Publications

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01 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

When Do Alliances Make Sense?

solo. He found it in a unique set of data: leases for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Firms competing to drill in the region have historically bid on 5,000-acre tracts, submitting sealed bids... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy; Utilities

April 1991 (Revised August 1995)
Supplement

Cat Fight in the Pet Food Industry (B)

By: David J. Collis

Describes the contest for the takeover of Anderson Clayton as industry players compete for one of the seven major dog food makers. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Bids and Bidding; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

January 1992
Teaching Note

Gulf Oil Corporation-Takeover TN

By: Richard S. Ruback

Teaching Note for (9-285-053). View Details

Keywords: Privatization; Business Exit or Shutdown; Bids and Bidding; Natural Environment; Energy Industry

June 2001
Case

ESL Golf (B)

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Christopher R Gordon

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Private Equity; Valuation

March 2000
Case

Spec's Music (B)

By: John A. Davis and Susan Harmeling

Explores the reasoning behind the final decision to sell and the decision-making process that leads to the final question of "if so, to whom?" Four of the bidders are music retailers and the fifth is a Tampa entrepreneur. View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Bids and Bidding

12 Aug 2008
Op-Ed

Google-Yahoo Ad Deal is Bad for Online Advertising

many advertisers that currently buy ads from Yahoo. The proposed deal would substantially reduce Yahoo's ability to offer competitive payments to Web site publishers seeking to show pay-per-click ads. Without Yahoo bidding against Google... View Details

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman; Advertising; Publishing

December 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Vincent Marie Dessain, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Anders Sjoman

The Dutch "Verenigde Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer Cooperative" (VBA) was on of the world's largest flower exchanges. Around 6,300 flower growers, one half of them located in the Netherlands, used the auction to sell cut flowers and plants to more than 1,000 wholesalers. In... View Details

Keywords: Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Trade; Market Entry and Exit; Financial Markets; Segmentation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Netherlands

July 2003 (Revised February 2004)
Background Note

M&A Legal Context: Hostile Takeovers

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin, Constance E. Bagley and James Quinn

Introduces students to the main tactical maneuvers used by hostile bidders, including bear hugs, proxy fights, tender offers, and toeholds. Also describes how, in the United States, tender offers are regulated by the federal government via the Williams Act. View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Cash; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Code Law; Bids and Bidding; United States

June 2010 (Revised December 2013)
Supplement

Hang Lung Properties and the Chengdu Decision (B)

By: John D. Macomber, Michael Shih-Ta Chen and Keith Chi-Ho Wong

Second phase of auction for a prime retail development parcel in Chengdu, China. Competition forces the firm to revisit all of its land purchase criteria. Hang Lung Properties is known for rigorous due diligence, for discipline in buying property, and for good... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Infrastructure; Competitive Strategy; Valuation; Real Estate Industry; Chengdu

May 2010
Article

Optimal Auction Design and Equilibrium Selection in Sponsored Search Auctions

By: Benjamin Edelman and Michael Schwarz

We characterize the optimal (revenue maximizing) auction for sponsored search advertising. We show that a search engine's optimal reserve price is independent of the number of bidders and independent of the rate at which click-through rate declines over positions. We... View Details

Keywords: Auctions; Revenue; Advertising; Search Technology; Price; Bids and Bidding

Read Now

June 2005 (Revised November 2005)
Case

The Harrison and HIA

By: Jay O. Light

A large East Coast insurance company is thinking of selling its investment management subsidiary. Several Eurobanks are thinking of acquiring this subsidiary. View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Subsidiaries; Investment; Bids and Bidding; Negotiation; Valuation; Insurance Industry

March 2010
Article

The Desire to Win: The Effects of Competitive Arousal on Motivation and Behavior

By: Deepak Malhotra

The paper theoretically elaborates and empirically investigates the "competitive arousal" model of decision making, which argues that elements of the strategic environment (e.g., head-to-head rivalry and time pressure) can fuel competitive motivations and behavior.... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Personal Characteristics; Competition

15 Mar 2010
HBS Case

Developing Asia’s Largest Slum

When the case opens, a fictitious developer, Rance Hollen, is at a critical juncture: Weighing the cost of capital, construction, and expected market prices for developed units, should Hollen meet the government's minimum bid for one of... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Construction; Real Estate

May 2008
Teaching Note

Lion Capital and the Blackstone Group: The Orangina Deal (TN)

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Teaching Note for [807005]. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Bids and Bidding; Negotiation Deal; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

28 Feb 2005
Research & Ideas

How to Harness Auction Fever

Internet Auctions" currently in press in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Malhotra says the research carries lessons for business people who bid on everything from services to new employees.... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Web Services; Technology

23 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 23, 2008

http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=809052 PepsiCo's Bid for Quaker Oats (B) Harvard Business School Supplement 209-078 Second in a series on PepsiCo's bid for... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 2010 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Hang Lung Properties and the Chengdu Decision (A)

By: John D. Macomber, Michael Shih-Ta Chen and Keith Chi-Ho Wong

A residential real estate developer competes in a heated auction for a prime retail development site in the interior of China during the 2009 boom. Total project cost might be in excess of $1 billion U.S. for over 4,000,000 square feet of building. Hang Lung Properties... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment Return; Geographic Location; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Infrastructure; Valuation; Real Estate Industry; Chengdu

01 Sep 2003
What Do You Think?

To Whom Should Boards be Accountable?

corporate managers and directors must first be accountable to and for the satisfaction of customers, the loyalty and opportunities for growth of employees [and others] ..." How does this play out in the consideration of bids for a... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

April 2008
Supplement

Ti-Tech (B)

By: Benson P. Shapiro and John T. Gourville

This case concerns the selection and scheduling of orders by a small industrial titanium fabricator that recently has been plagued by poor deliveries and a lack of capacity. At the time of the case, Ti-Tech must decide which of four orders to accept, with capacity... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Production; Performance Capacity; Marketing Strategy; Bids and Bidding; Manufacturing Industry; Industrial Products Industry; United States