Publications

May 1997 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Vermeer Technologies (F): FrontPage 97

By: Ashish Nanda

Vermeer engineers work at the breakneck pace of "Internet time" to develop the next version of their software product, winning accolades from Microsoft management. Even before this version ships, however, they are faced with another punishing development schedule for... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Product Development; Information Technology Industry

30 Nov 2021
Interview

TikTok: Super App or Supernova?

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Brian Kenny

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was launched in 2012 around the simple idea of helping users entertain themselves on their smartphones while on the Beijing Subway. By May 2020, TikTok operated in 155 countries and had roughly 1 billion monthly active users, placing... View Details

Keywords: Apps; Artificial Intelligence; Business Startups; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Business Model; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Social Media

28 Nov 2016
Blog Post

Why We Recruit: Wayfair

internet sector since 1995 and have created a company culture deeply rooted in technology. Tech, data and analytics inform everything we do and are critical to our rapid View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

23 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 23, 2007

Abstract We study the interplay of inequality and trust in a dynamic game, where trust increases efficiency and thus allows higher growth of the experimental economy in the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Vignette: The Rebar Dilemma

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

Martin Smith, a new associate at an LBO firm, must respond to a problem posed by his boss, based on an historical deal that suddenly came undone. After months of negotiation, his firm's plan to buy a bankrupt competitor of one of its portfolio companies and close it... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Competition; Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management

06 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 6

variable costs that scale linearly with hours consumed, but it has taken no steps to restrict the amount of usage among its heaviest and most loyal users. Can Pandora make its model work when a significant... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 1999
Case

Lifeline Systems, Inc. (B)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Marilyn Matis

In 1997, Lifeline Systems continues to grow its service business to $32 million, 56% of the company's total revenues. More local hospital Lifeline programs turn over their monitoring service to Lifeline Central, expanding the company's subscriber base by 30%. The... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Information Technology; Expansion; Cost Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Change; Customer Relationship Management; Service Operations; Age; Investment; Health Industry; Technology Industry; Cambridge; Boston

02 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Stories 2007

accelerate this transition, as professor and program chair Benjamin C. Esty explains. What's to Be Done About Performance Reviews? What can we do to make performance reviews more productive and less... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

October 2012
Case

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged)

By: Toby Stuart and James Weber

Describes a set of key strategic decisions facing the scientific founder and CEO of a promising, early stage bio-pharmaceuticals company. Should the company establish a proposed alliance with a pharmaceutical firm? Should it create a nutraceuticals business in parallel... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry

21 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 21

avoid information about their relative ability. August 2013 NBER Volume on African Economic Successes Evaluating the Effects of Large Scale Health Interventions in Developing Countries: The Zambian Malaria Initiative By: Ashraf, Nava,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Nov 2021
Blog Post

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: JESSE LOU (MBA 2022) – WORKING TO CHANGE THE FOOD SYSTEM

oils, using a lot less land and resources. It’s no secret that these are powerful organisms, but past attempts to scale production have faced challenging unit economics (high up-front capital costs for... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Entrepreneurship

04 Nov 2021
Blog Post

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: JESSE LOU (MBA 2022) – WORKING TO CHANGE THE FOOD SYSTEM

oils, using a lot less land and resources. It’s no secret that these are powerful organisms, but past attempts to scale production have faced challenging unit economics (high up-front capital costs for... View Details

04 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 4

This exercise reveals that international capital flows are mainly shaped by government decisions and sovereign-to-sovereign transactions. Specifically, we show (i) international capital flows net of government debt are positively... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthlorne

March 2011 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Inequality in Brazil

By: Aldo Musacchio

This case examines the evolution of inequality in Brazil in the last few years and generates two debates. First, the case discusses inequality and whether it is a problem or not for capitalist societies, in this case Brazil. Second, the case discusses some of the... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Economic Systems; Policy; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations; Poverty; Equality and Inequality; Brazil

November 2005 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Strategic Planning at United Parcel Service

By: David A. Garvin and Lynne Levesque

In March 2005, CEO Michael Eskew has asked the Corporate Strategy Group to recommend changes to the strategic process to ensure it allows United Parcel Service (UPS) to continue to transform itself over the next several years. Describes the evolution of UPS's strategic... View Details

Keywords: Change; Decisions; Globalization; Growth and Development Strategy; Managerial Roles; Strategic Planning; Creativity; Corporate Strategy