Publications

March 2000
Background Note

Venture Capitalist as Entrepreneur, The

By: Robert J. Robinson and Noam T. Wasserman

Introduces students to negotiations between venture capitalists (VCs) and the limited partners who provide the VCs' capital. Also discusses negotiations between VCs and other VCs, including those within a VC firm itself. Explores interests, sources of negotiating... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Venture Capital; Capital; Negotiation Tactics; Entrepreneurship; Financial Services Industry

May 2018
Case

Environmental Platform LEEDership at USGBC

By: Michael W. Toffel, Timothy S. Simcoe and Aldo Sesia

By 2018, it was clear that U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) had significantly contributed to the growth of green building and over its 25-year history had become a powerful brand in the construction sector with its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Standards; Business Model; Leadership; Problems and Challenges; Construction Industry; Green Technology Industry

01 Feb 1999
News

All in the Family

own successful family companies. Making Order Out of Chaos A Model for Family Business HBS professor emeritus Renato Tagiuri and senior lecturer John Davis have developed a useful tool for understanding the... View Details

Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso

25 Feb 2020
News

From Das’s Desk

reunion model in several ways. First, we are taking a page from the positive response to the Insights program introduced at last year’s reunions. These sessions feature faculty members and other speakers addressing 10 key topics that... View Details

Keywords: Das Narayandas

01 Dec 2022
News

Road to Recovery

as acknowledgement of having achieved a sobriety streak. Such incentives and nudges may seem inconsequential, but they can go a long way toward changing behavior, says HBS professor Leslie John. She has not evaluated DynamiCare’s model in... View Details

Keywords: April White; Ambulatory Health Care Services; Health, Social Assistance

January 2010 (Revised March 2013)
Teaching Note

Western Union: Our World, Our Family® (TN)

By: Christopher Marquis and Bobbi Thomason

Teaching Note for [410050]. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Financial Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Diversity; Financial Services Industry

18 Feb 2013
Research & Ideas

Breaking Through a Growth Stall

investor and managerial costs. It affects job creation and innovation throughout society. Once a venture reaches a critical size, its complexity greatly increases. The original business model must deal with... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2018
Case

Rosslyn Resource: Monetization and Sales Strategy

By: Robert J. Dolan and Sunru Yong

Rosslyn Resource identifies exploration targets (potential mineral deposits) in the mining industry and advances them until the project can be monetized, usually through sale to a larger mining company, in return for an upfront fee and a royalty on future revenues.... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mining Industry

01 Sep 2020
Blog Post

6 Ways to Support COVID-Weary Employees

reliance on evidence to inform their decision-making, and their openness to revisiting decisions when needed, business leaders should certainly be doing the same. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, for example,... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

February 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Staples.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joanna M. Jacobson and Gillian Morris

Staples.com, the online unit of the U.S. office supplies retailing chain Staples, faces a range of strategic and organizational issues as it accelerates its growth. Should it pursue only existing Staples customers or consumers who do not shop in Staples stores? How... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Business Units; Business Model; Growth and Development; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Business Strategy; Service Industry; United States

March 2011
Teaching Note

PrimedicProviding Primary Care in Mexico (TN)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Teaching Note for 811040. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Health Care and Treatment; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Business Model; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Mexico

Keywords: Keith Larson; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

01 Sep 2007
News

Last Look - September 2007

Our thanks to MBA 1976 classmates John Adams, Dottie Stephenson (both Section C), Sam Yates (Section D), and many others who provided details about this model rocket launch in Harvard Stadium. Yates wrote: “We had a first-year Marketing... View Details

April 2007 (Revised March 2018)
Case

M-TRONICS (A)

By: Joseph L. Bower and Lynda M. Applegate

The new CEO of a small manufacturing firm pursues growth through the launch of Entrepreneurial Subsidiaries. While the firm grows revenues from $600 million to over $2 billion in 10 years, problems surface as the subsidiaries are integrated into the established... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Business Model; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Integration

01 Sep 2011
News

Charged Up

each faces a distinct set of business and strategy challenges. In the case “A123 Systems,” HBS professor Richard Vietor presents the issues confronting a manufacturer of the complex, evolving technology of lithium-ion batteries. Based in... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; batteries; Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing; Manufacturing

June 2016
Supplement

Duff & Phelps: Scaling an Entrepreneurial Venture (B)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and David Lane

In September 2005, Duff & Phelps closed on a deal to acquire a much larger firm that quadrupled its size to 500 employees. Almost immediately, the company faced challenging integration issues. Gottdiener and Silverman realize that they must now turn away from the... View Details

Keywords: Duff ＆ Phelps; Entrepreneurial Management; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Entrepreneurial Financing; Entrepreneurship; Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Business Model; Organizational Structure; Management

01 Dec 1999
News

Hawes Family Funds New Classroom Building

reinsurance. During almost four decades in the insurance business as a salesman, entrepreneur, top executive, and industry leader, he established a remarkable record of success while maintaining a sterling reputation for character and... View Details

September 2002 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Athleta

By: William A. Sahlman and Taslim Pirmohamed

The management team at Athleta is attempting to raise equity capital for the company in March 2002. Athleta is a catalog and online retailer of women's athletic clothing. The company has made substantial progress, with anticipated 2002 sales over $20 million, but has... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Financing and Loans; Business Model; Business Strategy; Equity; Capital; Retail Industry

01 Sep 2008
News

Reality to News Biz: Drop Dead

media analyst with Bernstein Research. “A high-cost business model like journalism can’t compete with ‘free.’ ” Blogospheric musing might well thrive in the interim, but only as long as it can crib from a... View Details

Keywords: Roben Farzad; journalism; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

December 2000 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Rise and Fall of Iridium, The

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Examines the history of Iridium Communications, a provider of mobile satellite services. Discusses the genesis of Iridium's technical design, then follows the venture through various stages of development. Describes Iridium's attempts to build a subscriber base after... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Business Model; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Structure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Telecommunications Industry