Publications

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September 2023
Case

DocSend: A Path off the Plateau?

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jeffrey Huizinga

Recounts how the leaders of DocSend, an early-stage startup that offered tools for sharing files online, searched for a viable business model and weighed tradeoffs in transitioning from a sales-led to a product-led "go-to-market" approach. View Details

Keywords: Technology; Start-up; Growth; Business Model; Business Startups; Sales; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry

March 2010 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Dassault Systemes

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Dassault Systèmes, a leader in product lifecycle management software, has enjoyed a very profitable business model in 3D engineering design. In the past, it has successfully managed market disruptions and opportunities through acquisition and organic innovations. Its... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Product Marketing; Technology Industry

December 2023
Case

Food & Life Companies

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Akiko Saito

Founded in 1984 in Japan, Food & Life Companies Ltd. (F&LC) operated Sushiro, the largest conveyor belt sushi restaurant chain in Japan, and other types of restaurants that offered sushi and fish cuisine. F&LC was committed to offering high-quality sushi at an... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan; Asia; United States

September 2020 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Siba Mtongana: A Pioneering Chef in South Africa

By: Boris Groysberg, Susan Seligson, Katherine Connolly Baden and Robin Abrahams

For Siba Mtongana, South African celebrity chef, the year 2020 was fraught with challenges and unknowns. Her brand was strong and she was certain it would survive. But as she fine-tuned her growth and innovation strategy in a shaky, unpredictable economy in the midst... View Details

Keywords: Food; Crisis Management; Health Pandemics; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; South Africa

28 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 28, 2007

outdated. Instead, innovations are increasingly brought to the market by networks of firms, selected for their unique capabilities, and operating in a coordinated manner. This new model demands that firms develop different skills, in... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2016
Supplement

24 Hour Fitness (B): Ownership Changes, 2005–2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, 24 Hour Fitness was the number-two fitness chain in the United States, generating revenues of $1.4 billion from 441 clubs serving 3.8 million members. Based in San Ramon, California, 24 Hour Fitness operated clubs in 13 states. Having grown rapidly to become... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Age; Training; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Human Resources; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Market Entry and Exit; Media; Organizational Design; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Welfare or Wellbeing; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Software; Web Sites; Value; Valuation; Health Industry; Health Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

September 2007
Case

Still Leading (B5): General Claudia Kennedy—In Command of Life

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Lance P. Pierce

Describes the transition issues for General Kennedy after she left the army and tried to apply her leadership to social causes. View Details

Keywords: Transition; Problems and Challenges; Social Issues; Personal Development and Career; Leadership; Public Administration Industry

November 1996 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Margaret Thatcher

Portrays Margaret Thatcher's rise to the leadership of Great Britain's Conservative Party. Thatcher's political career began with her election to Parliament's House of Commons in 1959. Sixteen years later she was elected the leader of her party, and then in 1979, she... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Gender Characteristics; Government and Politics; Power and Influence; Public Administration Industry; Great Britain

03 Nov 2015
First Look

November 3, 2015

systems. We then develop a simple model of how these markets enable entry by small or flexible suppliers and the resulting impact on existing firms. Finally, we consider the regulation of peer-to-peer markets and the economic arguments... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Sep 2015
First Look

September 8, 2015

demonstrates why some places, times, and industries should be associated with a greater degree of experimentation by investors. Investors respond to financing risk—a forecast of limited future funding—by modifying their focus to finance... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

January 2011 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Predictive Biosciences

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and David Kiron

A small cancer diagnostics start-up is deciding whether to acquire a laboratory to make and sell its bladder cancer test or build its own manufacturing and sales team. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Health Testing and Trials; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Biotechnology Industry

21 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 21, 2018

2018 Boston: Harvard Business Review Press Driving Digital Strategy: A Guide to Reimagining Your Business By: Gupta, Sunil Abstract—Disruption and transformation get a lot of hype and for good reason. Digital technologies have disrupted entire View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

August 13, 2024
Editorial

Can AI Save Physicians from Burnout?

By: Susanna Gallani, Lidia Moura and Katie Sonnefeldt

Keywords: Well-being; AI and Machine Learning; Work-Life Balance; Health Industry

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March 1997
Case

Stone Container in Honduras (B)

By: Hannah Bowles and James K. Sebenius

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Types; Environmental Sustainability; Conflict of Interests; Globalized Firms and Management; Developing Countries and Economies; Government and Politics; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Honduras; Chicago

Find at Harvard

01 May 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 1, 2018

rents from firms producing and commercializing products. In this Industry Note, we describe the origin, evolution, costs, benefits, and future outlook for Patent Trolling in the United States. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2010 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Gazelle in 2012

By: Andrei Hagiu and James Weber

Gazelle has pioneered a reCommerce intermediation model: it buys used electronics from consumers and resells them on eBay or to wholesalers. Going forward, its two main strategic challenges are 1) deciding how much to rely on partnerships with large retailers for... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Two-Sided Platforms; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

2023
Working Paper

Toward Decision-Useful Carbon Information

By: Gunther Glenk

Companies are increasingly viewed as crucial drivers for timely decarbonization. Current accounting practices for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, however, often leave corporate carbon disclosures and abatement obscured. Here I introduce a taxonomy for assuring the... View Details

SSRN

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May 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Lowe's: Improving the Total Home Strategy

By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Alicia Dadlani

In 2023, Marvin Ellison, CEO of Lowe’s, contemplated enhancements to the company’s Total Home Strategy to accelerate performance and grow market share. In the last five years since becoming CEO, Ellison had championed a turnaround of the company, completing a... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Competition; Brands and Branding; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; United States; North Carolina