Publications

May 1968 (Revised January 1992)
Case

Graybar Syndications

By: William J. Poorvu

A potential investor evaluates a proposed offering—a major office building in downtown Manhattan. View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Investment; Construction; City; Valuation; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; New York (city, NY)

September 2021 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Community Solutions

By: Brian Trelstad and Tom Quinn

Community Solutions was an anti-homelessness nonprofit founded in 2011 after protagonist Rosanne Haggerty grew frustrated with the limited impact of traditional housing and outreach strategies. It set an ambitious goal, reached in some partner communities, of ending... View Details

Keywords: Change; Change Management; Disruption; Transformation; Communication; Communication Strategy; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Social Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Capital Budgeting; Capital Markets; Country; Government Administration; Government Legislation; Housing; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge Sharing; Leading Change; Resource Allocation; Mission and Purpose; Performance Evaluation; Performance Improvement; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Opportunities; Social Enterprise; Nonprofit Organizations; Human Needs; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Societal Protocols; Poverty; Welfare; Well-being; System; Equality and Inequality; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States; New York (city, NY); Florida; Texas

December 2019
Case

WeWork Files for an IPO

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

For the board of The We Company—better known as WeWork—August 14, 2019, promised to be a pivotal day. It was then that WeWork’s IPO prospectus, known as an S-1 filing, would be made public, giving potential investors, the media, and the general public a window into the... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Going Public; Leadership; Management; Private Equity; Valuation; Venture Capital; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States

July 1989 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Colonial Homes

By: David E. Bell

Colonial Homes supplies a complete raw materials package to build entire homes. The price of the package is guaranteed at the signing of the sales contract, while delivery (and payment) are not effected for up to six months. In an effort to reduce its exposure to... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Contracts; Price; Price Bubble; Fluctuation; Monopoly; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

September 2002 (Revised May 2008)
Case

The Arts Property and Hotel

By: Arthur I Segel and Ani M Vartanian

Julio Martinez finds himself as one of the owners of the Arts Hotel Project in Barcelona, Spain. The 455-room hotel is managed by the Ritz Carlton and is in a 44-story tower along Barcelona's beachfront. Julio needs to figure out a strategy to maximize his investment,... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Agreements and Arrangements; Property; Strategy; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Barcelona

May 1999 (Revised August 1999)
Case

Westfield America

By: William J. Poorvu, Richard S. Tedlow and Daniel J. Rudd

The company is attempting to duplicate its Australian formula for successful mall ownership in the U.S. market. It must deal with rapidly evolving financial markets while recognizing and capitalizing on emerging trends in retailing. View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Adaptation; Financial Markets; Property; Trends; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Australia; United States

Find at Harvard

March 2018
Supplement

Chaudhary Group: Rebuilding Nepal (B)

By: Christopher J. Malloy, Lauren H. Cohen and Inakshi Sobti

Supplements the (A) case. Having successfully spearheaded relief work in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake, the Chaudhary Foundation envisions creating a more comprehensive and sustainable development model. They are keen to build a model village that integrates... View Details

2015
Working Paper

Markets with Price Coherence

By: Benjamin Edelman and Julian Wright

In markets with price coherence, the purchase of a given good via an intermediary is constrained to occur at the same price as a purchase of that same good directly from the seller (or through another competing intermediary). We examine ten markets with price... View Details

Keywords: Intermediaries; Platforms; Two-Sided Markets; Vertical Restraints; Price; Distribution Channels; Business History; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

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01 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

How to Choose the Best Deal

trading partner, you're operating in a micromarket. You may be able to make it function to your advantage, but you have to be prepared for a downturn. If the local real estate market is slow, Jim may be the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler

22 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

Earth Day: Recent Research on Sustainability

Funding the Design of Livable CitiesAs a burgeoning global population migrates to the world's urban centers, it's crucial to design livable cities that function with scarce natural resources. John Macomber discusses the critical connection between View Details

25 Mar 2001
Research & Ideas

Who Wants to Be an Entrepreneur? [Part II]

more than sufficient gains in sales to satisfy investors. The delivery routes proved a blessing in disguise, given still-tight real estate and labor markets, and more of the growth planned for 2001 focused... View Details

Keywords: by John S. Rosenberg

28 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Making a Comeback

will not survive are the retailers that are more like a warehouse, or just physical repositories of goods. Real estate is too expensive for that purpose. The opportunity to think about online and offline as... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint; Retail

17 May 2010
Research & Ideas

What Brazil Teaches About Investor Protection

development agencies toward reforming the legal system or improving the court system. There is nothing wrong with that, but what if the real agents of change were the corporations themselves—their founders... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Banking; Financial Services

April 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Teton Capital Partners, LLC: Free Fallin'

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz

Keywords: Private Equity; Financial Crisis; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

October 2019
Case

Agility Africa

By: Juan Alcacer, Caroline M. Elkins and Esel Çekin

This case illustrates the challenge and opportunities that firms face when developing and executing new business models in high-risk, low-infrastructure, low-trust countries. It features a global logistics group, Agility, that aimed to become the leader in supplying... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Expansion; Emerging Markets; Decision Choices and Conditions; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Africa

October 2014 (Revised June 2021)
Teaching Note

Making Room for the Baby Boom: Senior Living

By: Charles F. Wu and Ben Eppler

Tom Alperin's firm National Development is an experienced multifamily and commercial developer in the Northeast. It has a strong track record for working on challenging projects, delivering high quality products and generating strong returns for his investors. The firm... View Details

Keywords: Housing; Age; Investment Return; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Massachusetts

July 1996 (Revised August 2017)
Case

Continuous Casting Investments at USX Corporation

By: Clayton Christensen

Focuses on the difficulty established companies face when confronted with disruptive technological innovations. The power that their prior asset investments, their cost structures, and their customers have in constraining their investment and innovation decisions are... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Assets; Cost; Investment; Technological Innovation; Problems and Challenges; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

June 1991
Teaching Note

Savannah West, Teaching Note

By: William J. Poorvu and Katherine Sweetman

Teaching Note for (9-381-081). View Details

Keywords: Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Georgia (state, US)