Publications

June 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Investment Policy at the Hewlett Foundation (2005)

By: Luis M. Viceira

In early January 2005, Laurance Hoagland Jr., VP and CIO of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (HF), and his investment team met to finish their recommendations to the HF Investment Committee for a new asset allocation policy for the foundation's investment... View Details

Keywords: Investment Portfolio; Risk and Uncertainty; Public Equity; Globalization; Investment; Property; Risk Management; Asset Management; Financial Services Industry

13 Nov 2013
Research & Ideas

Should Men’s Products Fear a Woman’s Touch?

really goes away. Since the dawn of advertising, retailers have made a point of marketing separate lines of branded products for men and women in many categories, even in cases where their functions are essentially the same. It's a... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage; Auto

October 2019
Supplement

Impax Laboratories: Executing Accretive Transactions (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

Impax Laboratories was a technology-based pharmaceutical company that used a “dual platform” strategy to sell both generic and branded treatments. While Impax had grown organically for most of its history, it was beginning to use major acquisitions for growth. In the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Financial Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

20 Sep 2021
Blog Post

Taking Your Shot in the Sports Industry with Adam Laitsas (MBA 2016), SVP, Head of Marketing for Madison Square Garden Sports Corp.

industry, a Corporate Strategy internship at Nike. “I was excited about Corporate Strategy because it was a role that would allow me to come into an organization and see the most across various functions,”... View Details

December 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Loblaw Companies Ltd.: The Road Ahead

By: Ray A. Goldberg, David E. Bell and Ann Leamon

After 24 years at the helm of Loblaw Companies, Canada's largest food retailer, Richard Currie is trying to decide on a strategy for the company's future. The firm's current emphasis on one-stop shopping for everyday household needs has been phenomenally successful.... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Distribution; Food; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; Canada

Find at Harvard

October 2015
Teaching Plan

The Coca-Cola Company's Case for Creative Transformation

By: Thales Teixeira

This Teaching Plan is to be used with the Video Case "The Coca-Cola Company's Case for Creative Transformation" (HBS No. 815-714) View Details

24 Aug 2017
News

Does Le Pliage Help or Hurt the Longchamp Luxury Brand?

October 2019
Case

Impax Laboratories: Executing Accretive Acquisitions (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

Impax Laboratories was a technology-based pharmaceutical company that used a “dual platform” strategy to sell both generic and branded treatments. While Impax had grown organically for most of its history, it was beginning to use major acquisitions for growth. In the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

08 Jul 2019
Research & Ideas

Are Paywalls Saving Newspapers?

newspaper companies, Chung says, major broadcast news networks could use the study’s findings to inform strategy decisions. “Similar to the newspapers, they also have their websites, and I don’t think CNN or Fox News has a digital paywall... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Journalism & News; Media & Broadcasting

June 2018
Case

Relax (Boston): Innovating and Growing an Entrepreneurial Business

By: Paul Marshall and Carole Carlson

The Relax case traces the history of a massage services company from its founding in 2007 to mid-2017, when it is considering the best strategy for growth and an acquisition. The company's owner and top managers wonder how the firm should reorganize to cope with the... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Acquisition; Brands and Branding; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Design

Rebecca Karp is an Assistant Professor in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School. She teaches Strategy in the MBA required curriculum. Professor Karp is a field researcher and ethnographer. Her research examines how companies formulate and... View Details

December 2022 (Revised June 2023)
Case

KKR at CHI Overhead Doors (A)

By: Dennis Campbell and Ethan Rouen

This case examines the decision by private equity firm KKR to grant equity to every employee at portfolio company CHI Overhead Doors upon purchasing the company in 2015. The case explores whether this initiative will create shared value, growing profits through better... View Details

Keywords: Performance Improvement; Profit Sharing; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Culture

05 Mar 2012
Research & Ideas

Is JC Penney’s Makeover the Future of Retailing?

tough spot," Lal says. "If you ask people today what J.C. Penney stands for, you don't get a particularly compelling answer." Once a staple for everything from bed sheets to children's clothing, many shoppers now associate the 110-year-old View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Retail

May 2005 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Gallardo's Goes to Mexico

By: Clayton M. Christensen

The theories of market segmentation and brand building in Chapter 3, What Products Will Customers Want to Buy? in The Innovator's Solution by Clayton Christensen and Michael Raynor suggest that when companies segment markets and build brands in ways that match how the... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Global Strategy; Brands and Branding; Segmentation; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Mexico

November 2005 (Revised August 2007)
Case

ConAgra Foods: The Next Chapter

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Mary L. Shelman

In 2005, CEO Bruce Rohde has almost completed the integration of ConAgra Foods' collection of 90 independent operating companies into a focused, value-added firm and was beginning to think about his successor. ConAgra had become the second largest food company and No.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Leading Change; Management Succession; Strategic Planning; Brands and Branding; Food; Agribusiness; Product Marketing; Management Teams; Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; 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

June 2003
Case

In-N-Out Burger

By: Youngme E. Moon, Lucy Cummings, Sonali Sampat, Sam Thakarar and Kerry Herman

In-N-Out Burger is a fast-food chain with 171 company-owned locations in three states--California, Nevada, and Arizona. It has an extremely hardcore customer base and the company appears to be in good financial health. The primary issue in this case concerns expansion:... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Profit; Leadership Development; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Distribution; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; Arizona; California; Nevada

January 2011
Case

AIC Netbooks: Optimizing Product Assembly

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Sunru Yong

AIC Systems, located in Taichung, Taiwan, is a manufacturer of printed circuit boards, primarily for motherboards and video cards for personal computers. The firm is considered an original design manufacturer (ODM) and takes an active role in innovating and designing... View Details

Keywords: Performance Management; Quantitative Analysis; Manufacturing; Production Planning; Production Management; Diversification; Production; Performance Efficiency; Product Design; Performance Improvement; Mobile Technology; Manufacturing Industry; Electronics Industry; Taiwan

September 2005 (Revised July 2006)
Case

Kingsford Charcoal

By: Das Narayandas and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Since the 1980s, Kingsford had continued to enjoy steady, moderate growth of 1% to 3% in revenues each year. During most of this time, the charcoal category as a whole grew as well. However, the summer of 2000 represented the first softening in the category in several... View Details

Keywords: Price; Marketing Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Advertising; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; United States