Publications

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March 2005 (Revised June 2005)
Background Note

Arbitration between Foreign Investors and Host Governments

By: Louis T. Wells Jr. and Regina Garcia-Cuellar

Explains the emergence of international arbitration as an option for foreign investors with disputes with governments of emerging markets. Presents issues about whether arbitration will remain acceptable to countries and governments. View Details

Keywords: Conflict and Resolution; Foreign Direct Investment; Globalized Markets and Industries; Emerging Markets; Government and Politics

December 2003 (Revised October 2014)
Case

Alusaf Hillside Project

By: Kenneth S. Corts and John R. Wells

The aluminum industry has suffered from long periods of depressed prices and profits interspersed with relatively short-lived price and profit peaks. The case investigates why this has occured, focusing on the decision Alusaf must make on whether to invest in a major... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Business Cycles; Financial Crisis; Metals and Minerals; Financial Strategy; Investment; Price; Profit; Demand and Consumers; Industry Structures

March 1997 (Revised November 1997)
Case

Incidents in Foreign Direct Investment

By: Louis T. Wells Jr. and Courtenay Sprague

Presents seven examples (i.e., incidents) of conflict concerning foreign direct investment. The incidents lay the framework for discussion of issues such as the jurisdiction of the WTO and the U.S. position, the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 and its political implications,... View Details

Keywords: Trade; International Finance; Foreign Direct Investment; Laws and Statutes; United States

January 1997 (Revised March 1997)
Background Note

Note on Money and Monetary Policy

By: David A. Moss and Wyatt C. Wells

Offers a brief overview of economic thinking about the nature of money and about how the central bank can affect the economy through monetary policy. View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Government Administration; Policy; Central Banking; Money; Inflation and Deflation; Financial Crisis

January 1997 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Crisis at the Federal Reserve: Arthur Burns and the Stagflation of 1973-75

By: David A. Moss and Wyatt C. Wells

Briefly examines the history of the Federal Reserve System up through 1970 and then delves into how the central bank, under the leadership of Arthur F. Burns, responded to the "stagflation" of the early 1970s. It culminates with the Federal Reserve's response to the... View Details

Keywords: Central Banking; Inflation and Deflation; Government Administration; Financial Crisis; United States

March 1996 (Revised January 2001)
Case

Incidents in Trade Policy

By: Louis T. Wells Jr. and Courtenay Sprague

Discusses a series of incidents of conflict between the United States and foreign governments on trade. View Details

Keywords: Trade; Policy; Agreements and Arrangements; Conflict and Resolution; Globalization; Government and Politics; United States

March 1996 (Revised June 1996)
Case

Choices in U.S. Trade Policy

By: Louis T. Wells Jr. and Courtenay Sprague

Describes the moments leading to the conclusion of the Uruguay Round of international trade negotiations and the outcome of those negotiations. Discusses some of the options facing the Clinton Administration with respect to its international trade policy. View Details

Keywords: Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Negotiation; Outcome or Result; United States

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1991
Book

Economic Environment of International Business

By: R. Vernon and L. T. Wells Jr.

Keywords: Business Ventures; Global Range; Economics

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March 2021
Teaching Note

State of Charge: The Massachusetts Energy Storage Initiative

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

September 2020
Case

Minerva 2010: Turbulent Times

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2010, amid a flurry of new discoveries, Cynthia Bamdad, founder and CEO of Minerva Biotechnologies Corporation (Minerva), raised $6.6 million to test her new cancer drugs in mice. It had been more than 6 years since she had announced that she and her small team at... View Details

Keywords: Biotechnology; Research; Product Development; Commercialization; Strategy

September 2020 (Revised June 2021)
Case

GreenFire Energy, 2020: Geothermal Innovation

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In June 2020, GreenFire Energy Inc. (GreenFire) presented its report to the California Energy Commission indicating that its proof of concept project to demonstrate its new geothermal electricity generation technology, ECO2G™, had been a success. While conventional... View Details

Keywords: Geothermal Electricity; Renewable Energy; Energy Generation; Technological Innovation; Commercialization; Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions

July 2020 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Oxygen Esports

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

On May 4, 2020, a press release from Boston, Massachusetts, announced the launch of Oxygen Esports (Oxygen), a new organization that hoped to dominate the rising esports scene in New England. Oxygen was created from a merger between Helix eSports (Helix), an owner and... View Details

Keywords: Esports; Sports; Online Technology; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Entrepreneurship; Strategy

December 2018
Case

Good Energy Group PLC

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

Founded at the end of 1999 by Juliet Davenport and Martin Edwards, Good Energy was the number-two renewable-energy seller in the United Kingdom at the end of 2016, supplying over 71,000 of the country’s 27 million households and small businesses with 100% renewable... View Details

Keywords: Power/Energy; Green Energy; Renewables; Wind Power; Electricity; Power; Strategy Development; Electric Vehicles; Customer Service; Energy Policy; Barriers To Entry; Renewable Energy; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Energy Industry; United Kingdom

May 2018
Case

Inditex: 2018

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2018, Inditex, based in Spain, was the largest specialist fashion retailer in the world, generating sales of $31.5 billion in 2017 from a portfolio of eight retail brands selling through a total of 7,475 stores located in 96 countries and from websites in 49... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Succession; IPO; Competition; Initial Public Offering; Multinational Firms and Management; Management Succession; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry

November 2017
Teaching Note

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-455. On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales.... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Technology; Hardware; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Search Technology; Software; Web; Web Sites; Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul

April 2017 (Revised December 2019)
Case

CarMax, Inc.: Disrupting the Used-Car Market

By: John R. Wells and Hong Luo

March 2017
Supplement

Clear Channel (B): The Fall, 2004–2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

October 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Supplement

Bally Total Fitness (B): The Fall, 2005–2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

By many measures the largest health-club chain in the United States in the early 2000s, Bally Total Fitness sold most of its remaining fitness clubs to 24 Hour Fitness in 2014 and disappeared from the industry top 100 rankings. After Bally was bedeviled by accounting... View Details

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