Publications

July 1990 (Revised September 1995)
Case

Singapore TradeNet: A Tale of One City

Describes the development of a new information technology-based trade document administration environment for the city-state of Singapore. A considerable effort, involving many governmental and private sector organizations, results in a new set of practices and... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Information Technology; Emerging Markets; Policy; Public Administration Industry; Singapore

July 2004 (Revised January 2007)
Case

H&R Block and "Everyday Financial Services"

By: Peter Tufano and Daniel Schneider

H&R Block, the U.S. market leader in tax preparation services, must decide whether to offer financial services to its low-income clients. H&R Block is facing increased competition from branded and nonbranded tax preparers, and the number of returns prepared by the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Income; Taxation; Product Development; Financial Services Industry; United States

September 2001 (Revised January 2002)
Case

The American Medical Association-Sunbeam Deal (C): Denouement

By: Ashish Nanda and Kimberly A. Haddad

On September 5, 1997, the American Medical Association(AMA) withdrew from a contract with Sunbeam Corporation, the maker of small home appliances. Sunbeam sued the AMA to pay for the damages or to comply with the contract. The fracas led to the dismissal of three top... View Details

Keywords: Medical Services; Appliances; Lawsuit; Litigation; Professionalism; Contracts; Corporate Accountability; Organizations; Lawsuits and Litigation; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

17 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 17

institutional theory, managers, and policymakers. What Good Are Shareholders? Authors:Justin Fox and Jay W. Lorsch Publication:Harvard Business Review 90, nos. 7-8 (July-August 2012) Abstract The article looks at the role outside shareholders play in corporate View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 25, 2007

Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=608053 Dell Computers (B): The Transition Harvard Business School Supplement 607-081 The case presents the outcome of the (A) case and explores challenges in the PC View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2011
Article

Cheaper Patents

By: Tom Nicholas

The 1883 Patents Act in Britain provides perspective for modern patent policy reforms because it radically changed incentives for inventors by reducing filing fees by 84 percent. Patents increased 2.5 fold after the reform, which was evenly distributed across the... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Global Range; Distribution; Demand and Consumers; Organizational Structure; Business Processes; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Policy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Fluctuation; Motivation and Incentives; Distribution Industry; United States; Great Britain

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March 2005
Case

Tribune Company: The PHONES Proposal

The Tribune Co. is considering issuing a structured note to monetize its investment in another company, America Online (AOL). Tribune originally invested in AOL in 1991 and currently has approximately 10 million shares left of that investment. However, these shares are... View Details

Keywords: Financial Instruments; Taxation; Investment; Media and Broadcasting Industry

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April 2017
Supplement

Imprimis (B)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karen Elterman and Marc Appel

This case is a supplement to Imprimis (A). It describes the company’s decision to enter into the pharmaceutical compounding business in 2013–2014. Imprimis purchased a compounded ophthalmological medication called Dropless Therapy, which was injected into patients’... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Drug Compounding; Drug Development; Pharmaceuticals; Small Business; Decision-making, Business Model; Mark Baum; Imprimis; Decision Making; Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Policy; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

October 2015 (Revised August 2019)
Background Note

Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times

By: William C. Kirby, Joycelyn W. Eby and Yuanzhuo Wang

The rapid growth in quantity and quality of universities in China since 1978 is the most recent evolution in a long history of higher education. From as early as the Tang Dynasty, academies existed to prepare scholars for the civil service examination, but by the... View Details

Keywords: Non-profit Management; University Administration; University Faculty; University Curriculum; Education Reform; Nonprofit Organizations; Management; Higher Education; History; Governance; Education Industry; China

September 1998 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Power Across Latin America: Endesa de Chile

Endesa, a privatized Chilean electricity generator, has made significant investments in the privatization of Argentina's electricity sector and is now contemplating an even larger privatization opportunity in Peru. In deciding how much to bid in Peru, Endesa must... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Energy Generation; Privatization; Government and Politics; Utilities Industry; Peru; Chile

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1999
Chapter

The Pricing of US Catastrophe Reinsurance

By: K. Froot and P. O'Connell

Keywords: Financial Markets; Catastrophe Risk; Corporate Finance; Cost Of Capital; Banking And Insurance; Asset Pricing; Hedging; Banking; Insurance; Natural Disasters; Policy; Risk Management; Insurance Industry; United States

28 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Six Lessons from Mobile Money Ventures in Developing Countries

prospective operators—and perhaps entrepreneurs in other industries as well—take an educated shot at developing a winning service. He outlined his advice in a July working paper, Mobile Money Services—Design and Development for Financial... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Telecommunications

26 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 26

Abstract Many scholars and practitioners have recently argued that corporate awards are a "free" way to motivate employees. We use field data from an attendance award program implemented at one of five industrial laundry plants... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2007
Case

Blue River Capital

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Tarun Khanna and Richard Bullock

Examines the strategy and experience of Indian private equity firm Blue River Capital. Blue River was established in 2005 to invest primarily in middle market, particularly family-run, businesses in India. Blue River caters to this niche as an active investor,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Emerging Markets; Family Ownership; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; India

26 Apr 2016
First Look

April 26

taken by Kenny starting in 2014 as he sought to reorient the company amidst changes in media, digital, and mobile technologies. Kenny balances promoting new stream digital business growth with managing difficult legacy television industry... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Moving From Bean Counter to Game Changer

and consumer lending. The researchers chose to study risk-management experts because their role has risen in importance with demands for improved corporate governance and the need for better forecasting and modeling. After the financial... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Banking

January 2016
Case

COFCO

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

In 2015, COFCO, China's state-owned agribusiness giant, was working to protect China's food security (a key national security priority) by extending its control of the global food system through overseas acquisitions. At the same time, COFCO sought to grow its market... View Details

May 1994 (Revised November 1994)
Case

PepsiCo: A View from the Corporate Office

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Leonard A. Schlesinger

Describes the three business segments of PepsiCo (beverages, snack foods, and restaurants). It then explores the competitive environment within each segment and the response of PepsiCo's businesses. It seeks to show how PepsiCo CEO, D. Wayne Calloway, in a very... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Change; Governance Controls; Management Style; Organizational Structure; Situation or Environment; Competitive Strategy; Value; Food and Beverage Industry

August 2021
Supplement

Danone S.A.: Becoming a Mission-Driven Company (C)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Emilie Billaud

Describes the events that took place in the first year after Danone became France’s first “entreprise à mission” (mission-driven company). View Details

Keywords: Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Environmental Sustainability; Goals and Objectives; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; France; Europe