Publications

17 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 17

111-012 This case describes the operating model and philosophy of this high-end set of global properties. Aman relies on employees taking considerable initiative to deliver the highest quality personalized... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Aug 2017
News

Does Le Pliage Help or Hurt the Longchamp Luxury Brand?

June 2009 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Cirque du Soleil -- The High-Wire Act of Building Sustainable Partnerships

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Maxime Aucoin

The case describes the history and business model of Cirque du Soleil (CdS). The case allows for a rich discussion and analysis of Cirque du Soleil's business model with an emphasis on how it interacts with that of MGM Mirage. Le Cirque and MGM's business models... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Investment; Profit; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Partners and Partnerships; Trust; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

27 May 2022
Blog Post

Q&A with the HBS Armed Forces Alumni Association, MBA Class of 2023

learning on the job would be the best way for me to learn about the key drivers of a business. And yet, after some time on the job, I started to see that there were several areas of the company that I couldn't quite contribute to,... View Details

03 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 3

Baldwin, Bo Becker, and Vincent DessainHarvard Business School Case 210-040 Franz Humer, CEO of the Roche Group, must decide whether to mount a hostile tender offer for the publicly owned shares of Roche's biotechnology subsidiary,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2015
Case

Beckman Coulter, 2011

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In early 2011, Danaher was contemplating the acquisition of Beckman Coulter. With $3.7 billion of revenues in 2010 and $431 million in operating profits, California-based Beckman Coulter was a global leader in blood cell count diagnostic systems and also supplied a... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

20 Nov 2007
First Look

First Look: November 20, 2007

to as "user-centered design." Yet, analysis of design-intensive manufacturers such as Alessi, Artemide and other leading Italian firms, show that their innovation process hardly starts from a close observation of user needs... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 28, 2009

itself into the world's third largest luxury retailer with multiple brands. The company had performed well even after the departure of star designer Tom Ford and former CEO Domenico De Sole. However, the challenging View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 2022 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Netflix's Culture: Binge or Cringe?

By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger, James Barnett and Stacy Straaberg

In May 2022, streaming entertainment company Netflix lost customers for the first time in more than 10 years. Once a first mover in the streaming landscape, Netflix was facing competition from Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, and others. A key component of... View Details

April 2004 (Revised August 2004)
Teaching Note

BuildingBlocks International

BuildingBlocks International (BBI) plans to accomplish its mission to help children in developing countries succeed in school by bringing management expertise to local organizations. Two years after founding BBI, however, the team hasn't figured out exactly how to make... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Developing Countries and Economies; Sales

Web

Business for Social Impact | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

combine purpose and profit and how businesses can face today's global challenges. Power and Influence for Positive Impact Professor Julie... View Details

November 1986 (Revised December 1992)
Case

Kentucky Fried Chicken (Japan) Ltd.

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Describes the internationalization of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) fast food chain, focusing on KFC's entry into Japan. An entrepreneurial country general manager, Lou Weston, battles numerous problems to establish the business and is eventually highly successful.... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Entrepreneurship; Globalized Economies and Regions; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Market Entry and Exit; Strategic Planning; Agency Theory; Perspective; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan