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01 Mar 2023
News

The Latest Model

was booming: The price of bitcoin had surged to nearly $20,000; governments were beginning to recognize the cryptocurrency as legal tender; and industries from fintech to pharma were launching blockchain-related projects. (Though best... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; blockchain; cryptocurrency; economic models; innovation; consulting; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services

January 2000 (Revised May 2000)
Case

Patagon.com: Building (and Defending) the First Financial Destination in Latin America

By: William A. Sahlman, Ramiro Montealegre and Luis Pereiro

Describes Patagon.com, a company trying to build a financial portal in Latin America. The company's founders, Wenceslao Casares and Constancio Larguia, must deal with complex financial and strategic challenges as they guide the company in a difficult context. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Finance; Financial Services Industry; Latin America

Find at Harvard

September 2024
Case

Open Door Legal: Universal Legal Access

By: Brian Trelstad, Taylor Greenthal and Sarah Mehta

This case is about Open Door Legal (ODL), a San Francisco-based civil legal aid nonprofit. CEO Adrian Tirtanadi founded the organization in 2012 with a mission to achieve universal access to legal representation for all city residents. By 2024, ODL had opened four... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Law; Growth Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Civil Society or Community; Business Model; Expansion; Legal Services Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles; San Francisco

Student-Profile

Dafna Bearson

workforce and business performance? These are the kinds of questions that challenge and excite me,” she explains. Dafna first discovered her passion for business strategy while... View Details

March 2017
Supplement

eBay vs. Carl Icahn, 2014: Interview with John Donahoe, eBay CEO 2008-2015

By: David B. Yoffie, Eric Baldwin and Tom Ryder

This video, a supplement to HBS Case No. 717-417, features an interview with former eBay CEO John Donahoe, providing his perspective on eBay's response to activist investor Carl Icahn's attack on eBay, which began in January 2014. After giving some of his own... View Details

Keywords: Activist Shareholder; Activist Investors; Technology; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Investment Activism; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

June 2021
Case

Building the Governance to Take Capital SAFI to the Next Level

By: V.G. Narayanan, Asis Martinez Jerez and Mariana Cal

Asset management firm Capital SAFI wanted to attract new strategic investors and expand to other countries. Having the right corporate governance in place was critical to achieve this goal. View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Transparency; Sustainable Finance; South America; Latin America; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business Organization; Corporate Strategy; Transformation; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry; Bolivia; South America; Latin America

18 May 2015
Research & Ideas

Advertisers Get Serious About Playing With Their Brands

the researchers recently wrote in a GfK Marketing Intelligence Review article called "Beyond Bedlam: How Consumers and Brands Alike Are Playing the Web." In the last decade, marketers have used digital media... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Advertising

05 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 5

taking considerable initiative to deliver the highest quality personalized service in the hospitality industry. The case also highlights Aman's strategy and operations which... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Case

BlueVine Capital: Growth Factors

By: Marco Di Maggio and Nathaniel Schwalb

The start-up, BlueVine Capital Inc. (BlueVine), used data and technology to help finance small businesses via factoring and lines of credit. The case explains the small business financing market in mid-2010s, how CEO Eyal Lifshitz identified the opportunity for... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Business Startups; Small Business; Financing and Loans; Innovation Leadership; Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

14 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Blockbuster! Why Star Power Works

all—but I think the book holds four important lessons. First, the blockbuster strategy works. Second, bets on star talent bring important advantages but also major headaches, and the power of those at the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Entertainment & Recreation

February 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Citigroup: Re-Branding in 2007 (A)

By: Rohit Deshpandé and Carin-Isabel Knoop

With its history of growth through acquisition, Citigroup has a conglomeration of sub-brands that need to be integrated and rationalized. Ajay Banga, CEO of Citi's Global Consumer Group International, chairs a task force to work through the process of re-branding the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Customer Focus and Relationships; Globalization; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry

April 1999 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Be Our Guest, Inc.

By: Dwight B. Crane and Penny Joseph

Be Our Guest is a rapidly growing equipment rental company with substantial seasonality in its revenues and profits. In the spring of 1998, the senior management team is reviewing its financial plans in preparation for a meeting with the company's bank. The case... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Borrowing and Debt; Banks and Banking; Revenue; Management Teams; Business Plan; Forecasting and Prediction; Service Industry; Service Industry

09 Aug 2016
Blog Post

Startup Balancing Act

a five year strategy for the company and determine where investments should be made. This job was a big departure from my prior role at a multinational strategy consulting... View Details

Keywords: Health Care

01 Oct 2001
News

Calling the Tune: Negotiation as an Improvisational Dance

Bill, because I know Bill is friendly and open, and I know Amy is tough," she said. "If I know that, I can adjust my strategy and expectations.... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

January 2002
Case

Lycos (A): The Tripod Decision

By: Giovanni M. Gavetti, Jan W. Rivkin and Elizabeth Johnson

The Internet portal Lycos has acquired Tripod, a provider of home-page-building tools, and now must decide how to integrate the acquisition. View Details

Keywords: Integration; Organizational Structure; Situation or Environment; Mergers and Acquisitions; Internet and the Web; Decision Choices and Conditions; Web Services Industry