Publications

June 2013 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Buffett's Bid for Media General's Newspapers

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia

On May 12, 2012, BH Media Group, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, announced an offer to buy Media General's (MEG) newspaper division for $142 million in cash and provide debt financing to the struggling firm. Reactions from investors and industry... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Bankruptcy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Risk Management; Executive Compensation; Cash Flow; Business Exit or Shutdown; Media; Advertising; Restructuring; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; United States

17 Sep 2018
Research & Ideas

Welcome to Retirement. Who Am I Now?

FatCamera In an interview with Harvard Business School Professor Teresa Amabile for a study on retirement, one man on the cusp of exiting his career spoke openly about how the transition was making him... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Entertainment & Recreation

17 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

What's Behind the Unexpected Trump Support from Women

dismantling of Clinton in virtually every stump speech. Many women (and men) who supported Trump bought into the false dichotomy that a woman leader can be either competent or likeable, but not both. What came into question was Clinton’s... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Morgan Roberts and Robin Ely

25 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

Planning for Surprises

say. Here's the good news: There are reasons why leaders fail to prevent predictable surprises and there are ways to identify trouble while there is still time to stop it. As authors of a new book from Harvard Business School Press,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Article

Product Quality and Entering Through Tying: Experimental Evidence

By: Hyunjin Kim and Michael Luca

Dominant platform businesses often develop products in adjacent markets to complement their core business. One common approach used to gain traction in these adjacent markets has been to pursue a tying strategy. For example, Microsoft pre-installed Internet Explorer... View Details

Keywords: Tying; Platform Strategy; Google; Product; Quality; Digital Platforms; Strategy; Market Entry and Exit

Find at Harvard

02 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 2

accountable? Nonprofit leaders tend to pay attention to accountability once a problem of trust arises-a scandal in the sector or in their own organization, questions from citizens or donors who want to know... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 1994 (Revised April 1995)
Case

Judo Economics

The early 1990s saw a new wave of start-ups in the U.S. airline business. One entrant, Kiwi International Air Lines, took to the skies in September 1992 with a strategy of attracting small-business travelers looking to save money but lacking the flexibility to book in... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Advantage; Business Startups; Air Transportation Industry; Financial Services Industry

April – May 2010
Article

Banking Deregulations, Financing Constraints and Firm Entry Size

By: William R. Kerr and Ramana Nanda

We examine the effect of US branch banking deregulations on the entry size of new firms using micro-data from the US Census Bureau. We find that the average entry size for startups did not change following the deregulations. However, among firms that survived at least... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Market Entry and Exit; Banking Industry; United States

Read Now

May 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Choosing the Course of Passion: Brooke Boyarsky Pratt at knownwell

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz and Alexis Lefort

Brooke Boyarsky Pratt (HBS ’13) enjoyed considerable success in her early career, quickly climbing the ranks to associate partner at McKinsey, and later becoming an executive vice president at Berkadia, a Berkshire Hathaway portfolio company. Throughout these years,... View Details

Keywords: Passion; Career; Career Planning; Purpose; Personal Development and Career; Mission and Purpose; Identity; Business Startups; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Health Industry; United States

27 Mar 2005
Research & Ideas

Should I Pay the Bribe?

ground between the options of pay or leave? I've been surprised by how little progress we have made with the standard economic model of incentives. A: Again, the answer depends on the cases. But in general, in some markets there is no way... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia D. Churchwell

04 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

When Founders Recruit Friends and Family as Investors

grow: What types of hiring challenges will I face? Which investors should I try to target at my company's various stages of growth—and what challenges will they introduce? Will I be replaced as CEO at some point, and, if so, will I maintain a role at the company View Details

Keywords: by Noam Wasserman

December 1998 (Revised January 2003)
Case

R.R. Donnelley: Country and Opportunity Analysis in Eastern Europe

Examines several market entry options for R.R. Donnelley's expansion into Eastern Europe. Used as an introduction to a Harvard Business School course titled "New Opportunities in Emerging Markets." Asks students to consider the following issues: 1) the impact of... View Details

Keywords: Opportunities; Market Entry and Exit; Emerging Markets; Europe

2009
Working Paper

Banking Deregulations, Financing Constraints and Firm Entry Size

By: William R. Kerr and Ramana Nanda

We examine the effect of US branch banking deregulations on the entry size of new firms using micro-data from the US Census Bureau. We find that the average entry size for startups did not change following the deregulations. However, among firms that survived at least... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Market Entry and Exit; Banking Industry; United States

SSRN

Read Now

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Connecting With Nonprofits

decisions and actions by the partners. And regression and exit are always possible. The Collaboration Continuum is particularly useful in mapping the type of relationships a business View Details

Keywords: by James Austin

20 Apr 2021
Book

A Simple Question That Can Guide Companies to Epic Success

feel unreasonably stretched, here is your chance to cut back. Unless an initiative promises to increase WTP or decrease WTS, it is not worth pursuing. Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

24 Jan 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: January 24, 2017

consulting firm to offer dairy management services. Should he continue to invest in these initiatives that benefitted the whole industry or focus resources on growing his own business? Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2018
Working Paper

Product Quality and Entering Through Tying: Experimental Evidence

Dominant platform businesses often develop products in adjacent markets to complement their core business. One common approach used to gain traction in these adjacent markets has been to pursue a tying strategy. For example, Microsoft pre-installed Internet Explorer... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Competitive Strategy; Product Marketing; Quality

SSRN

August 2007 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Gome: Bidding for China Paradise

Gome, China's largest electronics retailer, has the opportunity to acquire China Paradise, the number three player in the Chinese electronic retailer industry. This happened in the general context of a great market development and potential consolidation of the... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Trade; Market Entry and Exit; Performance; Opportunities; Competition; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Electronics Industry; Retail Industry; China