Publications

17 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, October 17, 2017

economy, while freshly minted MBAs see magic in founding something new. Yes, startups look magical, but they can also be chaotic and inaccessible. Many books are written for those who aspire to be founders, but a company only has one or... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 1991 (Revised July 1991)
Case

RJR Nabisco Board: Guardians of the Gate? (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Charles Hugel, the chairman of RJR Nabisco, receives a call from RJR Nabisco's CEO, Ross Johnson; Johnson plans to present an LBO plan to the board of directors at the board meeting the following week. The case details Hugel's actions as chairman, and describes the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Situation or Environment; Bids and Bidding; Decision Making; Managerial Roles; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

September 1998 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Power Across Latin America: Endesa de Chile

Endesa, a privatized Chilean electricity generator, has made significant investments in the privatization of Argentina's electricity sector and is now contemplating an even larger privatization opportunity in Peru. In deciding how much to bid in Peru, Endesa must... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Energy Generation; Privatization; Government and Politics; Utilities Industry; Peru; Chile

Find at Harvard

June 2021
Supplement

Reversing Course on a Reverse E-Auction (C)

By: Kym Lew Nelson, James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

Global consumer products powerhouse LSP has found enormous savings in a trial run of a new competitive bidding tool for their procurement organization known as a reverse e-auction. But when Jen Baldwin is asked to achieve the same savings from her suppliers for a... View Details

Keywords: Reverse E-auctions; Bids and Bidding; Auctions; Complexity; Cost vs Benefits

January 2014 (Revised October 2014)
Supplement

Mittal Steel's Pursuit of Arcelor (B)

By: Paul M. Healy and Penelope Rossano

Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of Mittal Steel, a UK-based company with Indian roots, took advantage of a weakened Arcelor that had successfully won a bidding war for Canadian steel company Dofasco, with an unsolicited bid to buy the company. Mittal's plans for acquiring Arcelor... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Fiduciary Duty; Negotiation; Steel; India; Europe; Governance; Mergers; Board Decisions; White Knight; Valuation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Economics; Steel Industry; Canada; United Kingdom; India

02 Jun 2017
News

Case Study From Harvard Surveys Sesame Street Turnaround

April 1996 (Revised March 2008)
Exercise

Canonical Decision Problems

Involves seven canonical decision problems--basic problems in management that arise with surprising frequency. Although these exercises are simplified versions of these problems, they have been written to preserve the "essence" of the decision situations. The problems... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Skills; Negotiation; Problems and Challenges

Web

Decarbonization and Sustainable Production: Immersive Field Course in Denmark and the Netherlands - MBA

Blog Blog MBA Voices Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up Read posts from Author Alumni Author Career and Professional Development Staff Author HBS Community Author HBS Faculty Author MBA Admissions Author MBA Students Topics Topics 1st Year (RC) 2+2 Program 2nd Year... View Details

January 2014 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Mittal Steel's Pursuit of Arcelor (A)

By: Paul M. Healy and Penelope Rossano

Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of Mittal Steel, a UK-based company with Indian roots, took advantage of a weakened Arcelor that had successfully won a bidding war for Canadian steel company Dofasco, with an unsolicited bid to buy the company. Mittal's plans for acquiring Arcelor... View Details

Keywords: Fiduciary Duty; Steel; India; Europe; Governance; Mergers; Board Decisions; White Knight; Strategy; Negotiation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Steel Industry; Canada; United Kingdom; Russia; India

June 2021
Case

Reversing Course on a Reverse E-Auction (A)

By: Kym Lew Nelson, James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

Global consumer products powerhouse LSP has found enormous savings in a trial run of a new competitive bidding tool for their procurement organization known as a reverse e-auction. But when Jen Baldwin is asked to achieve the same savings from her suppliers for a... View Details

Keywords: Reverse E-auctions; Bids and Bidding; Auctions; Complexity; Cost vs Benefits

May 2004 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A)

By: Dwight B. Crane and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

Ultra is one of a small group of competing Brazilian petrochemical companies, each of which buys raw material and is a minority owner of Copene, a "cracking" company that provides ethylene and other materials. Because of an industry restructuring, an auction of shares... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Capital Budgeting; Investment; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Industry Structures; Cash Flow; Cost of Capital; Valuation; Bids and Bidding; Economy; Ownership Stake; Chemical Industry; Brazil

Find at Harvard

19 Jan 2021
Video

Sunil Bharti Mittal

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, discusses entering the telecommunications industry by creating India’s first pushbutton phones in the early 1980s as a result of India banning the import of generators – his previous business. In 1992, he... View Details

September 2006 (Revised July 2009)
Case

BzzAgent, Inc. - 2005

By: William A. Sahlman and Caroline Perkins

Describes a set of financing issues confronting a rapidly growing company that uses "Word-of-Mouth" marketing techniques in promoting research, new products, or services. The company proposes to set the terms for a new round of venture capital it needs and to have... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Value

December 2003 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Circon (A) (Abridged)

By: Brian J. Hall, Christopher Rose and Guhan Subramanian

In 1996, U.S. Surgical launched a hostile takeover bid against Circon Corp. CEO Richard Auhll recruited an old HBS friend, George Cloutier, to the Circon board to help him defend the company. Circon's primary defenses include a "poison pill" and a staggered board and... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Trust; Relationships; Acquisition; Business and Shareholder Relations; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

September 1997 (Revised October 1997)
Case

Bayer AG (A)

By: John A. Quelch

Bayer's senior executives convene in Germany to consider submitting a $1 billion bid that would recover the Bayer brand name and trademark cross in North America, both of which were confiscated by the U.S. government after World War I. The group also sets out to assess... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Brands and Branding; War; Communication; Trademarks; Acquisition; Government and Politics; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Germany; North America; United States

Find at Harvard

16 Nov 2019
News

Octogenarians are shaking up Italian business

April 1978 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Cumberland Metal Industries (A): Model Year 1978 Negotiations with Beta Motors

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Provides the background on Cumberland Metal Industries' entry into the automotive components market as a supplier of emission control equipment parts. Cumberland Metal must decide what bid to quote on Beta Motor's 1978 model year business. The company previously had a... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Bids and Bidding; Market Participation; Negotiation; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

14 Nov 2014
News

High-Frequency Traders Turn to the Online Ad Market

May 1992
Supplement

Fabtek (B)

By: Rowland T. Moriarty Jr. and Benson P. Shapiro

Presents an urgent order for repair service from an important customer who had purchased an item from a competitor. The item, which TiFab had bid on, went out at a price that TiFab predicted was below the amount necessary to ensure quality manufacture. Now the customer... View Details

Keywords: Price; Bids and Bidding; Production; Quality; Competitive Strategy