Publications

June 2011 (Revised November 2011)
Case

The Expansion of Ping An

By: Robert C. Pozen and Nina Yang

In June 2010, Mingzhe Ma, chairman and chief executive officer of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China ("Ping An" or "the Company"), sat down with Sun Jianyi, vice chief executive officer and executive vice president at Ping An, to discuss the future direction of... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Conglomerates; Conferences; Banks and Banking; Financial Strategy; Insurance; Global Strategy; Leadership Style; Strategic Planning; Opportunities; Diversification; Expansion; China

14 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 14

conglomerate Tata Group and Envision, an entrepreneurial alternative energy company based in China-and found significant commonalities. These three companies demonstrate the essential attributes of a game-changing organization: they are... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

31 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 31

Maersk was a global conglomerate with large shipping and oil & gas businesses. Among the talent management issues being discussed: an increase in employee turnover, internal training and development programs, hiring experienced talent... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

June 1991 (Revised December 1997)
Case

Takeover of the Norton Co., The

By: Thomas R. Piper

After a decade of mediocre performance, the Norton Co. enters 1990 with the prospect of increased sales in the next few years. Yet Norton is pursuing slow growth industries, and a lower than expected earnings announcement at the beginning of 1990 has depressed earnings... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Goals and Objectives; Forecasting and Prediction; Performance Evaluation; Revenue; Bids and Bidding; Business Processes; Ownership Stake

March 2025
Teaching Note

Kering Eyewear

By: Rohit Deshpandé and Nicole Zelazko

This teaching note provides comprehensive documentation of how to use the Kering Eyewear case (HBS No. 525-027). View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Subsidiaries; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Distribution; Product; Luxury; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United States

13 Jan 2015
First Look

First Look: January 13

shortly after Comcast made steps to acquire NBCUniversal in 2010, saw subsequent success in the marketplace. Symphony is so powerful, in fact, that competing conglomerates are keen to buy some of NBCUniversal's cross-promotional strength,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Who is Boss in the Sharing Economy?

When is a company not a company? A modern-day Zen koan, maybe, but the evidence is all around us—Airbnb, Elance-oDesk, Handy, HourlyNerd, TaskRabbit, Uber. These businesses seem much more like conglomerations of independent professionals... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Service; Technology

23 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Psychology, Pathology, and the CEO

respect as the TV unit. The sports division had to fight for airtime. Employees regularly went to the press to air grievances, reinforcing the BBC's culture of blame. Invensys: A global conglomerate that was created largely through... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

06 Jan 2012
Op-Ed

Where Green Corporate Ratings Fail

News Corporation—a multinational media conglomerate that includes BSKYB, Dow Jones, Fox News, 20th Century Fox and Star, among other units—announced earlier this year that it has become climate neutral, meaning that its operations have no... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Toffel & Auden Schendler; Information; Publishing

03 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

The Ingredients of a Deal Disaster

inadvertently omitted from social contract negotiations. For example, in 1988, Komatsu, Japan's leader in earth-moving construction equipment, and U.S. conglomerate Dresser Industries combined their North American engineering,... View Details

Keywords: by Ron S. Fortgang, David A. Lax & James K. Sebenius

17 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

A Litmus Test for Entrepreneurs

initial caution, growth when it came was both fast and steady. When he sold the company in 1999 to the Spanish food conglomerate Campofrio, TelePizza spanned six countries with more than 600 outlets selling some $250 million worth of... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kuemmerle

15 Mar 2016
First Look

March 15, 2016

https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/216029-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 316-013 HNA Group: Global Excellence with Chinese Characteristics By 2015, the HNA Group had grown from its roots as Hainan Airlines, a small airline founded in 1993, into a global... View Details

February 2019 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Scandal at Steinhoff

By: Kristin Mugford and Phil Caruso

Keywords: Volatility; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Liquidity; Bonds; Corporate Accountability; Failure; International Finance; Restructuring; Business Conglomerates; Crime and Corruption; Retail Industry; South Africa; Austria; Netherlands

December 2001 (Revised July 2005)
Case

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company: The Conoco Split-off (A)

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Perry Fagan

After taking 30% of its Conoco oil and gas subsidiary public in the largest domestic initial public offering (IPO) in U.S. history, management of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DuPont) is considering divesting its remaining interest in Conoco. This goal is to be... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Business Subsidiaries; Restructuring; Non-Renewable Energy; Chemicals; Assets; Initial Public Offering; Business and Shareholder Relations; Diversification; Value; Chemical Industry; United States