Publications

October 2018
Case

Zenefits Board of Directors (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

In early 2018, the time seemed right for Zenefits investor and director Lars Dalgaard to reflect on whether Zenefits had the right board of directors to shepherd the company through its next stages of growth. For the company whose name combined the words “benefits,”... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Business Model; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Leadership; Risk Management; Venture Capital; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States; California

October 2017 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Snap Inc. Goes Public (A)

By: Lynn Sharp Paine and Will Hurwitz

Snap Inc.’s chairman must decide how to address investor concerns about the company’s unprecedented plans to issue only non-voting shares in its upcoming IPO. The case is set in early 2017 following the public availability of Snap’s IPO filing with the U.S. Securities... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Capital Structure; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Going Public; Business and Shareholder Relations; Leadership; Management; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Venture Capital; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States; California

September 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Teaching Note

Fishbowl: Scaling Up

By: Leslie K. John

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

Teaching Note for HBS No. 919-013. Fishbowl is a social media app that allows professionals to connect with other relevant professionals both within their company and... View Details

December 2018 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Fishbowl: Scaling Up

By: Leslie K. John

Fishbowl is a social media app that allows professionals to connect with other relevant professionals both within their company and across industry. Unlike many other social media apps, on which users typically present idealized portraits of themselves, on Fishbowl,... View Details

07 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 7, 2007

the auction of Cable & Wireless America (CWA), a bankrupt subsidiary of the British telecommunications company Cable & Wireless. While an initial "stalking-horse" bid valued the assets at $125 million, after a long day... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

13 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 13, 2007

manufacturer of metal parts for the telecommunications industry, is being pushed by its large equipment vendor customers to establish a manufacturing operation in China. CEO Reinhold Hesse is debating several options: establishing a joint... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2021
Case

Endeavor Kenya: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Shikhar Ghosh and Christian Godwin

In 2016, Fiona Mungai became Endeavor Kenya’s first managing director. In this role, she helped the organization build its inaugural board and select its first Endeavor entrepreneur, a fintech company called Cellulant. Throughout this process, Mungai observed the power... View Details

02 Feb 2016
First Look

February 2, 2016

agent-based simulation model of network emergence. Using data on technology partnerships from 1983 to 1999 among firms in the automotive, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, microelectronics, new materials, and View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 11, 2007

China's Huawei has recruited 1,500 engineers in India to develop software for its telecommunications products. Even the countries' state-owned oil companies, including Sinopec and ONGC, have teamed up to hunt for oil together.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

14 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 14, 2007

Telephone Company, formed by a consortium of private equity firms, has made a public tender offer for Denmark's leading telecommunications company, TDC. TDC's board of directors approved the take-private transaction, and 88% of... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Supplement

Global Unichip Corporation (B)

By: Willy Shih and Chen-Fu Chien

Jim Lai, President of Global Unichip Corporation (GUC), mapped out the changes he saw coming to the global semiconductor industry. The big question was how many system developers would start coming directly to GUC. View Details

October 1990 (Revised March 1993)
Background Note

Note on Cable Television Regulation

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Examines the evolution of the U.S. cable television industry since its inception in the early 1950s. Particular emphasis is given to the roles played by technology, consumer demand, and regulation at both the local and federal level. Designed to facilitate a conceptual... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Demand and Consumers; Government Legislation; Business Growth and Maturation; Monopoly; Television Entertainment; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry

Find at Harvard

October 2015
Case

Bigbelly

By: Mitch Weiss and Christine Snively

To accelerate Bigbelly's sales growth and its "smart cities" positioning, its CEO planned to shift his company from equipment sales to a subscription service. Jack Kutner hoped to re-position Bigbelly's solar-powered trash compacting stations beyond trash and recycling... View Details

1998
Chapter

The Converging Worlds of Telecommunications, Computing and Entertainment

By: David J. Collis, Stephen P. Bradley and P. William Bane Jr.

Keywords: Communication Technology; Information Technology; Entertainment; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry

1998
Chapter

The Converging Worlds of Telecommunications, Computing, and Entertainment

By: P. W. Bane, S. P. Bradley and D. J. Collins

Keywords: Communication Technology; Information Technology; Entertainment; Trends; Transition; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry