Publications

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Finance - Faculty & Research

fourth-generation (G4) member of his family’s heavy manufacturing business, found himself reflecting on how the firm would navigate a deepening shareholder conflict. While the second generation (G2) had managed the business in harmony,... View Details

January 2018
Supplement

BeiGene Supplemental PowerPoint

By: Willy C. Shih and Jimmy Zhang

BeiGene was a biopharmaceutical company founded on exploiting a temporal regulatory policy discontinuity. Because of regulatory challenges in China, most innovative new drugs launched there four to six years after their initial U.S. launches. This gave BeiGene a window... View Details

Keywords: Biotechnology; Pharmaceutical Company; Pharmaceuticals; China; Regulatory Environment; Business Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Situation or Environment; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; China

March 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Swvl: Smart Mobility for the Masses

By: Krishna Palepu, Esel Çekin and Menna Hassan

The case focuses on strategy and governance issues at Swvl, a tech-enabled mass mobility marketplace. It describes the journey of CEO and Chairman Mostafa Kandil on his journey from founding the company to its listing on Nasdaq. Since its founding in Egypt in 2017,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Growth and Development Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Innovation and Invention; Business Startups; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry; Middle East; North Africa

September 2002
Case

KaBOOM!

By: James E. Austin and Jose Miguel Porraz

KaBOOM! is a nonprofit organization developing playgrounds in partnership with corporations and communities. It has grown since 1995 to a national organization that has built 338 playgrounds in partnerships with over 40 companies. This case deals with the nature of... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Strategy; Nonprofit Organizations; Business and Community Relations; Growth and Development

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Finance Curriculum - Faculty & Research

Ruback , Royce Yudkoff Spring 2026 Q3Q4 3.0 Field Course: Field X (also listed under Entrepreneurial Management) Randolph Cohen Fall 2025 Q1Q2 3.0 Field Course: Field Y: Projects in Business Management (also listed under Entrepreneurial... View Details

July 1993
Case

Richardson Hindustan Limited (Abridged)

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven

Deals with the problems of a country manager building and balancing a constituency relationship. Explicitly examines the demands and responsiveness of four major constituencies: corporate headquarters; the national organization; the Indian government; and the public... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Business and Government Relations; Adoption; Multinational Firms and Management; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Shareholder Relations; India

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MBA Experience - Health Care

generally focused courses has provided a solid base for approaching the complicated issues involved in health care. ” Martin Grasse MBA 2012 Martin's Story Competitions & Challenges Business plan challenges and case competitions offer an... View Details

December 2013 (Revised January 2015)
Case

Barbara Krakow Gallery

By: Jose Alvarez and Nyssa Liebermann

The Barbara Krakow Gallery is a successful contemporary art gallery located in Boston. It utilizes a very rare "no haggle pricing" strategy and extended sales cycle when selling pieces to collectors. Though it remains profitable and very respected, the size and scope... View Details

18 Apr 2007
HBS Case

How Magazine Luiza Courts the Poor

The inspiration for a new case can strike at any time. For Harvard Business School professor Frances X. Frei, the time and place was one morning at home while reading The New York Times. An article on the front page of the View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

25 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Rapport: The Hidden Advantage That Women Managers Bring to Teams

dwindles, mistakes happen, and a customer’s fries go missing. “You could have a great strategy on paper, but why isn’t it working? Lack of rapport can kill performance,” says Harvard Business School... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Food & Beverage

November 2018 (Revised January 2022)
Case

JUUL and the Vaping Revolution

By: Michael W. Toffel, John Masko and Sarah Mehta

In late 2019, San Francisco-based electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) maker JUUL Labs (pronounced “jewel”) faced intense pressure. Sales of JUUL products exceeded $1 billion in 2018, dominating the e-cigarette category. While JUUL Labs’ stated goal was to help current... View Details

March 2001 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Charlene Barshefsky (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Rebecca Hulse

Describes the challenges former U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky faced while negotiating a trade agreement with China to improve its domestic intellectual property rights enforcement. After briefly describing Barshefsky's past experience with trade... View Details

Keywords: Trade; International Relations; Copyright; Negotiation Style; Negotiation Tactics; Alliances; Business and Government Relations; China; United States

2009
Working Paper

Specific Knowledge and Divisional Performance Measurement

By: Michael C. Jensen and William H. Meckling

This paper discusses five common divisional performance measurement methods—cost centers, revenue centers, profit centers, investment centers, and expense centers—providing a theory that explains when each of these methods is likely to be the most efficient. The... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Business Headquarters; Decisions; Cost; Investment; Investment Return; Profit; Revenue; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Managerial Roles; Performance Efficiency; Strategy

SSRN

July 2004 (Revised July 2004)
Case

Man Group plc

By: Andre F. Perold and Herve Duteil

In 2004, Man Group was the world's largest packager and distributor of investment vehicles tied to hedge funds. The firm had an equity market capitalization of $10 billion and funds under management of $38 billion. Man's offerings spanned a wide range of risk/reward... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Investment; Investment Return; Investment Funds; Global Strategy; Distribution; Product Development; Financial Services Industry

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June 2008 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Bernd Beetz: Creating the New Coty

By: Geoffrey Jones and David Kiron

Considers the creation of the world's largest fragrance company by Bernd Beetz, appointed chief executive of Coty Inc. in 2001. In 1990 the German consumer goods company Benkiser began acquiring fragrance and cosmetics brands with the intent of developing a beauty... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Entrepreneurship; Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Germany; United States

October 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Thermax—Changing of the Guard

By: Christina R. Wing and Inakshi Sobti

Thermax is an engineering company in India that provides integrated solutions in energy, environment, and chemicals. The Aga family along with family trusts owns 62% of the company. Post a restructuring exercise in 2000, Thermax transforms itself from a small family... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transformation; Business Conglomerates; Strategy; Management Succession; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Culture

04 Sep 2013
What Do You Think?

How Relevant is Long-Range Strategic Planning?

said, ''by strategy task forces that 'hack' rather than as part of a long annual strategic planning process." Gary Johnson put it this way: "Competitive advantage and a business without... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January 2023
Case

Thomas Buberl: Refounding AXA

By: Hubert Joly, Mihir Desai and Amram Migdal

In 2022, AXA and its CEO Thomas Buberl faced new types of challenges, including systemic risks such as climate change, geopolitical instability, public health crises, and social tensions caused by economic risks. AXA was one of the world’s largest insurers. Since... View Details