Publications

27 Sep 2016
First Look

September 27, 2016

selecting investments, VCs see the management team as more important than business-related characteristics such as product or technology. They also attribute more of the likelihood of ultimate investment success View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2003 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Arthur Andersen LLP

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

This case highlights the history of Arthur Andersen and the collapse of the firm following the Enron Corp. audit and the Department of Justice obstruction of justice conviction. View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Financial Statements; Business Exit or Shutdown; Lawfulness; United States

09 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 9, 2015

divided over the product's positioning and pricing. Should it be positioned as a basic product to maximize reach for its health benefits or as a premium product for consumers who sought superior cavity protection? Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2000 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Health Development Corporation

By: Richard S. Ruback

Health Development Corp. (HDC) owns and operates health clubs in the Greater Boston area. HDC engaged a local investment banker to explore a sale of the company. The most likely buyer views HDC's prior purchase of real estate as a negative. HDC's management is... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Property; Business Exit or Shutdown; Valuation; Value; Decisions; Health Industry; Boston

03 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 3

KhayyatHarvard Business School Supplement 912-015 After a decade-long dispute with the Polish State Treasury, in October 2009 the Dutch insurer Eureko agreed to exit PZU in exchange for compensation. Who was... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

10 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 10

focused on the white goods affiliate Arçelik. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/815078-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 815-102 Brentwood Associates: Exiting Zoës Kitchen The... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

October 2011 (Revised August 2012)
Case

INNOVA-MEX's Bid for ENKONTROL

By: Ramana Nanda, William R. Kerr and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In their second year, two Mexican HBS MBAs joined forces to start a search fund based in Mexico City. They had raised money to acquire an existing private company in Mexico with an initial enterprise value between $5 million and $15 million. Just seven months after... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Investment Funds; Corporate Finance; Mexico City

June 30, 2023
Article

How to Save a Stumbling Startup

By: Ranjay Gulati

Keywords: Business Startups; Small Business; Outcome or Result; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Exit or Shutdown

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08 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 8, 2008

to double plant capacity, sell the plant to outside investors, or perhaps make no major changes. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=708021 The Turnaround of Chris-Craft Harvard View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

21 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 21

offering. Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/search/613031-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 613-046 Microsoft Server & Tools (B) Supplement for case 613-031. Update on progress of Microsoft's Server & Tools View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2003
Case

Sale of Hephaestus, Inc. to Vulcan Ventures, Inc.

Henry Hephaestus founded Hephaestus, Inc. in 1895. Its first product was a tapered roller bearing for use with horse-drawn wagons and carriages. It reduced friction on the axle and reduced the force necessary to move a heavy load, thereby enabling one horse to do the... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Entrepreneurship; Family Ownership; Manufacturing Industry

January 2023
Case

Kavnia Coffee

By: Lindsay N. Hyde, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Kumba Sennaar, Sarah Mehta and Jiyoon Han

Case on a coffee hardware startup where a series of experiments and pivots led founder to conclude that the venture was no longer viable. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Operations; Business Startups; Failure; Business Exit or Shutdown; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

17 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 17

could easily slip through, or a "bulletproof" paywall like the Financial Times had done, where users had to pay before they could access any content? What choices would provide the foundation for a successful View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

24 Jul 2007
First Look

First Look: July 24, 2007

to use its limited resources focusing on Home Depot or find a new target to forward their cause. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=407097 Apollo Hospitals—First-World Health Care at... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2003
Case

Compaq's Struggle

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and David Lane

In 1997, Compaq Computer was locked in price competition with industry leader Dell. Although Compaq sought to escape difficulty by acquiring Digital Equipment Corp. ,a maker of more lucrative servers and minicomputers, in 1998 the simultaneous effort to remain a... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Asset Pricing; Alliances; Competitive Strategy; Computer Industry

July 2012
Case

Shut It Down?

By: Clayton Rose

Meredith, the head of a major division of a financial firm, must confront an unexpected response and challenge from a senior colleague when she proposes shutting down an underperforming unit. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Collaboration; Business Units; Business Exit or Shutdown; Leadership; Strategy; Financial Services Industry

02 Aug 2016
First Look

August 2, 2016

the methodology used to allocate fixed costs on strategic decisions, such as eliminating product lines or firm segments. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/116047-PDF-ENG Harvard View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2003
Case

Energis (A)

By: John R. Wells

Describes the history of Energis, one of the United Kingdom's major alternative telecommunications network service providers (altnets). Tracks the company from its birth as a diversification move by the National Grid, the U.K.'s leading electricity distributor, through... View Details

Keywords: History; Change Management; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Structure; Industry Structures; Telecommunications Industry; United Kingdom

January 1995 (Revised June 1997)
Case

Walt Disney Company, 1994: A Tumultuous Year

By: David J. Collis and Elizabeth Wynne Johnson

Focuses on a six-month period in 1994, during which the company experienced a series of dramatic upheavals. The events described include: 1) the sudden death of company president Frank Wells; 2) a health crisis facing Chairman Michael Eisner; 3) the "departure" of... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Startups; Resignation and Termination; Crisis Management; United States