Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(417)
- Faculty Publications (127)
- September 2023 (Revised October 2023)
- Case
Ghassan Nuqul and the Nuqul Group: Preserving a Father's Legacy
By: Christina R. Wing, Lauren Cohen and Alpana Thapar
The Nuqul Group was established in 1952 by Elia Nuqul, a Palestinian refugee who fled his hometown in 1948 with his family to Jordan. He overcame many hardships in his initial years there, but subsequently started a trading business that grew to become one of Jordan’s... View Details
- June 2023 (Revised March 2024)
- Case
Creating World-Class Board Governance at SECO
By: Krishna G. Palepu and Emer Moloney
In Spring 2023, SECO CEO Massimo Mauri had the ambition to grow the €200 million revenue technology company to a €1 billion company by 2030. Founded in Italy in the 1970s, the family-owned company had gone through a period of growth and internationalization,... View Details
Keywords: Family Business; Business Model; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Talent and Talent Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Engineering; Governance; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Growth and Development Strategy; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Going Public; Strategic Planning; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Value Creation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Italy; Europe; Germany; United States; China
- May 11, 2020
- Article
Steer Your Family Businesses Through an Unplanned Transition
By: Josh Baron and Nick Di Loreto
In a perfect world, family businesses will transition leadership from one generation to the next along a predictable and well-planned process — whether that’s determined within the business, the ownership group, or the family itself — passing the baton after years of... View Details
- April 27, 2020
- Article
A Crisis Playbook for Family Businesses
By: Josh Baron and Ben Francois
In a business crisis, the power of family business owners is magnified. Unlike public companies, which typically focus on maximizing shareholder value, family owners value objectives that usually go well beyond financial returns (e.g., family legacy, reputation). This... View Details
- April 2023
- Case
Burning the Sails to Save the Ship: The Pilati Family Dilemma
By: Lauren Cohen, Hao Gao, Jiawei Ye and Grace Headinger
Octavian Graf Pilati, rising generation member of an Austrian princely family, prepared to sell the palace his family had held for over three hundred years. In recent years, the Pilati family lands had been leveraged as loan collateral for an international venture that... View Details
- March 2023
- Case
Between Two Minds: The Staglin Family
By: Lauren Cohen, Ronnie Stangler and Grace Headinger
Garen Staglin, Founder and Chairman of One Mind, reflected on his life’s work in brain health. As he contemplated stepping down in the next few years, he weighed how to pass along this legacy to his son, Brandon Staglin, the impetus behind and next generation of the... View Details
- March 2023 (Revised September 2023)
- Case
Patagonia: 'Earth Is Now Our Only Shareholder'
By: Brian Trelstad, Nien-hê Hsieh, Michael Norris and Susan Pinckney
In September 2022, Yvon Chouinard, the iconoclastic founder of outdoor apparel company Patagonia, announced a new ownership model for his company. Chouinard and his family had held complete control of the company's voting and non-voting stock since its founding 50... View Details
Keywords: Trusts; Business Ventures; Business Organization; Family Business; Restructuring; Change; Disruption; Transition; Decision Making; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Finance; Financial Management; Governance; Corporate Governance; Investment Activism; Leadership; Labor; Law; Common Law; Management; Goals and Objectives; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Ownership; Ownership Type; Family Ownership; Private Ownership; Social Enterprise; Nonprofit Organizations; Society; Social Issues; Wealth and Poverty; Value; Value Creation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States
- March 2023 (Revised April 2023)
- Case
Shelly Sun at BrightStar Care: The Evolution of a Leader
By: Boris Groysberg, Colleen Ammerman and Sarah L. Abbott
Shelly Sun had founded BrightStar Care, a home health care and medical staffing agency, 20 years earlier and had grown the business to over 300 franchised locations and $654 million in annual system-wide sales. Sun had spent years working to get “the right people in... View Details
- February 2023 (Revised April 2023)
- Case
Kvadrat: Focus, Execute, and Grow
By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott
Kvadrat was a family-owned global textiles company. The company had enjoyed impressive top-line growth and was shifting gears to emphasize profitability via a shorter strategic agenda. Agenda items included: U.S. expansion, generating improved margins in its consumer... View Details
- January 2023 (Revised May 2023)
- Case
Learning Resources: Driven by Purpose
By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah Mehta and Heather Poco
In January 2023, CEO Rick Woldenberg must make several strategic decisions for his family-owned toy company Learning Resources. View Details
- October 2022
- Case
An Heir with No Spare: The Deitch Family Office
By: Lauren Cohen and Grace Headinger
Joe and Matt Deitch, father and son, knew it was time to start their own family office. Matthew had recently joined his father at the family’s three enterprises, and they both realized that their family’s needs had grown increasingly complex over the years. In search... View Details
Keywords: Family Office; Philanthropy; Charitable Giving; Family; Family Business; Talent and Talent Management; Entrepreneurship; Governance; Values and Beliefs; Job Search; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Family Ownership; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Family and Family Relationships; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Technology Industry; United States; Massachusetts; Boston; Florida; Miami
- September 2022 (Revised April 2023)
- Case
Cesaro e Associati
By: Christina R. Wing and Amram Migdal
This case describes the leadership succession planning process at Cesaro e Associati (Studio Cesaro), founded in 1986 by Franco Cesaro in the northeastern Italian state of Veneto. In 2022, Franco was contemplating retirement and passing leadership of his firm, which... View Details
Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Family Business; For-Profit Firms; Restructuring; Small Business; Change; Change Management; Competency and Skills; Experience and Expertise; Talent and Talent Management; Entrepreneurship; Governance; Leadership; Leading Change; Management; Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Ownership; Family Ownership; Private Ownership; Personal Development and Career; Relationships; Family and Family Relationships; Consulting Industry; Europe; Italy
- August 2022
- Case
One Tiger Per Mountain: The He Family Office
By: Lauren Cohen, Fei Wu and Grace Headinger
Roy He, founder and majority shareholder of his family construction material production company, was preparing to pass down the family business through its first generational handover to his children. His decision would establish his familial legacy and set a precedent... View Details
- July 2022 (Revised September 2022)
- Case
Birla Carbon Egypt: Building Soft Power in a Foreign Country
By: Jeremy Friedman and Malini Sen
Birla Carbon, a flagship business of the nearly $60-billion global conglomerate and India-headquartered Aditya Birla Group (ABG), is one of the world's top manufacturers and suppliers of high-quality carbon black. The largest among its 16 manufacturing plants is Birla... View Details
Keywords: Acquisition; Family Business; Disruption; Transformation; Diversity; Trade; Energy; Values and Beliefs; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Government and Politics; Private Ownership; Civil Society or Community; Risk and Uncertainty; Value Creation; Industrial Products Industry; Rubber Industry; Egypt; Africa; India; Asia; Atlanta; United States
- May 2022
- Supplement
Maestro Pizza (B): The Competition Awakens
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais
Maestro pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details
Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Competition; Market Entry and Exit; Emerging Markets; Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Positioning; Disruption; Disruptive Innovation; Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Social Media; Forecasting and Prediction; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Production; Service Delivery; Business Growth and Maturation; Financial Statements; Cost Management; Analysis; Quality; Performance Consistency; Customer Satisfaction; Profit; Family Ownership; Food and Beverage Industry; Saudi Arabia; Middle East
- May 2022
- Supplement
Maestro Pizza (C): Taking the Fight Outside
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais
Maestro pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details
Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Competition; Market Entry and Exit; Emerging Markets; Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Positioning; Disruption; Disruptive Innovation; Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Social Media; Forecasting and Prediction; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Production; Service Delivery; Business Growth and Maturation; Financial Statements; Cost Management; Analysis; Quality; Performance Consistency; Customer Satisfaction; Profit; Family Ownership; Food and Beverage Industry; Middle East; Saudi Arabia
- May 2022
- Case
Maestro Pizza: Coming in Hot!
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais
Maestro Pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details
Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Competition; Market Entry and Exit; Emerging Markets; Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Positioning; Disruption; Disruptive Innovation; Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Social Media; Forecasting and Prediction; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Production; Service Delivery; Business Growth and Maturation; Financial Statements; Cost Management; Analysis; Quality; Performance Consistency; Customer Satisfaction; Profit; Family Ownership; Food and Beverage Industry; Middle East; Saudi Arabia
- March 2022 (Revised October 2022)
- Case
Transforming Kimball International, Inc. (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz
Kimball International, Inc. (KII), led by CEO Kristie Juster, and its board of directors, chaired by Kim Ryan, faced critical questions about KII’s future in the spring of 2021. Two years earlier, the board had appointed Juster as the new CEO of KII, a publicly traded,... View Details
Keywords: Board Of Directors; Board Committees; Board Decisions; Board Dynamics; CEO Compensation; CEO Succession; Compensation Committee; Compensation Consultants; Compensation Design; Compensation Mix; Corporate Purpose; COVID-19; ESG; Furniture; Furniture Industry; Manufacturing; Midwest; Pandemic; Purpose; Spin Off; Strategic Change; Strategic Decisions; Strategic Evolution; Target-setting; Executive Compensation; Family Ownership; Governance; Restructuring; Strategy; Transformation; Manufacturing Industry; United States
- March 2022
- Supplement
Transforming Kimball International, Inc. (B)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz
Supplements the (A) case. View Details
Keywords: Board Of Directors; Board Committees; Board Decisions; Board Dynamics; CEO Compensation; CEO Succession; Compensation Committee; Compensation Consultants; Compensation Design; Compensation Mix; Corporate Purpose; COVID-19; ESG; Furniture; Furniture Industry; Manufacturing; Midwest; Pandemic; Purpose; Spin-off; Strategic Change; Strategic Decisions; Strategic Evolution; Target-setting; Executive Compensation; Family Ownership; Governance; Restructuring; Strategy; Transformation; Manufacturing Industry; United States
- February 2022 (Revised November 2022)
- Case
Fondeadora
By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui and Mitchell Weiss
Norman Müller and René Serrano, cofounders of Fondeadora, a Mexican “neobank,” had lined up a $12.5 million in Series A funding round in 2020 only to run into a major obstacle: The lead investor was Gradient Ventures, a venture firm launched by Alphabet, Inc., and... View Details