Publications

January 2014
Case

Steven Carpenter at Cake Financial (Abridged)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joseph B. Fuller and Shikhar Ghosh

Steven Carpenter reflects on the successes and failures of his recent venture, Cake Financial. Carpenter had just sold the four-year-old startup and was at work on a new business plan. But first, he wanted to understand why Cake Financial, a service that allowed users... View Details

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

June 2020
Teaching Note

Armarium: Luxury Fashion Brands for Rent

By: Jill Avery and David Fubini

Armarium, a two-sided digital platform that offered consumers the opportunity to rent the most coveted, current season high fashion clothing and accessories from the top global luxury brands, had emerged from its first sales season with two distinct customer segments:... View Details

Keywords: Luxury Brand; Fashion; Sharing Economy; Two-sided Marketplace; Target Market; Customer Selection; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Two-Sided Platforms; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Customer Value and Value Chain; Fashion Industry; Fashion Industry; United States; North America

Spring 2012
Article

The Roadmap for Private Equity, Venture Capital and Hedge Funds in Mexico: Alternative Assets as an Accelerator of Credit to Firms in Emerging Markets

By: Roberto Charvel

This article shows how alternative assets could be a good way for banks to start providing more loans to firms in emerging markets and finance growth, while giving local institutional investors access to new asset types. View Details

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06 May 2008
First Look

First Look: May 6, 2008

business model, one that positioned the company simultaneously in the PC industry and the consumer electronics industry. While Apple enjoyed a high market share in digital media players and in online music sales, it remained a niche... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

17 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

A Litmus Test for Entrepreneurs

afford to pass on any opportunity, no matter how small. They see business much like a game of PacMan—you can bag big fish only by learning to swallow small ones. The best entrepreneurs also recognize that trying out a business model on a small scale helps them find out... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kuemmerle

01 Jun 2025
News

Alumni Achievement Awards 2025

moment of crisis, everyone should say yes.” That spark: “After I left Vodafone I talked to more than a hundred organizations before deciding on General Atlantic. I like the growth moment of companies. You get to work with entrepreneurs.... View Details

Keywords: leadership; Alumni Achievement Awards

01 Sep 2020
News

Alumni and Faculty Books for September 2020

human competition—and even the future of humanity itself. Featuring select interviews from the biggest names in the industry, The Book of Esports weaves tales of trust, betrayal, and superhuman reflexes into predictive frameworks, explaining exactly why the View Details

16 May 2017
News

Facing the Board

“We know the industry is changing and we need to become very good global thinkers. The risk of not acting is even bigger.” After kicking the case around, talk turned to the pending role play and the best ways to make it a valuable... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Myers; photos by Susan Young; Blackrock; The Boardroom

15 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

High Ambition Leadership

to study must have had a compounded annual growth rate in revenues, profits, and market capitalization that exceeded the 50th percentile of industry peers between 1997 and 2006 or for the CEO's tenure.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

14 Nov 2006
First Look

First Look: November 14, 2006

Business School Case 707-012 Clearwater was trying to market value-added products in a traditionally commodities based industry while facing supply uncertainties and regulatory, environmental, and foreign exchange challenges. Clearwater... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 1990
Case

Bain & Co., Inc.: Growing the Business

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Raises management issues facing Bain & Co. in formulating its future global strategy and implementation of that strategy. View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Management; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Strategy; Expansion; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry

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28 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 28, 2008

creative destruction following U.S. banking deregulations using Census Bureau data. U.S. banking reforms brought about exceptional growth in both entrepreneurship and business closures. The vast majority of closures, however, were the new... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

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

18 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 18, 2018

for-profit entity, while expanding its lines of business to realms other than insurance. By both exploring the history of the insurance industry and Verisk's unique position within it, the case provides readers with an understanding of... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

February 2007 (Revised February 2009)
Case

A Differentiation Strategy at ASDA

By: David E. Bell and Nitin Sanghavi

The Wal-Mart CEO has challenged his company to do more to help mankind. The British subsidiary, ASDA, is reviewing its activities in the environment/social arena. View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Trends; Values and Beliefs; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

08 Apr 2015
What Do You Think?

Are Technology Companies Ripe for Disruption?

why high tech industries find themselves vulnerable to disruption today reflect thoughts of those who have studied the phenomenon. Philippe Gouamba said, "It is more important for Apple to out-do Samsung (and vice-versa) than it is... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Computer; Technology

March 2001 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Identifying and Realizing Investments in Eastern Europe (A)

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Robert E. Kennedy and Laure Mougeot Strook

A Greek milling firm wants to invest in Eastern Europe. The case explores the firm's search strategy and its due diligence process after a potential investment, and considers how the company should structure its bid. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Venture Capital; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Financial Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Europe

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August 2024
Case

Ashesi University: The Journey from Vision to Reality

By: Ranjay Gulati and Caroline de Lacvivier

In 1997, Patrick Awuah had a dream: to bring liberal arts education to Ghana. Amid the country’s declining economy and pervasive corruption problems, Awuah saw education as an opportunity to reverse its fortunes by investing in the next generation of African leaders.... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Higher Education; Entrepreneurship; Leadership Development; Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; Private Ownership; Education Industry; Ghana