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January 2013 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Affinity Labs: Valuing Customer Growth

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Elizabeth Kind

In November 2006, Chris Michel left Military.com, which he founded in 1999, to start Affinity Labs, a global network of online communities. That month, Michel raised a Series A round of venture funding and established a partnership with Monster, which he had sold... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Demand and Consumers; Partners and Partnerships; Social and Collaborative Networks; Online Technology

April 2021
Case

Codecademy: Where to Next?

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Max Mailman and Sarah Ascherman

In March 2020, Zach Sims, co-founder and CEO of online education platform Codecademy, prepared for a meeting with his Chief of Staff Kunal Ahuja to discuss the company’s goals. Codecademy billed itself as the largest online resource for computer science literacy and... View Details

Keywords: Monetization Strategy; Business Model; Change Management; Venture Capital; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Teams; Marketing Channels; Product Marketing; Network Effects; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; United States

July 2008 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Affinity Labs, Inc.

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Elizabeth Kind

In November 2006, Chris Michel left Military.com, which he founded in 1999, to start Affinity Labs, a global network of online communities. That month, Michel raised a Series A round of venture funding and established a partnership with Monster, which he had sold... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Demand and Consumers; Partners and Partnerships; Social and Collaborative Networks; Online Technology

17 Dec 2007
Research & Ideas

The Rise of Medical Tourism

Patients with resources can easily go where care is provided. "Historically doctors moved from Africa and India to London and New York to provide care. Now we are basically flipping it around and saying, 'Why don't the patients move?... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

07 May 2007
Research & Ideas

Rediscovering Schumpeter: The Power of Capitalism

most penetrating analyst of capitalism who ever lived. He saw things other people didn't see.” McCraw, a past winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History, has written a new biography, Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Education

26 May 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Unraveling Results from Comparable Demand and Supply: An Experimental Investigation

Keywords: by Muriel Niederle, Alvin E. Roth & M. Utku Unver

21 Jun 2011
First Look

First Look: June 21

human creativity and ingenuity always find a way around any new rules, as it did in this last crisis? And finally, how can—in practical terms—we get rid of the "too big to fails," without increasing state intervention further?... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Business & Environment

electronics disassembly that are accelerating progress. She closes with advice and resources for students and professionals interested in careers at the intersection of circular economy, investing, and innovation. News The Growth of the... View Details

September 2023 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Going Mobile-First? The Digital Transformation of Davivienda Bank in Colombia

By: Jorge Tamayo and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2017, this case describes the digital transformation strategy of Davivienda—a leading player in Colombia’s commercial banking and one of the companies belonging to Grupo Bolívar, a major Colombian financial conglomerate. The case also describes the pioneer role... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Information Technology; Digital Strategy; Digital Transformation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Banking Industry; Latin America; Central America; South America; Colombia

March 2014 (Revised October 2014)
Teaching Note

ISS A/S: The Buyout

By: Lucy White and Carsten Bienz

Provides the opportunity to value a leveraged buyout; and to examine the nature and extent of a company's responsibilities to its bondholders. Here, the context is a "going private" transaction in Europe, where the financing plan called for the addition to the... View Details

Keywords: LBO; Private Equity; Contracts; Global Business; International Business; Finance; Ethics; Law; Service Industry; Europe

February 2014 (Revised October 2014)
Case

ISS A/S: The Buyout

By: Clayton Rose, Carsten Bienz and Lucy White

Provides the opportunity to value a leveraged buy-out; and to examine the nature and extent of a company's responsibilities to its bondholders. Here, the context is a "going private" transaction in Europe, where the financing plan called for the addition to the... View Details

Keywords: LBO; Private Equity; Contracts; Global Business; International Business; Finance; Ethics; Law; Service Industry; Europe

10 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

High Commitment, High Performance Management

McKinsey, Goldman Sachs and Toyota, says Beer. Yet any company can change for the better, no matter the industry. GE, Becton Dickinson, Campbell Soup, IBM, and ASDA, a U.K. grocery chain, are examples of companies that were transformed by View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

February 2021
Case

Yellow Digital Retailers: Providing Solar Electricity to Transform Rural Africa

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Frank V. Cespedes and Michael Norris

In 2020, Mike Heyink and Maya Stewart, co-founders of the Pay-as-you-Go Solar company Yellow were considering how to grow their startup. They had achieved some success in their first market, Malawi, and had recently entered Uganda, where business was slower. What did... View Details

Keywords: Solar Energy; Business Model; Business Startups; Developing Countries and Economies; Alternative Energy; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Green Technology; Salesforce Management; Diversification; Expansion; Energy Industry; Africa; South Africa; Malawi; Uganda