Publications

September 2019
Case

Alicia Keys

By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Sarah Mehta

This case explores the life and career of Alicia Keys, the 15-time Grammy winning singer-songwriter and producer. Set in 2019, it covers the evolution of Keys’s 18-year musical career and additional passions, including acting, entrepreneurship, social justice activism,... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Fine Arts Industry; Music Industry; United States

August 2009
Article

Mental Accounting and Small Windfalls: Evidence from an Online Grocer

By: John Beshears and Katherine L. Milkman

We study the effect of small windfalls on consumer spending decisions by comparing the purchases online grocery customers make when redeeming $10-off coupons with the purchases they make without coupons. Controlling for customer fixed effects and other variables, we... View Details

Keywords: Mental Accounting; Windfalls; Marginal Propensity To Consume; Coupons; Marketing Communications; Consumer Behavior; Accounting; Cognition and Thinking; Retail Industry

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November 2012 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Persephone's Pomegranate: Crédit Agricole and Emporiki

By: Dante Roscini, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Jerome Lenhardt

In 2006 the French bank Crédit Agricole bought the Greek Emporiki bank, for €2.8 billion, at the peak of a bull market for bank takeovers. Six years, a major financial crisis, and €5.2 billion of losses later, in a context of great uncertainty in the European banking... View Details

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Currency; Development Economics; International Finance; International Relations; Banking Industry; Greece

October 2012 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Altoona State Investment Board: July 2012

By: Josh Lerner and Nathaniel Burbank

Considers the decision faced by state pension fund manager Rod Calhoun as he decides whether to invest $200 million in Bain Capital's eleventh global buyout fund: Bain Capital Fund XI. For the fund, Bain was offering its limited partners a choice between three... View Details

Keywords: Management Fees; Bain Capital; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Banking Industry; Boston

June 2011 (Revised February 2013)
Case

Mandatory Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosure in the European Union

By: George Serafeim

In 2011, the European Commission was deciding on how to best modify the existing European Union policy on corporate disclosure of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. Previous directives had recommended that European companies report ESG... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Strategy; Corporate Disclosure; Environmental Accounting; Competitive Strategy; International Accounting; Financial Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Debates; Europe

October 2008
Case

Tegan c.c.c.

Examines a struggling IT outsourcing project from the perspective of the customer--Tegan. It should be used in conjunction with Hrad Technika (9-609-039), which illustrates the supplier's point of view. When Tegan, a Welsh toy distributor, outsources the development of... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Information Technology; Service Operations; Business Processes; Information Technology Industry; Wales; Czech Republic

March 2008 (Revised July 2011)
Supplement

Cadbury Schweppes: Capturing Confectionery (C)

By: David Collis, Toby Stuart and Troy Smith

In late 2002, global confectionery and beverage maker Cadbury Schweppes needed to decide whether or not to make an acquisition bid for Adams, an underperforming gum company which had been put up for sale by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Examining the decision from a... View Details

Keywords: Food; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

July 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

The Mozilla Foundation: Launching Firefox 1.0 (A)

Explores the Mozilla Foundation's decisions leading up to the launch of Firefox 1.0, including its default browser, managing corporate partnerships, managing product development, and moving toward a revenue-based model. Mitchell Baker, president of the Mozilla... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Commercialization; Open Source Distribution; Partners and Partnerships; Information Technology; Social Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Innovation and Invention; Information Technology Industry; United States

March 2000 (Revised June 2001)
Case

AES: Hungarian Project (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Ann Leamon

The AES Corp., the world's largest independent power producer, has put out a request for bids to build a new power plant in Hungary. Just after the closing date for submitting bids, one of the contractors calls to request an opportunity to "improve" its bid. Although... View Details

Keywords: Bids and Bidding; Energy Generation; Technology Adoption; Business Startups; Ethics; Value; Energy Industry; Hungary

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09 Nov 2016
News

Blindsided by Trump’s Victory? Behavioral Science Explains

24 Apr 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Courage: The Defining Characteristic of Great Leaders

the defining characteristic of the best ones is courage to make bold moves that transform their businesses. Courageous leaders take risks that go against the grain of their organizations. They make decisions with the potential for... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Auto; Food & Beverage

Web

Partners - Case Method Project

CA 25 of 65 Carol Green Dennis The Harker School San Jose, CA CA 26 of 65 Lionel Green Renaissance Valley Academy Hemet, CA CA 27 of 65 Willa Greenstone Westridge School Pasadena, CA CA 28 of 65 Charles Hanson Menlo School Atherton, CA Subjects: World Economic History,... View Details

03 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

The Truck Driver Who Reinvented Shipping

Malcolm P. McLean, a truck driver, fundamentally transformed the centuries-old shipping industry, an industry that had long decided that it had no incentive to change. By developing the first safe, reliable, and cost effective approach to transporting containerized... View Details

Keywords: by Anthony J. Mayo & Nitin Nohria; Manufacturing; Transportation; Aerospace

October 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Wilderness Safaris: Impact Investing and Ecotourism Conservation in Africa

By: James E. Austin, Megan Epler Wood and Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard

In 2018 the majority ownership of publicly owned Wilderness Safaris, the leading high-end ecotourism company in Africa with safari operations in eight countries, was acquired by The Rise Fund, one of the world’s largest private social impact investing funds, and by FS... View Details