Publications

November 2020 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Integrating Beam Suntory (A)

By: David G. Fubini, Rawi Abdelal and David Lane

The spring 2014 acquisition of U.S. alcoholic spirits maker Beam Inc. by Japan’s Suntory Holdings vaulted Suntory from 15th to third-largest international spirits company in the world. Yet Suntory had borrowed nearly the entire $16 billion purchase price, and relied on... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Communication; Borrowing and Debt; Globalization; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Retention; Leadership; Supply Chain; Organizational Structure; Ownership; Relationships; Conflict and Resolution; Integration; Value Creation; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan; United States; Chicago

05 Dec 2017
Research & Ideas

What We've Learned from 101 Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets

portrayed in the interviews, such as bank runs, political coups, and currency crises. Furthermore, the interviews elucidate how strategy formulation and execution unfolds across time, and provides a unique window into the actual cognition... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

12 Sep 2023
Research & Ideas

How Can Financial Advisors Thrive in Shifting Markets? Diversify, Diversify, Diversify

broadly for other industries looking to appeal to younger clients or adapt marketing strategies to a fluid business environment. Sizing up a changing investment world Historically speaking, financial... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Financial Services

April 2007
Case

Alan Kendricks at Cardiology Associates

By: Boris Groysberg, Colleen Kaftan and Wilfred S. McCalla, Jr.

Alan Kendricks struggles to address many challenges facing him as a recently promoted medical director for Cardiology Associates at Southeastern Pennsylvania University Hospital. He must balance his time taking care of patients, running a practice, managing up, down,... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Business or Company Management; Strategy; Organizational Culture; Work-Life Balance; Organizational Structure; Change Management; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Pennsylvania

Person Page

Curriculum Vitae

Noel Watson

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16 Feb 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Platform Competition Under Partial Belief Advantage

Keywords: by Hanna Halaburda & Yaron Yehezkel; Consumer Products

July–August 2023
Article

What Smart Companies Know About Integrating AI

By: Silvio Palumbo and David Edelman

AI has the power to gather, analyze, and utilize enormous volumes of individual customer data to achieve precision and scale in personalization. The experiences of Mercury Financial, CVS Health, and Starbucks debunk the prevailing notion that extracting value from AI... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Customization and Personalization; Integration; Technology Adoption

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September 2021
Case

TAV Airports: Acquiring Almaty International

By: Juan Alcácer and Esel Çekin

The case opens in April 2020 with Sani Şener, CEO of TAV Airports, a vertically integrated regional airport operator headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey, and his team discussing the pending acquisition of the Almaty International Airport in Kazakhstan. The company had... View Details

Keywords: Airports; COVID-19 Pandemic; Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Bids and Bidding; Air Transportation Industry; Central Asia; Turkey

February 2008 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Sandhar Technologies Group, Ltd.

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Jayant Davar, CEO and founder of Sandhar Technologies Group, a privately held auto components maker in India, is trying to decide how best to grow the company. He recently took a $22 million investment from Actis Capital, a major emerging markets private equity firm,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Business Growth and Maturation; Competitive Advantage; Entrepreneurship; Mergers and Acquisitions; Emerging Markets; Growth and Development Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; India

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July 1999 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Shanghai Volkswagen: Facing a New Era

Explores the development of the Chinese auto industry and of Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW), a successful joint venture in China. Established in 1984, SVW is a joint venture between Volkswagen of Germany and the Shanghai Automobile Industry Corp. (SAIC). One key element of... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Joint Ventures; Supply Chain; Auto Industry; Shanghai; Germany

January 2019
Case

Arrow Electronics—The Apollo Integration

By: Stephen P. Kaufman

Having already made 10 acquisitions of competitors in the last decade, the CEO and Senior Vice President of Arrow are evaluating the acquisition of another small competitor to boost sales, become #1 in a niche market segment, and achieve economies of scale. They are... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Valuation; Performance Evaluation; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Strategic Planning; Growth and Development Strategy; Electronics Industry; United States

March 2025 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Designing the Future of Work: Atlassian's Distributed Work Practices

By: Ashley Whillans and Gabriel Rondón Ichikawa

In early 2020, the software company Atlassian made a bold commitment: employees could work from anywhere—forever. While many tech peers reversed course on remote work, Atlassian worked to optimize their fully distributed model across 13 countries. This case follows... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Working Conditions; Management Practices and Processes; Product Development; Organizational Culture; Business Strategy; Employees; Technology Industry

September 22, 2023
Article

How Software Companies Can Avoid the Trap of Product-Led Growth

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Oliver Jay

Companies like Slack and Dropbox have pioneered the use of Product-Led Growth (PLG). They start by building a product that’s indispensable for small teams, then count on low friction and customer advocates to expand throughout the organization. PLG works, at least at... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Product; Network Effects; Business Strategy

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10 Jan 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: January 10, 2017

as Egyptian and Syrian disengagement accords with Israel following their 1973 war. Along with diverse political leaders, diplomats, and business executives, every U.S. President since John F. Kennedy—including President-elect Donald Trump... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2008
Case

Cambrian House

By: Peter A. Coles, Karim R. Lakhani and Andrew P. McAfee

Cambrian House builds internet-based products and services by relying entirely on its user community for all aspects of its innovation and new product development process. Users suggest ideas for new products and services and also participate in a monthly voting... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Voting; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Management; Marketing Strategy; Open Source Distribution; Product Development; Strategic Planning; Business and Community Relations; Internet

March 2020
Case

Hotstar

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Kairavi Dey

Hotstar was an online video streaming platform owned by Star India Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Walt Disney Corporation. Since its launch in 2015, the platform had grown to offer over 100,000 hours of TV content, movies in nine Indian languages... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Television Entertainment; Disruption; Business Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; India; Mumbai

February 2004 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Hewlett-Packard: Culture in Changing Times

By: Michael Beer, Rakesh Khurana and James Weber

HP had been a highly successful and respected company for decades. It was well known for its company culture and management practices--the HP way--which emphasized both profits and people. Changing markets, strong competitors, and the growth of its computer business,... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Human Resources; Leading Change; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Effectiveness; Adoption; Competition