Publications

Derek van Bever is a Senior Lecturer in the General Management Unit of Harvard Business School. He teaches courses in both years of the MBA program (“Leadership and Corporate Accountability” in the first-year required curriculum and “Building and Sustaining a... View Details

May 2004 (Revised June 2004)
Case

SchmidtCo (A)

John Schmidt's project to convert the information system of his auto parts distribution business is in real trouble, putting his company at risk. He must decide what his decision problem is and set appropriate objectives as well as create a good set of alternatives... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Risk Management; Negotiation; Information Technology; Decision Making; Distribution Industry; Auto Industry

October 1999 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Buckman Laboratories (A)

Explores the implementation of a cutting-edge knowledge management system in a midsize, specialty chemical company. The initiative, begun in the early 1990s, has received several awards for its efforts. In early 1999, the company is experiencing severe price pressures... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Trust; Knowledge Management; Chemical Industry

October 2001 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Philipp Justus at eBay Germany (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Maria Farkas

A week after becoming country manager of eBay's recently acquired German auction site, Philipp Justus must steer the company through a massive technical integration with eBay's Web site. Throughout the seven-month project, Justus and his team must master the challenge... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Leadership; Internet and the Web; Globalized Firms and Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Managerial Roles; Management Teams; Management Practices and Processes; Auctions; Retail Industry; Information Technology Industry; Germany

04 Oct 2021
What Do You Think?

How Do We Make Sure the Right People End Up with Power in Organizations?

Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t (HarperBusiness, 2001) James L. Heskett, “NYPD New.” Case No. 9-396-293 (HBS Publishing, 1997) Dacher Keltner, The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence (Penguin Press, 2016). Tom... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

October 1987 (Revised January 1989)
Background Note

Purchasing a Business: The Search Process

Describes the steps necessary to purchase a small to medium size company. Provides an eight-part analytical framework. Issues covered in the framework include the following: the self-assessment, deal criteria, deal sources, resources necessary to purchase a business,... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Framework; Resource Allocation; Negotiation Deal; Business Processes; Valuation

2006
Other Unpublished Work

Does Competition Increase Patent Litigation? Empirical Evidence of Strategic Patenting in the Telecom Equipment Industry

By: Juan Alcacer and Rachelle C. Sampson

Anecdotal evidence suggests that patent litigation has increased in the last 20 years as firms in knowledge intensive industries use patents more frequently to protect their knowledge stocks and managers focus on extracting new revenue streams from existing patent... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Competition; Lawsuits and Litigation

19 May 2011
News

The Catalan kings

07 Feb 2017
News

Institutional Ownership Spurs Tax Avoidance: Study

29 Jun 2011
News

Reach for the next big thing, or die trying

October 2001
Case

SchoolSuccess.net

By: James E. Austin and Arthur McCaffrey

The mission of the nonprofit Jumpstart for Young Children was to address the problem of school readiness of low-income family preschoolers. It had been growing significantly, and to achieve its projected expansion would require major increases in funding. After... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Early Childhood Education; Venture Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Startups; Management Teams

Find at Harvard

Every new firm selects a legal form. Organizing as a corporation, a limited company, or a partnership shapes the firm’s access to capital markets, its governance arrangements and tax liabilities, and its treatment in bankruptcy. We use multinomial choice models... View Details

2011
Case

Wrapitup

By: W. Earl Sasser

A restaurant chain based in California offers made-to-order sandwich wraps using fresh, healthy ingredients. The founders of the company take a very active role in day-to-day business and tightly control every aspect of the restaurant operation from hiring store... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Governance Controls; Revenue; Employee Relationship Management; Planning; Customer Satisfaction; Problems and Challenges; Profit; Change Management; Compensation and Benefits; Leadership Style; Service Industry; California

June 2003 (Revised September 2004)
Exercise

The Pacific Sentinel: Role for Chris Coleman

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Dina R. Pradel

A new publishing company has just purchased the Pacific Sentinel, a fictional West Coast newspaper. The new publisher is willing to invest $1 million in the future success of the paper and has asked the executive editor and advertising manager to develop a joint plan... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Conflict of Interests; Decision Making; Publishing Industry

08 Jun 2021
News

17 Books Every Business Leader Should Read to Build an Inclusive Culture

October 2022 (Revised September 2023)
Supplement

SolarWinds Confronts SUNBURST (B)

By: Frank Nagle, George A. Riedel, William R. Kerr and David Lane

Supplements the (A) case, describing actions taken by SolarWinds as well as by regulatory agencies in the aftermath of the immediate crisis. The case also includes reflections by SolarWinds managers on the choices they made with respect to disclosure, media relations,... View Details

Keywords: Cyberattacks; Cybersecurity; Corporate Disclosure; Crisis Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Legal Liability; Governance Compliance; Business and Government Relations; Information Technology Industry; United States

September 2007
Article

Investigative Negotiation

By: Deepak Malhotra and Max H. Bazerman

This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. Negotiators often fail to achieve results because they channel too much effort into... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Motivation and Incentives; Perspective; Pharmaceutical Industry

Find at Harvard

May 2004 (Revised June 2004)
Case

Lucas Chevrolet File, The

An insurance company claim manager is deciding how to negotiate a large liability claim and reviewing the company's approach to settling large claims. This case provides background on the claim and the 4-1/2-year history of negotiations to date. It also gives profiles... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Insurance; Legal Liability; Insurance Industry