Publications

March 2016 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Michael Milken: The Junk Bond King

By: Tom Nicholas and Matthew G. Preble

Michael Milken, an investment banker who dominated the junk bond market in the 1980s, was sentenced to jail in 1990 after pleading guilty to a number of securities and tax-related felonies. In the preceding decade, Milken had helped usher in a new wave of leveraged buy... View Details

Keywords: Junk Bonds; High-yield Bonds; Financial Innovation; Shareholder Value; Bonds; Capital; Capital Structure; Cost of Capital; Crime and Corruption; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Finance; Investment Banking; Leveraged Buyouts; Mergers and Acquisitions; Ownership; Private Equity; Restructuring; United States

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Student Research - Doctoral

Berquist, Lev Klarnet and Leemore Dafny Private equity (PE) ownership of physician practices is increasing, with owners targeting sales, or exits, in 3 to 7 years. Little is known about the association of... View Details

2007
Working Paper

A Taste For Obscurity: An Individual-Level Examination of 'Long Tail' Consumption

By: Anita Elberse

Because online retailers are often able to provide products in a more cost-efficient manner than bricks-and-mortar stores, online channels are characterized by a vast assortment of products. Proponents of the "long tail" principle recently argued that the demand for... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Distribution Channels; Product; Renting or Rental; Online Technology; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Retail Industry

Web

Advisory Board - Entrepreneurship

Engineering. Michael Cline (MBA 1985), Accretive Technology Partners J. Michael Cline is the founding Partner of Accretive Technology Partners, LLC, a private equity firm focused on building market leaders in the business process... View Details

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Frequently Asked Questions | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

What is the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative? The HBS Social Enterprise Initiative applies innovative business practices and managerial disciplines to drive sustained, high-impact social change. It's grounded in the mission of Harvard... View Details

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

protection, such as patents, trade secrets, and trademarks. A trademark offers a way to capture the brand equity of a company or a product. BusinessWeek recently calculated that the value of the Coca-Cola brand was worth more than $65... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

Research Summary

Supply Chain Inventory Planning

My work studies management decision-making in demand and supply planning contexts with a focus on forecasting and inventory planning decisions. I examine these decision-making processes from both a supply chain (i.e. across firm) and an... View Details

20 Nov 2012
First Look

First Look: November 20

capacity and new products only when attractive, low-risk opportunities are identified and can be funded internally. The firm's culture of risk aversion extends to financing decisions with a clear preference for equity finance over debt... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

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General Management Curriculum - Faculty & Research

General Management Overview Faculty Curriculum Awards & Honors Doctoral Students MBA Required Curriculum (FIRST YEAR) Leadership and Corporate Accountability In this course, students learn about the complex responsibilities facing business leaders today. Through cases... View Details

August 2013 (Revised December 2014)
Case

Taking Dell Private

By: David J. Collis, David B. Yoffie and Matthew Shaffer

In July 2012, Michael Dell, CEO and founder of Dell, Inc., met with a representative of Silver Lake Partners to explore taking his company private. The company, which he had founded in his dorm room as a college freshman and which had made him the youngest Fortune 500... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Going Private; The PC Market; Market For Corporate Control; Corporate Strategy; Leveraged Buyouts; Change Management; Private Equity; Market Entry and Exit; Private Ownership; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Computer Industry; Technology Industry; United States

January 2022 (Revised January 2024)
Case

ReNew Power: Leading the Energy Transition in India

By: Gunnar Trumbull and Malini Sen

Founder-CEO of one of India’s largest clean energy companies, ReNew Power, which develops, builds, and operates utility-scale wind and solar energy projects, has to decide the way forward for the company as the country and the world stand poised at the cusp of an... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Energy Sources; Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Initial Public Offering; Forecasting and Prediction; Trends; Transformation; Private Ownership; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Industry; India; Asia