Publications

Web

Stories

Thinking Saving Giraffes from Silent Extinction Re: Susan Myers (MBA 1978); Richard Myers (MBA 1984); By: Jen Mcfarland Flint; Illustrations by Maria Jesus Contreras 01 Jun 2025 HBS Magazine Barbie: Reviving... View Details

22 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 22

model reconfigurations. We consider three business models: the proprietary model (where all software modules offered by the firm are proprietary), the open source model (where all modules are open source), and the mixed source model... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2000 (Revised November 2000)
Case

IBM Corporation Turnaround

By: Robert D. Austin and Richard L. Nolan

Describes the details of IBM's dramatic corporate turnaround in the early 1990s led by CEO Louis V. Gerstner. Accounts of events are from interviews with IBM executives. Covers the factors that led to the company's decline and actions taken to recover. View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Restructuring; Management Teams; Management Practices and Processes; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry

March 2011
Article

The New M&A Playbook

By: Clayton M. Christensen, Richard Alton, Curtis Rising and Andrew Waldeck

Companies spend more than $2 trillion on acquisitions every year, yet the M&A failure rate is between 70% and 90%. Executives can dramatically increase their odds of success, the authors argue, if they understand how to select targets, how much to pay for them, and... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Integration

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Research Summary

Great Negotiator Study Initiative

By: James K. Sebenius

What can be legitimately be learned from closely studying great negotiators at work? Since 2000, the Program on Negotiation (PON)—an active inter-university consortium mainly comprised of numerous faculty from across... View Details

Web

Courses - Entrepreneurship

Courses First Year (Required Curriculum) During the first year at HBS, all students pursue the same course of study called the Required Curriculum. By studying under a common curriculum, students build a solid, broad foundation of general... View Details

July 2011 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Nashton Partners and Its Search Fund Process

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Nashton Partners was a search fund founded by two HBS MBA's that raised $500,000 to finance a search for a company that they could purchase and then run for the next five to ten years. The case examines the search fund structure, the two-year search, and two potential... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Capital Structure; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Partners and Partnerships

2009
Book

The Adventures of an IT Leader

By: Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan and Shannon O'Donnell

Becoming an effective IT manager presents a host of challenges-from anticipating emerging technology to managing relationships with vendors, employees, and other managers. Ultimately, a good IT manager must be a strong business leader, not just a technical... View Details

Keywords: Books; Leadership; Crisis Management; Personal Development and Career; Relationships; Safety; Information Technology

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Web

Finance - Faculty & Research

fourth-generation (G4) member of his family’s heavy manufacturing business, found himself reflecting on how the firm would navigate a deepening shareholder conflict. While the second generation (G2) had managed the business in harmony, dynamics shifted dramatically... View Details

Web

Finance Curriculum - Faculty & Research

builds on the foundation developed in Finance I, focusing on three sets of managerial decisions: How to evaluate complex investments. How to set and execute financial policies within a firm. How to integrate the many financial decisions faced View Details

October 2020 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Union Square Hospitality Group: Hospitality Included

By: Peter Boumgarden, Ryan W. Buell, Lamar Pierce and Richard Ryffel

In 2015, Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), helmed by famous restauranteur Danny Meyer, sent shockwaves through the restaurant industry by announcing the end of tipping in its restaurants. Under its new policy, Hospitality Included (HI), USHG would charge higher... View Details

Keywords: Restaurants; Tipping; Revenue Sharing; Service Operations; Policy; Change; Human Resources; Management; Food and Beverage Industry

April 2020
Teaching Note

Cambridge Franchise Partners

By: Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld

Teaching Note for HBS No. 217-082. Cambridge Franchise Partners (CFP) was established by Matt Perelman and Alex Sloane (both HBS ’15) to pursue a roll-up strategy in the quick service restaurant (QSR) sector. Burger King (BK) approved CFP’s request to become a... View Details

Keywords: Roll-up; Franchise; Franchise Management; Small Firms Management; Franchise Ownership; Small Business; Management; Acquisition

Web

The Founding of U.S. Steel and the Power of Public Opinion | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

the Power of Public Opinion The Founding of U.S. Steel and the Power of Public Opinion: Intro By the late 1800s, the steel industry in the United States had surpassed the capacity of Britain’s steel production. In 1901, through the merger... View Details

August 2000 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Dell's Working Capital

By: Richard S. Ruback and Aldo Sesia

Dell Computer Corp. manufactures, sells, and services personal computers. The company markets its computers directly to its customers and builds computers after receiving a customer order. This build-to-order model enables Dell to have much smaller investment in... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Working Capital; Manufacturing Industry; Computer Industry

Web

Lehman Brothers Timeline | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

Library Search Search Search Lehman Brothers: 1850 - 2008 Exhibition Lehman Brothers Timeline 1844 Henry Lehman emigrates from Rimpar, Germany, and settles in Montgomery, Alabama, where he opens a general store specializing in dry goods. 1850s Henry Lehman is joined... View Details

25 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

The Importance of Teaming

and cognitive (thinking) skills," she writes. "Enabled by distributed leadership, the purpose of teaming is to expand knowledge and expertise so that organizations and their customers can capture the value." In the... View Details

Keywords: Re: Amy C. Edmondson

2010
Book

Winning in Emerging Markets: A Road Map for Strategy and Execution

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Richard Bullock

The best way to select emerging markets to exploit is to evaluate their size or growth potential, right? Not according to Krishna Palepu and Tarun Khanna. In 'Winning in Emerging Markets,' these leading scholars on the subject present a decidedly different framework... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Emerging Markets; Organizations; Opportunities; Business Strategy

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