Publications

03 Jan 2022
News

Some Big Wall Street Banks Reverse Their Back-To-Office Plans—Again

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

September 2012
Case

Ringier - Building a Digital-Age Media Company

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Overview of the strategic re-orientation and diversification of Ringier, a Swiss based media company, as they confront the challenges of staying competitive and profitable in the new and increasingly digital media landscape. View Details

Keywords: Media And Publishing; Publishing; Media; Organizational Structure; Strategy; Diversification; Publishing Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Switzerland

October 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Credit Suisse (A)

Credit Suisse is looking for ways to differentiate itself from current and likely competitors. After two years of restructuring, the bank's leadership wants profitable growth. It has decided to emphasize customer service. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Competitive Advantage; Customer Focus and Relationships; Banking Industry; Switzerland

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June 2005 (Revised October 2007)
Background Note

The Law of One Price

By: Joshua D. Coval, Erik Stafford, Rodrigo Osmo, John Jernigan, Zack Page and Paulo Passoni

Demonstrates the Law of One Price in practice. Using synthetic securities, students should observe opportunities to earn profits when spreads emerge between portfolios that offer identical payoffs. Uses separate uptick financial simulation software. View Details

Keywords: Price

01 Nov 2018
News

On Hold for 45 Minutes? It Might Be Your Secret Customer Score

September 1975 (Revised June 1983)
Background Note

Note on the Structural Analysis of Industries

By: Michael E. Porter

Provides a framework for the analysis of industry structure. Identifies the major structural features that influence the profit potential in industries and some illustrative implications of these for strategy formulation. Can be used as a reference note for business... View Details

Keywords: Industry Structures; Business Strategy; Profit

April 1985 (Revised March 1986)
Case

Seven-Up Division of Philip Morris

By: Michael E. Porter and Edward J. Hoff

In 1979, Philip Morris acquired the Seven-Up Co., the number three concentrate producer in the U.S. After four years of losses, Seven-Up had registered an operating profit in 1984. Industry analysts were debating the role that Seven-Up would play in Philip Morris's... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Divisions; Debates; Profit; Production; Personal Development and Career; United States

November 2010 (Revised May 2012)
Background Note

Assessing a Company's Future Financial Health

By: Thomas R. Piper

The case provides students with (1) an understanding of the essence of long-term financial health; (2) familiarity with the calculation and meaning of various financial ratios; and (3) an understanding of the influence of a company's operating and competitive... View Details

Keywords: Financial Condition; Forecasting and Prediction; Investment Return; Operations; Competitive Strategy

January 1999 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Advanced Technologies, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Piper

The CEO of a semiconductor equipment manufacturer is assessing the financial forecasts and financing plan prepared by the chief financial officer. Continued rapid growth will create substantial financing pressures, especially if profitability fails to recover and/or if... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Earnings Management; Financial Condition; Financial Reporting; Risk and Uncertainty; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Outcome or Result; Growth and Development; Crisis Management; Profit; Financial Strategy; Semiconductor Industry; Manufacturing Industry

February 2023 (Revised April 2023)
Case

Kvadrat: Focus, Execute, and Grow

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Kvadrat was a family-owned global textiles company. The company had enjoyed impressive top-line growth and was shifting gears to emphasize profitability via a shorter strategic agenda. Agenda items included: U.S. expansion, generating improved margins in its consumer... View Details

Keywords: Growth; Culture; International Expansion; Organization; Family Business; Leadership; Growth and Development; Strategy; Organizations; Supply Chain; Family Ownership; Profit; Organizational Culture; Denmark

2017
Book

HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business: Think Big, Buy Small, Own Your Own Company

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Find, acquire, and run your own business. Are you looking for an alternative to a career path at a big firm? Does founding your own start-up seem too risky? There is a radical third path open to you: you can buy a small business and run it as CEO. Purchasing a small... View Details

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June 2007 (Revised January 2008)
Case

BBC Worldwide: Global Strategy

By: John A. Quelch and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In January 2007, John Smith, chief executive officer of BBC Worldwide (BBC WW), the commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), was preparing to meet with his senior managers to discuss BBC WW's global strategy options. BBC WW exploited and exported... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Expansion; Internet; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Great Britain

13 Dec 2010
Research & Ideas

Managing the Support Staff Identity Crisis

Last year, Harvard Business School professor Ranjay Gulati met with the marketing department of a large American corporation and posed a seemingly simple question: What do marketing people actually do? "I got this nervous laughter," says Gulati, an expert on... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

December 2013 (Revised February 2014)
Supplement

Reinventing Brainlab (B)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Karol Misztal

The management of Germany's Brainlab AG, a leading provider of software-driven oncology and surgery solutions, needs to evaluate strategic options for proceeding without an exclusive hardware partner in its most profitable business segment. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Medical Specialties; Information Technology Industry; Health Industry; Germany

March 2020
Article

Knowing When to Ask: The Cost of Leaning-in

By: Christine L. Exley, Muriel Niederle and Lise Vesterlund

Women's reluctance to negotiate is often used to explain the gender wage gap, popularizing the push for women to “lean-in" and negotiate more. Examining an environment where women achieve positive profits when they choose to negotiate, we find that increased... View Details

Keywords: Negotiations; Leaning-in; Selection; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Style; Gender

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Read Now

September 2010 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Better World Books

By: Michael I. Norton, Fiona Wilson, Jill Avery and Thomas J. Steenburgh

Better World Books, a young start-up, provides a socially conscious alternative to Amazon, collecting and selling used books to keep them out of the waste stream, while donating a portion of their profits to support global literacy efforts. The case presents an... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Online Technology; Retail Industry

April 2021 (Revised August 2024)
Case

The Turnaround at Ford Motor Company

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Olivia Jung

This case describes the corporate turnaround of the Ford Motor Company under the charismatic leadership of Alan Mulally. Ford was in deep trouble in the early 2000s as its prices and debt ratings plummeted and employee morale suffered. In 2006, the company anticipated... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Transformation; Restructuring; Organizational Culture; Leading Change; Performance Improvement; Auto Industry; North America