Publications

December 2007
Journal Article

Industrial Policy in the United States

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

Does US government policy purposefully benefit particular industries or is industrial policy absent in the USA? Based on a review of recent US policies this paper argues that the USA applies many policies with an industry-specific impact. But these policies do not... View Details

Keywords: Microeconomics; Entrepreneurship; Policy; Innovation and Invention; Supply and Industry; Business and Government Relations; United States

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Teaching Interest

MBA Elective Curriculum Personal Selling and Sales Force Management

Personal selling is the primary (and sometimes the only) form of marketing activity for many firms, especially in a business-to-business context. The course focuses on the tactical component of managing a salesforce and on the strategic element of linking sales... View Details

February 2003 (Revised October 2004)
Background Note

Antamini Simulation Model

By: Peter Tufano

Antamini is a simulation of the value of an investment project whose outcome is uncertain. This case describes the situation facing a natural resource firm as it contemplates bidding on a copper mine in Peru. The bidder faces uncertainties about the ore deposit size... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Auctions; Investment; Mining; Mining Industry; Peru

02 Aug 2013
News

People must take responsibility for managing their careers

TeachingInterests

Making Corporate Boards More Effective

By: Suraj Srinivasan

While a corporate board may have broadly defined legal duties, its role in evaluating management, providing strategic oversight, and dealing with the complexity of today's regulatory environment has never been more tested—or more critically dependent on effective... View Details

14 Aug 2017
News

Leaders Born in Darkness

September–October 2015
Article

Crash and Burn: Why Silicon Valley's Notion That Failure Leads to Success Won't Work for the Rest of the World

By: Debora L. Spar

In the frenzied hills of Silicon Valley, going bust is common. Research attests that close to half of start-ups supported by venture capital chew through most or all of their backers' money and that the majority never achieve their projected returns on investment. But... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Failure; Learning; Situation or Environment

October 1994 (Revised July 1995)
Case

RCI Master Distributor: Evolution of Supplier Relationships

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Traces the evolution of RCI as a master distributor from the time it was founded in 1946 until 1994. The second-generation owner of the distribution company faces several challenges unique to the 1990s environment that his father did not face. As Danny Schwartz... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Situation or Environment; Corporate Strategy; Distribution Industry

09 Sep 2015
HBS Seminar

Judith A. Chevalier, Yale University

August 2011 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Boardroom Battle Behind Bars: Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings—A Corporate Governance Drama

By: William C. Kirby and Tracy Yuen Manty

Despite widespread news of the incarceration of Gome Electronics' CEO, Huang Guangyu, Bain Capital felt they carefully undertook due diligence before making a significant investment in the company. The venture capital firm was confident that it and the current... View Details

Keywords: China; Legal Aspects Of Business; Corruption; Risk; Corporate Governance; Crime and Corruption; Power and Influence; Risk Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Venture Capital; Ethics; Governing and Advisory Boards; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Values and Beliefs; Private Equity; China

14 Dec 2017
HBS Seminar

Andrew Davis, Johnson, Cornell University

March 2011
Case

Valuation of AirThread Connections

By: Erik Stafford and Joel L. Heilprin

This case can be used as a capstone valuation exercise for first-year MBA students in an introductory finance course. A senior associate in the business development group at American Cable Communications, one of the largest cable companies in the U.S., must prepare a... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Present Value; Tax Accounting; Capital Costs; Synergy; Telephony; Wireless Technologies; Communication Technology; Assets; Cost of Capital; Valuation; Cash Flow; Capital Structure; Accounting; Wireless Technology; Communications Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

April 1989 (Revised March 1993)
Case

ProTech, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Piper

A company is considering the elimination of a product line. As part of that consideration, it must develop possible strategies for closing the division, and identify the economic and non-economic implications of the strategy. The situation is complicated by the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Decision Making; Business Exit or Shutdown; Equity; Problems and Challenges

October 2009
Article

Negotiation Analysis: From Games to Inferences to Decisions to Deals

By: James K. Sebenius

Exemplified by the pioneering work of Howard Raiffa and often expressed in the pages of the Negotiation Journal, the emergent prescriptive field of "negotiation analysis" progressively developed from Raiffa's early contributions to game theory and to his later... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Game Theory

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January 2009
Case

Supersonic Business Jets

By: Dennis A. Yao and Julia Rozovsky

In the fall of 2002, Brian Barents, ex-CEO of Galaxy Aerospace, faced an important decision: whether or not to enter the supersonic business jet (SSBJ) industry. Supersonic flight-flight faster than the speed of sound-had long tantalized leaders of commercial aerospace... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Governance Compliance; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy; Cooperation; Aerospace Industry

18 Sep 2000
Research & Ideas

Getting It Done: Improving Nonprofit Performance

environment distracts nonprofit management, shifting focus away from organizational performance," Grossman writes. "Far from being a benign influence, philanthropic capital markets have an insidious effect on making and keeping high... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner

spring 1994
Article

Unilateral Commitments and the Importance of Process in Alliances

By: Ranjay Gulati, Tarun Khanna and Nitin Nohria

How the partners in an alliance view their joint venture can have much to do with its success or failure. Each partner fears that the other will get the larger payoff by acting opportunistically while it cooperates in good faith. The result is that both partners choose... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Partners and Partnerships; Joint Ventures; Management Practices and Processes; Alliances; Trust; Game Theory