Publications

Second Quarter 2024
Article

Venture Capital in a Time of Turmoil

By: Josh Lerner

One area of consensus among academic economists and policymakers is the need for greater innovation. This concern is rooted in worries about the lagging rate of productivity growth in many Western nations. In the U.S., for instance, the productivity growth rate... View Details

Keywords: Productivity Growth; Economic Growth; Innovation and Invention; United States; Europe

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23 Feb 2021
Cold Call Podcast

Examining Race and Mass Incarceration in the United States

Keywords: Re: Reshmaan N. Hussam

November 2020
Case

Valuing Celgene's CVR

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

When Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) acquired Celgene Corporation in November 2019, Celgene shareholders received cash, BMS stock, and a contingent value right (CVRs) that would pay $9 if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved three of Celgene’s late stage... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Value; Valuation; Judgments; Decision Making; Cash Flow; Financial Instruments; Cognition and Thinking; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States

December 2012
Case

Ocean Mist Farms

By: David E. Bell, Jose B. Alvarez, Mary Shelman and Michael Norris

In late 2012, Kori Tuggle, director of marketing and business development at Ocean Mist Farms, a California produce company, examines her social media-based marketing program and her attempts to create a brand for a bulk commodity. View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States; California

March 2006 (Revised December 2009)
Compilation

Skype

By: Peter A. Coles and Thomas R. Eisenmann

Presents eBay's rationale for its $2.6 billion acquisition in late 2005 of Skype, a fast growing voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) provider. Describes Skype's history, technology, business model, and competition, as well as government regulation of VoIP services. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Communication Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Network Effects; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Telecommunications Industry

November 2023
Case

Copilot(s): Generative AI at Microsoft and GitHub

By: Frank Nagle, Shane Greenstein, Maria P. Roche, Nataliya Langburd Wright and Sarah Mehta

This case tells the story of Microsoft’s 2018 acquisition of GitHub and the subsequent launch of GitHub Copilot, a tool that uses generative artificial intelligence to suggest snippets of code to software developers in real time. Set in late 2021, when Copilot was... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Product Launch; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; California

May 2011 (Revised September 2015)
Background Note

A Note on Private Equity in Developing Countries

By: Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon and Abishai Vase

This note provides an overview of private equity in emerging markets as of late 2009. View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Private Equity; Investment; Emerging Markets

Spring 2018
Article

Henry Kissinger and Robert Mugabe: The Forgotten Connection via Remarkably Creative Negotiation

By: James K. Sebenius

When Robert Mugabe was forced out of office in late 2017 after 37 years of increasingly brutal rule in Zimbabwe, he had been in the job so long that few recall how he got there. Fewer still remember that it was Henry Kissinger, whose complex, if unlikely, negotiations... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; History; Negotiation Style; Outcome or Result; Zimbabwe

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February 2005 (Revised June 2006)
Case

JCDecaux

By: John R. Wells and Vincent Dessain

Describes how JCDecaux, the second largest global outdoor advertising company, became the world leader in street furniture advertising in a fast consolidating business environment. Also explains why, in the late 1990s, JCDecaux diversified its activities into... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Global Strategy; Leadership Style; Family Ownership; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Advertising Industry

April 2003 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Leadership in Crisis: Ernest Shackleton and the Epic Voyage of the Endurance

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Erica Helms and Philip Mead

Provides an opportunity to examine leadership and entrepreneurship in the context of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic expedition, a compelling story of crisis, survival, and triumph. Summarizes Shackleton's career as an officer in the British Merchant Marine, his... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; History; Leadership; Crisis Management; Management Practices and Processes; Groups and Teams; Behavior; Antarctica

February 1995 (Revised August 1995)
Case

Siemens Rolm Communications Inc.: Integrated Logistics Core Process Redesign (ILCPR)

In the late 1990s, Rolm realized significant losses and needed to significantly reduce its costs and redesign its logistics process. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Logistics; Telecommunications Industry

March 2009 (Revised November 2021)
Case

The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Inc.: To Acquire or Not to Acquire?

By: Juan Alcacer, David J. Collis and Mary Furey

Soon after Robert Iger took over as CEO of the Walt Disney Company in late 2005, he turned his attention toward Pixar, the animation studio with which Disney had worked since 1991 and was responsible for producing hits such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo. Disney's own... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Making; Animation Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Contracts; Distribution; Partners and Partnerships; Vertical Integration; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

December 2014 (Revised July 2021)
Case

Discovery Limited

By: Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer and Aldo Sesia

Discovery Ltd. is a South Africa-based insurance company. Started in the early 1990s, Discovery used behavioral economics and data collection to innovate in the health care insurance industry. Its founder Adrian Gore believed that the company's products needed to not... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; Health Care; Financial Services; Strategy; Value Creation; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; South Africa

January 20, 2022
Article

3 Steps to Help Companies Rebuild Trust During the Pandemic

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

Many workers feel battered and distrustful after almost two years of COVID-19 instability. But it's not too late for managers—even those who made damaging missteps—to repair these relationships, say Sandra Sucher and Shalene Gupta. View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Trust; Employee Relationship Management

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December 2010 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2010

By: David B. Yoffie and Renee Kim

Examines the industry structure and competitive strategy of Coca-Cola and Pepsi over 100 years of rivalry. The most intense battles of the cola wars were fought over the $74 billion CSD industry in the United States, where the average American consumes 46 gallons of... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

12 Aug 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances

Keywords: by Amar Bhidé, Srikant M. Datar, and Katherine Stebbins

March 2015 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Coffee Wars in India: Starbucks 2012

By: David Yoffie and Rachna Tahilyani

Starbucks entered India in late 2012. This case explores Starbucks' globalization strategy, its success in China, and its vision for India. The case asks whether Starbucks can replicate its success in China in India. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Moves; Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Competition; India; China

08 Feb 2018
Op-Ed

What’s Missing From the Debate About Trump’s Tax Plan

matters to us as Americans. These are the debates our country needs and deserves. And because tax policy is always evolving, it’s never too late to start that discussion. Matt Weinzierl is a professor at Harvard Business School. He served... View Details

Keywords: by Matthew Weinzierl

November 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

NYSE vs. NASDAQ: International Competition

By: Estelle S. Cantillon and Tarun Khanna

Compares and contrasts the international strategies of the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ as they looked overseas for new sources of growth in the late 1990s. View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Financial Markets; Globalization; United States