Publications

September 1988 (Revised January 1989)
Case

Unisys: The Merger of Burroughs and Sperry

Mike Blumenthal, CEO of Burroughs, successfully executes the merger of Burroughs and Sperry in 1986. The case discusses the putting together of the two firms in a fast time period in order to achieve cost savings, high earnings, and an integrated culture. Blumenthal... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Organizational Structure; Mergers and Acquisitions; Consolidation

January 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Supplement

MoviePass: The 'Get Big Fast' Strategy

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

In August 2017, MoviePass dramatically lowered its subscription price from $50 per month to just $10 for up to one movie per day. The idea was to rapidly scale the business to the point where they could generate incremental revenue streams form related businesses... View Details

April 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

News Corporation

By: Bharat N. Anand and Kate Attea

In 2001, News Corp. is the smallest of the major media and entertainment conglomerates, but it has the broadest global presence. In an effort to establish a major distribution presence in the United States, News Corp. had looked to acquire DirecTV, the largest U.S.... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Conglomerates; Globalization; Distribution; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; Competition; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Journalism and News Industry; United States; Australia

April 2010
Teaching Note

New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. (TN)

By: Robert S. Huckman

Teaching Note for [606094]. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Production; Strategy; Performance Improvement; Brands and Branding; Networks; Management; Consolidation; Competition; Opportunities; Apparel and Accessories Industry

May 1998
Background Note

Note on the Retailing Industry

By: David E. Bell and Ann Leamon

Presents a survey discussion of retailing and current issues. Examines the impact of changing consumer attitudes on the industry and outlines the industry's response: consolidation, adoption of technology, use of brands and private labels, and changing relationships... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Debates; Customers; Surveys; Partners and Partnerships; Attitudes; Adoption; Consolidation; Retail Industry

02 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Dubious Logic of Global Megamergers

Think of Maytag and Lloyd's Bank; both companies have prospered by focusing on their home markets of the United States and Great Britain, respectively. Telefónica de España, a midsize telecommunications company, has rejected the role of global View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat & Fariborz Ghadar

22 Dec 2016
Op-Ed

The Small Business Administration is a Model for How to Drive Economic Growth

have consolidated small business in one place (his proposal would have put parts of the small business activities from the Departments of Agriculture, Treasury, and Commerce under a newly aligned SBA department), but the principles of... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills

30 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Tuning Jobs to Fit Your Company

hours of operation, merchandising displays, and pricing. By contrast, the span of control for managers at corporate headquarters who oversee merchandising and other core operations is set at "wide." They are responsible for implementing best practices and... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

March 1996 (Revised July 1996)
Case

Service Corporation International

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Craig F Schreiber

The CFO of a high-growth company in the low-growth and fragmented funeral services industry must decide how to optimize capital structure and earnings growth while maximizing the company's market value. View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Value Creation; Business Growth and Maturation; Consolidation; Industry Growth; Capital Structure; Expansion; Service Industry; United States; North and Central America

March 2006
Case

Bringing OTC back to the Exchange: Euronext.liffe's launch of ABC

Euronex.liffe, a derivatives trading exchange, launches matching, clearing, and confirmation services for the over-the-counter market. This combination of services creates a new platform for a market that potentially cannibalizes its current exchange-based services. Is... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Digital Platforms; Consolidation; Financial Markets; Network Effects

June 1987 (Revised August 1988)
Case

American Bank

By: Robert S. Kaplan

American Bank is developing a new system to compute product costs. The deregulated, more competitive environment for commercial banks has created both problems and opportunities for banking operations. In order to price existing products and assess the desirability of... View Details

Keywords: System; Consolidation; Commercial Banking; SWOT Analysis; Fair Value Accounting; Cost Management; Price; Banking Industry; North and Central America; United States

03 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

Corporate Social Responsibility in a Downturn

social responsibility evolving during the current recession? A: There is no doubt that corporations are engaging in less philanthropy, but that is not necessarily bad as long as they cut the ineffective ones and consolidate those that are... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

January 1998
Case

Morgan Stanley and S.G. Warburg: Investment Bank of the Future (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and David T. Kotchen

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Valuation; Investment Banking; Mergers and Acquisitions; Consolidation; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

26 May 2009
Research & Ideas

Improving Market Research in a Recession

based on fewer expenditures. For example, combining data sets may reveal new leading indicators of changes in consumer behavior. Tracking studies may have an edge over one-off projects. CMOs who trim costs by consolidating their budgets... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Media Metamorphosis: Advertising in the Technology Age

the long-standing "full service" industry norm, there has been a growing trend toward agencies unbundling the media function from creative and other services provided to clients. At the same time, multiproduct advertisers have sought to increase their... View Details

Keywords: by Peter K. Jacobs; Advertising

25 May 2010
First Look

First Look: May 25

done many novel things to educate the market about the value of premium organic and Fairtrade chocolate, Zotter consolidated its market position within the premium segment of the Austrian market for chocolate. The company only recently... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

Pursuing a Deadly Opportunity

entrepreneurial venture. The paper, which offers a rare glimpse into an area where little consolidated data is available, is forthcoming in the journal Social Science & Medicine. "This study happens to focus on cadavers, but it... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Health

December 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Ebony Magazine

By: Steven Rogers and Derrick Jackson

For nearly 75 years, the Johnson Publishing Company has been the most successful African American magazine publisher. Its flagship Ebony magazine was an iconic coffee table fixture for decades in black households of all classes, making founder John H. Johnson... View Details