Publications

June 2024
Supplement

Zeswitz Music (A)

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

24 Mar 2002
Lessons from the Classroom

Case Study: A Lesson in Private Venture Financing

capital. Would it be a better idea to ride the wave of globalization and try to get acquired by a multinational corporation? Or should the firm remain privately owned and focus its growth in Africa? After all, he noted, markets beyond... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

August 2012 (Revised September 2012)
Case

JP Morgan Chase & the CIO Losses

By: Clayton Rose

On July 13, 2012, JP Morgan Chase & Co. announced a larger than expected loss for the quarter, $4.4 billion, from positions held in the Chief Investment Office (CIO), raising the total losses to $5.9 billion. Since the substantial risks in the CIO had first been... View Details

Keywords: Banking; Governance; Finance; Risk Management; Corporate Governance; Business Earnings; Accounting; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

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

01 Oct 2020
What Do You Think?

Are CEOs the Wrong Leaders for Stakeholder Capitalism?

Interorganizational management in a channel of distribution is a complex matter. But it doesn’t hold a candle to the complexity of stakeholder capitalism, as suggested by responses to this month’s column on the subject. Reading them, it’s... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

September 1999 (Revised April 2000)
Case

drugstore.com

By: Richard L. Nolan

On a clear day in August 1999 in the new headquarters of drugstore.com, against a backdrop of the Blue Angels flying in formation over Lake Washington practicing for their hydroplane Seafare Cup performance, Peter Neupert was pleased with his company's IPO performance.... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Internet and the Web; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Retail Industry

07 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

How to Help Small Businesses Survive COVID's Next Phase

permanently as of July 10. And almost half of owners surveyed in late June by the online business network Alignable said they lacked enough cash to get through one month and were taking in less than 50... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Food & Beverage; Service

03 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

Everyone Knows Innovation is Essential to Business Success—Except Board Directors

Spencer Stuart, directed by Julie Hembrock Daum; and independent researcher and management consultant Deborah Bell. The team worked for over a year before that to identify board members from more than 60... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

16 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

HBS Center Focuses on Europe

The Europe Research Center (ERC) is the newest of Harvard Business School's Global Initiative research centers, having opened its doors in July 2002. With the political and economic currents now affecting relations between the United... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

07 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

XTV: Xerox’s Attempted Recovery From “Fumbling the Future”

$14 million, the company continued to incur significant financial losses. By 1996, the outside CEO had left and was replaced by Timothy da Silva. 47 After investing over $35 million in LiveWorks, Xerox... View Details

Keywords: by Henry Chesbrough

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

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

March 2003 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Bertelsmann AG

By: Bharat N. Anand, Michael G. Rukstad and Christoph Kostring

On July 28, 2002, Bertelsmann announced the firing of its CEO, Thomas Middelhoff, in a move that surprised industry observers, analysts, and many employees. Bertelsmann, a privately held company headquartered in Germany, was one of the largest global media... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Corporate Strategy; Entertainment; Media; Change Management; Integration; Resignation and Termination; Private Ownership; Initial Public Offering; Business Units; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; Music Industry; Germany

15 Sep 2015
First Look

September 15, 2015

decision support tool for Rue La La's daily use. We conduct a field experiment and find that sales do not decrease due to implementing tool recommended price increases for medium and high price point products. Finally, we estimate an increase in revenue of the test... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Andy Grove: A Biographer’s Tale

biography. He did not read a page of it until it came out in the form in which you see it right here. He was not involved in it financially. I sold it to a publisher myself. However, he was very cooperative. He gave me access to his notebooks, which he had kept from... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Computer

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

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