Publications

December 1994
Case

Alpha-Beta Technology, Inc. (B): Trials with Betafectin

This case follows the development of a firm's first product, the public presentation of research results, and the stock market reactions. In spite of successful research, the stock price falls dramatically. Asks why this happened, how concerned the CEO should be,... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Biotechnology Industry

August 2011 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Language and Globalization: 'Englishnization' at Rakuten (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley

Hiroshi Mikitani, the CEO of Rakuten, (Japan's largest online retailer), is at the helm of an organization that is rapidly expanding into global markets. In a critical stride toward becoming the world's No. 1 Internet services company, Mikitani announces... View Details

Keywords: Teaching; Human Capital; Change Management; Transformation; Social Enterprise; Communication Strategy; Internet and the Web; Disruptive Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Leadership; Global Strategy; Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Japan

February 2024
Case

Compass Pathways: Pioneering Psychedelic Treatment

By: Tiona Zuzul, Kisha Lashley and Gamze Yucaoglu

This case follows Compass Pathways, a pioneering company developing treatment for depression based on psilocybin, the compound found in ‘magic mushrooms.’ Psilocybin was a federally illegal substance in the U.S., and a “Schedule I” drug, defined as a drug “with no... View Details

Keywords: Commercialization; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Product Launch; Health Testing and Trials; Research and Development; Laws and Statutes; Pharmaceutical Industry; Europe; United States; United Kingdom

May 2022
Case

Honeywell: Transforming a Century Old Industrial

By: William W. George, Michael Norris and John Masko

In late 2021, Darius Adamczyk, Chairman and CEO of Honeywell is considering the changes he has made to the company since he took over the top leadership position in 2017. The company he had inherited from his predecessor, David Cote, was seen by most as a... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Transformation; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Business Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Organization; Aerospace Industry; Chemical Industry; Electronics Industry; Green Technology Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Technology Industry; North Carolina; New Jersey

04 Nov 2019
Video

Patrick Chalhoub

Patrick Chalhoub, CEO of Dubai-based luxury retailer Chalhoub, discusses the phases of succession in his family business, including the handover from the founders (his parents) and the creation of a more... View Details

December 2008 (Revised October 2013)
Case

Amylin Pharmaceuticals: Diabetes and Beyond (A)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Rachel Gordon

Ginger Graham, CEO of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, joined the company with the expectation of taking the company's signature drug, Symlin, to market. However, unforeseen regulatory challenges have put the approval process in jeopardy. At the same time, the company has a... View Details

Keywords: Regulations; Drug Regulations; Symlin; Negotiation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Resource Allocation; Negotiation Deal; Product Development; Research and Development; Commercialization; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

March 2025
Case

Skylight: Hit Product or Scalable Company?

By: Rembrand Koning, Christina Wallace and Jeff Huizinga

Skylight, originally a digital frame startup aimed at connecting dispersed families, expanded with a second product—Calendar—to help families manage schedules. Despite significant potential, Calendar struggled with persistent technical issues and poor customer... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Software; Hardware; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Customer Satisfaction; Resource Allocation; Product Launch; Business Strategy; Expansion

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

How To Make Restructuring Work for Your Company

address any one of these challenges can cause the restructuring to fail. Having A Business Purpose Restructuring is more likely to be successful when managers first understand the fundamental business/strategic problem or opportunity that... View Details

Keywords: by Stuart C. Gilson

January 2018 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Transformation at ING (A): Agile

By: William R. Kerr, Federica Gabrieli and Emer Moloney

In December 2017, Vincent van den Boogert, CEO of ING in the Netherlands, was reflecting upon the company’s “agile” transformation, a reorganization of work that had been critical to respond to and exceed rapidly changing customer expectations. Launched in 2015 at the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change; Organizational Management; Workforce; Agile; Change Management; Leadership; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Leading Change; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Banking Industry

April 2020 (Revised April 2023)
Case

TransDigm in 2017: The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning?

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

TransDigm was a highly acquisitive company that manufactured a wide range of highly engineered aerospace parts for both military and commercial customers. Over the ten years ending in 2016, its stock price had increased ten times, and both EBITDA and revenues had grown... View Details

October 1996 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Chiquita Brands International (A)

By: Debora L. Spar and Terence Mulligan

When a new banana import policy is implemented in 1993 by the European Union, Chiquita Brands International, the world's largest banana distributor, watches its sales and net income plummet. The policy, Council Regulation (EEC 404/93), uses a new tariff and quota... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Trade; Government and Politics; Policy; Market Design; Fairness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Latin America; European Union

October 2011
Case

Strategy and Governance at Yahoo! Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan, David Lane and Ian McKown Cornell

Yahoo! faces a number of governance and strategic challenges in late 2011 as it tries to compete with rivals such as Google and find ways to monetize its shareholding and business links with Alibaba Group in China and Yahoo! Japan. The company is now valued at almost... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Corporate Governance; Web Services Industry

October 1993
Case

Wertheim Schroder/Schroders

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Kalman D. Applbaum, Lisa Gabriel and Pamela A. Yatsko

In 1986, Wertheim & Co. of New York entered into a joint venture with Schroders plc of London to form the investment bank Wertheim Schroder. By 1993, there were numerous successes as the partners pursued joint opportunities, but there were also areas in which... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Investment Banking; Partners and Partnerships; Alliances; Horizontal Integration; Outcome or Result; Balanced Scorecard; New York (city, NY); London

Find at Harvard

13 Dec 2012
HBS Seminar

Raffaella Sadun, Harvard Business School

18 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Looking in the Mirror: Questions Every Leader Must Ask

When CEOs speak with Rob Kaplan looking for answers, he usually focuses them instead on figuring out and discussing the right questions. "Show me a company, nonprofit, or a government leader that is struggling, and almost invariably... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

January 2011 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Executive Compensation at Talent Partners

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Talent Partners' CEO was very successful at growing the business and establishing its leadership position. He was compensated with a mix of salary and options and he did not own any equity in the company. The options were set so that if Talent Partners achieved its... View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Stock Options; Compensation and Benefits