Publications

30 Dec 2014
News

The Future Of Air Travel Is 'Hell On Wings'

February 2003 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Bombardier: Canada versus Brazil at the WTO

By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Laura Alfaro and Brett Laschinger

In less than a decade, Bombardier had grown from a medium-size Canadian company to a highly profitable global player largely on the strength of the introduction of a new generation of regional jet and successfully marketing its product to airlines around the world.... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Global Strategy; Five Forces Framework; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Business and Government Relations; Situation or Environment; Competition; Air Transportation Industry; Canada; Brazil

19 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 19

according to different local strategies for economic prosperity and political stability. In particular, the author links fiscal relations and economic bases to property rights... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2009 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Targanta Therapeutics: Hitting a Moving Target

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

This case explores regulatory, product testing, and business strategy at Targanta Therapeutics, a biotech company preparing its first new drug application to the FDA. In October 2007, Mark Leuchtenberger, president and CEO of Targanta—which has just held a successful... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Health Testing and Trials; Product Development; Business and Government Relations; Business Strategy; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

March 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Case

QuikTrip

QuikTrip, a large convenience store chain with over 500 stores, was known for its outstanding labor practices and fast, reliable, and friendly customer service. In November 2010, the CEO Chet Cadieux, had to decide how many new locations to open when QuikTrip entered a... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Growth and Development Strategy; Logistics; Service Delivery; Performance Effectiveness; Expansion; Retail Industry; United States

13 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

Science: The Unlikely Frontier for New Business Ideas

shrinking product lifecycles and rapidly changing technology are under pressure to bring new goods to market faster. Corporate spending on research and development (R&D) in... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

April 2023 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Fermenting Accounting Problems at Vermont Kombucha Corp.

By: Tatiana Sandino and Marshal Herrmann

Founded in 2005, Vermont Kombucha Corp. (V-Ko) was an early mover in the fledgling U.S. market for kombucha, a drink brewed for its health benefits. Early on, the company captured more than 90% of market share. Under the leadership of its founder and CEO, Joe Williams,... View Details

Keywords: Going Public; Business Model; Financial Reporting; Ethics; Corporate Governance; Stock Shares; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2008
Case

Moët Hennessy España

By: Tiziana Casciaro, Vincent Dessain and Elena Corsi

Since being appointed CEO of Moët Hennessy España (MHE), the Spanish subsidiary of the wine & spirits business of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), the world's leading luxury products group, Ramiro Otano had overseen a spectacularly successful run at the company by... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Performance Effectiveness; Groups and Teams; Food and Beverage Industry; Spain

21 Nov 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

The New Challenge of Leading Financial Firms

London, and Tokyo, but in the emerging markets of India, China, and Brazil as well. "I think many companies are realizing that their track record of going outside their home country isn't great,... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

February–March 2013
Article

The Mobile Banking and Payment Revolution

By: Sunil Gupta

Mobile technology is revolutionizing the global banking and payment industry. It offers new opportunities for banks to provide added convenience to their existing customers in developed countries and reach a large population of unbanked customers in emerging markets.... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry

Read Now

November 2018 (Revised June 2022)
Teaching Note

AirFox (A): Embracing the Blockchain and an ICO

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Nathaniel Schwalb

Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-097. In summer 2017, Victor Santos, CEO of AirFox, considered whether to pivot his startup towards a new product built with blockchain—a quickly growing technology at the time. AirFox was an early stage startup that sold... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Cryptocurrency; Initial Coin Offering; ICO; Business Startups; Finance; Currency; Strategy; Decision Making; United States

June 2020
Case

Breakthroughs at Blueprint Medicines

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Kathy Giusti and Susie L. Ma

Precision medicine company Blueprint Medicines was building a successful track record for bringing drug therapies to market 40% faster than average. The company had spent $40 million dollars and two years building a compound library that became its drug development... View Details

Keywords: Precision Medicine; Cancer; Biotechnology; Drug Development; Strategy; Expansion; Science; Genetics; Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Culture; Management; Growth and Development; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; Cambridge; Massachusetts

07 Aug 2015
News

SoulCycle: You Say ‘Cult.’ I Say ‘Loyal Customer Base.’

January 2014
Case

In a Bind: Peak Sealing Technologies' Product Line Extension Dilemma

By: Robert J. Dolan and Heather Beckham

Peak Sealing Technologies (PST), a manufacturer of premium carton sealing tapes, stresses technological innovation as the company's core value. But when a new regional competitor introduces a less expensive and inferior product, PST is faced with a decision that could... View Details

April 2019 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Clear Link Technologies, LLC: Driving Sales with Peer Effects

By: Christopher Stanton, Richard Saouma and Olivia Hull

The importance of a good peer or coworker is widely discussed, but understanding the glue that makes coworkers valuable is less understood. This case sheds light on the importance of peers and the practices and environments that make a group greater than the sum of its... View Details

17 Dec 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

‘Ted Levitt Changed My Life’

executive might as well pack his attaché case and go fishing. If an organization does not know or care where it is going, it does not need to advertise that fact with a ceremonial figurehead. Everybody will... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education; Retail

January 2019
Case

Arrow Electronics—The Apollo Integration

By: Stephen P. Kaufman

Having already made 10 acquisitions of competitors in the last decade, the CEO and Senior Vice President of Arrow are evaluating the acquisition of another small competitor to boost sales, become #1 in a niche market segment, and achieve economies of scale. They are... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Valuation; Performance Evaluation; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Strategic Planning; Growth and Development Strategy; Electronics Industry; United States

2023
Working Paper

Uniform Rate Setting and the Deposit Channel

By: Juliane Begenau and Erik Stafford

U.S. banks predominantly use uniform deposit rate setting policies, particularly the largest banks. Uniform rate setting ignores local market concentration, and is therefore inconsistent with the identification strategy used to provide cross-sectional evidence of the... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Financial Markets; Interest Rates; Banking Industry

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April 2014
Article

The Limits of Scale: Companies That Get Big Fast Are Often Left Behind. Here's Why.

By: Hanna Halaburda and Felix Oberholzer-Gee

The value of many products and services rises or falls with the number of customers using them; the fewer fax machines in use, the less important it is to have one. These network effects influence consumer decisions and affect companies' ability to compete. Strategists... View Details