Publications

June 2005 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Distrobot Systems, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman

Distrobot is a start-up that has developed a new system for warehouse automation. The company is trying to raise money to finance the launch of the product. The founder must decide how much capital to raise, from whom, and on what terms. View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Product Launch; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Distribution Industry; Service Industry

August 2008 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Repositioning CARE USA

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Katharine Lee

CARE USA, a large ($600 million) international nonprofit/NGO, had recently revamped its external branding and positioning in support of its international development work. The case lays out the challenges facing its new CEO, Helene Gayle, as she manages through the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Management; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Non-Governmental Organizations; Adaptation; United States

21 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: Feb. 21

comparative perspective on the development of public primary education in four of the largest developing economies circa 1910: Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). These four View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 1983 (Revised September 1983)
Case

E.T. Phone Home, Inc.: Forecasting Business Demand

By: John F. Cady and Frank V. Cespedes

Describes a process for forecasting market demand for an emerging technology--cellular radio. The student must critically evaluate the demand model and the market estimates, and modify them as appropriate in order to develop a marketing plan and budget. View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Business Processes; Technology

spring 1987
Article

Second-Sourcing and the Experience Curve: Price Competition in Defense Procurement

By: James J. Anton and Dennis A. Yao

We examine a dynamic model of price competition in defense procurement that incorporates the experience curve, asymmetric cost information, and the availability of a higher cost alternative system. We model acquisition as a two-stage process in which initial production... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Government and Politics; Price; Competition; Mathematical Methods

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Blog

Understanding the Benefits of Our Virtual Programs

We spoke with four participants of our live online programs to learn more about their experience: Augusto Bassanini, President & CEO, United Grain Corporation Trey Ford, Vice President, Platform Strategy and Trust, Salesforce.com, Inc.... View Details

01 Dec 2023
News

Endless Possibilities

Faye Iosotaluno (MBA 2008) met her husband through friends when she was only 19 years old. It was 1999, and the mobile-first app Tinder—which launched in 2012 and where Iosotaluno is currently COO—was not even a distant glimmer on the dating horizon. While the app... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

February 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Doing Business in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

By: Karen G. Mills, Allison H. Mnookin, Leonard A. Schlesinger, Shu Lin, Julianne Bliss and Morgane Herculano

Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vice Chairwoman of Vingroup, the largest private conglomerate in Vietnam, and Global CEO of VinFast, Vingroup’s automotive subsidiary established in 2017, was contemplating VinFast’s future strategy. Domestically, the EV market in Vietnam was in its... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Global Strategy; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Infrastructure; Competition; Auto Industry; Viet Nam

26 Oct 2021
Blog Post

Tap into Top Talent with the HBS Leadership Fellows Program

around the country, and he credits the HBS Leadership Fellows Program as the springboard that launched his career. Now he is back at Harvard Business School as the Director of the Social Enterprise Initiative helping develop more leaders... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise

September 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Briscola—Pizza Society: Scaling Affordable Luxury

By: Gary P. Pisano and Federica Gabrieli

Riccardo Cortese and Federico Pinna were the CEOs of Briscola—Pizza Society, a restaurant chain they had founded in 2014 with a clear ambition: create a distinctive international pizza chain that would combine a fast-casual format with the devotion to quality that... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Geographic Location; Business Model; Ownership Type; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; Italy

October 2005 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Bennie Wiley at The Partnership, Inc.

Benaree Wiley, an African American, female HBS graduate (class of 1972), was appointed CEO and president in 1991 of The Partnership, a Boston-based nonprofit dedicated to developing leadership potential in professionals of color and in increasing their representation... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Leading Change; Nonprofit Organizations; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry; Boston

March 2017 (Revised February 2018)
Case

VMware and the Public Cloud

By: Raffaella Sadun and Christine Snively

In 2015, VMware, a pioneer in server and network virtualization and a member of parent company EMC’s “federation” of companies, had set its sights on becoming a leading public cloud provider. Two years prior, VMware first entered the public cloud market with its vCloud... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Computer Industry; Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

17 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

A Litmus Test for Entrepreneurs

initial caution, growth when it came was both fast and steady. When he sold the company in 1999 to the Spanish food conglomerate Campofrio, TelePizza spanned six countries with more than 600 outlets selling some $250 million worth of... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kuemmerle

20 Dec 2018
Blog Post

A Time For Opportunity In Food and Agriculture

with the Career and Professional Development office to offer an alumni career panel for MBAs. Five alumni came to campus to share their insights about opportunities in the field. Thirty-five students turned out for learning and... View Details

18 Mar 2009
Research & Ideas

Marketing After the Recession

product in the next period. Use common sense. If the Wal-Mart parking lot looks less crowded, some consumers are probably migrating back to Target and vice versa. Develop scenarios. How long the current recession will last is widely... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Retail

November 1994
Case

VideoGuide, Inc. (A)

By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green

VideoGuide is emerging from a development stage start-up and requires a significant capital infusion to commercialize its product. Various financing options are considered including going public, venture capital, private placement, or a strategic partner. Given the... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Capital; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Initial Public Offering; Markets; Partners and Partnerships; Growth and Development Strategy; Going Public

November 1999
Case

IBM Ireland: Reinventing Education Crosses the Atlantic

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and John R. R Scannell

IBM has just launched an innovation partnership with the Irish Ministry of Education to bring information technology to Irish schools. Wired for Learning was developed in the United States; how well will it be applied in Ireland? View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Partners and Partnerships; Innovation Strategy; Education; Technology Adoption; Government and Politics; Technology Industry; Education Industry; United States; Republic of Ireland

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November 1983 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Pepsi-Cola United Kingdom (A)

By: Benson P. Shapiro and Edward J. Hoff

On January 2, 1983 Pepsi-Cola United Kingdom had to develop a plan to defend its successful Diet Pepsi brand against the about to be introduced diet Coke. Contains useful material on competitive behavior and on U.S. versus U.K. consumer behavior. View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Consumer Behavior; Planning; Competition; Food and Beverage Industry; United Kingdom; United States