Publications

May 2000 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Health Development Corporation

By: Richard S. Ruback

Health Development Corp. (HDC) owns and operates health clubs in the Greater Boston area. HDC engaged a local investment banker to explore a sale of the company. The most likely buyer views HDC's prior purchase of real estate as a negative. HDC's management is... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Property; Business Exit or Shutdown; Valuation; Value; Decisions; Health Industry; Boston

01 Nov 2008
News

When Teams Cant Decide

Keywords: Bob Frisch

12 Sep 2017
Working Paper Summaries

The Better is the Enemy of the Good

Keywords: by Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler

2025
Chapter

Leapfrog Leaders: Accelerating Systems Leadership Skills

By: Laura Cabrera, Derek Cabrera and Hise O. Gibson

We need leaders who can execute at the Strategic, Operational, and Tactical (SOT) levels. But, research shows it takes time for skills to develop at all three levels—too much time. Why does it take too much time? First, because expertise is borne of experience. An... View Details

Keywords: DSRP; VCML; Strategy; Operations; Leadership Development; Decision Making; Organizational Structure

Read Now

21 Dec 2018
News

A Four-Point Plan for Teresa May

Two years post-Brexit vote, Britain’s Prime Minister is faced with the unenviable task of negotiating what the controversial plan will actually look like for her fellow citizens. In this New York Times opinion piece, HBS professor Deepak Malhotra offers a four-point... View Details

March 2018
Supplement

Chewy.com (B)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Matthew G. Preble

Cohen and Chewy’s other board members decided to fully insource order fulfilment and commenced building an order fulfilment center near its 3PL partner’s facility. As soon as the 3PL learned that Chewy would be managing its own order fulfillment; however, it decided to... View Details

Keywords: Pet Food; Pet Products; Retail; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Decision Choices and Conditions; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Service Industry

October 2011
Supplement

Chris and Alison Weston (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Celia Moore

Chris and Alison Weston describe their trial process and time in prison. View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Decisions; Moral Sensibility; Courts and Trials; Behavior

March 2009
Teaching Note

Antegren: A Beacon of Hope (TN)

By: Joshua D. Margolis

Teaching Note for [408025], [408026], [408027], and [408028]. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Decision Choices and Conditions; Crisis Management; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

2008
Working Paper

Signaling Firm Performance Through Financial Statement Presentation: An Analysis Using Special Items

By: Edward J. Riedl and Suraj Srinivasan

This paper investigates whether managers' presentation of special items within the financial statements reflects economic performance or opportunism. Specifically, we assess special items presented as a separate line item on the income statement (income statement... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Disclosure; Performance

SSRN

Read Now

5 Aug 2005 - 10 Aug 2005
Conference Presentation

The effects of choice, goal, and creative self-efficacy on divergent thinking and creative outcomes

By: Roy Y.J. Chua and S. S. Iyengar

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Decision Choices and Conditions; Creativity; Outcome or Result

October 2006 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Ben Walter

By: Andre F. Perold and David S. Scharfstein

Ben Walter is thinking of purchasing Butler Lumber and needs to decide how he would run the business and how much to pay for it. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Valuation

May 2000 (Revised July 2000)
Case

U.S. Export-Import Bank and the Three Gorges Dam (A), The

By: George C. Lodge and Cate Reavis

Describes the dilemma Martin Kamarck faced as president of the Export-Import Bank in whether to provide U.S. companies financing for China's Three Gorges Dam project. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; International Finance; Construction Industry; Energy Industry; China; United States

1996
Article

A Segment-Level Model of Category Volume and Brand Choice

By: William R. Dillon and Sunil Gupta

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Decision Choices and Conditions; Segmentation; Volume

Find at Harvard

28 Jan 2014
News

When Rising Revenue Spells Trouble

Keywords: disruption; innovation; change management

April 2022 (Revised April 2023)
Case

Highland Park Wood Co. (Abridged)

By: David E. Bell

A major home builder wishes to purchase lumber (Southern pine). The builder wants delivery in six months but prefers to lock-in the price near current rates. The lumber wholesaler must decide on a pricing and sourcing strategy. Examples include: 1) buy & hold, 2) wait... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Goods and Commodities; Futures and Commodity Futures; Price; Forest Products Industry; Construction Industry

October 2010
Supplement

Belco Global Foods: Spreadsheet Supplement (CW)

By: C. Fritz Foley and Matthew Johnson

This case introduces students to the fundamental issues that managers face when deciding what international trade finance terms to use when transacting with other firms. In late 2009, Pam Arnold, the Head of Global Credit at Belco Global Foods must decide which trade... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Decisions; Trade; Financial Strategy; Governance Compliance; Managerial Roles; Market Transactions

September 2005 (Revised May 2007)
Case

OuterLink Corporation (A)

By: Josh Lerner and Brenda Chia

Zero Stage Capital is addressing a troubled investment in OuterLink Corp., which has a capital deficit of $30 million and was written off by all but one of its investors as a victim of the technology bubble. The venture organization must decide whether to shutter the... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Decisions; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Price Bubble; Investment; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

February 2001
Case

Bang Networks, Inc.

By: Paul A. Gompers and Sergio Rattner

Bob Rosin, president and CEO of Bang Networks, must decide how much debt financing to take on. The company is a raw start-up and is considering taking on $10 million in debt. The firm has six offers and needs to identify the best one. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Restructuring; Decisions; Borrowing and Debt; Venture Capital