Publications

March 2005 (Revised August 2019)
Case

Cisco Systems: Managing the Go-to-Market Evolution

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

With the collapse of the dot-com market and related shrinkage in the high-tech industry, Cisco took a dip in its sales and profits in 2001. Coming back from the recession, Cisco had to manage and evolve its go-to-market strategy and design in keeping with its new... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Design; Business Cycles; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy

August 1996
Case

Howard, Shea & Chan Asset Management (B); The Partnership Meeting

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Continues the plot about growth and sales strategies, and adds interesting pricing and sales compensation elements. The partners' meeting sharpens the disagreements among the five partners, and forces Anne Howard, the managing partner, to develop a clear action plan. View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Price; Sales; Strategy; Asset Management; Partners and Partnerships; Service Industry

January 2015 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Nasty Gals Do It Better

By: David Collis, Diane Chang, Matthew Shaffer and Ashley Hartman

In 2006, Sophia Amoruso started Nasty Gal, an eBay boutique selling vintage clothes. With a strong sense of style and personality, Amoruso poured herself into building the brand and developing relationships with her customers—typically the slightly edgy 18–24 year old.... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth; Brand Management; Online Retail; Clothing; Apparel; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Management; Marketing Strategy; Strategic Planning; Social Media; E-commerce; Digital Marketing; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

28 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

Meeting China’s Need for Management Education

the "experts" in this field. While full-time MBA programs are growing, the greatest growth is in executive MBA programs (part-time) and in Executive Education. Particularly in China, much of the current generation of senior... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Education

August 2023
Case

Quotient

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Matt Higgins

The founders of Quotient, a web-based service for onboarding new engineers, face decisions about how to bring their nascent product to market amidst a tech sector contraction. View Details

Keywords: Engineers; Entrepreneurial Management; Growth; Go-to-market; Product Management; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Strategy; New York (city, NY); San Francisco

Research Summary

Organizational Effectiveness

By: Frances X. Frei

This research studies the obstacles that systematically get in the way of organizational effectiveness. In the past I have paid particular attention to service organizations, which account for over 70% of organizations in most developed countries. This research... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Effectiveness; Organizations; Entrepreneurship; Service; Growth; Management

November 1999 (Revised June 2000)
Case

FairMarket: Managing Business Development

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael J. Roberts and Cathy Taylor

Describes the evolution of FairMarket, a provider of turnkey auction services to community and merchant Web sites. Describes several deals that the CEO must negotiate, requiring a view of the company's valuation. View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Internet and the Web; Valuation; Negotiation Deal; Auctions; Growth and Development Strategy; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

07 Mar 2016
HBS Seminar

Scott Stern, MIT Sloan School of Management

05 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

The Middle Manager of the Future: More Coaching, Less Commanding

Middle managers aren’t going extinct. They’re evolving. Once a wasteland where careers stalled or abruptly ended in layoffs, middle management has adapted and is thriving, seeing double-digit View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

2003
Working Paper

Internet Companies' Growth Strategies: Determinants of Investment Intensity and Long Term Performance

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy

April 2014
Supplement

Managing Change at Axis Bank (B)

By: Paul Healy and Rachna Tahilyani

Axis Bank is India's third largest private sector bank. In April 2009, Shikha Sharma, an outsider was appointed as its CEO. She took over from a person who had overseen ten years of rapid growth at the bank. The selection of an outsider as the new CEO surprised many... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Valuation; Finance; Banks and Banking; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; India

23 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

What’s Your Strategy for Managing Knowledge?

mail messages with them and checked Bain's "people finder" database for more contacts. Eventually she connected with nine partners and several managers who had developed growth strategies for... View Details

Keywords: by Morten T. Hansen, Nitin Nohria & Thomas Tierney; Consulting

August 1996 (Revised October 1996)
Case

Howard, Shea & Chan Asset Management (A)

By: Benson P. Shapiro

A medium-sized investment management firm is attempting to decide whether to try to grow, and if so, how. It is a complicated decision because the managing partner and her colleagues have significantly different views. This case provides the background on the industry,... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Decision Making; Sales; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

2014
Working Paper

Entrepreneurship and Business Groups: An Evolutionary Perspective on the Growth of the Koç Group in Turkey

By: Asli M. Coplan and Geoffrey Jones

This working paper examines the origins and development of the Koç Group, which grew to be the largest business group in Turkey. This enterprise was an important actor in the emergence of modern business enterprise in the new state of the Republic of Turkey from the... View Details

Keywords: Business Groups; Turkey; Entrepreneurship In Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; History; Government and Politics; Auto Industry; Banking Industry; Electronics Industry; Middle East; Europe

SSRN

Read Now

01 Apr 2009
Working Paper Summaries

The Contingent Nature of Public Policy and Growth Strategies in the Early Twentieth-Century U.S. Banking Industry

Keywords: by Christopher Marquis & Zhi Huang; Banking

May 1997
Case

Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Framework; Knowledge; Consulting Industry; Publishing Industry

Teaching Interest

Real Estate Management Program: Finance, Design, and Leadership

By: Andy Wu

How do you achieve short-term stability and long-term growth in the unpredictable real estate marketplace? This program explores how forward-thinking real estate leaders are positioning their firms to seize growth opportunities and maximize asset value. Equipped... View Details

13 Feb 2025
Blog Post

IFC India 2025: The Coal Dichotomy: Balancing Economic Growth and Decarbonization in India

across the country. The Coal Dichotomy: Balancing Economic Growth and Decarbonization in India When you hear the phrase “coal-fired power plant,” what images come to mind? Smokestacks and plumes of soot? Coal dust and blackened equipment?... View Details

October 1998 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Spotfire: Managing a Multinational Start-Up

Spotfire, a software start-up, must address the question of dividing its effort between Sweden and the United States in addition to raising venture capital, obtaining new customers, and managing early-stage growth. View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry; United States; Sweden