Publications

March 2008
Case

Ujjivan: A Microfinance Institution at a Crossroads (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Pamela Freed

Samit Ghosh, the CEO and founder of Ujjivan, a major microfinance provider in Bangalore, wants to grow his business rapidly and become financially sustainable, but he's struggling with staff fraud, high costs, and how to stay true to Ujjivan's mission of poverty... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Microfinance; Ethics; Mission and Purpose; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Bangalore

May 2022
Supplement

Maestro Pizza (C): Taking the Fight Outside

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais

Maestro pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details

October 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Editora Abril S.A.

By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Perry Fagan

Brazil's media conglomerate Editora Abril S.A. is Latin America's largest publishing and printing company; it publishes books, and comic books, videos, maps, travel guides, music, and textbooks. It also owns Brazil's largest database marketing company, its... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Communications; Market Design; Media; Service Delivery; Private Ownership; Expansion; Web Sites; Publishing Industry; Service Industry; Brazil

23 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Strategy for Small Fish

software), these strategies have endured for many years and enabled the growth of large and successful firms (such as Intuit and Siebel Systems).... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Iansiti & Roy Levien

October 1997 (Revised October 1997)
Case

Egon Zehnder International (B)

By: Michael Y. Yoshino, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

In 1994, Egon Zehnder faced stagnation in the U.S. market and needed to discuss plans for intiating growth. Due to market demand the firm was not forced to implement options contemplated in 1994 to initiate growth. View Details

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Growth and Development; Growth Management; Organizational Structure; Strategic Planning; Business Strategy; Consulting Industry; United States

December 2014 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Dalian Wanda Group: The AMC Entertainment Acquisition (A)

By: Willy Shih

When Dalian Wanda Group of China announced its plan to acquire the AMC Entertainment theatrical exhibition chain in the United States, many people in the U.S. were mystified. Unlike China where theatrical exhibition was experiencing rapid growth, the U.S. market was... View Details

Keywords: Dalian Wanda Group; AMC Entertainment; Wang Jianlin; Theater Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Foreign Direct Investment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; China; United States

22 Aug 2012
Working Paper Summaries

A Randomized Field Study of a Leadership WalkRounds™-Based Intervention

Background: Leadership WalkRounds have been widely adopted as a technique for improving patient safety and safety climate. WalkRounds involve senior managers directly observing frontline work and soliciting... View Details

Keywords: by Anita L. Tucker & Sara J. Singer; Health

August 2004 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Canyon Ranch

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Gabriele Piccoli

How should Canyon Ranch leverage its uniqueness in the face of increasing competition and an entrenched customer definition of the firm? The firm is attempting to create demand for return visits and foster the customization and personalization of the Canyon Ranch... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Information Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Experience and Expertise; Analytics and Data Science; Customization and Personalization

January 2002 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Strategic Planning at NFTE

By: Allen S. Grossman and Daniel F. Curran

The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), is a successful nonprofit poised on the verge of explosive growth. The senior management contracted with McKinsey consultants to help guide the process. The founders of NFTE brought it from a small program... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Partners and Partnerships; Nonprofit Organizations

17 Nov 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

How Activist Investors Became Respectable

online well before any regulatory filing disclosed his holdings in the company. These tactics may have been designed for drama, but the investment strategy and its scale are nothing unusual today. Activist... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph Fuller; Financial Services; Banking

12 Feb 2025
Blog Post

How risk can be the key to a sustainable future with Sophie Levin (MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences 2022

demand seemed like the biggest obstacles to commercialization. Eventually, my co-founder and I realized that our target suppliers needed help scaling their technology, so we parted ways View Details

May 1989 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Dynatronics, Inc.

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

The student must determine the financing requirements posed by growth, change of inventory policy, and introduction of new product and then select the best method of financing them. Has been used as a four-hour exam. A revised and updated version of an earlier case by... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Growth and Development; Product Launch

April 2017
Supplement

CIC: Catalyzing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (B)

By: William R. Kerr, Sari Kerr and Alexis Brownell

CIC engages in "guerrilla warfare," offering free or highly discounted rates in order to get its empty offices filled before the opening day of its St. Louis branch. Opening day is a huge success, and CIC St. Louis grows rapidly, even opening a second building. In the... View Details

Keywords: Start-ups; Boston; Cambridge; St. Louis; CIC; Cambridge Innovation Center; Co-working Space; Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Innovation Ecosystems; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Boston; Cambridge; St. Louis

September 2017
Teaching Note

Dick's Sporting Goods

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Matthew G. Preble

This is the teaching note to accompany Rajiv Lal, Jose B. Alvarez, and Matthew G. Preble, “Dick’s Sporting Goods,” HBS No. 517-007 (Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2017). View Details

September 1991 (Revised August 1994)
Background Note

Note on Pharmaceutical Industry Regulation

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Traces the evolution of U.S. regulatory policy towards the pharmaceutical industry over the course of the twentieth century. A major theme is the steady shift away from a policy of 'let the buyer beware' to the creation of a complex and time-consuming review process,... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Industry Growth; Marketing; Research and Development; Health Testing and Trials; Economics; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

January 2006 (Revised November 2007)
Compilation

Podcasting

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Kerry Herman

Profiles the nascent podcasting industry, based on a compilation of published articles. Describes factors driving industry growth, barriers to adoption, ecosystem roles, and potential business models. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Communication Technology; Entrepreneurship; Industry Growth; Media; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Media and Broadcasting Industry

Find at Harvard

September 1997 (Revised October 2001)
Case

efficient market services: August 1993 (A)

By: Paul A. Gompers and Jeffrey A. Farrell

Penny Baron, vice president of efficient market services, must decide how to finance rapid expansion for a young market research company. Venture leasing is a possibility and terms are explored. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Growth Management; Research; Marketing; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Management Teams; Leasing; Service Industry; United States