Publications

January 2017
Case

Flatiron School

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Halah AlQahtani

In late 2016, the founders of Flatiron School, a startup offering 12-week coding bootcamps, are formulating their growth strategy. Their new online-only program has matched the excellent job placement results for their in-person bootcamps. Should Flatiron shift... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Start-ups; Growth Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Distribution Channels; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Diversification; Expansion; Education Industry; United States

July 1996
Case

Williams-Sonoma, Inc.--1990

By: Nancy F. Koehn and Michael Dearing

Howard Lester, chairman and CEO, has just completed a second offering of common stock in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. ($218.2 million 1989 sales). Having targeted $500 million in retail sales, Lester's challenge is to: 1) prioritize growth investments in five existing catalog... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Alignment; Customer Value and Value Chain; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

June 1988 (Revised July 1989)
Case

John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co.: The Inflation Strategy Task Force (A)

1980 was a critical time for John Hancock with high inflation, high interest rates, increased competition, and the desertion of policy holders seeking new investment opportunities. A new lower level (of vice presidents) task force was set up by the executive committee... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Insurance; Inflation and Deflation; Insurance Industry; United States

Professor Narayanan is the Thomas D. Casserly, Jr. Professor of Business Administration, and Senior Associate Dean of Executive Education and HBS Online. His research focuses on management accounting with an interest in performance evaluation and incentives... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; accounting industry; accounting industry; accounting industry; accounting industry

Ryan W. Buell

Ryan W. Buell is a Professor of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches View Details

Keywords: banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking

November 1992 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Fischer Francis Trees & Watts

By: Erik R. Sirri

Fisher Francis Trees & Watts is a New York fixed-income investment management firm. A portfolio manager needs to purchase $375 million of 5-year notes at the Treasury auction. Unlike previous auctions, however, this is the first time the Treasury will auction the notes... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Auctions; Financial Markets; Financial Services Industry

October 1997
Case

Polaroid Corporation: Digital Imaging Technology in 1997

Focuses on strategic decisions regarding investment in digital imaging technology facing Polaroid Corp., a worldwide leader in the traditional imaging marketplace, in July 1997. New Polaroid CEO Gary DiCamillo must decide how much emphasis to place on digital vs.... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Decision Choices and Conditions; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

February 2018 (Revised February 2018)
Supplement

HNA Group: Global Excellence with Chinese Characteristics (B)

By: William C. Kirby and Yuanzhuo Wang

This case provides a brief overview of the success and challenges of the HNA Group between 2015 and late 2017 when it grew rapidly through global acquisitions to become 170 on the 2017 Fortune 500 list. A firm that had begun as a provincial airline in China was now a... View Details

Keywords: Internationalization; Scrutiny; Growth; China; Philanthropy; One Belt One Road; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development; Acquisition; Corporate Governance; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry; China; United States; Europe; Asia; South America; Southeast Asia

5 Nov 2005 - 8 Nov 2005
Conference Presentation

New Perspectives on the Business Value of IT

By: David James Brunner, Bradley R. Staats and Marco Iansiti

We sought to unravel the link between IT investment and firm performance by examining deployed IT functionality (ITF). First, ITF appears to be an important link in the IT spend to business value chain. Second, ITF does not seem to be a commodity and has... View Details

Keywords: Perspective; Value; Performance; Investment; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry

December 2024
Article

Coordinating the Energy Transition: Electrifying Transportation in California and Germany

By: Nicholas Goedeking and Jonas Meckling

California and Germany share ambitious emission reduction targets. Yet California is ahead of Germany in electrifying transportation by several metrics, including the number of public charging stations. We show that variation in the politics of coordination in... View Details

Keywords: Electric Vehicles; Coordination; Technology Adoption; Infrastructure; Transportation; Government and Politics; Energy; Utilities Industry; Germany; California

Read Now

March 2005 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Buckingham Park

By: Arthur I Segel and Joshua A. Katzin

In September, 2004, Stephen Lebowitz, President of CBL, a $6 billion publicly traded shopping mall real estate investment trust (REIT) with over 70 million square feet, is considering acquiring 170 acres for a new retail development at a racetrack site in Southern New... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Debt Securities; Investment; Real Estate Industry; New Hampshire

04 Jun 2024
Blog Post

Finding Alignment to Make Impact: Layla Ramirez (MBA 2017)

Before becoming a Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Layla Ramirez (MBA 2017) was a prospective lawyer, an investment manager, a nonprofit leader, and a tech program manager. Beyond her professional roles, Ramirez is... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

March 2015 (Revised May 2018)
Case

JPMorgan Chase: Tapping an Overlooked Talent Pool

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

By the spring of 2014, the pilot had come to an end for JPMorgan Chase's ReEntry Program, a program designed for women coming back to the workforce after a period of time away. Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO of Asset Management, and her team had to evaluate whether or not... View Details

Keywords: Women; Training; Leadership; Motherhood; Talent and Talent Management; Experience and Expertise; Diversity; Gender; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Human Capital; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Programs; Financial Services Industry; United States

Web

Entrepreneurial Management Faculty - Faculty & Research

Administration Joshua Lev Krieger Høegh Family Associate Professor of Business Administration Todd A. Lensman Assistant Professor of Business Administration Josh Lerner Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment View Details

February 2011
Supplement

Carbon Trading Simulation: Black Cement Inc.

By: Peter A. Coles

This simulation presents students the opportunity to experience firsthand the economics of carbon markets and permit trading. Each student has private role information about a company he or she manages. The student must make decisions about pollution-reducing... View Details

Keywords: Market Design; Pollutants; Investment; Price; Profit; Agreements and Arrangements; Decisions; Service Industry; Service Industry

2024
Working Paper

Does Private Equity Have Any Business Being in the Health Care Business?

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Zirui Song

Private Equity (“PE”) has come under increased scrutiny by the press, academics, and policymakers, as well as the public, for its investments in health care delivery. This scrutiny has been exacerbated by recent high profile hospital bankruptcies following PE... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Government Administration; Acquisition; Health Industry