Publications

April 2015
Case

Carolinas HealthCare System: Consumer Analytics

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

In 2014, Dr. Michael Dulin, chief clinical officer for analytics and outcomes research and head of the Dickson Advanced Analytics (DA2) group at Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS), successfully unified all analytics talent and resources into one group over a three year... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Segmentation; Big Data; Management Information Systems; Hospital Management; Health Care and Treatment; Marketing; Segmentation; Analytics and Data Science; Information Management; Information Technology; Health; Health Industry; United States

02 Feb 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Mobile Money: The Effect of Service Quality and Competition on Demand

Keywords: by Karthik Balasubramanian & David F. Drake; Banking

February 2001 (Revised August 2001)
Case

WholesalerDirect

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Describes the development of WholesalerDirect, a B2B electronic commerce venture in the plumbing, heating, cooling, and piping industry. Adam Berger, the CEO, is trying to raise funding to roll out the company's e-commerce platform to the industry's more than 3,000... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Valuation; Business Plan; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy

Find at Harvard

30 Jan 2015
News

Meet the lone Super Bowl veteran who works in Boston’s startup scene

Teaching Interest

Strategy and Technology

Overview

This course explores the unique aspects of creating effective management and investment strategies for technology-intensive businesses. What are effective strategies for winning in markets with strong network effects? How should... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Technology

8 Feb 2022
Interview

Episode 109: Former Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly

By: Hubert Joly and Adam Mendler

A former Fortune 100 CEO, Hubert Joly was the leader of America's largest consumer electronics retailer. As CEO of Best Buy, Hubert led the company’s turnaround by implementing a distinct leadership philosophy and contrarian strategic decisions. Hubert joins Adam to... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Philosophy; Leadership; Personal Development and Career

10 Dec 2021
News

Great Leaders Embody These Four Principles, According to Best Buy's Former CEO

September 2010 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Gazelle in 2012

By: Andrei Hagiu and James Weber

Gazelle has pioneered a reCommerce intermediation model: it buys used electronics from consumers and resells them on eBay or to wholesalers. Going forward, its two main strategic challenges are 1) deciding how much to rely on partnerships with large retailers for... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Two-Sided Platforms; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; Service Industry

19 Feb 2020
News

Why real-life places still matter in the age of texting and Twitter

August 2007 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Gome: Bidding for China Paradise

Gome, China's largest electronics retailer, has the opportunity to acquire China Paradise, the number three player in the Chinese electronic retailer industry. This happened in the general context of a great market development and potential consolidation of the... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Trade; Market Entry and Exit; Performance; Opportunities; Competition; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Electronics Industry; Electronics Industry; China

February 2003 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM)

By: Michael E. Porter, Willis M. Emmons III and Christian Fenner

Le Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique S.A. (CSEM)--the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology--was a major nonprofit research institution located in Neuchatel, Switzerland, with roots in the Swiss watch industry. CSEM maintained close links to... View Details

Keywords: Cooperation; Information Technology; Alliances; Research and Development; Performance Productivity; Innovation and Invention; Nonprofit Organizations; Electronics Industry; Switzerland

November 1974 (Revised May 1994)
Case

Science Technology Co.

By: Thomas R. Piper

The president of a medium-sized electronics company is evaluating the financial forecasts and proposed financing program submitted by the chief financial officer. The forecasts are prepared in constant dollars, on which basis the proposed financing plan seems... View Details

Keywords: Currency; Financial Strategy; Forecasting and Prediction; Inflation and Deflation; Risk and Uncertainty; Outcome or Result; Electronics Industry; Electronics Industry

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

Professor Cash received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Texas Christian University; a Master of Science in Computer Science from Purdue University's Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences; and a Doctor of Philosophy in Management Information... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; computer; e-commerce industry; financial services; health care; information technology industry; software

September 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

The Fall of Circuit City Stores, Inc.

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

On January 16, 2009, after a dismal holiday season, Circuit City was forced into liquidation. Unable to meet creditors' demands, and with no acquirer in sight, Circuit City began the process of liquidating its remaining 567 U.S. stores. Circuit City had been the leader... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Leadership; Electronics Industry; Electronics Industry; North America

01 Feb 2019
News

Cracking Frontier Markets

13 Jun 2016
News

Managing the High-Intensity Workplace

December 2005 (Revised April 2011)
Case

General Electric's 20th Century CEOs

By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Mark Benson

General Electric thrived in every decade of the 20th century. Since its founding in 1892, GE has placed a high value on picking and training the best people. Staff members worked with other scientists in the company's research lab to design and manufacture new and... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Style