Publications

January 2009
Supplement

Live Nation Faces the Music (B)

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Frank V. Cespedes and Kerry Herman

In 2008, concert producer and promoter Live Nation, faces a decision about its strategy in light of the tumultuous changes in the music industry and the increasing power of the major artists. As the music business once again recreates itself in response to new... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Transformation; Revenue; Framework; Five Forces Framework; Demand and Consumers; Industry Structures; Relationships; Opportunities; Power and Influence; Business Strategy; Music Industry

01 Mar 2016
First Look

March 1, 2016

2016 Boston: Self-published An Easy Introduction to Financial Accounting: A Self-Study Guide By: Narayanan, V.G. Abstract—This book is a self-study guide written for someone who wishes to teach themselves basic financial accounting. It is based on a course View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

The Hard Work of Failure Analysis

personal responsibility. Evidence of this problem is provided by a study of a large European telecoms company, which revealed that very little learning occurred from a set of large and small failures over a period of twenty years. Instead... View Details

Keywords: by Amy Edmondson & Mark D. Cannon

April 1993 (Revised December 1994)
Case

Lehman Brothers and the Securitization of American Express Charge-Card Receivables

By: Andre F. Perold and Kuljot Singh

In early 1992, Lehman Brothers had received a mandate from its affiliate, American Express Travel Related Services (TRS) Co., to securitize a portion of its consumer charge-card receivables portfolio. It is now July 22, and Lehman and TRS have just returned from a... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Credit Cards; Financial Instruments; Stocks; Asset Pricing

22 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles, Papers of the Decade

HBS Working Knowledge readers want it all, judging by our all-time most popular articles. Here you'll find stories on everything from maintaining a professional image to writing a business plan, from how to market on social media to why... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

September 2017 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Careem: Raising a Unicorn

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Alpana Thapar

This case follows two ex-McKinsey consultants, Magnus Olsson and Mudassir Sheikha, who in search of their true purpose decide to found Careem, a Dubai-based ride-hailing service. Following its launch in July 2012, Careem experiences rapid growth of 30% per month in the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Information Technology; Organizational Culture; Decision Making; Growth Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry; Middle East; North Africa; United Arab Emirates

June 2024
Supplement

Zeswitz Music (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: In July of 2013, Randy Shayler (HBS, 2012) acquired Zeswitz Music, a musical instrument rental company based in Reading,... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Revenue; Marketing; Music Industry; Retail Industry

May 2011 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Stuyvesant Town - Peter Cooper Village: America's Largest Foreclosure

By: Arthur I Segel, Gregory S. Feldman, James T. Liu and Elizabeth C. Williamson

In July 2010, William Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square, is considering a potential new opportunity: the acquisition of the distressed Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village ("ST /PCV") complex. The property had recently been abandoned by its owners and had come... View Details

Keywords: Property; Risk Management; Opportunities; Valuation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment; Outcome or Result; Acquisition; North and Central America

01 Aug 2019
What Do You Think?

Has the Twitter Age Left the Case Method Behind?

ease of use by instructors, and even useability in an age of “fake facts.” The most negative views came from those experiencing problems arising largely from the way cases were being taught or used. Those utilizing the method in their... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Education

30 Nov 2020
Research & Ideas

COVID Not Slowing VC Investment

The COVID-19 pandemic has battered industries around the world, but one sector's prospects aren’t so bleak: venture capital. Startup backers—and private-equity managers in general—say that half of their portfolio companies haven’t been harmed View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services; Banking

02 Jul 2010
What Do You Think?

Is Profit as a “Direct Goal” Overrated?

decision-making and even to the future and viability of capitalism. One debate concerned the primacy of profit as a goal. Deaver Brown led this argument by saying, "Profit is the only legitimate goal of a corporation ," pointing... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

02 Dec 2009
What Do You Think?

Should Immigration Policies Be More Welcoming to Low-Skilled Workers?

Summing Up Low-skilled immigrants: burden or opportunity? Immigration is apparently a topic that stirs passions globally, judging from the responses to this month's column. As Nauman Lodhi pointed out, "Tough times give rise more than ever to tough thoughts... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

02 Aug 2021
What Do You Think?

Can Companies with Remote Management Succeed?

below. References: Prithwiraj Choudbury and Emma Salomon, GitLab and the Future of All-Remote Work (A), Harvard Business School Publishing, April 2, 2020. Chip Cutter, The Back-to-Work Puzzle, The Wall Street Journal, July 24-25, 2021.... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

27 Jul 2019
Op-Ed

Does Facebook's Business Model Threaten Our Elections?

When the FTC announced in July a $5 billion penalty and other actions against the company over privacy disgressions, the Federal Trade Commission said it well: “ through at least June 2018, Facebook subverted users’ privacy choices to... View Details

Keywords: by George Riedel

February 2013
Article

Does Shareholder Proxy Access Improve Firm Value? Evidence from the Business Roundtable Challenge

By: Bo Becker, Guhan Subramanian and Daniel B. Bergstresser

We use the Business Roundtable's challenge to the SEC's 2010 proxy access rule as a natural experiment to measure the value of shareholder proxy access. We find that firms that would have been most vulnerable to proxy access, as measured by institutional ownership and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Markets; Business and Shareholder Relations

April 2015 (Revised July 2015)
Case

Proxy Access at Whole Foods

By: Jay Lorsch and Emily McTague

Proxy access grants shareholders meeting certain ownership requirements the right to nominate directors for election to the board without going through a typical proxy contest. In August 2010 the SEC approved a rule granting proxy access for shareholders meeting... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Proxy Advisor; Shareholder Activism; Shareholder Voting; Shareholder Votes; Proxy Battle; Institutional Change; Institutional Investing; Business and Shareholder Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; North America

February 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

SoulCycle: The Road Ahead

By: Ashish Nanda, Eric Van den Steen and Jeffrey Boyar

Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler founded SoulCycle, an indoor cycling studio chain, in 2006 as more than a health club; they wanted it to become a lifestyle brand that would “empower riders in an immersive fitness experience.” By early 2015, SoulCycle had grown to 38... View Details

Keywords: Fitness; Fitness Industry; Exercise; Cycling; Boutique Fitness; Exit Strategy; Growth; Bicycles; Retail; Pricing; Community; SoulCycle; Vision; Health; Leadership; Strategy; Marketing; Decision Making; Health Industry; United States

17 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Can China Maintain Its Economic Power?

A group of Chinese tourists visiting the promenade in front of Pudong's skyline. Source: Richmatts When F. Warren McFarlan and a small group of HBS colleagues arrived in Beijing in July 1979, they stepped off the plane into a country... View Details

Keywords: by Deborah Blagg

January 2020
Case

Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2019, Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. (Lead) was the largest supplier of lithium-ion rechargeable battery manufacturing equipment in the world. Based in Wuxi, China, the company generated RMB 3.9 billion ($557 million) in revenues in 2018, up from RMB 175... View Details

Keywords: Lithium-ion Batteries; Electric Vehicles; Government Subsidies; Industry Dynamics; Markets; Change; Strategy; Decision Making; Manufacturing Industry; China