Publications

December 2011 (Revised March 2013)
Background Note

The Business Development Manager

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Sarah Dillard, Katharine Nevins and Puja Ramani

Describes the role of business development (BD) managers in technology companies, detailing: 1) BD managers' key responsibilities at each step in the process of creating a partnership agreement; 2) how the nature of the BD function evolves as a technology startup... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Partnerships; High Technology Products; Information Technology; Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships; Management Skills; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry

March 2008 (Revised June 2008)
Case

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer

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

December 2005 (Revised August 2007)
Case

NewSchools Venture Fund in 2004: At a Crossroads

By: Stacey M. Childress and Caroline Joan King

Founded as one of the first venture philanthropy organizations in the United States in 1998, NewSchools Venture Fund brought new investors and new ideas to public education reform. By 2004, the organization and its founder were reassessing their model and their role in... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Education; Social Entrepreneurship; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; United States

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November 2001
Supplement

Staples

By: Myra M. Hart

Provides information on the development of the office superstore concept, including building partnerships, creating the business plan, and recruiting a management team. View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Recruitment; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Operations; Planning; Partners and Partnerships; Complexity; Retail Industry

12 Dec 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 12, 2017

countries for the period 2001–2010. We uncover the following stylized facts: In emerging Asia, real depreciations are associated with faster growth of firm-level total factor productivity (TFP), sales and cash-flow, higher probabilities... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Jun 2011
First Look

First Look: June 21

their willingness to pay for two product characteristics and marginal costs are increasing with the quality level chosen on each attribute. We show that while firms seek to manage competition through product positioning, their differentiation View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2006
Case

Bumble and bumble: Building a Successful Business in Beauty and Fashion

By: Nancy F. Koehn and Erica Helms

Explores the creation and subsequent rise of Bumble and bumble, a trend-setting hair-care company. Analyzes the vision and achievements of the founding entrepreneur, Michael Gordon, and charts the evolution of the company within the $230 billion global beauty industry.... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Brands and Branding; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Strategy; Financial Condition; Business Growth and Maturation; Success; Distribution; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Fashion Industry

February 1997 (Revised December 1997)
Case

Arbor Health Care Company

By: Myra M. Hart and Stephanie Dodson

A venture-funded start-up runs into trouble when health care reimbursement policies change radically. With the help of its board, the company develops a new strategy, becomes profitable, and makes a public offering. The second wave of changes introduced by Clinton... View Details

Keywords: Industry Structures; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Succession; Business Startups; Transformation; Strategy; Venture Capital; Policy; Initial Public Offering; Health Industry

September 1993 (Revised December 1993)
Case

Cott Corp.: Private Label in the 1990s

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Robert S. Kaplan

Private label cola, Cott, gets 30% of the market in Canada. How does it move into the U.S. market? How do retailers evaluate its benefit costs? Does Cott use an existing structure or build new ones? Does Cott diversify from drink to snack foods? View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; Cost Management; Labels; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Industry Structures; Diversification; Food and Beverage Industry

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September 2020
Case

The Black New Venture Competition

By: Karen Mills, Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Martin Sinozich and Gabriella Elanbeck

Black entrepreneurs encounter many unique obstacles when raising capital to start and grow a business. During their second year at Harvard Business School (HBS), MBA students Kimberly Foster and Tyler Simpson decided to do something to make a difference for... View Details

04 May 2010
First Look

First Look: May 4

We propose that firms' corporate governance and firms' strategic business activities within an industry are interlinked. By conducting a simultaneous economic analysis of business strategy and corporate governance, scholars can better... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2022
Supplement

Maestro Pizza (B): The Competition Awakens

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais

Maestro pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details

05 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

What Companies Should Not Do in the Next Banking Crisis

involved with the policy response to the crisis in Spain. As hard-hit as the United States was by the Great Recession, Spain was damaged far worse: Years after the recession, growth was at a standstill and a quarter of the workforce... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Banking

13 Jun 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: A Startup Takes On the Credit Ratings Giants

Fons is about to propose a strategy to Kroll to launch KBRA. Along with Fons, an economist specializing in credit risk and rating agency issues, students are asked to consider several key questions: Should KBRA enter this business, which... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Banking; Financial Services

01 Dec 1998
News

Africa's Way

Wildlife to Winetasting "The driving force behind the region's growth is South Africa," says HBS professor Richard H.K. Vietor, the faculty chairman of the conference and the author of a 1997 comprehensive case study that looks at the... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young and Garry Emmons

24 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 24, 2018

have declined. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52494 Harvard Business School Case 118-010 The Oakland Athletics: Strategy & Metrics for a Budget No abstract available. Purchase this... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

July 2011
Teaching Note

Weber Shandwick: The Client Relationship Leader Program (TN)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Penelope Rossano

Teaching Note for 408077. View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams; Employees; Growth and Development; Situation or Environment; Consolidation; Acquisition; Digital Platforms; Blogs; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet and the Web; Public Relations Industry