Publications

December 2010 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Steven Carpenter at Cake Financial

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

After investing $9 million of venture capital, Cake Financial had failed to reach critical mass. In early 2010 Cake's assets were sold and the company was dissolved. Founded in 2006, the San Francisco-based Internet company allowed users to monitor their investments... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Internet; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

December 2019
Supplement

Korea Telecom: Building a GiGAtopia (B)

By: Shane Greenstein, Feng Zhu and Susie L. Ma

Keywords: Mobile and Wireless Technology; Infrastructure; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Korean Peninsula

Working Paper

Electrification to Grow Manufacturing? Evidence from Mini-Grids in Nepal

By: Robyn C. Meeks, Hope F. Thompson and Zhenxuan Wang

Firms in developing countries often identify electricity as a major constraint to operations. Decentralized renewable energy sources could help alleviate these constraints. We investigate whether electrification in Nepal -- via microhydro plants and their mini-grids --... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Renewable Energy; Infrastructure; Economic Growth; Employment; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

SSRN

07 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017

Goals Challenges Traditional Organizational Designs By: Battilana, Julie, Michael Fuerstein, and Michael Lee Abstract—For an extended period during the first half of the 20th century, industrial democracy was a vibrant movement, with... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

15 Aug 2016
Research & Ideas

Black Swans and Big Trends Can Ruin Anyone's Internet Prediction

"What I’ve said that turned out to be right will be considered obvious, and what was wrong will be humorous" —Bill Gates, The Road Ahead, 1995 In 2001, I wrote a book explaining why accelerated growth strategies created value for some... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann; Technology

20 Nov 2007
First Look

First Look: November 20, 2007

ownership patterns across different towns, allowing credible identification of the effects of bank ownership on financial development, lending rates, and the quality of intermediation, as well as employment and investment. Credit markets with nationalized banks... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 2018 (Revised August 2021)
Teaching Note

Blackstone at Age 30 and Blackstone at 35

By: Josh Lerner

This teaching note is meant to guide in the instruction of HBS No. 316-013 "Blackstone at 30" case. It examines the process of institutionalization and scaling in private equity and alternative investments more generally, looking specifically at how Blackstone's size... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Blackstone; Alternative Assets; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Business Growth and Maturation; Public Ownership; Cost vs Benefits; Financial Services Industry

March 2008
Case

Ujjivan: A Microfinance Institution at a Crossroads (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Pamela Freed

Samit Ghosh, the CEO and founder of Ujjivan, a major microfinance provider in Bangalore, wants to grow his business rapidly and become financially sustainable, but he's struggling with staff fraud, high costs, and how to stay true to Ujjivan's mission of poverty... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Microfinance; Ethics; Mission and Purpose; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Bangalore

July 2009
Teaching Note

Khosla Ventures: Biofuels Strategy (TN)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III

Teaching Note for [809004]. View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Growth and Development; Financing and Loans; Investment; Emerging Markets; Renewable Energy; Biotechnology Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Singapore; Kuwait; China

May 1997
Teaching Note

Tale of Two Electronic Components Distributors TN

By: Ananth Raman and Bharat P. Rao

Teaching Note for (9-697-064). View Details

Keywords: Distribution Channels; Negotiation Deal; Consolidation; Growth and Development; Internet and the Web; Complexity; Electronics Industry

April 2025
Teaching Note

Tabby: Winning Customers' Digital Wallets

By: Eva Ascarza

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 524-056. Tabby, a Saudi-based fintech founded in 2019, rapidly became one of the MENA region’s first unicorns by offering buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services with a unique twist: instead of charging end consumers, it partnered with... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Business Startups; Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Middle East; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates

February 2017
Case

BlaBlaCar: The Road Ahead...

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Arun Sundararajan, Emilie Billaud and Caroline Caltagirone

In 2017, the co-founders of BlaBlaCar—the world’s largest long-distance carpooling company—reflected on the evolution of their venture and the way forward. BlaBlaCar had reached critical mass and size; yet staying still was not going to be enough to be relevant and... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Transformation; Decision Making; Values and Beliefs; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Network Effects; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Internet and the Web; Transportation Networks; Transportation Industry; Transportation Industry; France; Europe

November 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

ASIMCO: The Alliance Brewing Group

ASIMCO is a direct investment fund with $350 million invested in 17 Chinese joint ventures in the brewing and auto components industries. The CEO must decide whether to invest in distribution to grow the brewing business or to invest in additional manufacturing joint... View Details

Keywords: Production; Distribution; Joint Ventures; Decision Making; Investment Funds; Growth and Development Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China

Find at Harvard

25 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 25

negative outcomes in knowledge and technology transfer. Business enterprises emerge both as important drivers of international economic growth and as significant agents in the divergent patterns of wealth and poverty that have... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

US Competitiveness at Risk

obvious and most important is the job-creation machine. For decades, America has been unique among large advanced countries in generating large numbers of jobs steadily over time: roughly 2 percent job growth per year [on a rolling... View Details

Keywords: Re: Michael E. Porter & Jan W. Rivkin

01 Feb 2018
News

HBS Professor Emeritus Hugo Uyterhoeven Dies at 86

in the Harvard MBA program, including Management of International Business; Business, Government, and the International Economy; and Industry and Competitive Analysis. He taught in and was course head of Business Policy and the General... View Details

19 Sep 2012
News

On a Sound Track

management consultant at Monitor, which sharpened my perspective on business and industry strategy. I learned a huge amount at HBS in discussions of leadership, entrepreneurial marketing, finance, and ethics. I also spent some time at... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; audio equipment; fashion; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

December 2010
Teaching Note

Corporate Strategy at Berkshire Partners (TN)

By: Julie M. Wulf

Teaching Note for 710-414. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Growth and Development; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Design; Problems and Challenges; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams; Financial Services Industry

January 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

The Allstate Corporation

By: John R. Wells

In 2007, Allstate was the number two property and casualty insurer in the USA and had enjoyed five years of rapid profit improvement. The question facing CEO Thomas J. Wilson was how to maintain the momentum. This case tracks the evolution of Allstate's strategy over... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Financial Institutions; Insurance; Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financial Services Industry