Publications

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

4+2 = Sustained Business Success

business performance. What does matter, it turns out, is having a strong grasp of the business basics. Without exception, companies that outperformed their industry peers excelled at what we call the four primary management... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, William Joyce & Bruce Roberson

15 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 15, 2019

faster-growing companies to raise more capital. These results highlight the importance of institutions in enabling the provision of entrepreneurial capital to young companies. In Search of Organizational Alignment Using a 360-Degree... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

April 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Corporate Solutions at Jones Lang LaSalle (2001)

By: Ranjay Gulati and Lucia Menzer Marshall

Peter Barge, CEO of the newly created Corporate Solutions Group of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), is executing a restructuring of the U.S. corporate real estate services division that will enable the company to offer its clients integrated solutions. Barge has created an... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Restructuring; Customer Relationship Management; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Integration

2019
Book

The Technology Fallacy: How People Are the Real Key to Digital Transformation

By: Gerald C. Kane, Anh Phillips, Jonathan Copulsky and Garth Andrus

Digital technologies are disrupting organizations of every size and shape, leaving managers scrambling to find a technology fix that will help their organizations compete. This book offers managers and business leaders a guide for surviving digital disruptions―but it... View Details

31 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

Beyond the 'Business Case' in DEI: 6 Steps Toward Meaningful Change

More than three in four Fortune 500 companies justify their workforce diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts by making the business case. It sounds like this: By making our workforce more diverse, we’re building a more innovative... View Details

Keywords: by Katherine Hutt Scott and Barbara DeLollis

01 Apr 2024
In Practice

Navigating the Mood of Customers Weary of Price Hikes

ticking up again as recently as February. How should companies navigate the mood of shoppers, who remain cautious after being squeezed over the past two years, particularly in areas like food and housing? Harvard Business School faculty... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Retail; Consumer Products

08 Aug 2022
HBS Case

Building an 'ARMY' of Fans: Marketing Lessons from K-Pop Sensation BTS

M.C. for Youth)—to champion the band on social media and send it to mega-stardom. The large, loyal following was a big part of what investors were buying when BTS’ management company raised $50 billion in its 2020 IPO, leading Chung and... View Details

Keywords: by Shalene Gupta; Media & Broadcasting; Music

August 2018
Case

BlackBuck (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

The case presents the challenges of scaling an asset-heavy company (that relies on its operations). It highlights how decisions on the early team impact a company’s ability to scale, linkage between growth and cash flows, as well the organizational impact of high... View Details

Keywords: Founders; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Delivery; Cash Flow; Growth Management; Truck Transportation; Online Technology; India

November 2007 (Revised October 2009)
Case

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated

In an activist role, the hedge fund Third Point LLC has three board seats and an ownership stake of 9.5% in Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company. Third Point believed that Ligand had a strong drug portfolio and pipeline but that it was... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Governing and Advisory Boards; Bids and Bidding; Ownership Stake; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

06 Nov 2007
First Look

First Look: November 6, 2007

was established in 2005 to invest primarily in middle market, particularly family-run, businesses in India. Blue River caters to this niche as an active investor, providing capital and working with portfolio companies to improve their... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

When Negotiating a Price, Never Bid with a Round Number

to be bargained down. The same holds true for salary negotiations. Hukkanen and Keloharju wanted to find out whether these social psychology findings held true in the financial market, focusing on mergers and acquisitions for a few... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

February 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

IMAX: Scaling Personalized Learning in India

By: John Jong-Hyun Kim, Michael Chu and Rachna Tahilyani

IMAX is a provider of comprehensive testing and personalized content across mid-range and low-cost private K-10 schools in India. It aims to improve learning outcomes by providing schools with an integrated product suite including textbooks, workbooks, assessments,... View Details

Keywords: Curriculum and Courses; Learning; Acquisition; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; India

April 2025
Case

Sharon Goldberg and BastionZero

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, James Barnett and Maxim Pike Harrell

In December 2023, BastionZero co-founder and CEO Sharon Goldberg considered her startup’s future. Established in 2017 as a blockchain company focused on improving the security of cryptocurrency trading, in March 2020 the VC-backed startup shifted focus to a new... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurial Finance; Technological Innovation; Business Strategy; Business Exit or Shutdown

March 2011 (Revised May 2011)
Supplement

China Construction America (B): The Baha Mar Resort Deal

Why is a Chinese state-owned construction company building the largest mega-resort and casino in the Caribbean? This case examines the intricate deal-making by which CSCEC, China's leading global engineering and construction contractor, emerged as a key market player.... View Details

Keywords: Project Finance; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Financial Strategy; Construction Industry; Tourism Industry; China; Bahamas

24 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 24

School Case 113-073 Ken Traub at American Bank Note Holographics Ken Traub is hired as CFO for American Bank Note Holographics, the market-leading security holograph company, in January 1999, but discovers... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2017 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Dinesh Moorjani and Hatch Labs

By: Christopher Stanton, Shikhar Ghosh, Allison Ciechanover and Jeff Huizinga

This case is about Tinder. It discusses different business models and ways of structuring the initial team. With a $6 million investment from IAC/Interactive in 2010, Dinesh Moorjani founded Hatch Labs to build mobile apps. His mission was to attract entrepreneurial... View Details

Keywords: Returns; Incubator; Mobile App; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Model; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Talent and Talent Management; Valuation; Equity; Finance; United States; North America

September 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Engineering an Inclusive Bioeconomy

By: Tarun Khanna, Raffaella Sadun and Susie L. Ma

In 2019, entrepreneur Juan Carlos Castilla-Rubio was developing a project he hoped could generate and share wealth from the natural resources of the Amazon without destroying those resources. His idea, called Earth Bank of Codes (EBC), would create a library of the... View Details

06 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

The Right Way to Manage Customer Churn for Maximum Profit

they spend any more money or do any additional work. The only thing we are suggesting is that they change their algorithm.” About the Author Michael Blanding is a writer based in Boston. [Image: RyanJLane ] Related Reading The Profit Power of Corporate Culture How an... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail; Service; Financial Services

November 2009
Article

Is it Fair to Blame Fair Value Accounting for the Financial Crisis?

By: Robert C. Pozen

When the credit markets seized up in 2008, many heaped blame on "mark to market" accounting rules, which require banks to write down their troubled assets to the prices they'd fetch if sold on the open market - at the time, next to nothing. Recording those assets below... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Fair Value Accounting; Financial Crisis; Assets; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Crisis Management; Standards; Banking Industry