Publications
Publications
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(4,566)
- Faculty Publications (862)
- February 2008 (Revised August 2008)
- Case
Quanta Computer and the One Laptop Per Child Initiative
By: Willy Shih, Chintay Shih and Jyun-Chen Wang
When Quanta Computer, Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of laptop computers, first joined the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, it faced a challenge trying to balance the cost objectives of a laptop computer targeted at children of the developing world with... View Details
- January 2008 (Revised May 2009)
- Case
Restructuring at Delphi Corporation (A)
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott
Delphi Corporation, operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has filed a plan of reorganization with the court, under which a consortium of hedge funds led by Appaloosa Management will invest up to $2.6 billion in new equity. Also participating in the plan is... View Details
- January 2008
- Article
Innovation Killers: How Financial Tools Destroy Your Capacity to Do New Things
By: Clayton M. Christensen, Stephen P. Kaufman and Willy C. Shih
Most companies aren't half as innovative as their senior executives want them to be (or as their marketing claims suggest they are). What's stifling innovation? There are plenty of usual suspects, but the authors finger three financial tools as key accomplices.... View Details
- January 2008
- Article
Mastering the Management System
By: Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton
Companies have always found it hard to balance pressing operational concerns with long-term strategic priorities. The tension is critical: World-class processes won't lead to success without the right strategic direction, and the best strategy in the world will get... View Details
- January 2008
- Article
The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy
This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. In 1979, a young associate professor at Harvard Business School published his first... View Details
- December 2007 (Revised April 2008)
- Case
Alltech...naturally
By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman
Entrepreneur Pearse Lyons had built Alltech into the fastest growing company in the global animal health industry through innovative technology, creative marketing, and strong branding. Sel-Plex, a proprietary Alltech product, had shown important health benefits for... View Details
- November 2007 (Revised May 2008)
- Case
Haier Hefei Electronics Co. (A)
By: Lynn Sharp Paine
The Haier Group, the first mainland Chinese company to make the Financial Times list of Asia's "most admired companies," attributes its success in large measure to the new value system it has sought to instill throughout the organization. However, when Haier takes over... View Details
- October 2007
- Case
Colgate Max Fresh: Global Brand Roll-Out
By: John A. Quelch
In February 2005, Nigel Burton, in his third year as president of global oral care at Colgate-Palmolive Company (CP), had every reason to feel optimistic. Worldwide market shares were strong and Colgate Max Fresh (CMF), a new toothpaste that had helped drive Colgate to... View Details
- 2007
- Book
America the Principled: 6 Opportunities for Becoming a Can-Do Nation Once Again
This book draws on the author's multiple research projects and field observations to analyze problems facing the United States in recent years and to create an agenda for renewing American strengths through returning to core American principles—but in new ways suitable... View Details
- October 2007
- Article
The Power of Stars: Do Star Actors Drive the Success of Movies?
By: Anita Elberse
Is the involvement of star actors critical to the success of motion pictures? Film studios, which they regularly pay multimillion-dollar fees to star actors, seem driven by that belief. I shed light on the returns on this investment using an event study that considers... View Details
- 2007
- Chapter
Collaborative R&D in Management: The Practical Experience of Fenix and TruePoint in Bridging the Divide Between Scientific and Managerial Goals
By: Michael Beer and Niclas Adler
The gap between theory and practice has been of concern to both practitioners and academics, yet other than pleas to close the gap with more accessible writing by academics and more interest in research by practitioners few systematic efforts have been made to close... View Details
- July 2007 (Revised May 2008)
- Case
Cable & Wireless America
By: Guhan Subramanian and Eliot Sherman
Describes the auction of Cable & Wireless America (CWA), a bankrupt subsidiary of the British telecommunications company Cable & Wireless. While an initial "stalking-horse" bid valued the assets at $125 million, after a long day and night of bidding between eight... View Details
- June 2007 (Revised September 2021)
- Case
Thomas J. Watson, IBM and Nazi Germany
By: Geoffrey Jones, Grace Ballor and Adrian Brown
Considers the strategy of U.S.-owned IBM, then a manufacturer of punch cards, in Nazi Germany before 1937. Opens with IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson meeting Adolf Hitler in his capacity as President of the International Chamber of Commerce. IBM had acquired a German company... View Details
- June 2007 (Revised March 2008)
- Case
Zoots - Financing Growth (A)
By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Todd Krasnow
Traces the genesis and founding of Zoots, the largest chain of dry cleaning establishments in the U.S. Founded by some of the founders of the very successful Staples chain, the company raises a very large amount of capital without fully proving its business model, and... View Details
- June 2007 (Revised December 2007)
- Case
AFL-CIO: Office of Investment and Home Depot
By: Rakesh Khurana and James Weber
Describes the AFL-CIO: Office of Investments activities in their campaign to improve governance at Home Depot by calling attention to Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli's compensation package and the company's poor performance. The AFL-CIO Office of Investments advocates... View Details
- February 2007 (Revised February 2009)
- Case
A Differentiation Strategy at ASDA
By: David E. Bell and Nitin Sanghavi
The Wal-Mart CEO has challenged his company to do more to help mankind. The British subsidiary, ASDA, is reviewing its activities in the environment/social arena. View Details
- December 2006 (Revised April 2014)
- Case
J. R. D. Tata
By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Mark Benson
J.R.D Tata, Chairman of the Indian conglomerate Tata & Sons, played a significant role in building India's economic infrastructure. Under his guidance, Tata & Sons built locomotives, steel refineries, airlines, chemical plants, and technology-based enterprises.... View Details
- September 2006 (Revised July 2009)
- Case
BzzAgent, Inc. - 2005
By: William A. Sahlman and Caroline Perkins
Describes a set of financing issues confronting a rapidly growing company that uses "Word-of-Mouth" marketing techniques in promoting research, new products, or services. The company proposes to set the terms for a new round of venture capital it needs and to have... View Details
- May 2006 (Revised November 2006)
- Case
IKEA's Global Sourcing Challenge: Indian Rugs and Child Labor (A)
By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman
Traces the history of IKEA's response to a TV report that its Indian carpet suppliers were using child labor. Describes IKEA's growth, including the importance of a sourcing strategy based on its close relationships with suppliers in developing countries. Details the... View Details
- April 2006 (Revised April 2012)
- Background Note
The Company Sale Process
Lays out the steps, the timeline, and the process by which a company is sold. Focuses on the sale of companies with enterprise values greater than $100 million. These transactions are large enough to require the help of a financial adviser and attract both strategic... View Details