Publications

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20 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 20, 2008

what-if and formal optimization approach). We discuss pros and cons of these approaches and illustrate them through applications and case studies. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-069.pdf Positions of Power and Status: Reciprocity in the View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2013 (Revised January 2016)
Case

J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (Abridged)

By: Elie Ofek and Jill Avery

As he gets ready to release 2nd quarter 2012 results, Ron Johnson, the new CEO of department store J.C. Penney, is reconsidering the dramatic changes he initiated for the business model and brand image of his company. A new pricing scheme he put in place in February,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Price; Consumer Behavior; Decision Making; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States

15 Mar 2016
First Look

March 15, 2016

https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/116019-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 515-089 Instacart and the New Wave of Grocery Startups Instacart is testing an Uber-style solution to the challenge of building a home-delivered grocery... View Details

27 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 27

changes in financing constraints. Cases & Course Materials Avid Radiopharmaceuticals and Lighthouse Capital Partners Matthew Rhodes-Kropf and Ann LeamonHarvard Business School Case 810-054 In fall 2008, a View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

21 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 21

intermediaries in the market for ideas. Download working paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1966530 Cases & Course Materials Harvard Business School Case 814-005 Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Kit Hinrichs at Pentagram (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

This case focuses on Kit Hinrichs, a 65-year-old partner at Pentagram, a privately owned multidisciplinary design firm. One of the world's most prestigious design firms, Pentagram was founded by five designers from different disciplines in London in the 1970s. By 2008,... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Business Offices; Customer Relationship Management; Design; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Groups and Teams; Creativity; Service Industry; San Francisco

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September 2021 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Bühler: Mobilizing Industry around a Common Purpose

By: Ranjay Gulati, Franz Wohlgezogen and Malini Sen

Bühler Group, a Swiss multinational processing technology provider, started by selling machines for processing grains and later transitioned into selling food processing solutions. A family-owned business in the fifth generation, Bühler’s high-end milling, grinding,... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Customer Focus and Relationships; Machinery and Machining; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Innovation Leadership; Switzerland

November 2013 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Valuing Yahoo! in 2013

By: Luis M. Viceira and Atul Khosla

In late July 2013, Danielle Engle, Managing Director of Clairemont Capital, was contemplating what to do about a large investment her fund had in the stock of Yahoo! Inc. In mid-2012, Clairemont had invested nearly $75M in Yahoo! after the tech company settled a highly... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Decision Making; Investment Activism; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Valuation

November 2011
Case

Pacific Grove Spice Company

By: William E. Fruhan and Craig Stephenson

Pacific Grove Spice Company is a profitable, rapidly growing manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of quality spices and seasonings. The company's business model requires significant investment in accounts receivable, inventory, and fixed assets to support sales.... View Details

Keywords: Capital Expenditures; Investments; Acquisitions; Securities Analysis; Debt Securities; Opportunities; Cost of Capital; Valuation; Investment; Capital Budgeting; Business Model; Cash Flow; Financing and Loans; Acquisition; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

August 2006 (Revised March 2008)
Case

iPod vs. Cell Phone: A Mobile Music Revolution?

By: David B. Yoffie, Travis D. Merrill and Michael Slind

In 2006, a nascent market for music-enabled mobile phones was emerging to challenge Apple Computer's dominant position in the digital music industry. Through its iPod line of portable digital music devices and its iTunes Music Store, Apple controlled more than half of... View Details

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Emerging Markets; Brands and Branding; Sales; Opportunities; Price; Business Model; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Digital Platforms; Service Delivery; Communications Industry; Music Industry

24 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 24

Committing to Africa In 2012, Syngenta, one of the world's largest agricultural input companies, committed to build a $1 billion business in Africa over the next 10 years. In mid-2014, CEO Michael Mack and Africa View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2017 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Armarium: Luxury Fashion Brands for Rent

By: Jill Avery, David Fubini, Natasha Dossa and Devon Stewart

Armarium, a two-sided online platform that offered consumers the opportunity to rent the most coveted, current season high fashion clothing and accessories from the top global luxury brands, had emerged from its first sales season with two distinct customer segments:... View Details

15 Dec 2015
First Look

December 15, 2015

Acquisition (B) Supplements the (A) case. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/615034-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 816-020 GovDelivery Is government the biggest, worst customer in the world? And is that a... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

22 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: November 22

case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/511137-PDF-ENG The K-Dow Petrochemicals Joint Venture Guhan Subramanian, James K. Sebenius, Phillip Andrews, and Rhea GhoshHarvard Business School Case 912-002 In... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Choosing the Course of Passion: Brooke Boyarsky Pratt at knownwell

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz and Alexis Lefort

Brooke Boyarsky Pratt (HBS ’13) enjoyed considerable success in her early career, quickly climbing the ranks to associate partner at McKinsey, and later becoming an executive vice president at Berkadia, a Berkshire Hathaway portfolio company. Throughout these years,... View Details

Keywords: Passion; Career; Career Planning; Purpose; Personal Development and Career; Mission and Purpose; Identity; Business Startups; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Health Industry; United States

July 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: Bringing Systematic Investment to Philanthropy

By: Lauren Cohen, Hao Gao, Alexander Bischoff and Sophia Pan

Melissa Berman, CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), evaluated her client’s philanthropy project and its mediocre performance. RPA was a segment of the Rockefeller Family Office’s Philanthropy Department, becoming an independent charity in 2002. Consistently... View Details