Publications

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September 2012 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Videogames: Clouds on the Horizon?

By: Andrei Hagiu and Kerry Herman

Since the creation of the first videogame systems in the 1970s, the videogame industry has undergone numerous transformations as new technologies and market entrants fundamentally changed the gaming experience of customers. In the early 21st century, customers began... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Strategy; Industry Growth; Video Game Industry

February 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

CarPoint in 1999

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Gillian Morris

Updates events in Microsoft CarPoint through the end of 1999, focusing on CarPoint's strategic alliance with Ford and on competitive developments. View Details

Keywords: History; Business Model; Transportation Networks; Alliances; Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Auto Industry

November 1987 (Revised June 1988)
Case

ServiceMaster Industries, Inc.

By: James L. Heskett

The CEO of ServiceMaster Industries has convened an internal task force to come up with ideas for reorganizing the company to accommodate unusually fast growth. In developing both alternatives and criteria for appraising them, the task force has to keep in mind the... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture

24 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 24

firm-level data between 1998 and 2003. First, we present the first exhaustive description of the U.K. retail sector using micro data sources. Second, in the spirit of Foster, Haltiwanger, and Krizan (2002),... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Mar 2014
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Innovation

Should managers lead innovation or get out of the way? It's not an either/or decision. Executives of some great innovative companies—Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg—are active participants in creation, getting their hands... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

March 2019
Supplement

Kids & Company in 2018

By: Boris Groysberg and Matthew Preble

This case reveals to readers what has transpired at Kids & Company in the year following the decision point presented in Kids & Company: Entering the U.S.” View Details

Keywords: Childcare; Daycare; Early Childhood Education; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; United States; Canada

January 2025
Case

Untapped Global: Financing Africa's Missing Middle

By: Raymond Kluender and Emanuele Colonnelli

In November 2024, Jim Chu, founder and CEO of Untapped Global, faced mounting internal tensions over the company’s strategic direction. Untapped had developed a data-driven revenue-based financing (RBF) model to address the “missing middle” problem—the $5.2 trillion... View Details

January 1986 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Peripheral Products Company: The 'Gray Market' for Disk Drives

By: Frank V. Cespedes

In mid-1985, the vice president of marketing for a large manufacturer of disk drives is considering how to deal with a growing "gray market" for his company's products. The case provides good background material on the evolution of gray markets throughout the disk... View Details

Keywords: Price; Growth and Development; Code Law; Leadership; Marketing; Distribution; Production; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Distribution Industry

21 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 21, 2015

developing leading positions in key markets via localized retailing strategies. Delhaize was committed to offering its customers superior value while maintaining high social, environmental, and ethical standards. For Frans Muller,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 19

Communication: Cases for Analysis, Appreciation and Application, edited by Laura W. Black, 143-148. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 2010 Abstract Pressure intensifies on a strategy consulting team as... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 9

as several guidelines and best practices. Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/product/a-note-on-seeking-receiving-and-giving-advice/an/314071-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 514-107 Vaxess Technologies, Inc. In February 2014, Michael... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 May 2019
Cold Call Podcast

If the Key to Business Success Is Focus, Why Does Amazon Work?

Keywords: Re: Sunil Gupta; Retail

12 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Waking Up a Sleeping Company

effective competitor. Often growth organizations fail to take a tough-minded approach in assessing their management talent. They limit their future growth by failing to have the depth View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

November 2012
Case

CSIRO: The Light Metals Flagship Decision

By: Willy Shih, Margaret P. Pierson and Dawn Lau

This case explores the challenge of investing in basic research as a public good. CSIRO was Australia's leading science and research agency, and it was chartered to enhance national prosperity through R&D. Its Flagships program was designed to align research interests... View Details

18 Jul 2018
Blog Post

Amira Rashad: An Ambidextrous Mind Meets Consumer Needs in the Middle East

mind," Amira says. "I'm equally comfortable with the details of ground-level execution as I am with the big picture, 30,000-foot, pie-in-the-sky vision." In 2010, her personal and professional lives took a... View Details

October 1999 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Autobytel.com

By: Youngme E. Moon

Autobytel enjoys first-mover advantage in the Internet new car buying space. According to a number of metrics, it is the online leader in this category. However, a number of competitors have sprung up, raising questions about the long-term viability of Autobytel's... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Marketing Channels; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Competition; Business Model; Service Operations; Budgets and Budgeting; Growth and Development; Auto Industry

January – February 2008
Article

The Dangers of Wishful Thinking

By: Richard S. Tedlow and David Ruben

Too many U.S. businesses (including tires, super-markets, and information technology) have been infected with the disease of denial. The answer? In Lincoln's words, “We must disenthrall ourselves.” View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Success; Behavior; Cognition and Thinking

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March 2008
Supplement

Carlyle Japan (C)

By: David B. Godes, Masako Egawa and Mayuka Yamazaki

This is a supplement to the (A) and (B) cases. It documents the shift in Carlyle's networking strategy. The firm decreased its focus on building contacts in commercial banking an increased instead the focus on building more contacts with industry directly. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Banks and Banking; Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply and Industry; Networks; Japan