Publications

March 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

A Vermont solid-waste company seeks mezzanine financing to finance its strategy of acquiring and consolidating local competitors. The mezzanine private equity group must decide whether this investment offers an attractive risk-return tradeoff. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Business Growth and Maturation; Consolidation; Wastes and Waste Processing; Acquisition; Service Industry; Vermont

June 2024
Case

PRAN-RFL Group: A Diversified Family Business

By: Christina R. Wing, Paul Wuensche and Brittany L. Logan

The PRAN-RFL Group was founded in 1980 by Amjad Khan Chowdhury, and grew to become one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh in 2023. Throughout the years, Amjad established fast food chains, production manufacturing lines, retail stores, and his own foundation... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Family Business; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Retirement; Bangladesh

May–June 2021
Article

Capturing Value in Platform Business Models that Rely on User-Generated Content

By: Hemang Subramanian, Sabyasachi Mitra and Sam Ransbotham

Business models increasingly depend on inputs from outside traditional organizational boundaries. For example, platforms that generate revenue from advertising, subscription, or referral fees often rely on user-generated content (UGC). But there is considerable... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Network Effects; Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Risk and Uncertainty

April 2018
Exercise

Stoy Foods: Role Information for Milan Stoyanovic

By: John Beshears

In this simulation exercise, four family members must negotiate over the future of the family business. Should the business be sold to a strategic buyer, or should the family retain control? If the business is sold, how should the proceeds of the sale be distributed... View Details

Keywords: Succession; Sale Of Business; Understanding Interests; Value Creation; Family Business; Business Exit or Shutdown; Negotiation; Ownership Stake; Perspective; Agreements and Arrangements

January 2014
Case

Maricopa, Inc.: Finding the Right Treatment for Growth

By: William A. Sahlman, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joseph B. Fuller and Shikhar Ghosh

The founders of Maricopa, Inc., a startup that sold proprietary hair-care products directly to salons, were preparing a board presentation to address the young company's inability to meet financial projections. While the products had caught on with customers, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Financial Condition; Venture Capital; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Expansion; Planning; Fashion Industry; Iowa

April 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Epodia: Demise of the HBS case-writing Monopoly?

Karl Ulrich, Wharton professor, must decide between a commercial and "open source" model for his new business case venture. Students analyze a variety of open source and proprietary business models and formulate strategic recommendations. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Cases; Management; Open Source Distribution; Business Strategy

April 2002
Case

The Cardon Family

By: William J. Poorvu and Melissa Yin-Yin Lam

Wil Cardon is the third-generation steward of his family's real estate land development business. He grapples with issues of business structure, intergenerational business, compensation, and family values. This case includes in-depth discussion of the land development... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Values and Beliefs; Compensation and Benefits; Family and Family Relationships; Real Estate Industry

30 Nov 2021
News

Cold Calculations

electrical engineering and 58 patents, asked the venture capitalist for help in setting up the organization. In the intervening years, the small nonprofit has attracted interest from such organizations as the United Nations and the Arctic... View Details

16 Nov 2009
Research & Ideas

The Times Captures History of American Business

From the dawn of the U.S. transcontinental railroad in 1869 to the widespread embrace of consumer products like cell phones and iPods in our time, the story of American business is in constant motion, never at rest—or at ease. A new volume edited and narrated by HBS... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Journalism & News

September 1981 (Revised November 1983)
Case

El Paso - PNW Merger (B)

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry

December 1970 (Revised December 1977)
Background Note

Stages of Corporate Development (Part I)

By: Bruce R. Scott

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation

October 28, 2016
Article

AT&T, Time Warner, and What Makes Vertical Mergers Succeed

By: Bharat Anand

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions

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February 1986
Case

General Foods Corp.: Project Duck Soup

General Foods must decide whether to acquire Entenmann's Bakery. Price and financing must also be decided. The teaching objectives include analysis of strategic fit, selection of purchase price, and financing method. Another issue is the debt to equity ratio that is... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

November–December 2020
Article

Dancing with Giants: How Small Women-and Minority- Owned Firms Use Soft Power to Manage Asymmetric Relationships with Larger Partners

By: Kisha Lashley and Timothy G. Pollock

We explore how minority- and women-owned suppliers lacking hard power manage asymmetric relationships with larger, more powerful buyers in the context of supplier diversity relationships. We examine how these suppliers create and use soft power to manage the... View Details

Keywords: Women-owned Businesses; Minority-owned Businesses; Soft Power; Buyer-supplier Relationshships; Cognitive Centrality; Hard Power; Influencers; Supplier Diversity; Small Business; Relationships; Sales

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July 1985 (Revised July 1990)
Case

Atlantic Corp.

By: Peter Tufano

Two forest products manufacturers negotiate the sale of a group of assets. ACRS would allow the buyer to rapidly depreciate the stepped up basis to justify a high valuation. The seller recently paid greenmail, and this transaction may be linked to its desire to avoid... View Details

Keywords: Assets; Negotiation; Acquisition; Forest Products Industry

1976
Chapter

Barriers to Exit

By: M. E. Porter and R. E. Caves

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown

May 1981 (Revised May 1989)
Case

Congoleum Corp.

Describes the development and terms of the largest leveraged buyout up to the date of the case. The main problem is to value the positions of the various participants: lenders, equity holders, investment bankers, and management. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Leveraged Buyouts

December 2017
Teaching Note

Centerbridge Partners and Great Wolf Resorts: Buying from a Highly Regarded Competitor

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Amram Migdal

Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 818-023 and 818-024. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity Financing; Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities; CMBS; Secondary Buyouts; Sbo; Business Exit or Shutdown; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry

August 1994
Case

Higashimaru Shoyu Company, Ltd. (B): Revitalizing the Organization

Documents how Higashimaru's plant manager converted a reluctant workforce into one that was open to change. Illustrates "human reengineering" and shows how the plant manager prepared workers for a factory modernization program. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Employees