Publications

October 1996 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Chiquita Brands International (A)

By: Debora L. Spar and Terence Mulligan

When a new banana import policy is implemented in 1993 by the European Union, Chiquita Brands International, the world's largest banana distributor, watches its sales and net income plummet. The policy, Council Regulation (EEC 404/93), uses a new tariff and quota... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Trade; Government and Politics; Policy; Market Design; Fairness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Latin America; European Union

October 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Case

BlackRock (A): Selling the Systems?

By: Ranjay Gulati, Jan W. Rivkin and Kelly McNamara

As the case opens in 1999, several key leaders at BlackRock, Inc., then a relatively small asset management firm, are trying to convince CEO Larry Fink and others that the firm should begin to offer Aladdin—its proprietary analytics and trading platform—to other asset... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competition; Information Technology; Asset Management; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; United States

May 2000
Case

CMGI: Organizational and Market Innovation

By: Josh Lerner

CMGI is considering acquiring yesmail, an e-mail marketing firm. In assessing the potential acquisition, it must assess the fit with its own organization, which consists of a unique blend of venture capital investments and publicly traded subsidiaries. View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Structure; Venture Capital; Business Subsidiaries

October 1981 (Revised August 1985)
Case

Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (C)

Reveals that the new products executives have decided to recommend national expansion. They have to develop a justification and preliminary marketing plan. Emphasizes consumer and trade promotion options. Students have to complete a five-year projected P&L statement. View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Health Care and Treatment; Product Launch; Health Industry

10 Jan 2019
News

How Companies Like Apple Sprinkle Secrets in Earnings Reports

Centralized Governance in Decentralized Organizations

We systematically document governance centralization in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and study its drivers and economic implications. Using multiple data sources and granular on-chain transactional data, we compare our findings to those in... View Details

November 1998 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Global Beer

Two young American entrepreneurs working in Japan have rapidly established an importing business to take advantage of new regulations permitting microbrewers and brewpubs. Options for further growth include an international brewpub franchise, alliances with Japanese... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Globalized Markets and Industries; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan; United States

May 2018
Case

Sagacity Tea: What Direction for Growth?

By: John A. Quelch and Amy Handlin

Kate Moran, CEO and cofounder of Sagacity Tea, a small, Vermont-based ready-to-drink tea brand, is considering a consumer-product group (CPG) broker's proposal for the product's launch in several cities along the East Coast of the United States. The commitments in the... View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Marketing; Distribution; Growth Management; Marketing Channels; Decision Choices and Conditions

January 1995 (Revised November 1995)
Case

Candela Laser vs. Cynosure, Inc.

By: Josh Lerner and Benjamin Conway

Summarizes the lawsuit by Candela Laser against its former CEO and founder, who has begun a competing firm. The extent of patent and trade secret protection are crucial issues. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; Entrepreneurship

March 2014
Article

Private Interaction Between Firm Management and Sell-Side Analysts

By: Eugene F. Soltes

Although sell-side analysts often privately interact with managers of publicly traded firms, the private nature of this contact has historically obscured direction examination. By examining a set of proprietary records compiled by a large-cap NYSE traded firm, I offer... View Details

Keywords: Sell-side Analysts; Management; Interpersonal Communication

SSRN

2017
Chapter

Globalization in Historical Perspective

By: Pankaj Ghemawat and Geoffrey Jones

This chapter explores the role that firms have played over time in promoting international trade and investment. It takes a chronological perspective and is organized around a first wave of globalization from the mid-nineteenth century until the 1920s and a second wave... View Details

Keywords: International Business; International Marketing; History; Marketing; Investment; Trade; Globalization

July 8, 2013
Column

Greening Is Not Enough: 4 Steps to Corporate Leadership on Climate Change

By: Michael W. Toffel and Auden Schendler

Environmental sustainability usually means greening operations and products, but that's not nearly enough to stop climate change. Corporate leadership on climate change also requires urging action by governments, trade associations, and suppliers — and marketing these... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability

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July 1998 (Revised August 1998)
Case

Optimark: Launching a Virtual Securities Market

Bill Lupien's OptiMark Technologies, Inc., plans to launch a super-computer system in September, 1998 that he believes will release previously withheld liquidity to the securities market. While today's market matches those trades based on price and size, Lupien's... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Financial Markets; Product Launch; Financial Services Industry; United States

December 2006 (Revised April 2008)
Case

China and the WTO: What Price Membership?

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Julia Galef

China has been a member of the WTO for more than five years. Its implementation of requirements has been a mixed bag. While China's growth is still spectacular, many institutional problems remain. And there is a new problem--a spectacular trade asymmetry with the... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Governance Compliance; International Relations; Problems and Challenges; China; United States

February 1992 (Revised September 1992)
Background Note

Global Computer Industry

Describes the evolution of international trade and global competition in computers. Focuses on the role of country factors, government policies, and firm strategies in shifting competitive advantage among regions of the world. Pays special attention to international... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Alliances; Trade; Policy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Computer Industry