Publications

August 2024
Case

Keurig: A Return to Growth

By: David Fubini and Patrick Sanguineti

By the early 2010s, Keurig Green Mountain (KGM) had lost the momentum that had made it the name in at-home coffee brewing in North America. Following a series of product missteps, negative media scrutiny, and ongoing challenges to its partner relationships, in late... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decisions; Initial Public Offering; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Going Public; Diversification; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry

29 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 29, 2018

growth, while different across regions, are non-linear and asymmetric. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53596 Global Portfolio Diversification for Long-Horizon Investors By: Viceira, Luis M., and... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

September 1991
Case

All American Pipeline

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Goodyear is nearing its first major capital commitments for the largest investment project in its history, the All American Pipeline. The pipeline will transport heavy crude oil from California to Texas. It is the centerpiece of a major program by Goodyear to diversify... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Financial Strategy; Business Startups; Diversification; Valuation; Standards; Supply Chain; Resource Allocation; Cash Flow; Mining Industry; California; Texas

December 2017 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Bega Cheese: Bidding to Bring Vegemite Back Home

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Lauren G. Pickle

In January 2017, the leadership team of Bega Cheese—the Australian dairy company—was considering a bid for Mondelēz International’s Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) grocery business, which included several leading consumer brands such as Vegemite, the iconic Australian... View Details

2010
Working Paper

Corporate Governance and Internal Capital Markets

We exploit an exogenous shock to corporate ownership structures created by a recent tax reform in Germany to explore the link between corporate governance and internal capital markets. We find that firms with more concentrated ownership are less diversified and have... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Capital Markets; Corporate Governance; Taxation; Ownership; Performance Efficiency; Diversification; Germany

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June 1983 (Revised April 1991)
Case

Dominion Engineering Works

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Dominion Engineering Works faces important strategic decisions about whether to continue its focused strategy of selling newsprint machines to the Canadian paper industry or whether recent changes in industry conditions and the emergence of three global competitors... View Details

Keywords: Machinery and Machining; Globalized Markets and Industries; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Diversification

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30 Apr 2025
News

A Social Enterprise Talk in DC; Canadian Alumni Talk Trade; Meet the Leader: HBS Club of Colorado

DC Panel Looks at Social Enterprise in a New Government Landscape The HBS Club of Washington, DC teamed up with the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative (SEI) on April 2, to present an alumni panel discussion on social impact titled “New Perspectives in Social Enterprise,”... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

December 2018 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Darling Ingredients International

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

Led by CEO Randall Stuewe, Texas-based Darling Ingredients International was a rendering firm with $3.7 billion in 2017 revenues. Since 2003, Darling had transformed from U.S. focused into a global player in the processing of biological waste from meat and foodservice... View Details

March 2004
Case

L.L. Bean: A Search for Growth

By: Rajiv Lal, Walter J. Salmon and James Weber

In mid-2003, CEO Chris McCormick felt L.L. Bean was in a good position to begin to grow again. For nearly 90 years, the company sold clothing and gear for outdoor enthusiasts through its catalogs and a single retail store in Freeport, Maine. In the three decades prior... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Restructuring; Growth and Development Strategy; Cost Management; Sales; Performance Improvement; Diversification; Distribution Channels; Resignation and Termination; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry

May 2004 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Prudential Securities

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and Amanda Cowen

Prudential Insurance Co. attempted to diversify into financial services by building an investment banking franchise. Prudential's initial foray into the industry was its acquisition of The Bache Group in 1982. In 2000, the company decided to exit investment banking.... View Details

Keywords: Investment Banking; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Diversification; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry

April 2012
Case

Man Group (A)

By: Robert C. Pozen and Thomas M. Clay

The Man Group was a huge and successful UK-based hedge fund and fund of funds manager. Through acquisitions, the company had consciously diversified its portfolio of investment products. In 2007 Man had to decide whether or not to spin off its brokerage business. Man... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Investment Funds; Financial Crisis; Decisions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Diversification; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Strategy; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom; Europe

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September 2005
Case

Whitbread PLC (A)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Describes the change process Whitbread employed in transforming its organization and culture from a single underperforming business operating in a relatively stable environment to a multibusiness, high-commitment, and high-performance corporation operating in more... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Business or Company Management; Leadership; Diversification

October 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Fantuan

By: Feng Zhu and David Lane

In 2023, CEO Randy Wu was considering the optimal growth strategy for Fantuan, a restaurant food delivery platform that had expanded from its 2014 founding in Vancouver, Canada to serve the Chinese demand for Asian cuisine in urban markets across Australia, Canada, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Diasporas; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Growth Management; Business Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Canada; United Kingdom; Australia

May 2016
Supplement

2016 Update: Argentina Turns the Page

By: David E. Bell, Forest Reinhardt and Natalie Kindred

This brief case is a supplement to “Cresud and Argentina” (515-043) and “Note on Agriculture in Argentina” (515-069). Set in early 2016, it describes developments in Argentina under newly elected President Mauricio Macri, including the country’s return to international... View Details

18 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

GM’s IPO: Back to the Future

requires careful structuring of the transaction, cautious pricing of the shares, and wide diversification of the pockets of demand by the underwriters. These elements explain the concurrent convertible preferred stock offering, the... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto

13 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 13

questions at the upcoming shareholder meeting about Ping An's financial strategy for diversification within China and globally. Ping An had been founded by Ma in 1988 and had since grown into China's second largest life insurer. While... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 25, 2008

core retailing business and AWS. Students are also provided with an opportunity to discuss operational diversification and its limits within the AWS context. Purchase this case: http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Dec 2016
HBS Case

Why Millennials Flock to Fintech for Personal Investing

diversification of assets, managed through a portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETF’s) that track market indexes. “It’s a great way to invest cheaply in a diversified basket of stocks, bonds, and other securities,” says Viceira. If... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

June 2011 (Revised October 2012)
Case

IBM China Development Lab Shanghai: Capability by Design

By: Willy Shih, Kamen Bliznashki and Fan Zhao

When IBM shifted from a traditional territory-based multinational organization to what it called a globally integrated enterprise, it established its headquarters for "Growth Markets" in Shanghai and "Established Markets" in New York. This positioned its China... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Corporate Strategy; Global Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Research and Development; Emerging Markets; Product Development; Information Technology Industry; China