Publications

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March 1994 (Revised July 1995)
Case

Lotus Development Corp. in 1994

Jim Manzi, president and CEO of Lotus, must decide whether to position the firm as a provider of network applications or of the architectural programs required to support network applications. The decision will have lasting implications for Lotus's position in both... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Competitive Advantage; Applications and Software; Industry Structures; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

02 Nov 2015
Blog Post

Harvard Arab Weekend (HAW) 2015

talks showcasing talent from the region Networking events: Structured networking opportunities throughout the entire conference HAW 2015: This year’s conference will take place on November 5-8, 2015 on Harvard Campus. Website: Learn more... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

Web

Patients - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Insist providers provide their results with patients like you. Choose cost-effective health plan structures involving deductibles together with HSAs to save for future health care needs Seek a long-term relationship with a plan instead of... View Details

01 Mar 2011
News

The Check Is in the Mail

the glimpses into lost business structures and lost lives.” Organized by Baker Library Historical Collections, “Buy Now, Pay Later: A History of Personal Credit” is on display through June 3 and can be viewed online at... View Details

Keywords: Arts, Sports, Language, Driving, and Other Schools; Educational Services; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

14 Jun 2016
First Look

June 14, 2016

over 11,000 firms in 34 countries. We find large cross-country differences in the adoption of basic management practices, with the U.S. having the highest size-weighted average management score. We present a formal model of “Management as a Technology," and View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

The Determinants of Corporate Venture Capital Success

and private venture funds. Corporate efforts lack the partnership-based organizational structure that many have identified as critical to the success of private equity funds. On the other hand, corporations are able to exploit... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Gompers & Josh Lerner

January 1997 (Revised November 1997)
Case

Fojtasek Companies and Heritage Partners, The: March 1995

By: Samuel L. Hayes III and Josh Lerner

The Fojtasek Companies, a family business, faces several financing choices to address generational succession issues. Several buyouts have expressed interest in acquiring the firm outright; an investment bank has proposed a leveraged recapitalization; and a private... View Details

Keywords: Family Ownership; Financing and Loans; Private Equity; Mergers and Acquisitions; Investment Banking; Partners and Partnerships; Management Succession; Capital Structure; Financial Strategy

04 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 4

Abstract—This study empirically investigates the relationship between design structure and organization structure in the context of new infrastructure development projects. Our research setting is a capital... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthlorne

10 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 10, 2018

publishing) are likely to reshape the structure of demand for executive development. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51662 The Impact of Increasing Search Frictions on Online Shopping Behavior:... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

07 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: Dec. 7

regulatory, normative, and cognitive factors in shaping firms' decisions to adopt specific organizational practices, above and beyond their technical efficiency. Similarly, institutional theory emphasizes legitimation processes and the tendency for institutionalized... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 1985 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Lotus Development Corp.

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of the history and venture capital financing of Lotus Development. Focuses on issues related to the possible terms of investment in Lotus by a major venture capital firm. The pedagogic objectives in the case are: to explore the elements of the... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Venture Capital; Organizational Structure; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Outcome or Result; Corporate Finance; Planning; Computer Industry

February 2020
Case

Klöckner & Co: Steeling for a Digital World

By: Scott Duke Kominers and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Hoping to get ahead of potential digital disruption at Klöckner & Co.—one of the world’s largest steel and metal distributors—CEO Gisbert Rühl set up both kloeckner.i (KCI), an internal transformation arm, and XOM Materials (XOM), an independent industry platform. KCI... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Market Design; Digital Platforms; Markets; Industry Structures; Supply and Industry; Technology Adoption; Transformation; Digital Transformation; Steel Industry; Information Technology Industry; Europe; Germany

June 1997 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Walker and Company: Profit Plan Decisions

By: Robert L. Simons and Ramsey Walker

Ramsey Walker, a second-year MBA student, must decide how to control a family business as an absentee owner. After providing background details on the publishing industry, the case requires the reader to: 1) make a product segmentation decision; 2) prepare a profit... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Family and Family Relationships; Market Design; Management Systems; Planning; Profit; Performance Evaluation; Segmentation; Corporate Strategy; Investment Return; Publishing Industry

October 2012
Case

GSK's Acquisition of Sirtris: Independence or Integration? (Abridged)

By: Toby Stuart and James Weber

An executive from pharmaceutical company GSK must choose how much to integrate a recently acquired biotechnology firm, Sirtris. Moncef Slaoui, GSK's global head of R&D, championed the acquisition of Sirtris to gain access to its potentially revolutionary science.... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Resource Allocation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Research and Development; Science-Based Business; Integration

March 2010
Case

Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2007

By: Jan W. Rivkin, Michael Roberto and Ranjay Gulati

In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Robert Mueller, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), sought to transform the storied Bureau. The FBI had long served as both the chief law enforcement agency and the main domestic intelligence wing of the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Government Administration; National Security; Corporate Strategy; Knowledge Acquisition; Law Enforcement; Public Administration Industry; United States

May 2008 (Revised April 2018)
Case

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center: Interdisciplinary Cancer Care

By: Michael E. Porter and Sachin H. Jain

In 2006, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was an internationally leading institution for cancer care, education, and research. Since 1996, it had successfully reorganized itself from a cancer hospital that was physically organized around clinical... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Health Disorders; Organizational Structure; Medical Specialties; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Value Creation; Service Delivery; Research; Health Care and Treatment; Education Industry; Health Industry; Texas

October 1998 (Revised December 1999)
Case

Gene Research, the Mapping of Life and the Global Economy

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Juan Enriquez-Cabot

A new firm is being created to speed up the process of mapping humans, animals, and plants by combining gene technology with rapid gene identification to improve the health and well being of the human population and the productivity of crops and animals. How does one... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Technological Innovation; Business Processes; Health Care and Treatment; Performance Productivity; Welfare; Agribusiness; Genetics; Science-Based Business; Biotechnology Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

January 2011
Teaching Note

Clean Edge Razor: Splitting Hairs in Product Positioning (Brief Case)

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

Teaching Note for 4249 View Details

Keywords: Project Management; Conflict Management; Interdepartmental Relations; Organizational Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management; Leadership; Organizational Structure; Projects; Conflict and Resolution; Product Development

March 1998 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Egon Zehnder International: Implementing Practice Groups

By: Michael Y. Yoshino, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Since its creation in 1964, executive search firm Egon Zehnder International (EZI) marketed its consultants as "generalists." As searches became more global and industry-specific in the 1990s, CEO Daniel Meiland decided the firm needed to offer specialized services. By... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Global Strategy; Leadership; Brands and Branding; Service Operations; Organizational Structure; Consulting Industry; Service Industry