Publications

September 2008
Background Note

Background on the Technology of Molecular Diagnostics

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Jason Sanders

To be used as background reading for the "EXACT Sciences Corp.: Commercializing a Diagnostic Test" and "Diagnostic Genomics" cases, HBS nos. 308-090 and 309-040. View Details

Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Technology; Biotechnology Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

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March 2005 (Revised January 2009)
Case

Wabash Music, Inc.

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Wabash Music, Inc. is contemplating an acquisition outside its core music business as a way of diversifying and developing cash for unexpected commercial success. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Music Entertainment; Cash; Diversification

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March 2020
Case

SRS and the Defense Innovation Unit: Rethinking Procurement

By: Paul A. Gompers and David Lane

SRS and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) follows the process by which SRS, a lean maker of remotely-operated submersible vehicles, navigates the DIU’s acquisition process. Set up in 2015 to speed the U.S. military’s access to promising commercial technologies, the DIU... View Details

Keywords: Procurement; Defense Innovation Unit; Business Startups; Acquisition; Technological Innovation; Investment; Commercialization; United States

May 1986 (Revised November 1990)
Case

Airbus vs. Boeing (A): Turbulent Skies

By: Malcolm S. Salter

Presents the economic and political dimensions of competition in the commercial aircraft industry, as demonstrated by Airbus of Europe and Boeing of the United States. View Details

Keywords: Economics; Government and Politics; Competition; Aerospace Industry; Europe; United States

March 1999 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Newell Company: Corporate Strategy

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and Elizabeth Gordon

In 1998, Newell Co., a manufacturer of low-tech, high-volume consumer goods, acquired Calphalon Corp., a high-end cookware company, and Rubbermaid, a $2 billion manufacturer of consumer and commercial plastic products. The case focuses on Newell's strategy and its... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

July 2018
Teaching Note

The Perfect Storm: What Happens When the Market Moves Four Standard Deviations?

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Sayiddah Fatima McCree

Adam Carter was the portfolio manager for Tate Modern Finance III, L.P. (“Tate” or the “Fund”), the third in a series of U.S. commercial real estate debt funds sponsored by the London-based Tate Partners. The Fund was capitalized with $700 million of equity... View Details

Keywords: CMBS; CLO; Repo Financing; Real Estate; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Financing and Loans

02 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Digital Initiative Summit: Companies Must Forget—and Borrow

As companies ride the digital wave, many find that switching up old, tired practices and deviating from the norm can be crucial to survival. But sometimes things can be taken too far. During the Digital Initiative Summit at Harvard Business School on March 30, business... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Education; Advertising

November 2001 (Revised August 2002)
Case

Audio Spotlight, The

By: Youngme E. Moon

Joe Pompei, a graduate student at the MIT Media Lab, has invented a breakthrough audio invention. The invention is an "Audio Spotlight" that projects a narrow beam of sound in the same way a laser beam projects a narrow beam of light. He must now decide how to... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Independent Innovation and Invention; Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Value Creation

12 Aug 2013
Research & Ideas

‘Hybrid’ Organizations a Difficult Bet for Entrepreneurs

primarily by the sale of the glasses themselves. VisionSpring is what organization scholars call a "hybrid" social venture, since it combines the social welfare logic of a nonprofit and the commercial logic of a for-profit business. When... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

May 2002
Case

Aspen Financial

By: Arthur I Segel and Melissa Yin-Yin Lam

Jack and Bruce Aspen must decide how they want to grow their commercial real estate finance company during a time of tremendous change in the industry. View Details

Keywords: History; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Growth and Development; Real Estate Industry

August 2002
Case

MassEnvelopePlus

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Brooke Bartletta and Michelle Heskett

Describes the challenges Steve Grossman, a fourth-generation owner of a small commercial printing company, must face amid industry consolidation, technological changes, and his own run for public office. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Family Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Leadership; Change Management; Information Technology; Personal Development and Career; Service Delivery; Service Industry; Massachusetts

August 1999
Background Note

Note on Property Types

By: William J. Poorvu and Daniel J. Rudd

Commercial real estate in the United States can be divided into five distinct property types: apartment, office, hotel, industrial, and retail. This note presents the important characteristics of each of these five property types and highlights the "value drivers" for... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Property; Commercialization; Value; Real Estate Industry; United States

21 Dec 2015
Op-Ed

Without Immigrants, We Wouldn't Have Google

out of keeping with the spirit of America and harmful in the long run. "Outsiders keep our commercial markets vital by offering perspectives that differ from the prevailing view" After all, what is the secret sauce of US View Details

Keywords: by Shane Greenstein; Information Technology

January 2013 (Revised June 2017)
Case

The Perfect Storm: What Happens When the Market Moves Four Standard Deviations?

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz

Adam Carter was the portfolio manager for Tate Modern Finance III, L.P. (“Tate” or the “Fund”), the third in a series of U.S. commercial real estate debt funds sponsored by the London-based Tate Partners. The Fund was capitalized with $700 million of equity... View Details

Keywords: CMBS; CLO; Repo Financing; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Financing and Loans

2024
Working Paper

Catalysts for Climate Solutions: Corporate Responses to Venture Capital Financing of Climate-tech Startups

By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Simon Xu

We study whether incumbent firms increase their product focus on climate solutions in response to venture capital (VC) financing of climate-tech startups. Using large language models to measure a firm's focus on climate solutions, we find that incumbents in similar... View Details

Keywords: Climate Finance; Climate Change; Technological Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Environmental Sustainability; Business Startups