Publications

October 2021
Case

Unshrinking the Pie: Desirée Stolar's Negotiation Saga (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

When Desirée (“Des”) Stolar’s wool sweater shrank two sizes, the Harvard Business School student worked with classmates to develop a solution that both fixed her problem and launched Unshrinkit, a successful consumer goods company with a widely-available product for... View Details

Keywords: Bargaining; Startups; Negotiation; Contracts; Negotiation Tactics; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

March 1998
Case

Bumper Acquisition (B), A

By: James K. Sebenius and David T. Kotchen

Picks up the negotiation between Thermo-Impact and Medallion Capital where the (A1) and A2) cases leave off. The companies began talks in 1995 when Medallion offered to buy Thermo-Impact. This case brings the negotiation through May 1996. Students view developments... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Participants; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Illinois

17 Apr 2017
HBS Case

This Turkish Debt Collector Is Customer-friendly

indebted.” AMCs in the country have traditionally used that sentiment to their advantage, putting the screws on debtors with a hard-sell tactics to squeeze as much payment out of them as possible. Start with the debtors Turkasset’s new... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

What It Takes: Minorities in the Executive Suite

business through informal personal networks, Advanced Technology, for example, has established dialogue groups as its core tactic for achieving diversity. These groups give employees a forum in which to examine their biases and engage in... View Details

Keywords: by Judith A. Ross

August 2008 (Revised July 2012)
Background Note

The Power to Persuade (Abridged)

By: Michael Watkins, G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

This note develops and explains a five-part framework for persuading others to support (or not oppose) a desired course of action. View Details

Keywords: Framework; Management Skills; Negotiation Tactics; Power and Influence; Cooperation

September 2002
Background Note

Presence of Mind

By: Michael A. Wheeler

This case is reflection on the importance of acquiring presence of mind in negotiations. Using a variety of metaphors, the case explores different ways for negotiators to achieve this selfawareness. Athletes experience the phenomenon of "being in the zone," artists and... View Details

Keywords: Management Skills; Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Style; Interpersonal Communication; Decision Making

March 2000
Background Note

Venture Capitalist as Entrepreneur, The

By: Robert J. Robinson and Noam T. Wasserman

Introduces students to negotiations between venture capitalists (VCs) and the limited partners who provide the VCs' capital. Also discusses negotiations between VCs and other VCs, including those within a VC firm itself. Explores interests, sources of negotiating... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Venture Capital; Capital; Negotiation Tactics; Entrepreneurship; Financial Services Industry

July 9, 2014
Article

A Great Negotiator's Essential Advice

By: James K. Sebenius

The Program on Negotiation (PON), an active Harvard-MIT-Tufts consortium, honored View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Personal Development and Career; Negotiation Style; Singapore

Read Now

July 2000 (Revised October 2019)
Exercise

Riggs-Vericomp Negotiation (B): Confidential Information for VERICOMP (Buyer)

By: Michael Wheeler

The seller (Riggs Engineering) manufactures and services recycling equipment for the computer industry. The buyer (Vericomp) uses solvents in manufacturing chips. Though set in a high-tech industry, this exercise illustrates fundamental aspects of negotiation analysis... View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Tactics; Value Creation; Computer Industry

July 2000 (Revised October 2019)
Exercise

Riggs-Vericomp Negotiation (A):Confidential Information for RIGGS ENGINEERING (Seller)

By: Michael Wheeler

The seller (Riggs Engineering) manufactures and services recycling equipment for the computer industry. The buyer (Vericomp) uses solvents in manufacturing chips. Though set in a high-tech industry, this exercise illustrates fundamental aspects of negotiation analysis... View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Tactics; Value Creation; Computer Industry

November 1996 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Alexander Plaza

By: Arthur I Segel and William J. Poorvu

In May 1996, Henry Bower, an asset manager for a real estate adviser, Medcem, has to negotiate the details of a lease after signing a letter of intent with a high technology company, Defentek, Inc. Defentek, Inc. is a fast-growing company with limited net worth that is... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Preparation; Agreements and Arrangements; Risk and Uncertainty; Real Estate Industry; Financial Services Industry; District of Columbia

25 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

10 Reasons Customers Might Resist Windows 8

will compete against Apple iPad. And industry observers have noted similarities between Apple's tightly-controlled marketing tactics and Microsoft's marketing campaign for the upcoming OS—Microsoft is even using indie rock music in its... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Computer; Consumer Products

05 Apr 2017
Research & Ideas

For Women Especially, It Pays to Know What Car Repairs Should Cost

Women who come prepared to challenge an auto repair quote can overcome gender discrimination and negotiate a fairer price, according to recently published research. That's one conclusion from the research study Repairing the Damage: The Effect of Price Knowledge and... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild Swearingen; Auto; Service

09 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

Career Advancement Without Experience

manage and advance their careers in the less predictable world of contract labor. But how do you land those kinds of jobs? In "Stretchwork: Managing the Career Progression Paradox in External Labor Markets," forthcoming in the Academy of Management Journal,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Motion Pictures & Video; Technology

10 May 2004
Research & Ideas

Rethink the Value of Joint Ventures

partners. Q: What changes in the expansion tactics of multinationals do you foresee in the next three to five years? A: The increased pressure on existing joint ventures within these networks reflects a greater pressure to rationalize... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

December 2010
Supplement

Ad Classification at Right Media — pre-class slides — supplement

By: Benjamin Edelman

Right Media considers systems and policies to make sure that ads are only shown on web sites where they are appropriate, and vice versa. Setting standards is particularly challenging given the large and growing marketplace, the numerous participants, their diverse... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Market Participation; Negotiation Tactics; Marketing Communications; Communication; Media; Advertising Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

March 2008 (Revised August 2017)
Exercise

The Book Deal: Confidential Instructions for the PUBLISHER

By: Deepak Malhotra and Max H. Bazerman

A two-party negotiation between an Agent representing a new author and an Editor at a large Publishing Firm. The exercise involves a one-issue, zero-sum negotiation concerning the advance on royalties that the publisher will pay to the author. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Types; Publishing Industry