Publications

June 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Driving Scale with Otto

By: Rebecca Karp, David Allen and Annelena Lobb

This case asks how startup founders make scaling decisions in light of their priorities for their business and for themselves. Otto was a technology company that applied artificial intelligence technology to sales. It deployed natural language processing to find sales... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Natural Language Processing; B2B; B2B Innovation; Scaling; Scaling Tech Ventures; Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Finance; Sales; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry; United States; Cambridge; New York (city, NY); Spain

February 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Boston.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jon K Rust

How aggressively should an incumbent move when developing an online business that threatens its core product? With Internet competitors taking direct aim at the traditional print newspaper business model, the Boston Globe fought back with its own web initiative,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Decision Making; Change Management; Internet and the Web; Customer Relationship Management; Competitive Strategy; Publishing Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

03 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

Corporate Social Responsibility in a Downturn

retained and grown." At HBS, Rangan serves as cochair of the Social Enterprise Initiative (with Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard) and as faculty chair of the Executive Education program Corporate... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

21 Sep 2021
Cold Call Podcast

Why JPMorgan Chase Is Committed to Improving Racial Equity in Banking

Keywords: Re: Joseph L. Bower; Financial Services; Financial Services

Web

Help - Alumni

04-2103580 When will I receive a receipt for my gift? You can expect to receive an official receipt in 10-15 business days after HBS receives your gift. How can I get a duplicate tax receipt for my gift? To request a duplicate receipt, contact Harvard Alumni View Details

July 2024
Supplement

Fail Safe Testing, Inc. (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: Fail Safe Testing, Inc., founded in 1988, was the leading provider of fire hose pressure testing, ground ladder and pump... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Business Plan; Acquisition; Customers

September 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Supplement

On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader, Jordan Mitchell and Karen Elterman

Slides to support the teaching of the On case, 723-430. On is a premium performance running shoe company founded in Switzerland in 2010. The company rapidly gained traction through its unique CloudTec cushioning technology, its innovative midsole plate called the... View Details

01 Jun 2023
HBS Case

A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?

Miller vowed to hide his criminal past from the business world—a secret he managed to keep for more than 40 years. That was back in 1982, when arrest and prison records were recorded on paper, stored in filing cabinets, View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Apparel & Accessories

October 2007
Case

Blue River Capital

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Tarun Khanna and Richard Bullock

Examines the strategy and experience of Indian private equity firm Blue River Capital. Blue River was established in 2005 to invest primarily in middle market, particularly family-run, businesses in India. Blue River caters to this niche as an active investor,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Emerging Markets; Family Ownership; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; India

January 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

Essex County Community Foundation: Pivot to Systems Philanthropy

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Brian Trelstad and Courtney Han

2023 marked five years of the Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF)’s “systems philanthropy” approach to grantmaking. Located in northeastern Massachusetts, the community foundation served 800,000 residents across 34 cities and towns that varied widely by... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Reputation; Civil Society or Community; Social Issues; Alignment; Nonprofit Organizations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Leading Change; Massachusetts

16 May 2023
In Practice

After Silicon Valley Bank's Flameout, What's Next for Entrepreneurs?

greatest, I would start by looking here given how ventures founded by women and minorities—and ventures targeting women and minorities—struggle to raise the capital they need to succeed. Rembrand Koning is... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Financial Services; Financial Services

November 2007 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative

By: David E. Bell, Nitin Sanghavi, Virginia Fuller and Mary L. Shelman

In rural India, farmers historically had limited access to quality input items for both their fields and homes. Indian conglomerate DSCL has undertaken a Rural Business Initiative to address this issue, establishing a chain of retail outlets throughout rural India... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Conglomerates; Agribusiness; Rural Scope; Customer Relationship Management; Business Strategy; Service Operations; Networks; Alliances; Retail Industry; India

05 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 5

if they did not obtain the second reward. We discuss implications for research on motivation and incentives. Bringing Science to the Art of Strategy Authors:A.G. Lafley, Roger L. Martin, Jan W. Rivkin, View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 1998 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Clear Communications Ltd. vs. Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Ltd. (A)

By: Willis M. Emmons III and Martin Calles

Features the challenges facing an entrant in the New Zealand telecommunications market during the period 1989-1994. Clear Communications Ltd. (CCL), a joint venture owned by Bell Canada, MCI, New Zealand Television Corp., and Todd Companies, begins offering long... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Competition; Emerging Markets; Privatization; Monopoly; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Corporate Strategy; Business or Company Management; Expansion; Law; Telecommunications Industry; New Zealand

26 Jun 2012
First Look

First Look: June 26

evolution of multinational banks over time and suggest a conceptual framework in which this development can be understood. In-depth analyses of the multinational banking strategies of selected countries... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 4, 2008

Working PapersBarriers to Acting in Time on Energy and Strategies for Overcoming Them Author:Max H. Bazerman No abstract is available at this time. Download the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

27 Aug 2013
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of Patent Wars on Firm Strategy: Evidence from the Global Smartphone Market

Keywords: by Yongwook Paik & Feng Zhu; Legal Services

Summer 2025
Article

Dynamic Competition for Customer Memberships

By: Cristian Chica, Julian Jimenez-Cardenas and Jorge Tamayo

A competitive two-period membership (subscription) market is analyzed. Two symmetric firms charge a “membership” fee that allows consumers to buy products or services at a given unit price for both periods. Firms can choose between long- or short-term memberships. When... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Price Discrimination; Membership; Dynamic Competition; Competition; Price; Consumer Behavior; Business Model