Publications

February 2001 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Ducati & Texas Pacific Group - A "Wild Ride" Leveraged Buyout

Describes the attempt of Texas Pacific Group (TPG), a buyout firm, to purchase a controlling stake in Ducati Motor, the world's leading high-performance motorcycle company, based in Bologna, Italy. Ducati is part of Cagiva Group, a family-controlled industrial group.... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Leveraged Buyouts; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Motorcycle Industry; Motorcycle Industry; Texas; Italy

08 Jul 2014
First Look

First Look: July 8

Publications 2014 AMACOM Own Your Future: How to Think Like an Entrepreneur and Thrive in an Unpredictable Economy By: Brown, Paul B., Charles F. Kiefer, and Leonard A. Schlesinger Abstract—It used to be that if you studied and worked hard, you could be assured of an... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

03 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 3

Publications February 2015 Journal of Finance The Effect of Providing Peer Information on Retirement Savings Decisions By: Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, and Katherine L. Milkman Abstract—Using a field experiment in a 401(k) plan,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Aug 2018
What Do You Think?

What Should Harley-Davidson’s Management Do?

management should have” first sought to have the tariffs on motorcycles to the EU removed, but failing that: “restated HOG commitment to American manufacturing of its products adding that if (the) tariff stands HOG will have no choice but... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Auto

William A. Sahlman

William Sahlman is a Baker Foundation Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Mr. Sahlman received an A.B. degree in Economics from Princeton University (1972), an M.B.A. from Harvard University (1975), and a Ph.D. in Business... View Details

Web

Skydeck - Alumni

life-changing diagnosis On the Road Less Traveled How Ed Hajim (MBA 1964) overcame a childhood of foster homes and orphanages to find success in finance—and how a family secret changed his life at age 60 Road Work What a seven-continent View Details

Profile

Rachel H Chung

up in a track suit and bringing my dad’s motorcycle helmet to school for Halloween. Don’t worry though, I’m a safe and tame driver on the roads of Cambridge today. What is your favorite childhood memory? When I was seven years old, my mom... View Details

01 Oct 1997
News

W. Hall Wendel, Jr.

vehicles and personal watercraft. Next spring, Polaris will add "Victory" motorcycles to its product line. Polaris has also earned a reputation as a solid corporate citizen; last spring, for example, it provided utility vehicles to... View Details

Keywords: James E. Aisner; mountain; adventure; climbing

17 Sep 2018
Research & Ideas

Welcome to Retirement. Who Am I Now?

teenage daughter through a bumpy high school period by helping with schoolwork and spending more time with her. Activating a latent identity: A retiree rediscovers a passion that had become dormant due to the demands of work. One person had put aside View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Entertainment & Recreation

04 May 2013
News

James Dinan & Elizabeth Miller, both MBA 1985

moveable feast. It’s become one of the cornerstones of our life.” In fact, their joint life began at HBS when, as sectionmates, they met on the first day of their RC year and had their first date at the annual HBS Halloween party. “He was Dracula,” Miller explains,... View Details

March 2006 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Harley-Davidson: Preparing for the Next Century

By: Richard L. Nolan and Suresh Kotha

Harley-Davidson Co. exemplifies a remarkable management-led business transformation of a long standing manufacturing company. The company successfully met global competition and continues to innovate to maintain its market position. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Transformation; Change Management; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Strategy; Motorcycle Industry; Motorcycle Industry

July 1999 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Harley-Davidson Motor Company: Enterprise Software Selection

Describes Harley-Davidson's decision process for defining and selecting an enterprise-wide procurement software package and the institutional changes introduced as part of this process. Tells the story of Harley-Davidson's approach in developing integrated business... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Groups and Teams; Software; Motorcycle Industry

09 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Six Keys to Building New Markets by Unleashing Disruptive Innovation

cheaper, simpler, smaller, and more convenient to use. Consider the small off-road motorcycles introduced by Honda in the 1960s, Apple's first personal computer, and Intuit's QuickBooks accounting software. These innovations all initially... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael E. Raynor & Scott D. Anthony

18 Dec 2019
Book

6 Skills That Wise Companies Harness for World-Changing Innovation

eventually evolved from manufacturing motorcycles to inventing a revolutionary light business jet—fulfilling a lifelong dream to improve mobility and exemplifying the longevity and continuous innovation that characterizes so many Japanese... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

September 2013 (Revised August 2015)
Background Note

Leadership and Teaming

By: Ethan Bernstein

Small differences in the leadership of teams can have large consequences for the success of their efforts. Many initiatives fail not because of a fatal error in judgment or insufficient ideas, knowledge, motivation, or capabilities to deliver a solution. They fail... View Details