Publications
Publications
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(2,464)
- Faculty Publications (576)
- January 2013 (Revised April 2013)
- Case
Microsoft Server & Tools
By: Marco Iansiti and Alain Serels
In 2011, Microsoft's Server & Tools Business (STB) was large, fast growing and highly profitable on the strength of traditional packaged product lines led by the Windows Server operating system. Even as the current packaged business was performing exceptionally well,... View Details
- January 2013
- Case
Brannigan Foods: Strategic Marketing Planning
By: John A. Quelch and James T. Kindley
The soup division at Brannigan Foods contributes over 40% of the firm's revenue. The general manager is concerned that the soup industry is declining and that the soup division shows declining profits and market share, especially among the important baby boomer... View Details
Keywords: United States; Consumer Marketing; Acquisitions; Forecasting; Quantitative Analysis; Risk Management; Decision Making; Budgeting; Supermarkets; Strategic Planning; Demand and Consumers; Marketing Strategy; Food; Resource Allocation; Acquisition; Product Development; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry
- January 2013 (Revised March 2017)
- Teaching Note
Luotang Power: Variances Explained (Brief Case)
By: Robert Simons and Craig Chapman
The primary objective is to explore the concepts of variance analysis in performance from one year to the next and the predictability of contracting counterparts to extract value from contract positions where they can. The general manager of a coal-fired power plant... View Details
- January 2013 (Revised October 2014)
- Case
Barclays and the LIBOR Scandal
By: Clayton S. Rose and Aldo Sesia
In June of 2012, Barclays plc admitted that it had manipulated LIBOR—a benchmark interest rate that was fundamental to the operation of international financial markets and that was the basis for trillions of dollars of financial transactions. Between 2005 and 2009... View Details
- December 2012
- Background Note
Are Daily Deals Good for Merchants?
By: Sunil Gupta, Timothy Keiningham, Ray Weaver and Luke Williams
In the relatively short time since Groupon was founded, the response to "daily deals"—services that promote businesses by marketing deeply discounted, pre-paid vouchers to an online subscriber base—has by all accounts been spectacular. Our evaluation of daily deals is... View Details
- Winter 2013
- Article
The New Patent Intermediaries: Platforms, Defensive Aggregators and Super-Aggregators
By: Andrei Hagiu and David B. Yoffie
The patent market consists mainly of privately negotiated, bilateral transactions, either sales or cross-licenses, between large companies. There is no eBay, Amazon, New York Stock Exchange, or Kelley's Blue Book equivalent for patents, and when buyers and sellers do... View Details
- November 2012
- Case
Edison Schools, Inc.
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley
Edison Schools, Inc., a pioneer in the for-profit management of public schools, demonstrates the challenges and opportunities related to private sector involvement in the delivery of a public good. Follows the organization from its start-up through its initial public... View Details
- October 2012
- Case
Antoine Leboyer and ABR
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Antoine Leboyer (HBS '92) acquired the Swiss-based software company ABR in February 2008. He managed through the recession of 2008-2009, dealt with a tumultuous separation from the founder/owner, rebuilt the management team, and upgraded the company's software... View Details
- September 2012 (Revised March 2014)
- Case
Reinventing Brainlab (A)
By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Vincent Dessain and Karol Misztal
The management of Germany's Brainlab AG, a leading provider of software-driven oncology and surgery solutions, needs to evaluate strategic options for proceeding without an exclusive hardware partner in its most profitable business segment. View Details
- July 2012 (Revised April 2013)
- Case
Peter Jepsen
By: Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J. Roberts and James M. Sharpe
About to break bank covenants, Peter Jepsen has to deal with a contentious prior owner, improve profitability and staff appropriately all while maintaining credibility with his investors, in the furniture hardware company he has owned for less than a year. View Details
Keywords: Acquisitions; Bankruptcy; Crisis Management; Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurial Finance; Financial Crisis; Turnarounds; Financial Distress; Negotiation; Entrepreneurs; Bank Loan; Search Funds; Liquidation; Boards Of Directors; Ethics; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Manufacturing Industry; United States
- July 2012
- Case
Revenue Solutions, LLC
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Ari Wasserman and Nick Esayian were both dissatisfied with their future prospects in their current careers. Wasserman, who managed an infomercial business for a direct response consumer marketing company, wanted more flexibility and ownership. Esayian was the CEO of... View Details
- July 2012 (Revised July 2012)
- Case
How Much? (A)
By: Clayton Rose
The leader of a small business team must deal with an employee who is unwilling to reveal to him the profitability of a transaction for the firm and client. View Details
Keywords: Culture; Client Responsibility; Leadership; Groups and Teams; Ethics; Finance; Conflict Management
- May 2012
- Case
Westlake Lanes: How Can This Business Be Saved?
By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Alisa Zalosh
Shelby Givens, a new MBA, is the general manager of Westlake Lanes, a near-bankrupt bowling alley that her grandfather founded decades earlier. Givens has been given one year to turn a profit; if the goal is not met Westlake will close. During the first few days on the... View Details
- April 2012
- Article
Retail Doesn't Cross Borders: Here's Why and What to Do about It
By: Marcel Corstjens and Rajiv Lal
Most companies assume that the easiest way to grow is by investing overseas and that the developing world offers the best opportunities for boosting revenues and profits today. However, success abroad varies widely, and research shows that it's often tough to... View Details
- December 2011 (Revised October 2014)
- Background Note
Business Model Analysis for Entrepreneurs
By: Thomas Eisenmann
This note defines a business model and its major elements: a customer value proposition, a technology and operations management plan, a go-to-market plan, and a profit formula. For each element, the note lists questions that an entrepreneur must address when evaluating... View Details
Keywords: Business Model
- November 2011
- Case
WrapItUp: Developing a New Compensation Plan
By: W. Earl Sasser Jr. and Rachel Shelton
A restaurant chain based in California offers made-to-order sandwich wraps using fresh, healthy ingredients. The founders of the company take a very active role in day-to-day business and tightly control every aspect of the restaurant operation from hiring store... View Details
Keywords: Empowerment; Middle Management; Human Resource Management; Compensation; Incentives; Motivation; Motivation and Incentives; Change Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Service Delivery; Entrepreneurship; Employees; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; California
- 2011
- Case
Wrapitup
By: W. Earl Sasser
A restaurant chain based in California offers made-to-order sandwich wraps using fresh, healthy ingredients. The founders of the company take a very active role in day-to-day business and tightly control every aspect of the restaurant operation from hiring store... View Details
- September 2011
- Teaching Note
Salud Digna: Successfully Competing with For-Profit Organizations (TN)
Teaching Note for 311-051. View Details
- August 2011 (Revised November 2018)
- Case
Lind Equipment
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Lind Equipment failed to meet its loan covenants with its senior bank lender in the summer of 2008, just six months after it was acquired. While the senior bank debt comprised only 6% of the capital used in the acquisition and was fully secured, it exercised its right... View Details
- June 2011 (Revised May 2012)
- Case
Nestlé SA: Nutrition, Health and Wellness Strategy
By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson
In 1997 Nestlé committed to a strategic vision of becoming the leading nutrition, health and wellness (NHW) company in the world. Over the next 13 years, the NHW strategy guided strategic decisions and choices at Nestlé including merger and acquisition choices,... View Details