Publications

October 2005 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Bennie Wiley at The Partnership, Inc.

Benaree Wiley, an African American, female HBS graduate (class of 1972), was appointed CEO and president in 1991 of The Partnership, a Boston-based nonprofit dedicated to developing leadership potential in professionals of color and in increasing their representation... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Leading Change; Nonprofit Organizations; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry; Boston

Program

Preparing to Be a Corporate Director

effective as a corporate director. Details Maximize your contribution as a board director Confidently assume the role of corporate directors, including legal and fiduciary duties Develop the competence View Details

February 2010 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Zotter Living by Chocolate

By: Mukti Khaire, Stefan Aichinger, Monika Maria Elisabeth Hoffmann and Maximilian Georg Manfred Schnoedl

This case is about a boutique chocolate manufacturer's decision to grow. Zotter, an Austrian company that was a pioneer in the organic and Fairtrade chocolate movement, uses the traditional confit technique to make premium hand-scooped chocolates in unusual and... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Entrepreneurship; Global Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Austria

March 1995
Case

Procter & Gamble: Improving Consumer Value Through Process Redesign

The evolution of Procter & Gamble's development of efficient consumer response (ECR) involved a series of trials, a resolve to distribute diapers on the basis of product movement, a conscious effort to move to a new means of distribution across all lines, a first cut... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Consumer Products Industry

March 1983 (Revised November 1988)
Case

Michael Bregman

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Richard O. von Werssowetz

Michael Bregman has successfully opened pilot installations of two different restaurant concepts. He now must develop a strategy for growth, including decisions about fast or slow growth, use of company-owned versus franchised units, and how to use the different... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Framework; Growth and Development Strategy; Franchise Ownership; Expansion

May 2024
Supplement

Net Protections (B)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

In Case B, set in spring 2017, the company has developed specific features and is at the stage of a “go/no go” decision. View Details

04 Mar 2020
News

Female Faculty Leading the Way on International Women's Day

Program

Risk Management for Corporate Leaders—Virtual

takes a more comprehensive and strategic view of risk management. It provides frameworks and tools for senior leadership and corporate boards to strengthen your company's... View Details

January 2012 (Revised June 2015)
Background Note

Inventory-Based Lending Industry Note

By: C. Fritz Foley, Ananth Raman and Nathan C. Craig

Inventory-based lending is a form of asset-based lending used by retailers and wholesalers. This note describes the development and the current state of the inventory-based lending industry. View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; Banking Industry

26 Apr 2023
In Practice

Is AI Coming for Your Job?

gradually and then suddenly.” Companies will move slowly to deploy generative AI technology like that embodied in OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Harnessing the immense pool of data underlying it will require the View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

December 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Case

R/GA: Corporate Venture Studio vs. Accelerator

By: Andy Wu, Grant Son and Aastha Thakkar

New approach to accelerating the development of innovation through corporate venturing by creating partnerships between startup venture and established corporations through the launch of the Global Sports Venture Studios created by R/GA Ventures and the Los Angeles... View Details

March 2013
Case

Singapore Metals Limited

By: John T. Gourville

Singapore Metals Limited (SML) has declining sales but has developed a new product (curled metal pile driver pads) that, in field tests, delivers customer benefits that are many times SML's manufacturing costs. Jonathan Lee and Alex Tan of SML's Engineered Products... View Details

Keywords: Metals and Minerals; Marketing Strategy; Price; Business Strategy; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Singapore

October 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

ICEX: Making a Market in Iceland

Examines the impact of increased performance on the international visibility and positioning of the Icelandic Stock Exchange. Allows consideration of various options for stock exchange growth that are created by Iceland's strong economic performance in recent years.... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Stocks; Financial Markets; Globalization; Economy; Iceland

Find at Harvard

January 1999 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Infox System GmbH

Apax, a private equity firm, has an opportunity to invest in a travel-related print-materials distribution business in Germany. Infox is typical of many buyout opportunities. One of the founders seeks to exit the business, and recently hired managers will have to... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Financial Services Industry; Germany

March 2012 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Foro Energy (A)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and James McQuade

Foro Energy developed proprietary and patent-pending fiber-laser technologies that could disrupt existing processes and services for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. These breakthrough laser technologies were protected by a strong intellectual... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; United States

June 2014
Simulation

Balanced Scorecard Simulation

By: V.G. Narayanan

In this multi-player simulation, students experience the benefits and challenges of using a scorecard to implement strategic initiatives and monitor firm performance. Small teams of students work together to choose a strategy for their company, create a strategy map,... View Details

Aug 2014
Working Paper

Defining Clusters of Related Industries

This paper develops a novel clustering algorithm that systematically generates and assesses sets of cluster definitions (i.e., groups of closely related industries). View Details

January 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Finova Group, Inc. (A), The

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Perry Fagan

Finova Group, a $14 billion commercial finance company, filed for Chapter 11 in early March 2001, in what was one of the largest U.S. bankruptcy filings of all time and the largest corporate bond default since the Great Depression. While in Chapter 11, Finova became... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Startups; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Debt Securities; Price; Crisis Management; Bids and Bidding; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; United States