Publications

04 Jan 2016
Blog Post

Motherhood and the MBA

the most supportive guy ever, and we have been able to share the parenting load. I would NOT be able to do this without his support and encouragement. We do not have any family... View Details

December 2014 (Revised May 2016)
Case

Dhamani Jewels: Becoming a Global Luxury Brand

By: Lynda Applegate and Lisa C. Mazzanti

Dhamani started as a loose gemstone dealer in 1969 in Jaipur, India. By the 2000s, it was headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and had expanded into diamonds and retail. The family business was now in its second generation of leadership and aimed to become a... View Details

Keywords: Luxury Retail; Jewelry; Luxury Goods; UAE; Retail; Brands and Branding; Family Business; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Dubai; India

April 1988 (Revised July 1989)
Case

Precista Tools AG (A)

A young woman manager in a Swiss family firm finds that her role as a managing director becomes bitterly unpleasant once her older brother decides to leave an engineering career and join the family business. That is what the father, who was head of the business had... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; Gender Characteristics; Switzerland

April 2013
Case

Grupo RBS (A)

By: John A. Davis and Courtney Collette

This case reviews the two-generation history of the Brazilian media company, RBS, and examines how the second generation family CEO manages through a crisis facing the company. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Family Ownership; Crisis Management; Management Teams; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Brazil

18 Nov 2019
Video

Adi Godrej

Adi Godrej describes the way leaders are nurtured and developed in India-based consumer products Godrej Group, and the necessity of upholding professional standards in a family business.

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June 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Sorelle Bakery and Cafe

Two sisters begin a bakery/cafe and have difficulties organizing the work and defining their roles. The case is written from the mother's perspective as she tries to figure out how to keep the business from falling apart. View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Entrepreneurship; Family and Family Relationships; Retail Industry

April 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Balancing Act: Deborah Lovich (A)

By: David G. Fubini and Patrick Sanguineti

Deborah Lovich, Partner at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), has been given the opportunity of a lifetime: to join the firm's Executive Committee as its youngest member and only current woman, as well as just the second woman in its history. Encouraged by her mentors,... View Details

Keywords: Work/life Balance; Work/family Balance; Work-Life Balance; Family and Family Relationships; Personal Development and Career

February 2015 (Revised April 2015)
Case

The Board of Directors at Market Basket

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Emily McTague

The firing of Market Basket CEO Arthur T. Demoulas by his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas, and directors affiliated with him set off employee protests throughout the grocery store chain. Industry specialists estimated that Market Basket was losing close to ten million... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Shareholder Votes; Board Of Directors; Board Dynamics; Board Decisions; Boards; Grocery; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Business and Shareholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Food and Beverage Industry; New England

May 2, 2014
Article

If You're Feeling Unappreciated, Give Someone Else Credit

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

Conflict in a family business can escalate quickly, but it's crucial to avoid it whenever possible. The article emphasizes recognizing the signs of escalating conflict and taking steps to prevent it. When disagreements arise, people often resort to legal action, which... View Details

Keywords: Conflict and Resolution; Family Business

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04 Sep 2019
News

Clicks and Mortar

has to create a branded experience that goes beyond the purely transactional—one that aims to build a relationship with the customer and communicate the brand in an experiential way. There’s still a purpose... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade

February 2011
Article

It's the Recipient That Counts: Spending Money on Strong Social Ties Leads to Greater Happiness Than Spending on Weak Social Ties

By: Lara B. Aknin, Gillian M. Sandstrom, Elizabeth W. Dunn and Michael I. Norton

Previous research has shown that spending money on others (prosocial spending) increases happiness. But, do the happiness gains depend on who the money is spent on? Sociologists have distinguished between strong ties with close friends and family and weak... View Details

Keywords: Happiness; Relationships; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

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June 2007 (Revised January 2008)
Case

The Vanguard Group, Inc. in 2006 and Target Retirement Funds

By: Luis M. Viceira

The Vanguard Group is one of the largest asset managers in the U.S., with over $1 trillion in assets, ninety percent of which are mutual fund assets, and more than 12,000 employees at year-end 2006. Vanguard has built a strong reputation as the manager of reference for... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Investment Funds; Personal Finance; Brands and Branding; Retirement; Trust; Financial Services Industry; United States

21 Jan 2021
Video

José Alejandro Cortés

José Alejandro Cortés, President of the Colombia-based diversified business group Grupo Bolìvar, describes the evolution of the business, the significant role that his family plays, and how succession is handled. View Details

August 1986 (Revised February 1991)
Supplement

Population Services International: The Social Marketing Project in Bangladesh, Video

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Population Services International, a not-for-profit agency founded to promote family planning information and to market birth control products, had an agreement with the government of Bangladesh to conduct a social marketing program using modern marketing techniques to... View Details

Keywords: Social Marketing; Health; Advertising; Marketing; Nonprofit Organizations; Government and Politics; Agreements and Arrangements; Health Industry; Bangladesh

2025
Working Paper

With a Little Help from My Family: Informal Startup Financing

By: Brian K. Baik, Johan Ludvig S. Karlsen and Katja Kisseleva

Using Norwegian administrative data, we identify family equity investments in startups and examine their effects on investor returns and firm behavior. Informal investors earn lower returns than external individuals, and the firms they back are less likely to secure... View Details

Keywords: Early Stage Finance; Informal Investment; Household Finance; Risk Taking; Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurship; Personal Finance; Family and Family Relationships; Business Startups; Investment; Norway

SSRN

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July 1998 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Anderson Steel Service, Inc.

By: John A. Davis

Explores the management of family and business issues and helps to identify a range of topics with which families in business wrestle. Describes a dilemma faced by sixty-eight-year-old Charles Anderson, the semi-retired founder of the company and the father of three... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Family Business; Problems and Challenges; Business or Company Management; Family and Family Relationships; Strategy; Steel Industry

April 1988 (Revised November 1990)
Supplement

Precista Tools AG (B)

The family holds a meeting to talk about the future of the business. Designed to be used with Precista Tools AG (A) and (C) in a one class period. View Details

Keywords: Family Business