Publications

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09 May 2017
What Do You Think?

Should Management Be Primarily Responsible to Shareholders?

School Professor Sumantra Ghoshal questioned whether shareholders are even “owners” in the common sense of that term. As he put it, “If the value creation is achieved by combining the resources of both... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

16 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Are You a Strategist?

reinforcing parts. Rich in organizational detail, and anchored on purpose, such systems of value creation "make strategy the animating force in a company," says Montgomery. "They're the crucial link between... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

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

2019
Chapter

Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

Return on invested capital (ROIC) is a financial measure of the profitability of a firm or business unit. If it is greater than the business's cost of capital, then reinvestment of earnings increases shareholder VALUE. The ROIC also determines a maximum self-sustaining... View Details

Keywords: Capital Efficiency; Dupont Analysis; Financial Metrics; Schumpeterian Competition; Sustainable Growth; Competitive Advantage; Financial Strategy; Resource Allocation; Valuation; Value Creation

Web

Business for Social Impact | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

the publication of a book, the development of an MBA elective course on Business at the Base of the Pyramid, and the creation of an executive education program for leaders in the microfinance industry. Today, SEI continues to examine the... View Details

Web

Entrepreneurial Management Curriculum - Faculty & Research

managers at all types of organizations (e.g., small companies, large companies, non-profits, and public servants) become more effective at enhancing the value of those organizations. HBS professor Ken Andrews described three roles for the... View Details

2010
Book

The Big Ditch: How America Took, Built, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal

By: Noel Maurer and Carlos Yu

On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal was officially opened for business, thus changing the face of both world trade and military power and playing a pivotal role in the rise of the United States on the world stage. Today we view the creation of the Panama Canal as a... View Details

Keywords: Political History; For-Profit Firms; Development Economics; Infrastructure; State Ownership; Ship Transportation; Panama; United States

01 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

John H. Patterson and the Sales Strategy of the National Cash Register Company, 1884 to 1922

knew of them. The first N.C.R. sales script was the creation of Patterson's brother-in-law Joseph H. Crane. "How I Sell National Cash Registers," which became known as the Primer, contained instructions not only on what salesmen... View Details

Keywords: by Walter A. Friedman

January 2017 (Revised March 2017)
Case

SIN Capital and the Fullerton Health IPO

By: Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

In early 2016, David Sin, founder of the Singapore-based private equity group SIN Capital and chairman of its primary holding, Fullerton Health, was deeply involved in preparations for taking Fullerton public on the Singapore stock exchange. Three years after SIN... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Asia; IPO; Financing; Singapore; Growth; Health Care and Treatment; Private Equity; Initial Public Offering; Financing and Loans; Strategy; Value Creation; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Industry; Singapore

April 2021
Teaching Note

Drinkworks: Home Bar by Keurig

By: Sunil Gupta and Jonathan Levav

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 521-010. In the summer of 2018, Drinkworks CEO Nathaniel Davis needed to make a number of go-to-market decisions ahead of his company’s upcoming product launch. Formed through a joint venture between Keurig Dr. Pepper and Anheuser-Busch... View Details

April 2004
Article

Do CEOs in Mergers Trade Power for Premium? Evidence from 'Mergers of Equals'

By: Julie Wulf

I analyze chief executive officer (CEO) incentives to negotiate shared control in the postmerger governance of the surviving firm. In order to do this, I study abnormal returns in a sample of "mergers of equals" (MOEs) transactions in which the two firms are... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Negotiation; Governance Controls; Power and Influence; Value Creation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Motivation and Incentives; Market Transactions

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Online Finance & Accounting Courses | HBS Online

function and can be used to assess, evaluate, and strategize your organization's financial health. A finance course will teach you the key levers that drive your company's performance and cover topics such as cash flow , value View Details

11 Mar 2024
Blog Post

A Day in the Life: Ben Hsieh

takeover of Unilever by 3G Capital / Kraft Heinz. Over our 80-minute case, we discuss the strategies of Unilever (long-term value creation with sustainability at the center) and 3G / Kraft Heinz (steep... View Details

Web

Philanthropy - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Michael Porter’s ideas about competitive strategy. Shared value creation focuses on identifying and expanding the connections between societal and economic progress. Policies and operating practices that... View Details

July 2009 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Pfizer: Letter from the Chairman (A)

By: Robert L. Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case explores maximizing shareholder value as a goal in executive decision making. Over a period of nine years, three different Pfizer CEOs make critical decisions intended to increase shareholder value. But the results are disappointing. To allow students to... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Annual Reports; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value Creation; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

July 2022
Case

Bringing Ideas to Life: The Story of Paul English

By: Youngme Moon, Frances X. Frei and F. Katelynn Boland

Paul English is one of the most imaginative innovators of his generation. This case explores his process of creative idea generation. The case includes an exercise for students to generate value-creating ideas from scratch. View Details

Keywords: Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Idea Generation; Founder; Startup; Imagination; Innovation and Invention; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Creativity; Value Creation

February 2019 (Revised September 2021)
Case

The a2 Milk Company

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) became the most valuable company listed on the New Zealand stock exchange in 2018 by capitalizing on a biochemical discovery related to the protein composition of cow's milk. Because many people find the A1 protein difficult to digest, and... View Details

October 2008
Article

It's Time to Make Management a True Profession

By: Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana

In the face of the recent institutional breakdown of trust in business, managers are losing legitimacy. To regain public trust, management needs to become a true profession in much the way medicine and law have, argue Khurana and Nohria of Harvard Business School. True... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Education; Ethics; Corporate Accountability; Management; Trust; Value Creation