... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Valuation; Health Industry; Germany

January 2023
Case

Natura: Weathering the Pandemic at Brazil's Cosmetic Giant

By: Brian Trelstad, Pedro Levindo and Carla Larangeira

Brazil's Natura, a multi-brand cosmetics group, has taken several measures to safeguard the livelihoods of its thousands of employees and millions of sales representatives during the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. The company has also made strides in its efforts... View Details

08 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 8

compensation of U.K. CEOs is positively related to the extent of the firm's interactions with U.S. markets, as captured by the percentage of total sales generated in the U.S., the presence of prior U.S. acquisition activity, the presence... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 1998 (Revised June 1999)
Case

Dixon Corporation: The Collinsville Plant

By: W. Carl Kester

Dixon Corp.faces the task of valuing a plant and an associated project that it is considering buying. The revisions are designed to enable the application of adjusted present value technique for valuation. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Valuation; Projects; Forecasting and Prediction; Acquisition; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

06 Dec 2006
Op-Ed

India Needs to Encourage Trade with China

withered away in response to the Chinese threat. Nor have major overseas ventures by the Chinese, in Europe and the West, been unambiguously successful. Shenzhen-based TCL Multimedia, among the world's largest TV makers, for instance,... View Details

Keywords: by Tarun Khanna

10 Dec 2013
First Look

First Look: December 10

http://hbr.org/search/313096-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 212-082 Schneider Electric: Becoming the Global Specialist in Energy Management Global electrical products company assesses growth and market demands in India. Company must... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 8

is more than the sum of its parts. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/12-097.pdf Financial vs. Strategic Buyers Authors:Marc Martos-Vila, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, and Jarrad Harford Abstract Within the great oscillations of... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

18 Sep 2000
Research & Ideas

Getting It Done: Improving Nonprofit Performance

available during organizational development, and the conditions of its acquisition that all work together to create a powerful influence on management behavior and... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner

October 2000 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Rob Waldron at SCORE! Educational Centers (Abridged)

By: David A. Thomas and Stephanie L. Woerner

Describes Rob Waldron's actions upon assuming leadership of SCORE! Educational Centers, an after-school tutoring enterprise. Examines the issue of acquiring and growing a small, privately-owned company into a professional organization, especially regarding corporate... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Decision Making; Education; Human Resources; Recruitment; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Private Ownership; Education Industry

December 1999 (Revised February 2001)
Case

CVS: The Web Strategy

By: John A. Deighton and Anjali C. Shah

How should America's second-largest pharmacy chain respond to the challenge from online drugstores? What threat does the web pose to bricks and mortar distribution of prescription drugs and the other items that make up 50% of a drugstore's sales? This case describes... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels; Service Operations; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Web Services Industry

27 Feb 2020
Blog Post

Taking the LEAP into the Case Method

case materials we read were about world-renowned companies such as American Airlines, Big Apple Circus and Faber-Castell, etc.; the questions we needed to think about were complex and intractable, such as... View Details

December 2015
Supplement

An Intern's Dilemma (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Matthew Preble

An HBS student is asked to misrepresent himself during the course of his student internship by his employer in order to obtain data from a competitor. This case describes how the student handled the situation and what he learned about himself from it. View Details

Keywords: Conflict; Leadership; Conflict Management; Competition; Ethics; Knowledge Acquisition; Organizational Culture; Employees; Power and Influence