Publications

January 2014
Case

The Weather Company

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

New CEO David Kenny transformed The Weather Company in less than two years from a primary identity as a cable television channel to a multi-platform digital company innovating in the uses of weather data. He assesses progress and considers strategic choices and... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Strategy; Strategic Change; Change Management; Expansion; Weather; Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Technology Industry

11 Jan 2017
Blog Post

Leadership and Diversity at HBS

to transition from an individual contributor to a manager of people. In addition, since my experience had been exclusively through a financial lens, I also wanted to gain a more holistic view of the business world. HBS was the clear View Details

August 2018
Teaching Note

IguanaFix

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Thomas Eisenmann

Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-056. IguanaFix, based in Argentina, is a platform business that connects consumers with home improvement contractors. The founders are evaluating growth options and an investment offer. The case focuses on scaling issues for a venture... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Marketing; Home Improvement Services; Marketing Management; Scaling; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Sales; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy

September 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Compass Maritime Services, LLC: Valuing Ships

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Albert W. Sheen

Tom Roberts, a founding partner of Compass Maritime Services, a New Jersey-based shipping research and consulting firm, has been asked by a new potential customer in May 2008 for advice on purchasing a capesize bulk carrier. After identifying a suitable ship with his... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Judgments; Price; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Negotiation Offer; Mathematical Methods; Ship Transportation; Valuation; Consulting Industry; Shipping Industry

January 2023 (Revised June 2024)
Supplement

Zaoui & Co. (B): Executing the Odyssey SPAC Transaction

By: Ashish Nanda, Alex Kitsberg and Zack Kurtovich

In September 2019, founding partners Michael and Yoel Zaoui decided to add principal investing to Zaoui & Co.’s offerings. The case outlines how, over the next two years, Zaoui & Co. pursued the formation of a SPAC, Odyssey Acquisitions, followed by the identification... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Investment Banking; SPACs; M＆A; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Europe; United Kingdom

March 2000
Case

Magdalena Yesil

By: Myra M. Hart and Mary Rotelli

Magdalena Yesil, investor and former entrepreneur, must decide whether to become a venture partner at US Venture Partners. This case discusses career progression, entrepreneurship, and deciding among career alternatives. Yesil's entrepreneurial experiences include... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Partners and Partnerships

25 Jun 2019
Cold Call Podcast

In the Platform Economy, Upwork Searches for Better Matches in the Cloud

Keywords: Re: David B. Yoffie; Web Services

12 Jun 2006
Research & Ideas

The Promise of Channel Stewardship

users. Figure 1-1 illustrates these key dimensions of channel design and management. These choices are not mutually exclusive, so a combination is a viable alternative. Designing channels requires answering certain questions: which... View Details

Keywords: by V. Kasturi Rangan & Marie Bell; Consumer Products

April 1998 (Revised February 2004)
Background Note

Legal Forms of Organization, The

Describes the various legal forms of organization including proprietorships, partnerships, limited partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies. Explains the tax and liability attributes of each form, as well as other issues, which may influence the... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Taxation; Legal Liability; Ownership; Partners and Partnerships

August 1998
Case

HIMSCORP, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael J. Roberts and Laurence E. Katz

Himscorp is an industry consolidation of records storage companies providing management and retrieval services of active medical records to healthcare institutions. Kent Dauten, a former general partner at Madison Dearborn Partners with 15 years of venture capital and... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Initial Public Offering; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consolidation; Information Industry

August 2001 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Doral Costa

By: William J. Poorvu, John H. Vogel Jr., Arthur I. Segel and Amy Silverstein

Doral Costa is a proposed 277,803 square foot Class A office park development in Miami, FL. Trammell Crow Co. would like to develop this office park in joint venture with a partner. Samantha Spar, the acquisitions partner at Titan Associates, a large real estate... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Joint Ventures; Acquisition; Investment; Partners and Partnerships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Fair Value Accounting; Construction; Property; Real Estate Industry; Consulting Industry; Miami

February 2009 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Exeter Group, Inc. (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles, Das Narayandas and Kerry Herman

Jonathan Kutchins and Mark Cullen, managing partners of IT consulting firm Exeter Group, Inc., are considering four potential client engagements. Three of them involve prominent universities, an area of market strength for the firm, and one involves a top-tier strategy... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Resource Allocation; Market Entry and Exit; Service Operations; Performance Capacity; Business Strategy; Information Technology; Consulting Industry

22 Mar 2024
Blog Post

Driving Impact in Emerging Markets with HBS Alum Nneka Chime (MBA 2015)

Nneka Chime’s (MBA 2015) career path offers an alternative road map for HBS students and alumni seeking to make a difference in the world. While seeking, she aligned her professional choices with a larger mission rather than following a... View Details

January 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Gold Hill Venture Lending

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

David Fischer is trying to raise $200 million for a first-time venture debt fund that will be affiliated with Silicon Valley Bank, a major technology lender. Despite his lengthy experience in venture lending, the process is proving difficult. He and his partners are... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Value Creation; Venture Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment Funds; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

February 2013 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Phu My Hung

By: John Macomber and Dawn H. Lau

Privately held city development promoters decide whether to partner on next phase or go it alone in a 20-year, 4000-acre project. Set outside of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, this decades-long project led by two Taiwanese families reshaped and built the economic... View Details

Keywords: Urban Development; Infrastructure; Real Estate Industry; Viet Nam

27 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

The Potential Downside of Win-Win

restaurant A and movie D and have a wonderful evening. Both enjoy the activity they care more about, making both happier than they would have been if they compromised. On the societal level, while one restaurant won and others lost, and one movie studio won and others... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman

January 2020
Case

Ninja: Which Platform Wins Esports' Biggest Star?

By: Anita Elberse and Michal T. Leszczynski

It is July 2019, and the business of esports and gaming is booming. Tyler Blevins—better known as Ninja—has risen to stardom playing the immensely popular shooter game Fortnite. He has become the most followed streamer in the world and, helped by his management company... View Details

Keywords: Esports; Platforms; Superstar; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Internet and the Web; Personal Development and Career; Decision Making; Digital Platforms; Video Game Industry; Technology Industry

26 Mar 2024
HBS Seminar

Szu-Chi Huang, Stanford Graduate School of Business

February 2006
Case

Adams Capital Management: Fund IV

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

The partners of Adams Capital Management must decide whether to start their fourth fund in early 2006 or to hold off until they have realized more exits from the earlier funds and have proved the viability of a recent change in strategy. View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Business Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Services Industry