Publications

February 2006 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Kevin McCarthy and Westlake Chemical Corporation (A)

Examines forecasting earnings/performance for a commodity chemical firm during a period of high uncertainty, highlighting the combined effects of input process (natural gas), industry capacity/utilization, and cyclicality. Assuming the role of Kevin McCarthy (the top... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Futures and Commodity Futures; Forecasting and Prediction; Chemicals; Chemical Industry

December 2002 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Matt Leeds (A)

By: Linda A. Hill

A new associate in a consulting firm attempts to navigate his way through the norms and culture of a new setting and to manage his relationships with his superiors and peers, which got off to a poor start.

PLEASE NOTE: This case was revised in January 2014.... View Details

Keywords: Power and Influence; Rank and Position; Organizational Culture; Consulting Industry

October 1992 (Revised October 1993)
Case

MCI Communications Corporation: National Accounts Program (Condensed)

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Concerns the early stages of a major-account program at MCI, a telecommunications firm seeking to penetrate the corporate-account market. Among the issues are: 1) coordination of field sales efforts with national account selling efforts; 2) sales strategy for major... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Decision Choices and Conditions; Training; Compensation and Benefits; Management Practices and Processes; Marketing Strategy; Groups and Teams; Sales

21 Sep 2015
News

How Companies Can Help Rebuild America’s Common Resources

30 May 2013
News

Big Data Lessons from Silicon Valley

01 Aug 2018
News

Study: Immigrants Form 25% of New U.S. Businesses, With Big Regional Variations

04 Mar 2016
News

Startups Can’t Revolve Around Their Founders If They Want to Succeed

28 Jul 2020
Video

Sizwe Nxasana

Sizwe Nxasana, the founding partner of SizweNtsalubaGobodo, the largest Black accounting firm in South Africa, as well as the former CEO of Telkom and FirstRand Group, describes the similarities in... View Details

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Angels Face the Innovator’s Dilemma

Great Firms to Fail, Christensen said he believes exciting opportunities await those who come up with ideas for other forms of high-tech start-up financing. When mainstream venture companies become huge financial institutions, he... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

26 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

STEM Needs More Women. Recruiters Often Keep Them Out

female ones.” “When you don't have time, and you're just trying to get through all the people that are flooding into your queue, then you're going to rely on shortcuts,” Lane says, noting the recruitment firm was surprised by the findings... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

03 May 2024
Research & Ideas

How Much Does Proximity Influence Startup Innovation? 20 Meters' Worth to Be Exact

across interactions between nearly 11,000 unique company pairings. Roche and her coauthors included additional factors in the study, such as the makeup of individual firms and their industries, the impact of social events within the... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

07 Jun 2023
HBS Case

3 Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage Now: Lessons from Amazon, Chipotle, and Facebook

capital.” What is a competitive advantage? Some industries, such as airlines, may have low profit margins, while others, such as pharmaceuticals, have higher ones—but within each of those industries, some firms are better at generating... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

21 Jul 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Organizational Structures and the Improvement of Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: Legalization, Participation, and Economic Incentives

Keywords: by Yanhua Z. Bird, Jodi L. Short, and Michael W. Toffel

2017
Chapter

Globalization in Historical Perspective

By: Pankaj Ghemawat and Geoffrey Jones

This chapter explores the role that firms have played over time in promoting international trade and investment. It takes a chronological perspective and is organized around a first wave of globalization from the mid-nineteenth century until the 1920s and a second wave... View Details

Keywords: International Business; International Marketing; History; Marketing; Investment; Trade; Globalization

April 2016
Supplement

Preparing a Concession Bid at TAV Airports Holding - Exhibit 7 Supplement Model

By: C. Fritz Foley and Çiğdem Çelik

In 2013, TAV Airports Holding prepared a bid for the concession to build and operate the third Istanbul airport. This process involved input from various parts of the firm with operating and financial expertise. Burcu Geriş, the CFO of TAV Airports Holding, and her... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Valuation; Investment; Bids and Bidding; Projects; Management Teams; Air Transportation Industry; Turkey

April 2016
Supplement

Preparing a Concession Bid at TAV Airports Holding

By: C. Fritz Foley and Çiğdem Çelik

Keywords: Project Finance; Infrastructure Development; Equity Cash Flows; Capital Budgeting; Valuation; Financial Management; Financing and Loans; Air Transportation Industry; Transportation Industry; Turkey

December 2010
Case

Restaurant Valuation: O'Charley's and AFC

This case is a comparative analysis of the strategy, accounting, performance, and valuation for two restaurant chains alternatively having a company-owned versus franchising strategy. It requires students to identify these two different strategies, and the related... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Valuation; Franchise Ownership; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

January 2009
Case

Wolf Elmore Brewer, Inc.

By: John A. Davis

This case describes how Alex Wolf, the founder of a small architecture and urban planning firm based in Portland, Oregon, decides to offer partnership to two trusted colleagues, and then how strains develop in their relationship. It asks what can be done to improve... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Interpersonal Communication; Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships; Conflict Management

July 2008
Case

Leading from the Side

By: Thomas J. DeLong

Harriet Cornwall, a partner at the law firm of Kensington Palmer, LLP, is made lead over a fellow group of attorneys. Put in charge of guiding her colleagues in their annual goal-setting initiative, she notices four that need special attention. Cornwall must address... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Managerial Roles; Performance Evaluation; Partners and Partnerships