Publications

October 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Roshan: Light at the end of the tunnel in Afghanistan

By: Herman B. Leonard and Qahir Dhanani

Roshan is a highly successful telecommunications company founded by the Aga Khan fund for economic development in Afghanistan during an ongoing civil conflict. Company leaders must now decide financial and market strategy for the next phase of development of the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; War; Telecommunications Industry; Afghanistan

28 Oct 2014
First Look

First Look: October 28

against reports from third parties is critical for modern tax enforcement and the growth of state capacity. However, there may be limits to the effectiveness of third-party information if taxpayers can make... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

27 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

A Politician's Investment Portfolio Might Tip Off Corruption Potential

School’s Dylan Minor, visiting assistant professor in the Strategy unit. But before you rise up tall in the saddle against politicians, consider another of Minor’s findings: The connection between risk taking and corruption is likely to... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

10 May 2016
First Look

May 10, 2016

last decade has seen a sharp rise in patent litigation in the U.S., with 2015 having one of the highest patent lawsuit counts on record. In theory, this could be a consequence of growth in the commercialization of technology View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

January 2013
Supplement

Austal, Ltd. (B)

By: Willy Shih, Margaret Pierson and Dawn H. Lau

Austal, Ltd. was an Australian builder of high-speed passenger ferries. It had translated that expertise into a foothold in the defense market on the US Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program with an Alabama assembly facility. In January 2009 it had just completed the... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Global Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Ship Transportation; Transportation Industry; Australia; United States; Alabama; Philippines

September 2012 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Videogames: Clouds on the Horizon?

By: Andrei Hagiu and Kerry Herman

Since the creation of the first videogame systems in the 1970s, the videogame industry has undergone numerous transformations as new technologies and market entrants fundamentally changed the gaming experience of customers. In the early 21st century, customers began... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Strategy; Industry Growth; Video Game Industry

01 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 1

an acquisition is to fundamentally change a company's growth trajectory. In those deals, the acquirer uses the target's business model as a platform for growth. Because the business models with the most transformative potential are often... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Jul 2007
First Look

First Look: July 17, 2007

puzzles including, most significantly, evidence of strong employment growth following adoption of dismissal protections. In light of these puzzles, we read our findings as suggestive but tentative. Ethnic Scientific Communities View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Mar 2012
Report

Enriching the Ecosystem

outlines an agenda for strengthening the links between key institutions. Leaders, she argues, should focus on four goals: 1) Linking knowledge creation to venture creation to speed the conversion of ideas into market-ready enterprises; 2) Linking small View Details

January 1999
Case

Prague Post, The

By: Paul A. Gompers

Lisa Frankenberg, co-founder of the Prague Post, is faced with several business and professional decisions. The English-language paper she founded is under pressure from competition and a Czech Republic recession. She must decide how to return the paper to... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Decisions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Profit; Competition; Financial Crisis; Personal Development and Career; Publishing Industry; Czech Republic

June 1989 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Fairfield Inn (A)

By: James L. Heskett

The Fairfield Inn, an economy hotel venture by the Marriott Corp., has developed a novel method for selecting and measuring the performance of its hotel personnel that fits the company's strategy. Because it faces the need to grow rapidly, questions have arisen as to... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Franchise Ownership; Performance Evaluation; Corporate Strategy; Accommodations Industry

15 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 15, 2008

social networks shape the emergence and development of nascent ventures. Scholars have argued that founders' and firms' networks influence innovation and the identification of... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 May 2013
Blog Post

Perks of the LVMH Family

such a multi-brand scale that is Sephora! The first thing I noticed is just the difference in complexity. At Sephora you have hundreds of people perusing, sampling, asking questions, etc. at the same time, View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

03 Jan 2017
First Look

January 3, 2017

United States began to use standardized color, achieved by synthetic dyes, as part of their marketing strategies. The emergence of the synthetic dye industry paralleled the growth of mass production and mass... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

07 Dec 2016
Blog Post

Marketing Reimagined: A Recap of the 2016 Marketing Innovation Conference

On Sunday November 6, over 350 people flocked to the Harvard Business School campus to attend the Marketing Innovation Conference. This year’s theme, “Marketing Reimagined”, drew a wide range of attendees from top marketing professionals to students from 15+ MBA... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media / Sports

February 2015 (Revised November 2015)
Case

Building an Integrated Biopharma Company: Crucell (A)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Marianne Van Der Steen and Susan S. Harmeling

By 2009, Crucell had become the largest biopharma company in the Netherlands and a symbol of national pride. The case traces the evolution of the company from a University spin-off into a fully-integrated company. Crucell's success, particularly in the vaccine space,... View Details

Keywords: Biotechnology; Biopharmacy Company; Licensing; Licensing Agreements In Biopharmacy; Human Cell-line Technology; Vaccine; Healthcare Innovation; Global Health; Partners and Partnerships; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Netherlands