Publications

December 2010 (Revised April 2011)
Supplement

Boston Properties (B)

By: Ryan D. Taliaferro and Aldo Sesia

The B case briefly recounts the action that investment manager Eliza Baena takes in the matter of the Boston Properties (BXP) bonds described in the A case. She must decide what to do next. View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Bonds; Financing and Loans; Investment; Resource Allocation

March 1998 (Revised August 1999)
Case

Band of Angels, The

"The Band of Angels" is a well-organized but independent group of wealthy entrepreneurs. This case details the principles and processes used by the band and offers two perspectives from entrepreneurs who have been financed. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Borrowing and Debt; Venture Capital; Perspective

2022
Case

A Sweet Dilemma: Sourcing Palm Oil with Ferrero SpA and Nestlé

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

This case focuses on Ferrero SpA's sustainable palm oil sourcing strategy in light of its acquisition of Nestlé's U.S. confectionery brands, which in many ways does not comply with Ferrero's sustainable sourcing commitments. The case reviews Ferrero's rich family... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Supply Chain; Food and Beverage Industry

May 2020
Teaching Note

Danone: Changing the Food System

By: David E. Bell, Federica Gabrieli, Daniela Beyersdorfer, Amy Klopfenstein and Aldo Sesia

Teaching Note for HBS No. 520-053.
This is a teaching note for the case “Danone: Changing the Food System?” The case examines the efforts of one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies to resolve the social, environmental, and economic issues within... View Details

Keywords: Food; Goods and Commodities; Agribusiness; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; France; Paris

December 2019
Supplement

The Business of Pain: Johnson & Johnson and the Promise of Opioids (B)

By: Erik Snowberg, Trevor Fetter and Amy W. Schulman

This case is designed to provide an engrossing overview of stakeholder capitalism through a vigorous discussion of the conflicts that can arise when trying to serve multiple stakeholders. In 2007, Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) subsidiary Janssen has to decide whether or... View Details

Keywords: Opioids; Addiction; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Product Launch; Ethics; Society; Pharmaceutical Industry

September 2019
Case

Dementia Discovery Fund

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Kathy Giusti and Sarah Gulick

The case is set in March 2019, and tells the story of the founding of the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF). The idea for the fund began in 2015, when then-Prime Minister David Cameron spoke about the importance of making breakthroughs in dementia research, and pledged... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment Funds; Mission and Purpose; Recruitment; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry; Financial Services Industry; Boston; Massachusetts; London; England

January 2016
Case

COFCO

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

In 2015, COFCO, China's state-owned agribusiness giant, was working to protect China's food security (a key national security priority) by extending its control of the global food system through overseas acquisitions. At the same time, COFCO sought to grow its market... View Details

January 2013
Case

Austal, Ltd. (A)

By: Willy C. Shih, Margaret Pierson and Dawn H. Lau

Austal, Ltd. was an Australian builder of high-speed passenger ferries. It had translated that expertise into a foothold in the defense market on the US Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program with an Alabama assembly facility. In January 2009 it had just completed... View Details

June 2011 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Vehbi Koç and the Making of Turkey's Largest Business Group

By: Asli M. Colpan and Geoffrey Jones

The case describes the creation of Turkey's largest business group by Vehbi Koç. The foundation of this group in the interwar years, and its subsequent diversification into many industries, including automobiles, household goods, and services, is analysed. The case... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Organizational Structure; Diversification; Manufacturing Industry; Turkey

Web

Europe - Global

efforts to extend product life cycles, support secondhand retail, and scale mattress recycling. The episode is tied to ongoing case work supported by the Europe Research Center (ERC) and highlights how design, policy, and customer... View Details

August 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

eBee: Affordable Mobility for Africa

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in March 2023, as Sten van der Ham and Jaap Maljers, CEO and co-founder of eBee, an electric bike (e-bike) company in Africa, are contemplating the different avenues for growth and path to profitability for the young and ambitious company. In 2023, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Bicycle Industry; Africa; Kenya

February 2008 (Revised February 2008)
Supplement

Lincoln Financial Group (B): Making LFD a Reality

LFG reorganizes its business in order to improve customer intimacy. However, to implement the strategy, they need to effect significant changes in the skills of their salespeople. This case series straddles human resource management, corporate strategy, and sales... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Financial Services Industry

Web

Video Clips - Creating Emerging Markets

teaching, and other educational use. Any other use, including commercial reuse, web publishing, or other forms of redistribution, requires permission of Harvard Business School . These clips are now being used in a new series of Harvard Business School View Details

20 Dec 2018
Cold Call Podcast

Using Fintech to Disrupt Eastern Bank from Within

Keywords: Banking; Financial Services

Research Summary

The Jobs-Based Approach

This research, in colloboration with Clay Christensen, explores the notion that demogrpahics serve as a weak and limiting proxy for market demand. This work has resulted in a case and teaching note on Intuit's QuickBase. View Details

May 1994 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Nelson Paper Products, Inc.

By: W. Carl Kester

A comprehensive review case that entails both investment and financing decisions. Students must value an acquisitions opportunity and determine how Nelson Paper ought to finance both the acquisition and its regular capital expenditures program. View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Financing and Loans; Investment; Acquisition; Financial Strategy

April 1985
Supplement

Cleveland Twist Drill: Jim Bartlett, Video

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Daniel F. Muzyka

Presents a question and answer session with Jim Bartlett, president of Cleveland Twist Drill. Edited into three parts. Bartlett provides additional insights into the case situation and also describes subsequent events at the company. View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Corporate Strategy; Policy; Construction Industry; Consumer Products Industry