Publications

January 2019 (Revised January 2021)
Case

KITEA (A): Democratizing Furniture in Morocco

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in 2013 as Amine Benkirane, founder and CEO of the leading Moroccan furniture company KITEA, contemplates the loss his company has incurred for the first time in its 20-year history. The case then describes KITEA’s origins and provides a detailed... View Details

11 Apr 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching a ‘Lean Startup’ Strategy

entrepreneur and Stanford/UC Berkeley lecturer Steve Blank. The "lean" in lean startup has its roots in the Toyota Production System; hence, the lean startup methodology is all about avoiding waste, in terms of both time and... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology; Computer

April 1994 (Revised November 1998)
Case

Kendall Square Research Corporation (A)

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

Kendall Square Research was a small competitor in the supercomputer industry. As sales grew rapidly in 1992 and early 1993, the company sold stock to the public for the first time and analysts forecast higher earnings for 1993. However, when the company's revenue... View Details

Keywords: Revenue Recognition; Standards; Accounting Audits; Computer Industry

January 2011
Supplement

Matrix Capital Management (B)

By: Malcolm P. Baker and David Lane

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale... View Details

Keywords: Public Ownership; Cash Flow; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Valuation; Partners and Partnerships; Markets; Performance Efficiency; Patents; Stock Shares; Decisions; Financial Services Industry

16 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

Why Business Travel Still Matters in a Zoom World

nonstop flights—matters most when collaborators are in different time zones or overcoming cultural distance. “It seems that, if the two locations are in the same time zone and are culturally similar, then... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Air Transportation

February 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Best Buy Health: Enabling Care at Home

By: Robert S. Huckman, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Antonio Moreno, Bradley Staats and Sarah Mehta

This case explores retailer Best Buy’s decision to enter health care. Best Buy Health aims to enable care at home across three prongs: consumer health, active aging, and virtual care. A key pillar of Best Buy Health's strategy is leveraging the Geek Squad—the company's... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation and Invention; Business Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Electronics Industry; Health Industry; Retail Industry; United States; Minnesota

31 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

Where Can Digital Transformation Take You? Insights from 1,700 Leaders

This is the first of our three-part "Leading in the Digital Era" series. Read parts two and three. "Got a driver’s license? Good! Now, step into this Formula 1 racecar." This was how one executive of a Latin American e-commerce company... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

01 Jun 2023
HBS Case

A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?

deflate,” Miller recalled in a recent Harvard Business School case. The partner had a job offer in his pocket that he had planned to hand Miller, but the prison time changed everything. View VideoVideo: Larry Miller looks back at the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Apparel & Accessories

August 2022 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Altos Ventures (A)

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

In December 2012, Altos Ventures General Partners Han Kim, Anthony Lee, and Ho Nam met to discuss the future of the firm. Altos had already adjusted its strategy multiple times. It began as a U.S.-focused venture capital investor whose first two funds were backed by a... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Partners and Partnerships

April 1986 (Revised May 1989)
Case

Alloy Rods Corp.

By: Frank V. Cespedes

In July of 1985 the managers of Alloy Rods (who recently purchased the company through a leveraged buyout arrangement) find that their chief competitor (a company more than 6 times as large as Alloy Rods) has introduced a new product clearly aimed at Alloy's most... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Business Strategy; Business or Company Management; Financial Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Product Development

May 1989 (Revised September 1989)
Case

Jacobs Suchard: Reorganizing for 1992

By: Robert G. Eccles Jr.

Jacobs Suchard, the Swiss-based coffee and chocolate producer, is preparing for the common market and EEC 1992. At the time of the case, the company is still organized toward independent, local country markets, and believes it must move toward a more global... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Organizational Structure; Markets; Global Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Switzerland

22 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

How to Make AI 'Forget' All the Private Data It Shouldn't Have

of a recent election. Or perhaps the training data contains copyrighted data that we might not have permission to use, creating litigation risk for companies that train on that data. Just last week the New York View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology; Information Technology

October 1999 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Steinway & Sons: Buying a Legend (A)

By: John T. Gourville and Joseph B. Lassiter III

It is 1995 and Steinway & Sons has just been purchased by two young entrepreneurs. For 140 years, Steinway has held the reputation for making the finest quality grand pianos in the world. The past 25 years have proven to be a challenge, however. First, the company has... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Crisis Management; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Quality; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Japan; New York (state, US)

07 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Digital Transformation: A New Roadmap for Success

This is the second of our three-part "Leading in the Digital Era" series. Read parts one and three. For the past two years, we've been asking executives: Where is your company in its digital journey, and where do you want to go?... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

January 2011
Supplement

Matrix Capital Management (C)

By: Malcolm P. Baker and David Lane

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale... View Details

Keywords: Public Ownership; Cash Flow; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Valuation; Partners and Partnerships; Markets; Performance Efficiency; Patents; Stock Shares; Decisions; Financial Services Industry

October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

NewView Capital and Venture Capital Secondaries

By: Shai Bernstein, Ramana Nanda and Allison Ciechanover

While still a general partner at Silicon Valley–based New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Ravi Viswanathan considered the challenges presented by evolving market dynamics in the venture capital space. Startups were staying private longer, which led to limited partners... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Capital Markets; Private Equity; Strategy

November 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Marvel Enterprises, Inc.

By: Anita Elberse

The management team of Marvel Enterprises, known for its universe of superhero characters that includes Spider-Man, the Hulk, and X-Men, must reevaluate its marketing strategy. In June 2004, only six years after the company emerged from bankruptcy, Marvel has amassed a... View Details

Keywords: Intellectual Property; Business Model; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Opportunities; Growth and Development Strategy; Rights; Entertainment and Recreation Industry