Publications

01 Jun 2020
News

Unleashed

better or simply adapt to the status quo. What’s more important, growth or excellence? Action or analysis? Being direct or saving face? Strategy drops hints, but it’s culture that has the definitive answers.... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

October 2012
Case

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged)

By: Toby Stuart and James Weber

Describes a set of key strategic decisions facing the scientific founder and CEO of a promising, early stage bio-pharmaceuticals company. Should the company establish a proposed alliance with a pharmaceutical firm? Should it create a nutraceuticals business in parallel... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry

September 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

GoodGuide

By: George Serafeim, Robert G. Eccles and Tiffany A. Clay

GoodGuide, a high-technology start-up company, founded by University of California Professor at Berkley Dara O'Rourke is at a critical junction. The venture capital funded company has yet to find the business model to monetize a very promising product that provides... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Venture Capital; Goods and Commodities; Business Model; Information Technology; Knowledge; Education Industry; California

December 2007 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Vegpro Group: Growing in Harmony

By: David E. Bell, Brian Milder and Mary Shelman

Vegpro, a horticulture company, is Kenya's largest exporter of fresh vegetables and flowers to top supermarkets in the U.K. and Europe. In 2007, Vegpro's business is threatened by growing consumer concern about the environmental impact of food production and transport,... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Developing Countries and Economies; Ethics; Food; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Environmental Sustainability; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Kenya; Europe; United Kingdom

Find at Harvard

01 Mar 2008
News

India is more Transparent

“Finding reliable, useful financial information is a real problem that anyone wanting to work at, sell to, buy from, or invest in a Chinese or Indian company must face. I am often asked for guidance in solving this problem and have found that the answers are different... View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

June 2020
Teaching Plan

Chief

By: Katherine B. Coffman, Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Kathleen L. McGinn, Julia Kelley, Amy Klopfenstein and Katherine Chen

Teaching Plan serves as a supplement to the case for “Chief: Role for Carolyn Childers” (920-019), “Chief: Role for Lindsay Kaplan” (920-020), and “Scaling at Chief” (920-021). View Details

28 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 28, 2009

http://hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=809062 JWT China: Advertising for the New Chinese Consumer Harvard Business School Case 809-079 This case analyzes the business strategy and expansion of JWT China from the late... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 28, 2018

to have scaled their software startup, InsightSquared, to $2 million in revenue and secured an $8 million round of venture capital. However, they disagreed on the path ahead, specifically on the sales and marketing plan. Shilmover preferred a sales-centric approach to... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

17 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 17

on consumers knowing that firms know this. This creates a distinction between strategies of targeting and personalization. Third, the effectiveness of targeting in equilibrium may (far) exceed the information contained directly in the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 23

Publications December 2014 Journal of Political Economy Transition to Clean Technology By: Acemoglu, Daron, Ufuk Akcigit, Douglas Hanley, and William R. Kerr Abstract—We develop a microeconomic model of endogenous growth where clean and... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

08 Dec 2009
First Look

First Look: Dec. 8

to the company's future. I argue that there may be a geographic solution to this dilemma. In such a solution, a fast-growing emerging market plays a central role in orchestrating a complete strategy for corporate entrepreneurship. I also... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Supercell 2.0: Clash of Plans

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and George Gonzalez

Founded in 2010, Supercell was a Helsinki, Finland-based mobile gaming company that had developed and launched five global hit mobile games: Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Hay Day, Brawl Stars, and Boom Beach. The company’s early philosophy was that it could produce... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Restructuring; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Video Game Industry; Finland

June 2010
Teaching Note

Cisco Business Councils (2007): Unifying a Functional Enterprise with an Internal Governance System (TN)

By: Ranjay Gulati and Marlo Goetting

Teaching Note for 409062. View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; System; Business Units; Corporate Strategy; Infrastructure; Growth and Development; Decision Making; Restructuring; Resource Allocation; Information Technology Industry

24 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 24

Prosperity In 2014, Khuram Mir, CEO of HN Agri Serve, an innovative apple orchard company in the Kashmir region of Northern India, wonders about the best growth strategy for his company. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

Is a Gap in Small-Business Credit Holding Back the American Economy?

during financial crises because they are more dependent on bank capital to fund their growth and operations. They feel the swings up and down more acutely due to their reliance on the free flow of bank credit, according to a 1994 study by... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Manufacturing

06 Oct 2015
Blog Post

Henry McGee: From HBO to HBS

reporting for Newsweek. After working for a couple of years in the magazine’s DC bureau, I decided that the business side of publishing was more interesting to me than the editorial end. Regrettably, though, I knew very little about marketing, finance, View Details

07 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

Banning Big-box Stores Can Hurt Local Retailers

protect local businesses from the crushing competition of "big-box" stores. But it turns out such rules often backfire, according to research by Raffaella Sadun, an assistant professor in the Strategy unit at Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail

August 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Lexoo: Building a Long-Lasting Platform (Abridged)

By: Chiara Farronato and Elena Corsi

Lexoo, a UK-based online marketplace for legal services, was facing the strategic choice of how to grow from early start-up to mature platform. Daniel van Binsbergen, Lexoo's CEO, and web developer Chris O'Sullivan, CTO, had set up Lexoo to help Small and Medium-Sized... View Details

Keywords: Legal Services; Marketplaces; Pivot; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Small Business; Service Operations; Decision Making; Legal Services Industry