Publications

January 2014 (Revised April 2025)
Supplement

The PGA Tour (C)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Cole Magrath

In 1994, the PGA Tour (the "Tour"), the dominant incumbent professional golf circuit, had created tremendous value for its players. In the 1974 season, players competed for $8 million in prize money; by the 1994 season, the total prize purse had increased to $56... View Details

Keywords: PGA Tour; Tim Finchem; Deane Beman; Golf; Professional Golf; Business Model; Value Creation; Adaptation; Sports; Business Strategy; Sports Industry; United States

February 1999 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Chronicles the background of the founding of the WNBA, its basic business concept, some of the key research information used by the NBA in launching it, and other related information. Students must analyze the "basic business model" involved and compare it to that of... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Research; Outcome or Result; Sports; Gender; Sports Industry

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November 2003 (Revised January 2005)
Case

San Francisco Giants

By: William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind

Larry Baer, executive vice-president and COO, was eager to improve profitability for the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Over the last few years, the Giants have had a number of successes. They successfully built the first privately financed ball park in over 30... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Business or Company Management; Success; Sports; Sports Industry; San Francisco

01 Sep 2015
News

Case Study: Golden Ticket

$250,000 seed-funding round. Cofounder and consultant Jen Rottenberg (MBA 1996) estimates that the high-school athletics market alone is worth $2 billion in annual transactions. And the market hasn’t proved overly competitive: Other companies that work in the local... View Details

July 2014
Article

Project Complexity and Systems Integration: Constructing the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games

By: Andrew Davies and Ian Mackenzie

Our study of the London Olympics 2012 construction programme showed that systems integration is one of the major challenges involved in delivery of a complex "system of systems"—or array—project. Organizations cope with complexity by decomposing a project into... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Construction; Complexity; Sports; Projects; Sports Industry; Sports Industry; London

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December 2018
Teaching Note

Bayern Munich in China

By: Karim Lakhani and Sascha L. Schmidt

Teaching Note for HBS No. 617-025. View Details

Keywords: Market Entry; Football; Soccer; Bundesliga; Digital Technology; Sports; Global Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Online Technology; Sports Industry; Germany; China

November 1993
Case

George Halas: Estate Planning and the Chicago Bears

By: Henry B. Reiling

Keywords: Sports; Personal Finance; Sports Industry; Sports Industry; Chicago

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22 Nov 2017
News

How to Build a Winning Culture on a Losing Team

season ticket sales and sponsorships, actually improved. O'Neil was recently named CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment or HBSE. A holding company that's comprised of several sports properties... View Details

01 Jun 2014
News

Faculty Q&A: The Cup Runneth Over

right to outfit and sponsor individual teams? Sophisticated sports marketing outfits, often subsidiaries of the top marketing services firms, conduct detailed assessments to help companies like Nike and Samsung determine what value to... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

April 2005 (Revised May 2005)
Case

New England Patriots, The: Making the Team

Examines the organizational strategy of a professional football team that contributed to the team's sustained success. Considers several aspects of the team's "blueprint" with respect to players: recruitment, retention, task structure, training, culture, and... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Groups and Teams; Sports; Compensation and Benefits; Sports Industry; New England

01 Jun 2014
News

Net Gains

Having established a strong market in the world's most populous country, the NBA is making a hard push for number two. "We've really been focused on teaching the game of basketball in India," says Tatum. "The sport is not necessarily... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell

February 2016 (Revised March 2016)
Case

America's Cup in 2013: Oracle Team USA vs. Emirates Team New Zealand (A)

By: Rory McDonald, Alan MacCormack and Vanessa Ampelas

Four teams across the world are furiously designing, building, testing, and learning to sail a boat that would be one-of-a-kind in order to win the 2013 America's Cup. Choosing the best development path was a challenge as the teams had less than three years to prepare,... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Competition; Innovation and Management; Sports; Sports Industry; New Zealand; United States

August 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Moneyball (A): What Are You Paying For?

By: Frances X. Frei, Dennis Campbell and Eliot Sherman

Explores the contextual elements of Major League Baseball and presents data to allow for an analytic examination of alleged market inefficiencies within the sport. View Details

Keywords: Market Design; Performance; Sports; Compensation and Benefits; Sports Industry; United States

05 Jul 2011
News

The Business of Champions

triumph since 1972 hold lessons for other kinds of organizations and companies? Sports and games serve as a handy source of metaphors for business. Performance metrics abound, and success and failure are on the scoreboard for all to see.... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment

31 Oct 2018
News

Pitching In for Female Leaders

her path through international sports and investment banking to becoming a leading advocate for women in sports and business. “I ran and led a leading football club in Turkey for over a decade. Then I joined... View Details

August 2019 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Dirk Nowitzki: Changing the Game

By: Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt and Evan M.S. Hecht

NBA Superstar Dirk Nowitzki was unsure whether the 2018–2019 season would be his last as an NBA player. He had not faced such uncertainty since 1998, when he had navigated a difficult decision regarding the timing of his move to the NBA. He also did not know what he... View Details

Keywords: Career Decisions; Career Journey; ＂Sports Organizations,; Mentoring; Retirement; Sports; Performance; Training; Personal Development and Career; Sports Industry; United States

January 2014 (Revised April 2025)
Supplement

The PGA Tour (D)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Cole Magrath

In 1994, the PGA Tour (the "Tour"), the dominant incumbent professional golf circuit, had created tremendous value for its players. In the 1974 season, players competed for $8 million in prize money; by the 1994 season, the total prize purse had increased to $56... View Details

Keywords: PGA Tour; Tim Finchem; Deane Beman; Golf; Professional Golf; Business Model; Value Creation; Adaptation; Sports; Business Strategy; Sports Industry; United States