Publications

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September 2010
Case

Aaron's: Household Goods for the U.S. Base of the Pyramid

By: Michael Chu and Charles Augustus Smithgall IV

With $2.5 billion system-wide revenues, Aaron's, a major rent-to-own supplier to the U.S. base of the pyramid, continues to grow in the recession, but CEO R.C. Loudermilk, Jr. wonders how long the company can sustain the fast growth rate of its past. Founded in 1955,... View Details

Keywords: Fairness; For-Profit Firms; Renting or Rental; Financial Crisis; Demand and Consumers; Social Enterprise; Income; Goods and Commodities; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; United States

July–August 2024
Article

The Middle Path to Innovation

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Duke Rohlen, Ben Creo and Will Kynes

Too many companies are failing to innovate. One reason, say the authors, is the polarized approach companies take to innovation. At one end of the spectrum, corporate R&D efforts tend to focus on product refreshes and incremental line upgrades that generate modest... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

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06 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Technology Re-Emergence: Creating New Value for Old Innovations

of the industry, but now it's responsible for much of the growth trajectory." The Guardians And The Entrepreneurs So how did the Swiss watchmakers know when to re-embrace mechanical watches? According to several View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Apparel & Accessories; Technology; Consumer Products

May 2024
Case

A New Aiera for Equity Research

By: Joseph Pacelli, Charles CY Wang and James Barnett

Aiera (pronounced “era”) co-founder and CEO Ken Sena considers strategic pathways to growth for the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform used to source, verify, and transcribe earnings calls, company presentations, and other corporate events. View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; AI and Machine Learning; Growth and Development Strategy; Accounting Industry; Accounting Industry; Accounting Industry; United States

April 1996 (Revised May 2000)
Case

Bed Bath & Beyond

By: Amy P. Hutton and James Weber

This case examines how accurately investors have incorporated information about the growth strategy of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) into share price, especially given the changing competitive environment in the housewares industry and the recent Barron's article pointing... View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Valuation; Financial Statements; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

May 1992
Case

Sunday River Ski Resort

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Martha Epstein

Sunday River is a ski area in Bethel, ME which has been run by entrepreneur Les Otten since 1980. The year before Otten purchased the area, it posted a loss of $235,000 on revenues of $541,000. Under Otten's leadership, however, Sunday River posted year after year of... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Competitive Advantage; Entrepreneurship; Success; Transformation; Tourism Industry; Tourism Industry; Maine

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We live in a dynamic economic and commercial world, surrounded by objects of remarkable complexity and power. In many industries, changes in products and technologies have brought with them new kinds of firms and forms of organization. We are... View Details

June 2013
Supplement

Studio Moderna - Sandi Cesko, CEO, Video Supplement

By: Jim Sharpe

This is the Video Supplement for Studio Moderna - A Venture in Eastern Europe (HBS Case #808110). View Details

May 2013
Supplement

Studio Moderna—A Venture in Eastern Europe

By: Jim Sharpe

This is the Spreadsheet Supplement for Studio Moderna—A Venture in Eastern Europe (HBS Case #808110). Includes Exhibit 3a, Exhibit 3b, Exhibit 5, and Exhibit 6. View Details

December 1996
Case

Du Pont's Titanium Dioxide Business (F)

Provides students with the opportunity to track industry evolution over time, to explore the role that signaling may play in such evolution, and to construct and validate industry scenarios. View Details

Keywords: Industry Growth; Chemical Industry

October 2024
Teaching Note

Taiwan After Globalization: Twilight of the Developmental State?

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 324-032. In the last 70 years, the small island of Taiwan has achieved what many believe to be a “miracle”: its economy has grown at a record-setting pace, driven and guided by one of the world's most successful set of industrial... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Trade; Policy; Government and Politics; Globalized Economies and Regions; Semiconductor Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Taiwan; China; Asia; United States

01 Apr 2013
News

Using the Crowd as an Innovation Partner

09 Mar 2018
News

The Supply Chain Economy and the Future of Good Jobs in America

September 2018 (Revised November 2018)
Case

From Beirut With Love (A)

By: Christina R. Wing, Esel Y. Cekin and Samer Al-Rachedy

This case describes how Robert Fadel, CEO and chairman of ABC, one of Lebanon’s leading retail and real estate groups, professionalized the family business. Robert was the second son of the company’s founder, Maurice Fadel, who had run it single-handedly. Concerned... View Details

18 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

How Eliminating Non-Competes Could Reshape Tech

continuation of the compensation growth and workplace improvements that we have started to see over the last few years. For instance, remote or hybrid work models appeal to many skilled workers, even if their employer would prefer them... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

20 Feb 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Where Should We Build a Mall? The Formation of Market Structure and Its Effect on Sales

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung, Kyoungwon Seo, and Reo Song; Retail; Real Estate; Construction

28 Mar 2012
What Do You Think?

Are Factory Jobs Important to the Economy?

which the directors toured a newly-created "beauty park" in the US, where companies cooperating to create and manufacture new fashion beauty products are located together in one light industrial park. It is a reflection of colleagues Gary... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing

August 2021
Case

Apax Digital

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

The Apax Digital team faced important decisions as they contemplated raising a second fund. Apax Digital Fund I was a $1.1 billion vehicle focused on mid-market growth equity and growth buyouts in the technology sector. The fund had performed well, and the Managing... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Acquisition; Investment Portfolio; Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; United States