Publications

20 Aug 2012
News

Why Groupon Is Over and Facebook And Twitter Should Follow

Research Summary

Emerging and Frontier Markets

By: Arthur I Segel

I continue to spend a great deal of time examining real estate in all aspects from development to securitization in new and growing markets. View Details

29 Mar 2010
Research & Ideas

Ruthlessly Realistic: How CEOs Must Overcome Denial

to acknowledge and deal with reality. It is the choice—sometimes willful, sometimes unconscious, often semiconscious—to enter an "as if" world, to act "as if" facts are not facts because they are difficult to face. Sigmund Freud referred... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Auto; Retail; Technology

March 2007 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Alleviating Poverty and Malnutrition

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Kerry Herman

Deals with approaches to alleviating poverty and how firms, governments, and NGOs are able to work together to accomplish these goals. View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Nutrition; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Non-Governmental Organizations; Poverty; Welfare

April 2005 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Berkshire Partners: Bidding for Carter's

By: Malcolm P. Baker and James Quinn

A five-member team from Berkshire Partners must recommend a final bid and financial structure for a leveraged buyout of William Carter Co., a leading producer of children's apparel. Investorcorp, a global investment group, has put the company up for auction. Goldman... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Valuation; Apparel and Accessories Industry

07 Jun 2014
Video

Thomas Scambos - Making A Difference

December 2003
Case

Fox and the NFL-1998

By: Bharat N. Anand and Catherine M. Conneely

In early 1998, a few major content deals threatened to shape the competitive battle between the television networks for the next several years. These were the bidding for the National Football League (NFL) games, the announcement by Jerry Seinfeld (star of the show... View Details

Keywords: Bids and Bidding; Agreements and Arrangements; Competition; Media and Broadcasting Industry

January 2001 (Revised September 2002)
Case

First Marblehead Corporation (A)

By: D. Quinn Mills and Matt Salloway

Daniel Meyers, chairman and CEO of First Marblehead Corp., provides financial engineering services to educational institutions. This case deals with the market for student loans. View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Education; Markets; Microfinance; Management Teams; Financial Services Industry; Education Industry

November 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Merchant Card Services, Inc. (A)

By: Constance E. Bagley and David Lane

Explores the interaction between a venture capital firm that negotiates a good deal for itself and the portfolio company that seeks to extricate itself from its obligations. Exemplifies the potential conflicts between the fiduciary duty of board members and the... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Deal; Legal Liability; Conflict and Resolution; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

25 Jul 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas: July 25, 2017

dynamics of cities. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52917 forthcoming The Corporate Contract in Changing Times: Is the Law Keeping Up? Using the Deal Price for Determining 'Fair Value' in Appraisal... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

May 1997 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Teradyne: The Aurora Project

By: Joseph L. Bower

Three cases deal with the introduction of a new product to Teradyne's line of semiconductor test equipment. Teradyne: Managing Strategic Change provides historic and administrative background for the other two cases. This case deals with the problems facing the head of... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Business Startups; Customer Satisfaction; Product Launch; Product Development; Corporate Strategy; Semiconductor Industry

August 22, 2017
Article

Find the Right Metrics for Your Sales Team

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Robert Marsh

This article reports the results of a survey of key performance indicators (KPIs) used by more than 800 sales groups across industries. The most common KPIs are closed deals and salesperson performance against quota, which, on average, firms measure monthly. But a... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics; Salesforce Management

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07 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Why Online Retailers Should Hide Their Best Discounts

New advice for online retailers suggests bargain items should not be too easy for shoppers to find. (Matjaz Slanic) Retailers have long known where to put the bargain bin—in the back of the store, where customers have to work a little bit to find it. That way, they... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

March 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Supplement

The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Inc.: To Acquire or Not to Acquire? An Update

By: Juan Alcacer, David J. Collis and Mary Furey

This four-page update to the case, "The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Inc.: To Acquire or Not to Acquire?" details the Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Pixar, including deal terms, executive appointments, and operating guidelines for the two studios. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Managerial Roles; Negotiation Deal; Operations; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

September 2001 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Stevenson Industries (A)

By: John A. Davis and Kacie LaChapelle

Simon Carlson, chairman of the board of his family's fourth-generation industrial company, must decide how to deal with his conflict with the company's nonfamily CEO. Hired by the board just 15 months earlier to pursue growth more aggressively, CEO Paul Steel has upset... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Management Succession; Management Style; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Rank and Position; Organizational Culture; Decision Making; Manufacturing Industry

April 2010 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Southwest Airlines: In a Different World

By: James L. Heskett and W. Earl Sasser Jr.

This is the fourth in a 35-year series of HBS cases on an organization that has changed the rules of the game globally for an entire industry by offering both differentiated and low-price service. The focus of the case is on whether Southwest Airlines should buy gates... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Air Transportation Industry; New York (city, NY)

05 Jun 2013
Op-Ed

Corporate Leaders Need to Step Up on Climate Change

Green initiatives are ubiquitous these days, implemented with zeal at companies like Dupont, IBM, Walmart, and Walt Disney. The programs being rolled out—lighting retrofits, zero-waste factories, and carpool incentives—save money and provide a green glow. Most large... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Toffel & Auden Schendler

June 1988 (Revised December 1991)
Case

An Tai Bao Coal Mining Project

By: W. Carl Kester and Richard P. Melnick

An Tai Bao is the world's largest open-pit coal mine and is located in China's Shanxi province. After eight years of planning and negotiating, Occidental Petroleum, the foreign partner in the deal, is about to sign an ownership and financing agreement for $475 million... View Details

Keywords: Planning; Agreements and Arrangements; Non-Renewable Energy; Equity; Partners and Partnerships; Negotiation Deal; Joint Ventures; Mining Industry; China

August 2008
Case

Thoma Bravo - Citect Corporation Take-Private

In 2006, Citect Corporation, a publicly traded Australian software company, was the target of a takeover battle between a financial sponsor and a strategic buyer. Thoma Bravo, the U.S.-based private equity firm, had to decide on its acquisition strategy in the face of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Investment; Negotiation Deal; Privatization; Valuation; Australia