Publications

April 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Supplement

Felipe Calderón: Leading with Light and Power (C)

By: J. Bruce Harreld and David Lane

This sequence of cases explores how leaders get their team focused on framing, analyzing, and ultimately acting upon complex decisions. The A case provides an inside look as President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, works with his cabinet ministers to decide how to... View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cases; Leadership Style; Crime and Corruption; State Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Economics; Finance; Performance; Management Teams; Energy Industry; Mexico City

Find at Harvard

March 1999
Case

MySoftware Company (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Nicole Tempest

In 1997, Gregory Slayton took the position as CEO of MySoftware, which had been experiencing revenue and operating losses for the past two years. Within 90 days, he stabilized the company through a combination of cost cutting, financial discipline, and accountability... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Cost Management; Profit; Employees; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Outcome or Result; Partners and Partnerships; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

October 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

America Online, Inc.: Disclosure Strategy

By: Amy P. Hutton and David Lane

Since going public, AOL had disclosed on a quarterly basis supplemental metrics meant to give analysts and investors a way of tracking growth in its subscriber base and the value created through its marketing efforts. These metrics gave management's conversations with... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Internet and the Web; Change Management; Internet and the Web; Corporate Disclosure; Media; Digital Marketing; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

May 1996 (Revised August 2001)
Case

Timberland and Community Involvement

By: James E. Austin and Jaan Elias

The Timberland Co., a manufacturer and retailer of footwear, outdoor apparel, and accessories, committed itself to instituting and communicating a core set of values to its employees, stockholders, and consumers. The system of beliefs emphasized community service.... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Business and Community Relations; Social Enterprise; Corporate Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry

July 2016 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Alphabet Eyes New Frontiers (A)

By: Juan Alcacer, Raffaella Sadun, Olivia Hull and Kerry Herman

In October 2015, Google restructured into Alphabet, a holding company, which analysts said would facilitate innovation among its diverse subsidiaries. But when news reports surfaced revealing struggles within Alphabet companies including Nest, the smart thermostat... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Conglomerates; Corporate Restructuring; Google; Corporate Strategy; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Innovation Strategy; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Research and Development; Diversification; Financial Reporting; Talent and Talent Management; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; California; United States

June 2000
Teaching Note

Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley (A) through (D) and The Firmwide 360-degree Performance Evaluation Process at Morgan Stanley TN

By: M. Diane Burton and Thomas J. DeLong

Teaching Note for (9-498-054), (9-498-055), (9-498-056), (9-498-057), (9-498-058), and (9-498-053). View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Financial Services Industry

August 2020
Supplement

Luckin Coffee (B): Revelations of Fraud

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes revelations of fraud at Luckin Coffee, beginning with an anonymous report in January 2020 and continuing with the company’s admission in April 2020 that it had inflated its revenues by 2.2 billion RMB ($310 million), almost half its reported... View Details

Keywords: Fraud; Corporate Misconduct; Business Earnings; Financial Statements; Financial Condition; Stocks; Financial Management; Profit; Revenue; Price; Food; Lawfulness; Crime and Corruption; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Asia; China

17 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 17

outperform peer firms based on six-digit Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) groupings in explaining cross-sectional variations in base firms' stock returns, valuation multiples, forecasted and realized growth rates, research... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Awards | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

with a financial advisor regarding the tax consequences for loan assistance awards. For graduates working in for-profit social enterprises: Awards will be taxed. INITIATIVES focus on societal challenges that are too complex for any one... View Details

12 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 12, 2019

pursuit of financial gain and pay closer attention to their impact on employees, customers, communities, and the environment. But changing an organization’s DNA may require upending the existing business model and lowering profitability,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

09 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

When Benchmarks Don’t Work

assembly plant could change its stamping presses from one model to another in eight minutes, compared with the eight hours GM plants spent to change over the same basic equipment. Clearly a deviation of this magnitude between its current performance on a critical... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan; Service

July 2011 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Foxconn Technology Group (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles, George Serafeim and Beiting Cheng

In 2010, Foxconn Technology Group, the largest and fastest growing multinational company in the Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) industry, came under public scrutiny after a string of employee suicides reached the international press. Although the company was... View Details

07 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: Sept. 7

New Face of Chinese Industrial Policy: Making Sense of Anti-Dumping Cases in the Petrochemical and Steel Industries Author:Regina M. Abrami Publication:Journal of East Asian Studies (forthcoming) Abstract... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2017
Case

Centerbridge Partners and Great Wolf Resorts: Buying from a Highly Regarded Competitor

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Amram Migdal

The case examines the March 2015 Centerbridge Partners investment decision regarding whether to acquire Great Wolf Resorts, a North American family-oriented indoor water parks and hotel operator, from a private equity (PE) competitor, Apollo Global Management. The case... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity Financing; Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities; CMBS; Secondary Buyouts; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Cost; Cost of Capital; Equity; Private Equity; Financial Instruments; Debt Securities; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry; North and Central America; United States

13 May 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Just Say No to Wall Street: Putting A Stop to the Earnings Game

Keywords: by Joseph Fuller & Michael C. Jensen; Financial Services

September 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Bear to Bull: An Analyst’s Journey with Netflix

By: Aiyesha Dey, Joseph Pacelli, Jennifer G. Lawson and Tom Quinn

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said “hell freezing over” was more likely than him upgrading the “sell” rating he had maintained on movie and television streaming giant Netflix since 2011, despite meteoric subscriber and share price growth. In 2022, however,... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Asset Pricing; Cash Flow; Investment; Stocks; Equity; Analysis; Attitudes; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

21 Feb 2005
Op-Ed

Is Business Management a Profession?

epidemic of business scandals would be to speak of a widespread failure among CEOs and other senior executives (along with board members, auditors, financial analysts, and others) to uphold their professional obligations. To speak of the... View Details

Keywords: by Rakesh Khurana, Nitin Nohria & Daniel Penrice

October 2000 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Cost of Capital at Ameritrade

By: Mark L. Mitchell and Erik Stafford

Ameritrade Holding Corp. is planning large marketing and technology investments to improve the company's competitive position in deep-discount brokerage by taking advantage of emerging economies of scale. In order to evaluate whether the strategy would generate... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Asset Pricing; Cash Flow; Cost of Capital; Investment; Marketing; Mathematical Methods; Competition; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Financial Services Industry