Publications

January 2017
Teaching Note

Google to Alphabet: Ten Things We Know to Be True

By: Robert Simons and Annelena Lobb

March 2021
Case

Ghia and Cleo Capital

By: Paul A. Gompers and Annelena Lobb

December 2016
Teaching Plan

Mattermark

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Annelena Lobb

August 2013
Teaching Plan

Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service and Company Culture

By: Frances X. Frei and Annelena Lobb

October 2014
Technical Note

Legal Hazards of Product Launches

By: Lena Goldberg and Annelena Lobb

This note considers common legal pitfalls associated with the launch of new products. A series of questions are presented that companies poised to launch a product should keep in mind. Questions about advertising, pricing, and branding are explored, as well as who in a... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Legal Liability

July 2025
Case

Mother’s Home: Eradicating Social Orphancy in Kazakhstan

By: Boris Groysberg and Annelena Lobb

Mother’s Home International Foundation, a Kazakhstani foundation, had reduced the number of children living in orphanages in Kazakhstan from roughly 10,000 to 4,000 over 12 years, building crisis centers for new mothers to help them keep their babies and stabilize... View Details

January 2023
Teaching Note

Bankruptcy in the City of Detroit

By: Kristin Mugford and Annelena Lobb

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 215-070. View Details

Keywords: Finance; Restructuring

December 2016
Case

Muñoz Group Faces Brexit

By: Forest Reinhardt and Annelena Lobb

In 2016, Muñoz Group, a multifaceted agribusiness company that developed, produced, packed, imported, and exported citrus, flowers, grapes, juice, and ice cream, faced an unexpected new challenge in the British public’s vote for the United Kingdom to exit the European... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Globalization; Intellectual Property; Government and Politics; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Europe

October 2016 (Revised July 2017)
Case

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra: Cultural Entrepreneurship

By: Rohit Deshpande and Annelena Lobb

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (LA Phil), under the leadership of Deborah Borda, had enjoyed great successes in the 2000s and 2010s, even as other U.S. orchestras faltered. The architecturally acclaimed Walt Disney Concert Hall had opened its doors. The... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Arts; Music Entertainment; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Music Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Los Angeles

August 2015 (Revised January 2017)
Background Note

Evolving Trends in Global Trade

By: Dante Roscini and Annelena Lobb

The note, while not intended to be historically comprehensive, explores the regulation of international trade from the period after World War II to developments in 2010, focusing on shifts in trade theory and policy as well as economic benefits and disadvantages... View Details

Keywords: Trade Negotiations; Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Governance; Negotiation; Globalization; Trade; Policy; History; Europe; Latin America; North and Central America; Asia; Africa; China

February 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Johnson Security Bureau: Building Multigenerational Success

By: Henry McGee, Annelena Lobb and David Muoser

Jessica Johnson-Cope, CEO of Johnson Security Bureau (JSB), pondered options for scaling the firm. JSB was the oldest Black-owned security firm in New York, and among the oldest Black-owned security firms in the United States. It provided mostly unarmed security guards... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Gender; Race; Cybersecurity; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; New York (state, US)

October 2023
Supplement

OneTen: One Million Careers for Black Talent (B)

By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Kerry Herman

October 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Swizz Beatz

By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Sarah Mehta

This case explores the life and career of rapper and music producer Swizz Beatz. Set in 2019, it covers the evolution of Swizz’s musical career and his new venture into the commercial art market. View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Fine Arts Industry; Music Industry; United States

May 2018 (Revised June 2018)
Case

Cowen Inc.: Leveraging Data

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah Abbott and Annelena Lobb

Cowen Inc.’s broker-dealer, Cowen and Company, LLC, boasted a number of analysts who had made prescient stock calls on the basis of creative data analysis. Now Cowen Inc. had opened a new subsidiary, Kyber, which would attempt to monetize new data science products.... View Details

Keywords: Data Science; Equity Research; Research Analysts; Investment; Analytics and Data Science; Equity; Research; Analysis; Competitive Strategy

October 2012 (Revised October 2016)
Case

Predilytics

By: Robert F. Higgins and Annelena Lobb

The management team at Predilytics, a healthcare analytics firm, must decide whether to accept a Series A venture capital financing deal. The company provided analytic services to healthcare plans, typically Medicare Advantage plans, in efforts to draw conclusions from... View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Healthcare; Medicare; Health Care and Treatment; Mathematical Methods; Health Industry; New England; United States

June 2014
Teaching Plan

Arup: Building the Water Cube

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Annelena Lobb

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Projects; Beijing; Sydney

April 2015 (Revised October 2017)
Teaching Note

Buffett's Bid for Media General's Newspapers

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Annelena Lobb

On May 12, 2012, BH Media Group, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, announced an offer to buy Media General's (MEG) newspaper division for $142 million in cash and provide debt financing to the struggling firm. Reactions from investors and industry... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Bankruptcy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Risk Management; Executive Compensation; Cash Flow; Business Exit or Shutdown; Media; Advertising; Restructuring; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; United States