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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,252)
- People (4)
- News (431)
- Research (1,503)
- Events (6)
- Multimedia (5)
- Faculty Publications (798)
- April 2025 (Revised May 2025)
- Background Note
Customer Acquisition and the Cash Flow Trap
By: E. Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller
Startups as well as existing firms recognize the need to invest in order to acquire customers for their new ventures. And as each customer is expected at some point to have generated sufficient gross margins to cover their CAC, management expects that, soon enough, the... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Customers; Forecasting and Prediction; Cash Flow; Business or Company Management
Ofek, E., Barak Libai, and Eitan Muller. "Customer Acquisition and the Cash Flow Trap." Harvard Business School Background Note 525-056, April 2025. (Revised May 2025.)
- November 2015 (Revised November 2016)
- Case
Huaxia: Building a U.S.-Style Dairy in China
By: Tarun Khanna, Nancy Hua Dai and Juan Ma
In 2015, Charles Shao, chairman of Huaxia, considered the alternatives to ensure sustainable growth of Huaxia and rebuild the overall health of China's dairy industry. He came to China in 2004 and set up Huaxia dairy farm with the goal to build a world-class dairy farm... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Emerging Markets; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; China
Khanna, Tarun, Nancy Hua Dai, and Juan Ma. "Huaxia: Building a U.S.-Style Dairy in China." Harvard Business School Case 716-414, November 2015. (Revised November 2016.)
- February 2022
- Case
NFX Capital and Moov Technologies
By: Scott Duke Kominers and Nicole Tempest Keller
In July 2019, James Currier, a general partner at San Francisco-based NFX Ventures, was considering a seed stage investment of $1.5 million in Moov Technologies, a B2B marketplace for used industrial equipment. NFX was a venture capital firm focused on seed-stage... View Details
Keywords: Venture Capital; Network Effects; Marketplace Matching; Digital Platforms; Market Design; Applications and Software; Semiconductor Industry; Financial Services Industry; San Francisco
Kominers, Scott Duke, and Nicole Tempest Keller. "NFX Capital and Moov Technologies." Harvard Business School Case 822-045, February 2022.
- March 2017 (Revised October 2018)
- Case
Catalant: The Future of Work?
By: Thomas Eisenmann, Jeffrey F. Rayport and Christine Snively
Catalant, founded in 2013 as an online marketplace where MBAs could bid on consulting projects posted by small- to medium-sized businesses, had expanded by 2016 to provide Fortune 1000 companies with access to over 35,000 independent experts. The founders envisioned... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Recruitment; Labor; Market Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Employment Industry; Consulting Industry; United States
Eisenmann, Thomas, Jeffrey F. Rayport, and Christine Snively. "Catalant: The Future of Work?" Harvard Business School Case 817-103, March 2017. (Revised October 2018.)
- December 2021
- Case
Green Monday
By: José B. Alvarez, Billy Chan and Dawn H. Lau
This case describes the entrepreneurial journey of David Yeung, from campaigning for plant-based diets to building Green Monday, a purpose-driven business and an ecosystem based in Hong Kong comprising a retail platform, an alternative meat brand (“OmniPork”), a... View Details
Keywords: Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Social Enterprise; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Business Model; Mission and Purpose; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; Hong Kong; China; Asia
Alvarez, José B., Billy Chan, and Dawn H. Lau. "Green Monday." Harvard Business School Case 522-056, December 2021.
- 2013
- Working Paper
Digital Dark Matter and the Economics of Apache
By: Shane Greenstein and Frank Nagle
Researchers have long hypothesized that spillovers from government, university, and private company R&D contribute to economic growth, but these contributions may be difficult to measure when they take a non-pecuniary form. The growth of networking devices and the... View Details
Keywords: Measurement and Metrics; Internet and the Web; Performance Productivity; Applications and Software; Economic Growth; Research and Development
Greenstein, Shane, and Frank Nagle. "Digital Dark Matter and the Economics of Apache." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 19507, October 2013.
- September 2013 (Revised November 2023)
- Case
Antoine Leboyer and GSX
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Antoine Leboyer (HBS '92) acquired the Swiss-based software company GSX in February 2008. He managed through the recession of 2008–2009, dealt with a tumultuous separation from the founder/owner, rebuilt the management team, and upgraded the company's software... View Details
Keywords: Acquisition; Small Business; Finance; Private Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; France; Switzerland
Ruback, Richard S., and Royce Yudkoff. "Antoine Leboyer and GSX." Harvard Business School Case 214-038, September 2013. (Revised November 2023.)
- Mar 2012
- Article
How to Make Finance Work
has been mixed. The sector's growth has been beneficial for U.S. corporations, which enjoy ready access to the deepest capital markets in the world. Venture capital, for example, and the public equity markets that support it, has... View Details
- Research Summary
Overview
Professor Huang examines the micro-foundations of entrepreneurship: the individual-level decision-making processes that influence entrepreneurs’ ability to acquire resources that they need, yet lack, especially financial capital. Deploying a variety of methods from... View Details
- January 2023 (Revised June 2024)
- Case
Zaoui & Co. (A): Consigliere for High Stakes M&A Transactions
By: Ashish Nanda, Alex Kitsberg and Zack Kurtovich
In September 2019, Zaoui & Co.’s close-knit team of professionals convened for their annual off-site. In its nine years of operation, the boutique investment bank founded by the brothers Michael (HBS ’83) and Yoel Zaoui (Stanford GSB ’88), had garnered a track record... View Details
Keywords: Professional Service Firm; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Strategy; Investment Banking; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy; Europe; United Kingdom
Nanda, Ashish, Alex Kitsberg, and Zack Kurtovich. "Zaoui & Co. (A): Consigliere for High Stakes M&A Transactions." Harvard Business School Case 723-399, January 2023. (Revised June 2024.)
- June 2011 (Revised November 2014)
- Case
Vehbi Koç and the Making of Turkey's Largest Business Group
By: Asli M. Colpan and Geoffrey Jones
The case describes the creation of Turkey's largest business group by Vehbi Koç. The foundation of this group in the interwar years, and its subsequent diversification into many industries, including automobiles, household goods, and services, is analysed. The case... View Details
Keywords: Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Organizational Structure; Diversification; Manufacturing Industry; Turkey
Colpan, Asli M., and Geoffrey Jones. "Vehbi Koç and the Making of Turkey's Largest Business Group." Harvard Business School Case 811-081, June 2011. (Revised November 2014.)
- December 2000
- Background Note
Internet Access Providers
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Daniel Green
Describes the Internet access provider business model. First, it defines the model and presents different ways to categorize access providers. Second, it offers a summary of the various ways that Internet access providers create value for their customers. Next, it... View Details
Eisenmann, Thomas R., and Daniel Green. "Internet Access Providers." Harvard Business School Background Note 801-304, December 2000.
- 15 Aug 2024
- Blog Post
Learning from Mistakes and Leveraging Personal Experiences: Tiffany Kent (MBA 2001)
growing. Though I invested in growth companies, I had no defined goals for myself. I started to take steps to explore what professional changes might help me rediscover the sense of passion and achievement I... View Details
- November 1985 (Revised August 1997)
- Case
Harnischfeger Corp.
Presents an analysis of Harnischfeger's quality of earnings, and the investment potential of the company's stock in light of the company's turnaround strategy. View Details
Keywords: Financial Condition; Revenue; Stock Shares; Profit; Economic Growth; Financial Reporting; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Safety; Utilities Industry
Palepu, Krishna G. "Harnischfeger Corp." Harvard Business School Case 186-160, November 1985. (Revised August 1997.)
- October 2018 (Revised October 2018)
- Teaching Note
La-Z-Boy (A)
By: Joseph B. Fuller and Julia Kelley
Kurt Darrow, CEO of La-Z-Boy furniture, must decide whether to continue an overhaul of the company's strategy in the face of a collapse in demand during the great recession. Having pared back La-Z-Boy's portfolio of brands and manufacturing network, he intends to... View Details
Keywords: Retail; Manufacturing; Organizational Transformations; Reorganization; Furniture Industry; Corporate Strategy; Home Fashion; Turnaround; Portfolio Rationalization; Globalization Of Supply Chain; Brand Repositioning; Business Growth and Maturation; Brands and Branding; Competitive Strategy; Vertical Integration; Transformation; Retail Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States
William R. Kerr
William Kerr is the D’Arbeloff Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Bill is Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research, co-director of Harvard’s Managing the Future of Work initiative, and faculty chair of the... View Details
- March 2008
- Supplement
Patel Food and Chemicals Private Limited (B)
By: Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon
Alok Patel, the founder and chairman of a Gujarat-based, privately held edible oils processor, has hired a CFO and the company is doing extremely well. He wants to add a new plant to process oilive oil, but estimates he will need $20 million. He must decide among... View Details
Keywords: Financial Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Financing and Loans; Investment; Financial Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Chemical Industry; Gujarat
Hardymon, Felda, and Ann Leamon. "Patel Food and Chemicals Private Limited (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 808-143, March 2008.
- August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
- Case
Amazon.com, 2021
By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin
In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details
Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Internet; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Price; Applications and Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle
Wells, John R., Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth, and Galen Danskin. "Amazon.com, 2021." Harvard Business School Case 716-402, August 2015. (Revised June 2021.)
- January 2025
- Case
Apax Partners: Deciding Whether to Bid for Trader Corp.
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Edward A. Meyer
Apax Partners’ investment committee was schedule to meet on March 21, 2011, to decide whether to invest in Trader Corporation, a Canadian classified advertising business for used automobiles with both print (magazines) and digital (website) distribution. What made this... View Details
Keywords: Value Creation; Network Effects; Private Equity; Growth Management; Digital Marketing; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; E-commerce; Valuation; Competition; Digital Platforms; Digital Strategy; Digital Transformation; Transition; Investment; Risk and Uncertainty; Advertising Industry; Auto Industry; Information Industry; Canada; United Kingdom; New York (state, US); New York (city, NY)
- May 2007
- Article
Corporate Financing Decisions When Investors Take the Path of Least Resistance
By: Malcolm Baker, Joshua Coval and Jeremy Stein
We explore the consequences for corporate financial policy that arise when investors exhibit inertial behavior. One implication of investor inertia is that, all else equal, a firm pursuing a strategy of equity-financed growth will prefer a stock-for-stock merger to... View Details
Baker, Malcolm, Joshua Coval, and Jeremy Stein. "Corporate Financing Decisions When Investors Take the Path of Least Resistance." Journal of Financial Economics 84, no. 2 (May 2007): 266–298.