Publications

01 Jun 2016
What Do You Think?

When Business Performance Falters, is Culture Change the Fix?

negotiated business challenges. In three cases, the challenges involved getting everyone on the same page after acquisitions or mergers. They describe the methods they used to counter growing bureaucracies, encourage customer-centricity,... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett

Web

Black History Month | Baker Library

IVAX Co. in 1993 and changed hands a few times before being acquired by Proctor & Gamble in 2003. Finally, Proctor & Gamble sold the Johnson Products Company to RCJP Acquisition, an acquisition vehicle formed by Rustic Canyon Partners and... View Details

01 Dec 2000
News

Q&A: Andrew Kendall

committed to maintaining it forever. Over time, that cost will far exceed the acquisition price. We've got to be ready to invest significant resources to endow the preservation of these properties so that my successor, and his or her... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management; Forestry and Logging; Agriculture; Special Design Services; Professional Services; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

01 Mar 2015
News

Case Study: The Speed of Light

sure everyone understands that the business exists to deliver solutions using this “hands-on, engineering- heavy” approach. Repeat it over and over and over. (4) Get the model right in New Jersey—number of people, skill mix, client View Details

Keywords: Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

01 Feb 2001
News

Q&A - Dirty Money: Raymond Baker Explores the Free Market's Demimonde

acquisition of small- and medium-sized companies, Baker first observed the corrosive effect of corruption. "I didn't come out of HBS equipped to deal with it," he recalls. "It was so harmful to the business process, I started trying to... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Government

01 Jan 2006
News

Ann S. Moore, MBA 1978

acquisition of Essence Communications Partners in 2005, for example, has made it possible for Time Inc. to reach more than 7 million African-American adult readers each month through Essence magazine. As for global expansion, Moore's... View Details

19 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 19, 2007

this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=207005 The Dubai Ports World Debacle and Its Aftermath Harvard Business School Case 707-014 Describes the political ramifications in the United States of Dubai-based DP World's View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2006 (Revised May 2006)
Case

JA Worldwide: Managing Change in a Multi-governed Environment

By: Michael Chu and Barbara Zepp Larson

Post-merger, the head of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide must now oversee operations in 98 countries serving 6.6 million students, with over 7,600 local chapter board directors. President and CEO David Chernow's own board has increased to 111 members. Two separate... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Change Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governance; Business or Company Management; Service Operations; Organizational Structure; Nonprofit Organizations; Balance and Stability

Find at Harvard

January 2025
Case

Negotiating a Legacy at Sustainable Harvest (A)

By: Jillian Jordan, Julian Zlatev, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

The specialty coffee importer Sustainable Harvest was the first certified B Corp in the coffee industry due to its investments in building coffee farmers’ capacity and livelihood. But in 2022, after coffee prices plummeted and the company’s bank declined to extend its... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Acquisition; Trust; Ethics; Agribusiness; Volatility; Futures and Commodity Futures; Social Enterprise; Valuation; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Europe

March 2004 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Newell Rubbermaid: Strategy in Transition

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery, Rhonda Kaufman and Carole Winkler

Describes the transformation of a company's corporate-level strategy. Begins by laying out the strategy that brought the Newell Co. stunning success for nearly three decades. The highly integrated, internally consistent strategy was tailored for manufacturing and... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Transformation; Problems and Challenges; Acquisition; Product Development; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; United States

November 2000 (Revised April 2001)
Case

CMR Enterprises

By: Das Narayandas and Mary N. Caravella

Sam Marcus recently purchased a small cabinet-making company, and is looking for dramatic growth. The company competes in commercial and residential construction markets; shortly after the acquisition, the company gains a large new residential customer. The case traces... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Customer Relationship Management; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Marketing Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Relationships; Segmentation; Construction Industry

October 1999
Case

ZEFER: Building a Business at Hyperspeed

By: John T. Gourville and Joseph B. Lassiter III

In the past 18 months, ZEFER has gone from a several-person Internet consulting firm to a major player in the information-technology services industry. In particular, in the past six months, it has grown from 40 to 400 professionals, has hired a seasoned management... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Recruitment; Venture Capital; Acquisition; Organizational Culture; Managerial Roles; Growth Management; Information Technology Industry

November 1988 (Revised September 1991)
Case

Simmons Japan Ltd.

By: W. Carl Kester and Richard P. Melnick

Concerns the first leveraged buyout to occur in Japan. Analytic tasks include a valuation of the company and an assessment of its debt capacity. Also provides opportunities to discuss agency costs associated with alternative capital and equity ownership structures,... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt; Capital Structure; Cost; Equity; Production; Valuation; Japan; United States

2009
Working Paper

Virtual Team Learning: Reflecting and Acting, Alone or With Others

By: Deborah L. Soule and Lynda M. Applegate

This paper examines virtual team learning in new product development situations. New product development activities manifest novelty, uncertainty and complexity, presenting an extreme need for learning in the course of the work. We present data from an exploratory... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Learning; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Product Development; Groups and Teams; Behavior

Read Now

October 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Exxel Group, The: March 2001

By: Josh Lerner and Alberto Ballve

The Exxel Group, a leading Latin American buyout fund, faces a challenge when deciding whether and how to exit its largest investment. The capital markets are very weak, precluding an initial public offering. Undertaking a trade sale of the firm, however, proves to be... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Capital Markets; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Latin America

October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Supplement

Dulcie Madden (B)—A Difficult Choice

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

This is part of a three-case series that follows Dulcie Madden's journey as a founder over five years. Case (A) is about managing growth and cash flow; Case (B) is about the exit decision and conditions on a sale; Case (C) shows Madden dealing with adversity and the... View Details