Publications

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March 2000
Supplement

Charles Schwab Corporation, The: A Presentation by David Pottruck Co-CEO

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Melissa Dailey

David Pottruck, Co-CEO of Charles Schwab Corp., discusses the company's information technology and competitive strategy with an Executive Education (Program for Management Development) class at Harvard Business School, October 22, 1999. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Information Technology; Financial Services Industry

March 2009
Supplement

Bausch & Lomb, Inc.: Pressure to Perform (B)

By: Robert L. Simons

This case breaks the existing (and still available) Bausch & Lomb, Inc.: Pressure to Perform case into an (A) and a (B) case. The (B) case can be used in class to demonstrate the serious consequences of overly aggressive accounting. The (B) case should be used after... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Revenue Recognition; Organizations; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

March 1998 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Bumper Acquisition (C), A

By: James K. Sebenius and David T. Kotchen

Carries the negotiation between Thermo-Impact and Medallion Capital through October 1996. The companies began talks in 1995 when Medallion offered to buy Thermo-Impact. Students view developments from the perspective of Thermo-Impact's owners and must make decisions... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Participants; Entrepreneurship; Acquisition; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Illinois

July 1989 (Revised August 1993)
Supplement

Kanthal (B)

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Describes actions taken by senior management of Kanthal after seeing the results of the newly installed account management system. Designed as a class handout. A rewritten version of an earlier case by the same author. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Management Systems; Management Teams

February 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Ample Hills Creamery

By: Tom Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Tom Quinn

Ample Hills Creamery started in 2010 as a temporary ice cream pushcart in Brooklyn, New York City. On the strength of inventive flavors and clever marketing, husband-and-wife founders Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna built a premium, artisanal dessert empire of 16 retail... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Business Growth and Maturation; Partners and Partnerships; Logistics; Profit; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Food and Beverage Industry

September 2022
Article

Giving a Buck or Making a Buck? Donations by Pharmaceutical Manufacturers to Independent Patient Assistance Charities

By: Leemore Dafny, Christopher Ody and Teresa Rokos

The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits biopharmaceutical manufacturers from directly covering Medicare enrollees’ out-of-pocket spending for the drugs they manufacture, but manufacturers may donate to independent patient assistance charities and earmark donations... View Details

Keywords: Cost Sharing; Prescription Drugs; Drug Spending; Medicare; Dual Eligibility; Cost; Health Care and Treatment; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Pharmaceutical Industry

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Article

How to Use Heuristics for Differential Privacy

By: Seth Neel, Aaron Leon Roth and Zhiwei Steven Wu

We develop theory for using heuristics to solve computationally hard problems in differential privacy. Heuristic approaches have enjoyed tremendous success in machine learning, for which performance can be empirically evaluated. However, privacy guarantees cannot be... View Details

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January 1993 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Texas High-Speed Rail Corporation

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

The finance director of the Texas High-Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) is considering modifications to the financing program designed to support the development, construction, and operations of THSRC's planned high-speed rail system. The current plan achieves many objectives,... View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Taxation; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Strategic Planning; Valuation; Rail Industry; Texas

April 2001
Supplement

Russell Reynolds Associates

By: Tarun Khanna

Features a presentation by Managing Directors Peter Drummond-Hay and Steve Scroggins of Russell Reynolds, to a class of MBA students at the Harvard Business School about the challenges of developing institutions of management and the labor market. View Details

Keywords: Management; Labor; Markets; Problems and Challenges

17 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Who is Boss in the Sharing Economy?

When is a company not a company? A modern-day Zen koan, maybe, but the evidence is all around us—Airbnb, Elance-oDesk, Handy, HourlyNerd, TaskRabbit, Uber. These businesses seem much more like conglomerations of independent professionals... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Service; Technology

May 2001
Supplement

Korea Stock Exchange

By: Tarun Khanna

Features a presentation by In-Kie Hong of Korea Stock Exchange discussing the depth of the crisis, its origin, and its possible resolution in the end. In-Kie Hong addresses a class of MBA students at the Harvard Business School. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Financial Markets; Stocks; Financial Services Industry; Korean Peninsula

June 1988 (Revised August 1988)
Case

Alpha and Omega

Students will read the case and prepare an action plan for class. In class the students will discuss their action plan for the formation of a new company. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Planning

24 Apr 2023 - 27 Apr 2023
Conference Presentation

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: The Paradoxical Effect & Impact on Security

By: J. Carlos Vega, Hise O. Gibson, Nicole Gilmore and Larry Whiteside Jr.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) is necessary to create the world class teams we need to defend against advanced threats and adversaries; however, the approach that most take often fails spectacularly. The panel challenges the current practices, the failings, and... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Cybersecurity; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

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April 2020
Article

Technological Leadership (de)Concentration: Causes in Information and Communication Technology Equipment

By: Yasin Ozcan and Shane Greenstein

Using patent data from 1976 to 2010 as indicators of inventive activity, we determine the concentration level of where inventive ideas originate and then examine how and why those concentrations change over time. The analysis finds pervasive deconcentration in every... View Details

Keywords: Deconcentration; Technological Innovation; Innovation Leadership; Patents; Market Entry and Exit; Telecommunications Industry

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July 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Equity Restructuring at Dell Technologies: Buy Out, Buy Up, Buy In (A)

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

In November 2018, Dell Technologies was poised to re-enter the public markets by means of a complex recapitalization that would replace an entire class of publicly-traded “tracking stock,” with new shares that would trade publicly without the need of a formal IPO. The... View Details

Keywords: Technology; M＆A; Recapitalization; MBO; Equity Issues; Private Equity Buyouts; Public Ownership; Stock Shares; Mergers and Acquisitions; Equity; Technology Industry; United States

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; Web Services Industry

June 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Procter & Gamble: Marketing Capabilities

By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson

P&G had become known and recognized as a marketing machine. It was the largest advertiser in the world, with 2010 spending of $8.68 billion. From the company's early exploitation of broadcast media (radio and television) for its soap products to more recent experiments... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Change Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Innovation Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry

March 2007 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Nike Inc. - Heading Toward 2012

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

This is a short case (2 pages), which can be distributed and discussed in class as an update through 2006 of the Nike case series. It follows Nike, Inc.: Entering the Millennium (Case #299-084). View Details

Keywords: Business History; Brands and Branding; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

September 1998 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Costco Companies, Inc.

By: David E. Bell and Ann Leamon

Costco Companies, one of the major players in the wholesale club industry, has developed a new class of membership that offers discounted services--auto, health, and home insurance, business credit card processing, real estate services--in exchange for a higher annual... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Cost Management; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Supply and Industry; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Risk and Uncertainty; Retail Industry