Publications

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February 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

What's the Deal with LivingSocial?

By: Michael I. Norton, Luc Wathieu, Betsy Page Sigman and Marco Bertini

Tim O'Shaughnessy, the 29-year-old CEO of LivingSocial, is growing a revolutionary worldwide business of "daily deals"—in which retailers offer a heavily-discounted product or service available for purchase for brief (often 24-hour) windows. The case explores the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Innovation and Invention; Advertising; Brands and Branding; Management; Web Services Industry

01 Dec 2011
News

A Deal on Wheels

agreeing to a target asking price, sellers pay an upfront charge of $199 to CarLotz, which then handles all the paperwork and headaches that typically accompany such transactions. CarLotz collects an additional $599 “success fee” only when a View Details

Keywords: Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers; Retail Trade

01 Jun 2002
News

Pursuing the Ultimate Deal

him particularly well. “I have spent more time with Arafat than has any non-Palestinian,” said Ross, who is writing a book about his Middle East experiences. “I don't believe he is against peace; I believe he wants a deal but he's not... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Middle East; peace; Israel; Palestine; policy; Government

03 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

The Ingredients of a Deal Disaster

Experienced negotiators are generally comfortable working out the terms of an economic contract: They bargain for the best price, haggle over equity splits, and iron out detailed exit clauses. But these same seasoned professionals often spend so much time hammering out... View Details

Keywords: by Ron S. Fortgang, David A. Lax & James K. Sebenius

Research Summary

Dealing with Hard Bargainers

By: James K. Sebenius

In this line of research, I have been developing effective approaches to negotiating 1) with hard bargainers, 2) in difficult situations, and 3) from positions of perceived weakness. Through field study and theoretical inquiry, I have been developing classes of moves,... View Details

Web

Deals - Course Catalog

HBS Course Catalog Deals Course Number 2267 Professor Guhan Subramanian Spring; Q3Q4; 3.0 credits Weekly 120 minute seminar (across two time slots) Paper Enrollment: Limited to 42 HBS and 42 HLS students Overview : This advanced... View Details

November 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Advent International and Walmart Brazil's Deal

By: Victoria Ivashina, Ruth Costas and Pedro Levindo

Advent International, one of the world’s leading private equity firms, must decide whether to acquire Walmart’s subsidiary in Brazil or not. Although Walmart Brazil is losing cash at a rapid pace, Advent thinks it has a solid plan to recover the company’s finances.... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Acquisition; Decision Making; Risk Management; Retail Industry; Brazil

14 Apr 2016
News

5 Reasons Good Deals Get Rejected

22 Feb 2024
News

Best Credit Card Deals

June 2006
Case

AtHoc: Dealing With Disruption

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Brian DeLacey

Follows the growth of an entrepreneur from his early startup activities. As the company evolves from 1998 to 2005, looks at key decisions and turning points as AtHoc's strategy adapts in response to changing market environments, business opportunities, and customer... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Disruptive Innovation; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Strategy; Venture Capital

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January 2017 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Novartis: A Transformative Deal

By: David Collis and Ashley Hartman

When Joe Jimenez became CEO of Swiss-based Novartis in 2010, replacing longtime CEO Dan Vasella, he assumed control of one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world. Vasella, an avowed advocate of diversification, had expanded the scope of the company and... View Details

Keywords: Novartis; GlaxoSmithKline; Asset Swap; Acquisitions; Divestiture; Strategy Alignment; Pharmaceuticals; Strategy; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Consolidation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Pharmaceutical Industry

23 Aug 2014
News

Dealing With Digital Cruelty

02 Apr 2009
News

Let's make a deal

June 2021
Article

Deals in the Time of Pandemic

By: Guhan Subramanian and Caley Petrucci

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new attention to the period between signing and closing in M&A transactions. Transactional planners heavily negotiate the provisions that govern the behavior of the parties during this window, not only to allocate risk between the... View Details

Keywords: Takeovers; COVID-19; Material Adverse Effect; Mergers and Acquisitions; Health Pandemics

SSRN

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December 2012
Background Note

Are Daily Deals Good for Merchants?

By: Sunil Gupta, Timothy Keiningham, Ray Weaver and Luke Williams

In the relatively short time since Groupon was founded, the response to "daily deals"—services that promote businesses by marketing deeply discounted, pre-paid vouchers to an online subscriber base—has by all accounts been spectacular. Our evaluation of daily deals is... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Technology; Business Strategy; Digital; Marketing Strategy; Web Services Industry

03 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Dealing with the ‘Irrational’ Negotiator

Obstacles and Achieve Brilliant Results at the Bargaining Table and Beyond. The following excerpt describes strategies and tactics to overcome another party's counterproductive behavior and keep the deal on track. These are ideas that... View Details

Keywords: by Deepak Malhotra & Max H. Bazerman

October 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Module Note

Evaluating M&A Deals: Introduction to the Deal NPV

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

Introduces a framework for evaluating mergers and acquisitions. Assumes that the criterion of a good deal is that it creates value for shareholders; i.e., has a positive deal NPV. Looks at the deal NPV from both the buyer's and seller's point of view. Explains how a... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Value Creation