Publications

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May 2014
Case

Groupon, Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Blythe J. McGarvie and James Weber

Internet coupon site "Groupon" grew revenues rapidly and went public, but struggled to impress investors or operate profitably. Did it have a sustainable business model? Groupon sold coupons called Groupons which purchasers used to acquire goods or services at... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Entrepreneurship; Financial Management; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Web Services Industry; United States

August 1999 (Revised May 2000)
Case

E Ink

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Susan Archambault

E Ink is a high-technology start-up attempting to revolutionize print communication through electronic ink displays. The founders and top managers of this two-year-old firm are striving to translate a technological breakthrough into a working prototype, move from... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Organizational Structure; Commercialization; Technology; Information Technology Industry

Sara Torti is a senior product and operating executive who has focused extensively on creating and scaling technology-based businesses that require a combination of detailed execution, business insight and technical acumen. She has grown products... View Details

April 1995
Case

Minnetonka Corporation: From Softsoap to Eternity

Minnetonka Corp. which was founded in 1964, began as a niche player in the gift soap and novelty toiletries markets. In 1980, it entered--and managed to capture a piece of--the mass bar-soap market with pump-dispensed Softsoap liquid soap. In 1984, the company took on... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

20 Jan 2020
News

Larry Fink Isn’t Going to Read Your Sustainability Report

02 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

Investor Protection: The Czech Experience

drama behind the scenes, however, ultimately eclipsed the programming at TV Nova. Despite the eventual 99-percent stake held in the channel by Central European Media Enterprises (CME), the holding company of Ronald Lauder (one of the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Media & Broadcasting; Entertainment & Recreation

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

May 1985 (Revised November 1990)
Case

Spinnaker Software Corp.

By: Howard H. Stevenson

Describes the problems faced by a company that has experienced remarkable growth, but growth which is below projections. The management must evaluate the company's position in the turbulent software industry. The two partners must then decide whether to cut back to... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Profit; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Software; Information Technology Industry

January 1991 (Revised March 1991)
Case

Responsible Care

By: George C. Lodge and Jeffrey F. Rayport

Describes a 1989 initiative of the Chemical Manufacturer's Association (CMA) to secure chemical industry support for and implementation of a series of codes of conduct in the field of environmental health and safety. Called "Responsible Care", the program makes... View Details

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Fairness; Ethics; Environmental Sustainability; Safety; Chemical Industry

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April 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Borusan CAT: Monetizing Prediction in the Age of AI (A)

By: Navid Mojir and Gamze Yucaoglu

Borusan Cat is an international distributor of Caterpillar heavy machines. Esra Durgun (Director of Strategy, Digitization, and Innovation) and Ozgur Gunaydin (CEO) seem to have bet their careers on developing Muneccim, a new predictive technology that is designed to... View Details

Keywords: Monetization Strategy; Artificial Intelligence; AI; Forecasting and Prediction; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Marketing; Segmentation; AI and Machine Learning; Construction Industry; Turkey

March 2020 (Revised May 2020)
Case

Board Director Dilemmas—Sharing Expertise

By: David G. Fubini, Suraj Srinivasan and Amram Migdal

This case focuses on a new director who was invited to the board specifically due to her expertise in a technical area. The case allows for discussion of the board director’s appropriate role: to advise and direct management or to ask thoughtful questions about... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Experience and Expertise

01 Nov 2022
What Do You Think?

Why Aren’t Business Leaders More Vocal About Immigration Policy?

Shapes Business, Economy & Society (Stanford Business Books, 2021). Tara Watson and Kalee Thompson, The Border Within: The Economics of Immigration in an Age of Fear (University of Chicago Press, 2022) Your feedback to last month’s column Have View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

November 2014
Case

Ardian—The Sale of Diana

By: Paul A. Gompers and Michael Roberts

The case focuses on a European private equity firm—Ardian—and the process it uses to sell one of its portfolio companies, and the decisions around that sale. Key issues include the choice of an auction or acceptance of a pre-emptive bid, and the role of the portfolio... View Details

Keywords: Spin-out; Exit; Sale; Private Equity; France

June 29, 2022
Other Article

Strategic Complexity? Using Experiments to Understand and Overcome Obfuscation

By: Michael Luca, Ginger Zhe Jin and Daniel Martin

Credit card companies must decide what product features to disclose to consumers, such as payment schedules, penalties, and fees--and also whether to present them clearly or bury them in the fine print. Firms face similar choices in settings ranging from privacy... View Details

Keywords: Obfuscation; Credit Cards; Strategic Incentives; Complexity; Agreements and Arrangements; Customers; Consumer Behavior; Financial Services Industry

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12 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

One Report: Better Strategy through Integrated Reporting

How can managers better identify, describe, and confront the issues of environmental and social sustainability that their companies increasingly encounter? One answer is One Report, a method of integrating... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

13 Jun 2013
News

Apple Thinks, and Makes, Different

02 Sep 2010
News

Disputing wrongful dismissal; consumers like underdogs, too

March 2021 (Revised March 2024)
Case

M-KOPA: Empowering Lives

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Wale Lawal and Pippa Tubman Armerding

The Pay As You Go solar power company in East Africa had sales of $71 million in 2019. It wished to grow to $300 million by 2025. M-KOPA, founded by three entrepreneurs in 2011, had grown nicely in Kenya and Uganda to reach nearly 750,000 households with an innovative... View Details

Keywords: Mobile Payment; Go-to-market Strategy; Business At The Base Of The Pyramid; Business Growth; Social Entrepreneurship; Renewable Energy; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Marketing Strategy; Developing Countries and Economies; Kenya; Uganda; Nigeria