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- All HBS Web
(819)
- People (1)
- News (102)
- Research (636)
- Multimedia (1)
- Faculty Publications (467)
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- October 2022 (Revised January 2023)
- Case
Century Bank: Closing Time?
By: Lauren Cohen, Grace Headinger and Bill Kwon
Barry Sloane, second-generation Chairman, President, and CEO of his family’s bank, Century Bank, weighed whether to sell to Eastern Bank. As a small regional bank, Century faced a number of challenging trends, such as digitization and market share decline in the coming... View Details
Keywords: Family Office; Business Exit; Banking; Family; Massachusetts; Boston; United States; Acquisition; Business Exit or Shutdown; Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; Interpersonal Communication; Decision Making; Finance; Banks and Banking; Risk and Uncertainty; Emotions; Banking Industry; Boston; Massachusetts; United States
Cohen, Lauren, Grace Headinger, and Bill Kwon. "Century Bank: Closing Time?" Harvard Business School Case 223-040, October 2022. (Revised January 2023.)
- February 2023 (Revised February 2024)
- Case
Doing Business in Helsinki, Finland
By: Martin A. Sinozich, Lena Duchene, Tonia Labruyere and Daniela Beyersdorfer
This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Finland. It highlights Finland's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main... View Details
Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Research and Development; Foreign Direct Investment; Crisis Management; Culture; Environmental Sustainability; International Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; Finland; Europe
Sinozich, Martin A., Lena Duchene, Tonia Labruyere, and Daniela Beyersdorfer. "Doing Business in Helsinki, Finland." Harvard Business School Case 323-079, February 2023. (Revised February 2024.)
- September 2019 (Revised May 2020)
- Supplement
Keroche (D): Transforming the Core Business
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding
This case describes Keroche co-founder Tabitha Karanja’s decision to exit the wine business following the Kenyan government’s 2007 increase in excise taxes on wine. In August 2007, Keroche introduced the vodka drink Viena Ice as a replacement for its fortified wines,... View Details
Keywords: Keroche; Alcohol; Alcoholic Beverages; Alcoholic Drinks; Beverages; Drinks; Wine Industry; Wine; Fortified Wine; Viena; Viena Ice; Beer; Beer Market; Premium Beer; Manufacturing; Summit Lager; Business Ventures; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Small Business; Family Business; Crime and Corruption; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Income; Demographics; Geographic Scope; Geographic Location; Goods and Commodities; Government Legislation; Growth and Development; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Laws and Statutes; Lawfulness; Goals and Objectives; Consumer Behavior; Market Entry and Exit; Problems and Challenges; Safety; Social Issues; Poverty; Strategy; Competition; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Kenya; Nairobi; Africa
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Pippa Tubman Armerding. "Keroche (D): Transforming the Core Business." Harvard Business School Supplement 720-393, September 2019. (Revised May 2020.)
- 2024
- Book
Deals: The Economic Structure of Business Transactions
By: Guhan Subramanian and Michael Klausner
Drawing on real-life cases from a wide range of industries, two acclaimed experts offer a sophisticated but accessible guide to business deals, designed to maximize value for your side.
Business transactions take widely varying forms—from multibillion-dollar... View Details
Business transactions take widely varying forms—from multibillion-dollar... View Details
Subramanian, Guhan, and Michael Klausner. Deals: The Economic Structure of Business Transactions. Harvard University Press, 2024.
- January 2009
- Case
Supersonic Business Jets
By: Dennis A. Yao and Julia Rozovsky
In the fall of 2002, Brian Barents, ex-CEO of Galaxy Aerospace, faced an important decision: whether or not to enter the supersonic business jet (SSBJ) industry. Supersonic flight-flight faster than the speed of sound-had long tantalized leaders of commercial aerospace... View Details
- January 2018
- Supplement
Peak Games: Hiring Priorities in Times of Rapid Growth (B)
By: William R. Kerr and Gamze Yucaoglu
On November 7, 2017, Sidar Şahin, founder and CEO of Peak Games, a Turkey-based global mobile gaming company, had just closed the sale of Peak Games’ card games studio. This sale included three of the company’s top grossing games and half of its team. Sahin was happy... View Details
Keywords: Games; Gaming; Acquisitions; Exits; Private Sector; Decision; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Emerging Markets; Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; For-Profit Firms; Business Model; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Making; Value Creation; Leading Change; Management Teams; Technology Industry; Turkey
Kerr, William R., and Gamze Yucaoglu. "Peak Games: Hiring Priorities in Times of Rapid Growth (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 818-084, January 2018.
- 2025
- Working Paper
Bringing Science to Market: Knowledge Foundations, Inventor-Founders, and Performance
By: Justine Boudou and Maria Roche
In this paper, we examine how a startup’s knowledge foundations—embedded in its
core technology—influence its performance in the exit market. Using a dataset of 1,006
biomedicine startups founded between 2005 and 2015, we focus on two key factors: (1)
the degree of... View Details
Keywords: Firm Performance; Knowledge Foundations; Exits; Academic Startups; Inventor-founder; Specialized Scientific Knowledge; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation; Research; Information Publishing; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship
Boudou, Justine, and Maria Roche. "Bringing Science to Market: Knowledge Foundations, Inventor-Founders, and Performance." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-021, October 2023. (Revised February 2025.)
- September 2014 (Revised September 2015)
- Case
Doing Business in Morocco
By: Jill Avery, Tonia Junker and Daniela Beyersdorfer
This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Morocco. It highlights Morocco's ongoing economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2014 in the context of its historical, political, and cultural background. The case summarizes some of... View Details
- January 2006 (Revised December 2006)
- Case
Wal-Mart's Business Environment
In 2004, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. proposed to build a new supercenter in Inglewood, a low-income community near Los Angeles. The proposal was a part of Wal-Mart's strategy to bring its supercenter format to California. Introduced in the late 1980s, supercenters added a... View Details
Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Expansion; Market Entry and Exit; Corporate Strategy; Labor Unions; Conflict and Resolution; Retail Industry; Los Angeles
Oberholzer-Gee, Felix. "Wal-Mart's Business Environment." Harvard Business School Case 706-453, January 2006. (Revised December 2006.)
- 2011
- Working Paper
Business Model Innovation and Competitive Imitation: The Case of Sponsor-Based Business Models
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Feng Zhu
We study sponsor-based business model innovations where a firm monetizes its product through sponsors rather than setting prices to its customer base. We analyze strategic interactions between an innovative entrant and an incumbent where the incumbent may imitate the... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Value
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Feng Zhu. "Business Model Innovation and Competitive Imitation: The Case of Sponsor-Based Business Models." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 11-003, July 2010. (Revised September 2011.)
- June 2024
- Case
Alignvest Student Housing: Keep Building or Time to Sell?
By: Shikhar Ghosh and Patrick Sanguineti
Sanjil Shah, Managing Partner of Alignvest Student Housing REIT (ASH), faces the most significant decision thus far in his career: is it the right time to sell the company? Together with his partner Reza Satchu, Shah had developed ASH into the largest student housing... View Details
Keywords: Exit Strategy; Real Estate; Founder; Equity Valuation; Decisions; Entrepreneurial Finance; Interest Rates; Health Pandemics; Housing; Partners and Partnerships; Expansion; Entrepreneurship; Business Exit or Shutdown; Canada
Ghosh, Shikhar, and Patrick Sanguineti. "Alignvest Student Housing: Keep Building or Time to Sell?" Harvard Business School Case 824-208, June 2024.
- December 2001 (Revised March 2003)
- Case
Ben Fiorentino: Selling the Family Business
The caseescribes the challenges Ben Fiorentino, the second-generation head of a family-run equipment business, must deal with as he decides whether and how to sell the business. The business is encountering classic problems that confront family-owned firms: The third... View Details
Watkins, Michael D. "Ben Fiorentino: Selling the Family Business." Harvard Business School Case 902-052, December 2001. (Revised March 2003.)
- October 2019 (Revised December 2019)
- Case
BC Partners: Acuris
By: Victoria Ivashina and Terrence Shu
This case follows Nikos Stathopoulos, Managing Partner of BC Partners, as he and his team evaluate the potential sale of one of BC Partners’ portfolio companies, Acuris. Acuris was a global financial intelligence, news, and data company that had been acquired by BC... View Details
Keywords: Fund Management; Fund Raising; Leveraged Buyout; Buyout; Portfolio Management; Operations Improvement; Exit; Exit Strategy; Valuation Ratios; Finance; Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Operations; Performance Improvement; Acquisition; Valuation
Ivashina, Victoria, and Terrence Shu. "BC Partners: Acuris." Harvard Business School Case 220-041, October 2019. (Revised December 2019.)
- November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
- Case
Anthology: Pivoting the Business Model
By: Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton
In July 2014, after 18 months and eight unsuccessful product launches, the CEO of Yabbly has agreed to sell his company to a larger, well-funded startup, providing a return of capital for his investors and a home for his team. Two weeks prior to the scheduled closing,... View Details
Keywords: Mergers & Acquisitions; Business Model; Business Plan; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Innovation Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Fairness; Valuation; Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; North America; United States; Seattle
Ghosh, Shikhar, and Christopher Payton. "Anthology: Pivoting the Business Model." Harvard Business School Case 817-066, November 2016. (Revised December 2016.)
- Article
How Local Context Shapes Digital Business Abroad
By: William R. Kerr
This article identifies how digital businesses need to be adapted to the local environment in which they are being applied. Core ideas include the development of strong barriers to entry, the types of network effects encountered, and the localization of business... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Information Technology; Geographic Location; Market Entry and Exit; Adaptation; Entrepreneurship; Network Effects
Kerr, William R. "How Local Context Shapes Digital Business Abroad." Harvard Business Review (website) (June 24, 2015).
- 13 Sep 2004
- Research & Ideas
Cash and the Woman-Owned Business
Building sufficient cash reserves to launch a business and managing subsequent fundraising are challenges for every entrepreneur, but they are particularly daunting tasks for women. Women often come up short of cash at start-up and, when... View Details
- December 12, 2024
- Article
6 Lessons from Companies That Shut Down Their Business in Russia
By: Kalle Heikkinen, William R. Kerr, Mika Malin, Panu Routila and Joel Ryynänen
Increasingly, companies are being pressured to decouple from regions that customers, employees, politicians, advocacy groups, and even leaders deem politically fraught. This can pose a dilemma for executives, as research both shows that fast decision-making is vital,... View Details
Heikkinen, Kalle, William R. Kerr, Mika Malin, Panu Routila, and Joel Ryynänen. "6 Lessons from Companies That Shut Down Their Business in Russia." Harvard Business Review (website) (December 12, 2024).
- June 2001 (Revised May 2002)
- Case
Spir-It, Inc. (A): Building the Business
Early in February 1934, two and a half months after the end of prohibition, Jack Sindler sat with a friend in Boston's Ritz Hotel bar enjoying a drink. Sindler worked for the Converse Rubber Co., and he was always inventing something. He held several patents for rubber... View Details
Keywords: Business History; Production; Market Entry and Exit; Management Succession; Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Acquisition; Growth and Development; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Boston
Spear, Steven J. "Spir-It, Inc. (A): Building the Business." Harvard Business School Case 601-081, June 2001. (Revised May 2002.)
- Article
Doing Business with Strangers: Reputation in Online Service Marketplaces
By: Antonio Moreno and Christian Terwiesch
Online service marketplaces allow service buyers to post their project requests and service providers to bid for them. To reduce the transactional risks, marketplaces typically track and publish previous seller performance. By analyzing a detailed transactional data... View Details
Moreno, Antonio, and Christian Terwiesch. "Doing Business with Strangers: Reputation in Online Service Marketplaces." Information Systems Research 25, no. 4 (December 2014): 865–886.
- March 2017 (Revised February 2020)
- Case
Corey Thomas and the IPO
By: Steven Rogers and Derrick Collins
Corey Thomas, the African American CEO of the company Rapid7, must decide if it is the right time to take the 15-year-old company public, as it stood poised to capitalize on what appeared to be the next frontier for digital technology markets—cybersecurity. In spite of... View Details
Keywords: Business Finance; Capital Markets; Private Equity; Internet and the Web; Initial Public Offering; Decision Making; Financial Services Industry; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; United States
Rogers, Steven, and Derrick Collins. "Corey Thomas and the IPO." Harvard Business School Case 317-082, March 2017. (Revised February 2020.)