Publications

November 1999 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.

By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Pre-Paid Legal Services' business model reveals two key issues--managing the sales force and sales growth and managing claims. Students analyze the economics of the business and consider how to measure firm performance, how to evaluate and reward the sales force, and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Salesforce Management; Marketing Strategy; Accrual Accounting; Business Cycles; Forecasting and Prediction; Insurance; Business Growth and Maturation; Insurance Industry

26 May 2009
Research & Ideas

Improving Market Research in a Recession

product categories, or stores. Some are even changing long-held attitudes toward consumption. To many folks, filling the home with more stuff or keeping up with the Joneses is no longer appealing. As a... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

March 2021
Supplement

CashDrop (B2)

By: Rembrand Koning, Paul A. Gompers and Sarah Gulick

After the events in CashDrop A, Jarrid Tingle and Henri Pierre-Jacques, the founders of Harlem Capital partners, worried that Ruben Flores-Martinez, CashDrop’s founder, would take another offer while he waited for them to officially make an offer. HCP traditionally... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Online Technology; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; New York (city, NY)

06 Nov 2015
Blog Post

Casey Gerald: Becoming a Leader at HBS

unsolved problems. Now, one year out of HBS, Casey is the CEO and co-founder of MBAs Across America, a movement that pairs MBAs with entrepreneurs and local businesses across the country. Here, we View Details

June 2021
Supplement

Reversing Course on a Reverse E-Auction (C)

By: Kym Lew Nelson, James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

Global consumer products powerhouse LSP has found enormous savings in a trial run of a new competitive bidding tool for their procurement organization known as a reverse e-auction. But when Jen Baldwin is asked to achieve the same savings from her suppliers for a... View Details

Keywords: Reverse E-auctions; Bids and Bidding; Auctions; Complexity; Cost vs Benefits

December 2011 (Revised January 2012)
Supplement

Pierre Frankel in Moscow (C): Results

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Matthew Bird

After 18 months as the deputy managing director of a global technology company's Russia subsidiary, a young and upcoming French executive prepared to hand over leadership. The executive reflected on what he had achieved and how as he considered next steps. He wanted to... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Personal Development and Career; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; Moscow

December 1998 (Revised January 2003)
Case

R.R. Donnelley: Country and Opportunity Analysis in Eastern Europe

Examines several market entry options for R.R. Donnelley's expansion into Eastern Europe. Used as an introduction to a Harvard Business School course titled "New Opportunities in Emerging Markets." Asks students to consider the following issues: 1) the impact of... View Details

Keywords: Opportunities; Market Entry and Exit; Emerging Markets; Europe

19 Aug 2019
News

Why “Tell Them Something They Don’t Know” Is Bad Advice in B2B Sales

June 2021
Case

Reversing Course on a Reverse E-Auction (A)

By: Kym Lew Nelson, James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

Global consumer products powerhouse LSP has found enormous savings in a trial run of a new competitive bidding tool for their procurement organization known as a reverse e-auction. But when Jen Baldwin is asked to achieve the same savings from her suppliers for a... View Details

Keywords: Reverse E-auctions; Bids and Bidding; Auctions; Complexity; Cost vs Benefits

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Emily (C)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Emily (C) HBS Case No. 9-408-047 describes how the original email author apologizes to her acknowledging that his behavior was extremely inappropriate. While Emily accepts the apology, she still forwards the email on to her boss with a note... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Working Conditions; Employees; Interpersonal Communication; Resignation and Termination

December 1997 (Revised September 2014)
Exercise

Discount and Hawkins Exercise: Confidential Instructions for Landlord

By: Michael A. Wheeler

This simulation involves a negotiation between a real estate developer and a prospective anchor tenant in a proposed shopping center. Students are assigned roles, given confidential information, and asked to try to break the impasse over the "use, assignment, and... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Leasing; Real Estate Industry

26 Apr 2021
Video

Water & Climate Change: Innovating for Access and Efficiency

01 Feb 2023
Blog Post

How Alumni Can Recruit When They Aren’t Recruiters

If you’re a Harvard Business School alumnus, you’ve likely been asked at some point to play a key role in recruiting current HBS students for your organization. Since recruiting may be new to you or simply something you dip into from time... View Details

21 Aug 2023
Book

You’re More Than Your Job: 3 Tips for a Healthier Work-Life Balance

The days of sticking with one job through retirement are long gone. Younger workers are prioritizing happiness over workplace loyalty, often out of necessity. Harvard Business School senior lecturer Christina Wallace offers a roadmap for... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

October 2014 (Revised June 2015)
Case

Quiet Logistics (A)

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This two-part case focuses on how to identify and manage strategic uncertainties in an innovative, entrepreneurial start-up company. In the (A) case, students learn about Quiet Logistics, an e-commerce fulfillment company working with high-end apparel retailers such as... View Details

Caroline Elkins is the Thomas Henry Carroll/Ford Foundation Professor of Business Administration in the Business, Government and International Economy unit at HBS. She is also Professor of History and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, an... View Details

December 2008 (Revised July 2010)
Case

TravelCenters of America

By: Robin Greenwood, Daniel Jacob Goldberg and James Quinn

A New York-based hedge fund must decide whether to invest in TravelCenters of America (TA), a recent spin-off from a U.S.-based real estate investment trust. The case confronts students with the question: To what extent is this spin-off opportunity attractive from a... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Investment; Valuation; Real Estate Industry; Travel Industry; United States

November 2000
Exercise

Atlantis-Biovent Negotiation: Confidential Instructions for Biovent

By: Michael A. Wheeler

This two-party exercise illustrates bidding strategy in the context of settling a large insurance claim. Specifically, the claimant (Biovent) and the insurer (Atlantis) are asked to submit confidential offers to a dispute resolution website that will determine whether... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Bids and Bidding; Emerging Markets; Agreements and Arrangements; Conflict of Interests; Strategy; Web Sites