Publications

12 PM – 1 PM EST, 17 Nov 2016
Webinars: Trending@HBS

Global Family Offices: Trends & Opportunities

Over the last few years, substantial growth in family offices (FOs) has resulted in their emergence as a significant investor class. There are an estimated 2,500 FOs globally, controlling $7+ trillion in assets; approximately 300 of these FOs manage over $5 billion... View Details

July 2007 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Saffronart.com: Bidding for Success

By: Mukti Khaire and R. Daniel Wadhwani

Saffronart, a five-year-old online art auction company, leads the market for modern Indian art and now faces competitors in the market it created. Established in 2000 by the wife-and-husband team of Minal and Dinesh Vazirani, Saffronart.com is an innovative online... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Auctions; Industry Growth; Competition; Online Technology; Fine Arts Industry; India

July 2011 (Revised August 2011)
Supplement

Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B)

By: David A. Thomas and Stephanie J. Creary

This case continues the story of the evolution of GE's business initiatives Africa. Between November 2010 and March 2011 several significant structural changes and leadership appointments were announced at GE, which reflected the company's commitment to global growth... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Restructuring; Multinational Firms and Management; Developing Countries and Economies; Consumer Products Industry; Hong Kong; Africa; Republic of Ireland

August 2010 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Rupert Murdoch: The Last Tycoon

By: Geoffrey Jones and Hari Balkrishna

The case examines the entrepreneurial career of Rupert Murdoch and the growth of News Corporation from a small Australian newspaper to a global media giant. It shows how he expanded geographically to Europe, the United States, and Asia and from newspapers to the film... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Media; Globalized Firms and Management; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Power and Influence; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Europe; United States; Australia

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

October 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Brightview Senior Living

By: Lynda M. Applegate and James Weber

Marilynn Duker, CEO, was exploring how to grow the company while maintaining the culture that made it a leader in the field of senior housing. Brightview constructed and operated senior living apartment communities that offered independent living, assisted living, and... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Employee Relationship Management; Real Estate Industry; United States

March 2003
Case

Zara

Fashion retailer ZARA has achieved spectacular growth via a distinctive design-on-demand operating model. This case describes this model and outlines a number of challenges facing the company, with a particular emphasis on its international expansion. Includes color... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Globalized Firms and Management; Production; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry

Web

The Five Forces - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

create. Rivalry tends to be especially fierce if: Competitors are numerous or are roughly equal in size and market position Industry growth is slow There are high fixed costs, which create incentives for price cutting Exit barriers are... View Details

November 2024
Article

Leadership and Plumbing

By: Frank V. Cespedes

“Leadership” is a growth industry. Amazon lists over 60,000 books on the topic. Most focus on emotional intelligence, charisma, avoiding narcissism (usually someone else’s problem, according to these authors, not their problem) and other personality traits. But as... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development

Read Now

26 Sep 2018
HBS Seminar

Gustavo Manso, University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business

Doing What the Parents Want?

We examine how the external information environment in which foreign subsidiaries operate affects the investment decisions of multinational corporations (MNCs). We hypothesize and find that the investment decisions of foreign subsidiaries in country-industries with... View Details

Research Summary

Investigating the Economic Role of Mergers (with Erik Stafford)

What is the economic role of mergers? We investigate this issue by performing a comparative study of mergers and other forms of corporate investment, at the industry and firm levels. In our framework, merger activity is motivated by both firm- and industry-level... View Details

March 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

ALDDN: Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria

By: Meg Rithmire and Debora L. Spar

In 2020, Ndidi Nwuneli, founder and CEO of Sahel Consulting in Nigeria, faced a thorny set of problems. Her firm partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in a large project to develop the local dairy industry as a way to facilitate equitable growth and... View Details

Keywords: Animal-Based Agribusiness; Food; Rural Scope; Growth and Development; Nonprofit Organizations; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business and Government Relations; Equality and Inequality; Food and Beverage Industry; Consulting Industry; Nigeria

Web

PhD Programs - Doctoral

another discipline such as sociology. Technology & Operations Management Technology and Operations Management scholars examine how and why firms create innovative products and services, how they translate goals into action, and how the... View Details

November 2000
Case

beenz.com: Building "The Web's Currency" Into a Global Business

Beenz.com, an incentive-based Web currency and customer management tool, is reassessing its business in August 2000, one year after launch. The original vision was to make the currency globally available and recognized. However, the company's rapid internationalization... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Marketing; Business Startups

14 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 14, 2007

activism are high for the subset of targets that are acquired ex-post, but not detectably different from zero for targets that remain independent a year after the initial activist request. Announcement returns show a similar pattern. View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 1997 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Corn Products International, Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay

A firm that started in corn processing and moved up the value-added food chain decides to spin-off the original commodity part of the business. How does the new spin-off survive and how does it develop a strategy? Firms in the food system are separating out their... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Development; Service Delivery; Vertical Integration; Food and Beverage Industry

March 2010 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Alibaba Group

By: Julie M. Wulf

Discusses how Alibaba Group successfully managed new business ventures to become a leader in China's online marketplaces. Students follow Alibaba Group's transition from a startup to a multibusiness firm with over 15,000 employees in just over a decade. They analyze... View Details

Keywords: History; Business Subsidiaries; Competition; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Executive Compensation; Business Headquarters; Cooperation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy; China