Publications

06 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 6, 2007

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=207087 The Challenges of Launching a Start-up in China: Dorm99.com Harvard Business School Case 307-075 After graduating from Harvard Business School in June 2006, Ken Pao and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2008
Case

Sensors Unlimited: Bringing InGaAs Technology to the Market

By: Willy C. Shih

Sensors Unlimited was a small start-up in short-wavelength infrared imaging. Its learning base came out of Bell Labs, RCA's Sarnoff Lab, and the Rockwell Science Center, and as it built its capabilities and ventured into new application areas, it discovered a “killer... View Details

Keywords: Applied Optics; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Science-Based Business; Commercialization; Aerospace Industry; Technology Industry

June 2005 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Good Technology: Empowering Mobility Around the Globe (A)

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Adam Minnick

Describes the global growth of Good Technology, a Silicon Valley start-up in wireless handheld computing software and service. Reviews the evaluation of wireless standards, the emergence of the world wireless market for voice and data, and the growth of the major firms... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Globalized Firms and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Expansion; Wireless Technology; Communications Industry; Technology Industry; California

10 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Is Groupon Good for Retailers?

At first blush, the two-year-old online start-up Groupon seems a bit audacious. For starters, there's the news that the deal-of-the-day website turned down a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google last month. Then there's the company's... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising; Technology

Web

Curriculum | MBA

likely in the life sciences or biotech space. Capstone Overview First Year AUGUST Harvard Business School Online CORe Harvard Business School NextGen Biotechnology Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology FALL TERM Data Science for View Details

April 2001 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Level (3) Communications in 2001: The 'Pivotal Year'

Level (3) is one of the most distinctive of the new "fiber backbone" start-ups in the year 2001. Unlike its competitors, Level (3) has built its fiber network--and organization--in such a way that it should be able to utilize future generations of technologically... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Risk Management; Industry Growth; Competitive Advantage; Telecommunications Industry; United States

April 2001 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Zaplet, Inc.

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Brian DeLacey

Start-up Zaplet, Inc., has radical software, prestigious venture capital funding, and a multitude of business opportunities. New CEO Alan Baratz must select a strategy and redesign the organization to deliver. This case describes the roles and philosophies of the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Information Technology; Organizational Design; Venture Capital; Valuation; Business Strategy; Restructuring; Expansion; Product Development; Innovation Strategy; Human Resources; Information Technology Industry; California

31 Jul 2007
First Look

First Look: July 31, 2007

Working PapersCoupled Search Processes: Why Is It So Difficult to Find that Organizational Design Matters? Authors:Nicolaj Siggelkow and Jan W. Rivkin Abstract Organizational design affects performance via coupled search processes. At low frequency, View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 2010 (Revised December 2011)
Case

WildChina: Taking the Road Less Traveled

By: Mukti Khaire, Daniel Isenberg, Victoria Song and Shirley Spence

This case deals with supplier difficulties faced by WildChina—a travel service provider in China. WildChina is a classic case of a company that is trying to bring a local, within-country product to a market outside the country (in this case, travelers to China from... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Local Range; Globalized Markets and Industries; Supply Chain Management; Conflict Management; Travel Industry; China

26 Sep 2011
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Lady Gaga

larger, but the potential rewards increase, too." “The risks increase as the size of the venue increases, but the potential revenue goes up as well” With arena performances, the Gaga team was looking at some $12 million in start-up... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Entertainment & Recreation; Music

03 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 3, 2007

management team is wondering if it can take more control of distribution instead of leaving it to the Bordeaux wine merchants. Also, can the Chateau build marketing and sales capabilities on its own? Who is the target market, wine... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Regina E. Herzlinger

Regina E. Herzlinger is the Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. She was the first woman to be tenured and chaired at Harvard Business School and serve on many established and start-up corporate health care/medical... View Details

Keywords: health care; insurance industry; medical devices; retailing; digital health

October 2019 (Revised November 2019)
Case

C16 Biosciences: Lab-Grown Palm Oil

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

Synthetic biology start-up C16 Biosciences wants to solve a big problem: replace palm oil, a major contributor to deforestation and climate change, with a lab-grown substitute. CEO Shara Ticku has ambitious plans to supply her lab-grown palm oil to food manufacturers,... View Details

Keywords: Science-Based Business; Environmental Sustainability; Social Entrepreneurship; Product Development; Product Positioning; Venture Capital; Strategy; Decision Making; Food and Beverage Industry; Consumer Products Industry

January 2022 (Revised December 2022)
Case

TotalEnergies’ Investment in Hyzon Motors

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and David Lane

In November 2021, Girish Nadkarni, the head of TotalEnergies’ corporate venture capital arm (TEV) was considering whether, and on what terms, to exit an investment in Hyzon Motors, a start-up supplier of hydrogen-powered trucks. TEV had invested $4 million in Hyzon,... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Communication Intention and Meaning; Renewable Energy; Venture Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Design; Standards; Commercialization; Investment Portfolio; Market Transactions; Energy Industry; Financial Services Industry; Transportation Industry; Europe; New York (city, NY)

October 2008 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Intel NBI: Intel Corporation's New Business Initiatives (A)

By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston

For Intel Corporation, the processes and priorities that have made it so successful are difficult to overcome as the company tries to diversify away from its core. The case examines the history and evolution of the New Business Initiatives (NBI) group, as the leader... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Transition; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business History; Management Practices and Processes; Resource Allocation; Organizational Structure; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty

October 2021 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Engine No.1: An Impact Investing Firm Engages with ExxonMobil

By: Mark Kramer, Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi and T. Robert Zochowski

ExxonMobil, the world's fifth largest source of carbon emissions, remained committed to aggressively expanding its oil & gas business despite global warming. During the COVID pandemic this strategy resulted in massive losses as the price and demand for oil declined. ... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Global Warming; Impact Investment Funds; Hedge Fund Activism; Leadership Development; Business Model; Renewable Energy; Resource Allocation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards

July 2003 (Revised October 2013)
Case

Model N Inc.

By: Marco Iansiti and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

The CEO of a Silicon Valley start-up needed to make organizational and product changes to deliver a new software solution to a Fortune 500 customer. He was wondering how he should structure the company to best meet the requirements for this particular customer, while... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Trends; Communication; Customer Focus and Relationships; Selection and Staffing; Time Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Strategy; Software; Computer Industry

October 2000 (Revised November 2000)
Case

Bridgespan Group, The

By: Allen S. Grossman and John D. Kalafatas

Bain & Co., a consulting firm with a client list that ranges from entrepreneurial start-ups to global corporations, wanted to increase its involvement with nonprofit organizations. Rather than continuing to integrate the work into the existing organization, Bain... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Problems and Challenges; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Consulting Industry

September 2018 (Revised October 2018)
Supplement

Lexoo: Building a Long-Lasting Platform

By: Chiara Farronato and Elena Corsi

Lexoo, a UK-based online marketplace for legal services, was facing the strategic choice of how to grow from early start-up to mature platform. Daniel van Binsbergen, Lexoo's CEO, and web developer Chris O'Sullivan, CTO, had set up Lexoo to help Small and Medium-Sized... View Details

Keywords: Marketplaces; Legal Services; Growth Strategy; Technology Ventures; Pivot; Service Operations; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Small Business; Decision Making; Legal Services Industry