Publications

February 2003 (Revised August 2004)
Background Note

Note on Valuation-Compensation Tradeoff in Professional Service Firm Acquisitions

By: Ashish Nanda

This case highlights the tradeoff between valuation ascribed to professionals at the time of a professional services firm (PSF) acquisition and the postacquisition compensation of these professionals. It emphasizes how a high valuation at acquisition carries with it... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Employees; Acquisition; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry

November 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Sam Huttenbauer: Entrepreneurship in Food Preservation and Nutraceuticals

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Stacey J. Bell and David Benedict Pearcy

Sam Huttenbauer is trying to get two companies, in high-pressure food preservation and in nutraceuticals, off the ground. This case covers strategic, marketing, and financing challenges. It also looks at innovative technologies in the food industry and the role of the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Food; Problems and Challenges; Corporate Strategy; Marketing; Finance; Technological Innovation; Commercialization

June 1995 (Revised April 1996)
Case

Welsh Water (F): Postscript

This is a four-player negotiation simulation in which a newly-privatized British water utility must deal with contentious unions and national collective-bargaining agreements. Explores the question of coalitions and multi-lateral negotiations, and the value of... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Privatization; Labor Unions; Utilities Industry; Wales

November 1998 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Mike Winsor: A Career in Marketing

By: Robert J. Dolan

An MBA student has received an offer to join Kraft Foods, a leading consumer packaged goods firm. This unit is a wholly owned subsidiary of a holding company whose other major subsidiary is a leading cigarette manufacturer. The case raises ethical issues of marketing. View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Ethics

July 1995 (Revised April 1999)
Case

Becton Dickinson (E): An Assessment of Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling

By: Michael Beer and Pamela J. Maus

This case presents an assessment of the strategic human resource management (SHRM) profiling process implemented at Becton Dickinson. It explores the questions the assessment raised about the viability of the process and what aspects might be changed if the process is... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Human Resources; Management Practices and Processes; Strategic Planning; Health Industry

February 1989 (Revised December 1991)
Case

Intel Corp.--1988

By: David B. Yoffie

In 1988, Intel had a spectacular year. However, Andy Grove, Intel's CEO, wanted to reevaluate the company's position in "systems"--Intel's OEM PC, boards, and supercomputer businesses. This case explores Intel's position in both the semiconductor industry and its... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Information Infrastructure; Customers; Performance Evaluation; System; Rank and Position; Semiconductor Industry

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06 Sep 2021
News

Tom Eisenmann: Startups and their Wrong Decisions

19 Dec 2023
Blog Post

Answering Your Questions About the HBS MBA Application

five years. 3. Is full-time work experience required? As the case method of learning used by our MBA program relies on different perspectives, we strongly recommend that you have two years of full-time work experience in a professional... View Details

Profile

Soltan Bryce

of large data sets in complex systems alongside the formation of a business case could be applied to my interest in sustaining public goods, like agricultural activities.” Throughout his college years, Soltan also worked on an organic,... View Details

04 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Navigating Consumer Data Privacy in an AI World

mindful of different cultural perspectives. For instance, when the FBI tried to get access to iPhones, Apple refused. While consumers in the US might view this as a step on privacy protection, perceptions can vary globally. I've seen View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology; Information Technology

24 May 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Digital Labor Markets and Global Talent Flows

Keywords: by John Horton, William R. Kerr, and Christopher Stanton

November 1995 (Revised April 1998)
Case

National Insurance Corporation

The case visits the catastrophe insurance business at an interesting time in the history of the insurance markets. A major reinsurer, National Insurance, is taking a look at the new insurance derivatives being traded on the Chicago Board of Trade with a view to using... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Insurance; Capital Markets; Insurance Industry; United States

September 2009 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Sniffing Out Opportunities at PetSmart

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

The pet and pet supply industry was one of the few bright lights in an otherwise dismal retail outlook in 2009. This case gives background pet retail industry information and strategic positioning information for both PetSmart and PETCO to enable students to develop... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry

July 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Fidelity Investments' Charitable Gift Fund (A)

By: Robert C. Pozen

Deborah Pege, an attorney at Fidelity Investments, needs to decide whether Fidelity should attempt to patent business processes involved with its new charitable gift fund. The case explores the conditions that must be satisfied in order to receive a patent and raises... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Patents; Business Processes; Value

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July 2003 (Revised February 2004)
Background Note

M&A Legal Context: Standards Related to the Sale or Purchase of a Company

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin, Constance E. Bagley and James Quinn

Introduces students to the legal standards affecting officers and directors when selling or purchasing a company. Provides a practical understanding of the Revlon Standard, the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, Rule 10b-5, and the legal criteria for a cause of... View Details

Keywords: Laws and Statutes; Law Enforcement; Government Legislation; Acquisition; Business Exit or Shutdown; Corporate Governance; Going Public; Courts and Trials

September 1997 (Revised October 1997)
Case

Information at the World Bank: In Search of a Technology Solution (B)

By: W. Earl Sasser and Josep Valor

Acting on his vision to make the World Bank a knowledge institution, bank President Wolfensohn announces the creation of an Information and Knowledge Management Council and an Information Solutions Group, headed by a newly nominated CEO, Mohamed Muhsin. This case... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Knowledge Management; Management Teams; Information Management; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry

29 Mar 2022
News

Michael Brune’s Next Battle: Clean Up Bitcoin

28 Jun 2016
News

US consumers remain resilient, even as UK uncertainty swirls, retail execs say

January 2020 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Fossil Fuel Divestment (Abridged)

By: Michael W. Toffel and Sarah Gulick

The president of Harvard University is facing growing pressure from students, alumni, and other climate change activists that are urging the university to divest its multi-billion dollar endowment from fossil fuel companies. The case summarizes the arguments for and... View Details

Keywords: Divestment; Harvard University; Higher Education; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Public Opinion; Ethics; Education Industry