Publications

November 2008 (Revised March 2011)
Case

a-connect: In Search of Talent Partners (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Dilyana Karadzhova

a-connect was started in 2002 by three former McKinsey partners who wanted to develop an alternative business model consulting firm, which they have positioned as a high-end staffing company. The company has been very successful, growing to revenues of CHF 30 million... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Initial Public Offering; Selection and Staffing; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketplace Matching; Expansion; Consulting Industry

December 2017 (Revised June 2018)
Case

TelePizza (Abridged)

By: Lynda M. Applegate

Describes TelePizza, Spain's leading chain of pizza restaurants and delivery services. TelePizza has experienced rapid growth to 500 stores since its creation in 1987. The company went public on the Spanish stock market in late 1996. Franchising has played an important... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Franchise Ownership; Expansion; Global Range

18 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 18

Controlling for these effects and other determinants, we find that firms with lower residual ratings have relatively higher subsequent media allegations of corruption. They also report higher future sales View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2023 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Moleskine Foundation: Can Creativity Change the World?

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Alexandra C. Feldberg and Sarah Gulick

The Italy-based Moleskine Foundation worked with young adults in Africa and Europe to inspire social change through art and creative projects. Adama Sanneh, the newly appointed CEO of the Moleskine Foundation, faced several challenges: First, he had to make his own... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Social Enterprise; Leadership; Identity; Strategy; Education Industry; Italy; Africa; Europe; United States

August 2007 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Gome: Bidding for China Paradise

Gome, China's largest electronics retailer, has the opportunity to acquire China Paradise, the number three player in the Chinese electronic retailer industry. This happened in the general context of a great market development and potential consolidation of the... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Trade; Market Entry and Exit; Performance; Opportunities; Competition; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Electronics Industry; Retail Industry; China

March 2000 (Revised September 2000)
Case

yesmail.com

David Tolmie wants yesmail.com to become a leader in "permission marketing." Yesmail sends clients promotional e-mail messages to targeted consumers who said "yes" when asked whether they wished to receive promotional offers in a set of categories of interest. Tolmie... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications

Find at Harvard

April 2006 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Marketing New York City

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Anita Elberse and Marie Bell

New York City is a pioneer in the emerging field of municipal marketing. The city's first chief marketing officer must develop a marketing organization with a self-funded business model that creates value for the city by leveraging the city's assets, including physical... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Government and Politics; Goals and Objectives; Marketing Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Value Creation; New York (city, NY)

27 Oct 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Intensive Margin of Technology Adoption

Keywords: by Diego Comin & Martí Mestieri

August 1999 (Revised February 2000)
Background Note

Introduction to Islamic Finance, An

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Fuaad Qureshi and Mathew M Millett

Provides a basic introduction to the principles of Islamic finance. Examines the religious background and legal foundations of Islamic finance. Also discusses the development of Islamic financial institutions and the financial instruments they use. Concludes with a... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Globalization; Growth and Development; Lawfulness; Problems and Challenges; Religion; Financial Services Industry

2010
Chapter

Happiness Adaptation to Income beyond 'Basic Needs'

By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch

We test for whether, once "basic needs" are satisfied, there is happiness adaptation to further gains in income using three data sets. Individual German Panel Data from 1985 to 2000, and data on the well-being of over 600,000 people in a panel of European countries... View Details

Keywords: Wealth and Poverty; Happiness; Human Needs; Income; Adaptation; Economic Growth

October 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Calgene, Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg and John T. Gourville

In 1993, Calgene is on the verge of introducing the world's first genetically engineered plant product--a tomato will taste better and stay fresh longer. At the same time, it is using biotechnology to produce improved plant products for the cottonseed and the... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Product Launch; Innovation Strategy; Social Issues; Production; Problems and Challenges; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

October 2023 (Revised June 2024)
Case

ReUp Education: Can AI Help Learners Return to College?

By: Kris Ferreira, Christopher Thomas Ryan and Sarah Mehta

Founded in 2015, ReUp Education helps “stopped out students”—learners who have stopped making progress towards graduation—achieve their college completion goals. The company relies on a team of success coaches to engage with learners and help them reenroll. In 2019,... View Details

Keywords: AI; Algorithms; Machine Learning; Edtech; Education Technology; Analysis; Higher Education; AI and Machine Learning; Customization and Personalization; Failure; Education Industry; Technology Industry; United States

Benson P. Shapiro is a well-known authority on marketing strategy and sales management with particular interests in pricing, product line planning, and marketing organization. He is also the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing Emeritus at the Harvard Business... View Details

March 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Massive Incorporated (A)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Clark Gilbert and Victoria Winston

How do you go to market with a brand new product in a new industry? How does a business develop an opportunity and then adapt its strategy to ensure success? Who are the early adopters and how does a business work with them? Katherine Hays, chief operating office at... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Product Launch; Digital Marketing; Business Startups; Advertising Industry

17 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 17

reflected both home country subsidies for wind energy and strong local content policies, while successful firms pursued successful strategies to acquire technologies and View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

PhD Programs - Doctoral

through which firms create value and sustain performance over time. Strategy scholars develop a foundation in microeconomics and econometrics,... View Details

Teaching Interest

Large-Scale Investment (LSI, MBA Elective Curriculum)

By: Benjamin C. Esty

Large-Scale Investment (LSI) is a case-based course about project finance that is designed for second-year MBA students. Project finance involves the creation of a legally independent project company financed with nonrecourse debt for the purpose of investing in a... View Details

Keywords: Project Finance; Corporate Finance; Corporate Governance; Valuation; Capital Budgeting

02 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating in Three Dimensions

Business School and a principal of Lax Sebenius LLC, a negotiation strategy firm. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. David A. Lax, a former faculty... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Jumia's Path to Profitability

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in September 2019 as Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, co-founders and co-CEOs of Jumia, the leading Pan-African e-commerce platform, are contemplating the company’s path to profitability in the aftermath of a fragile investor sentiment, as the company... View Details