Publications

December 2006 (Revised November 2008)
Case

West Wacker Drive: To Build or Not to Build?

In 1980, Thomas J. Klutznick, president of a Chicago-based development company, was considering whether he should build a Class A building on a second-rate site outside the Central Loop or not. He had a promising design, but the economic conditions, concurrent... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Interest Rates; Geographic Location; Risk Management; Urban Development; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Chicago

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March 2006 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Irizar in 2005

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jordan Mitchell

In June 2005, Koldo Saratxaga, the leader of Basque-based luxury coach manufacturer Irizar, decided to leave after 14 years at the helm of the worker-owned cooperative. Under Saratxaga's stewardship, Irizar was saved from near bankruptcy in 1991 and has become a highly... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Resignation and Termination; Leadership Style; Production; Quality; Luxury; Competitive Advantage; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; South Africa; China; India; Mexico; Brazil

April 2000 (Revised August 2002)
Case

The Holland House

By: William J. Poorvu and Michael A. Everett-Lane

In November 1993, Edward Geffner, executive director of Project Renewal, Inc. (PRI), is proposing that his not-for-profit firm develop Holland House at 351 West 42nd Street in New York City into a single- room occupancy hotel for homeless people. He has put together a... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Entrepreneurship; Welfare; Construction; Poverty; Property; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; New York (city, NY)

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April 1996 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Jedi Bank

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Major Insurance Co. is a $15 billion insurance company that is an active, multi-family mortgage leader. This case is part of a negotiation game simulation that also includes Sunshine Villas, Silver Lane Apartments, and Jason Bosworth. View Details

Keywords: Mortgages; Interest Rates; Financing and Loans; Property; Negotiation Tactics; Management; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

December 1995
Teaching Note

Millegan Creek Apartments, The TN

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Teaching Note for (9-395-118). View Details

Keywords: Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Texas

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

23 Apr 2008
Op-Ed

The Gap in the U.S. Treasury Recommendations

not just what are known now as commercial banks. Like the current bank regulators, however, the new prudential regulator would protect its own territory, trying to make sure disaster does not strike on its watch. During the U.S. recession... View Details

Keywords: by Dwight Crane; Real Estate; Real Estate; Real Estate; Real Estate

23 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

The Open Office Revolution Has Gone Too Far

what would be your reaction? Bernstein:It depends on what you’re trying to achieve with open offices. My understanding, from speaking with real estate managers and architects, is companies’ conversations... View Details

Keywords: Re: Ethan S. Bernstein

February 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Moving Science: The Rowland Institute at Harvard

By: Maria P. Roche

Set in 2022, this case describes the considerations involved in organizing the physical relocation of the Rowland Institute at Harvard (RIH), a research institute established in 1980 by Edwin H. Land, the founder of the Polaroid Corporation, for the advancement of... View Details

Keywords: Optics; Engineering; Higher Education; Strategy; Science; Buildings and Facilities; Research and Development; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

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

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)