Publications

July 1997
Case

We've Got Rhythm! Medtronic Corporation's Cardiac Pacemaker Business

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Illustrates how a new management team at Medtronic's Cardiac Pacemaker business reversed a steep decline in market share by adopting certain management principles for new product development: clarifying strategy, aggregating project planning, accommodating the number... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Product Development; Health; Technology; Change Management; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

10 May 2015
Blog Post

Brand Strategist Turns Entrepreneur

Becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t part of Desiree Stolar’s plan. A brand strategy and market research consultant, Desiree (MBA 2015) expected to hone her skills at HBS and then... View Details

September 2004 (Revised December 2005)
Case

Chardonnay Shortage at Mondavi Winery, The

Mondavi Winery is facing a shortage of its Chardonnay wine. This shortage will disrupt its positioning in wine outlets and impact earnings. Allows students to discuss how to communicate such temporary--but financially important--shocks to the capital markets and... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Business Earnings; Production; System Shocks; Capital Markets; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

November 2009
Article

Is it Fair to Blame Fair Value Accounting for the Financial Crisis?

By: Robert C. Pozen

When the credit markets seized up in 2008, many heaped blame on "mark to market" accounting rules, which require banks to write down their troubled assets to the prices they'd fetch if sold on the open market - at the time, next to nothing. Recording those assets below... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Fair Value Accounting; Financial Crisis; Assets; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Crisis Management; Standards; Banking Industry

Find at Harvard

18 Mar 2024
Research & Ideas

When It Comes to Climate Regulation, Energy Companies Take a More Nuanced View

Common wisdom holds that oil and gas companies, electric utilities, and other industries known for their large carbon emissions generally oppose clean energy policies. Now, a study of corporate advocacy spanning 30 years reveals that many companies are more flexible... View Details

Keywords: by Desmond Dodd; Energy; Utilities

October 2018
Case

SeatGeek

By: Robert F. Higgins and Sarah Mehta

In late 2016, Russ D'Souza and Jack Groetzinger, co-founders of the online event ticketing platform SeatGeek, faced some difficult decisions. In the company's seven-year history, SeatGeek had positioned itself primarily as an aggregator, facilitating ticket... View Details

Keywords: Event Ticketing; Sports Ticketing; Acquisition; Business Model; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Digital Platforms; Sports; Strategy; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Digital Platforms

June 1994 (Revised December 1997)
Case

Safeway, Inc.'s Leveraged Buyout (A)

After years of deteriorating financial performance and eroding market position, Safeway, Inc., the largest public grocery store chain in the United States, found itself the target of a hostile takeover offer. Management decided to take the company private in a $4.3... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Retail Industry; United States

13 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Global Investments Are Still a Good Bet

Photo by iStock Investors in global equity markets have traditionally hedged their bets, casting their investments far and wide across the world. That way, if the market in one... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

May 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Nike Football: World Cup 2010 South Africa

By: Elie Ofek and Ryan Johnson

Nike's Football division needs to devise a strategy to excel at the 2010 World Cup games in South Africa. Nike has gone from a niche player in the market for football apparel and footwear in 1994 to a formidable competitor to Adidas in 2008 (with revenues of over $1... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Business Divisions; Communication; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Planning; Competition; Apparel and Accessories Industry; South Africa

September 1993 (Revised December 1993)
Case

Cott Corp.: Private Label in the 1990s

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Robert S. Kaplan

Private label cola, Cott, gets 30% of the market in Canada. How does it move into the U.S. market? How do retailers evaluate its benefit costs? Does Cott use an existing structure or build new ones? Does Cott diversify from drink to snack foods? View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; Cost Management; Labels; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Industry Structures; Diversification; Food and Beverage Industry

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31 Mar 2014
News

5 Traits Of Successful Job Offer Negotiators

26 Jun 2023
Research & Ideas

Want to Leave a Lasting Impression on Customers? Don't Forget the (Proverbial) Fireworks

marketers think of the customer experience like a play in three acts—pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase. However, research by De Freitas and fellow researchers looked... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Entertainment & Recreation

26 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Why Great Ideas Get Stuck in Universities

commercial hindrance. A recent study of more than 500 biomedical startups suggests that ventures rooted in the core research of their founders have a more challenging time reaching key measures of success, such as raising capital or attracting a buyer. “You decide to... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Biotechnology; Health

Program

Building a Legacy

opportunities Apply frameworks for evaluating unique investment opportunities for family real estate, niche assets, emerging markets, public market ideas, and startup/venture-backed investments Determine... View Details

March 2025
Case

Calyx Global: Rating Carbon Credits

By: Michael W. Toffel and Adam Chen

This case describes how rating agencies and other organizations are seeking to improve the quality of carbon credits sold in the voluntary carbon market to organizations seeking to use them to supplement their internal decarbonization efforts to meet their net zero... View Details

Keywords: Service Design; Certification; Auditing; Auditor Reputation; Carbon Credits; Carbon; Rating Agency Disagreement; Ratings; Climate Change; Business Model; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Conflict of Interests; Reputation; Business Strategy

February 2023 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Hey, Insta & YouTube, Are You Watching TikTok?

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee

In early 2023, the entertainment app TikTok reached close to 1 billion users globally, placing it 4th behind the leading social networks of Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Featuring a sophisticated recommendation engine, TikTok mastered the art of keeping users... View Details

Keywords: Social Media; Applications and Software; Business Model; Competition; Organizational Change and Adaptation

February 2023
Article

Climate Solutions Investments

By: Alex Cheema-Fox, George Serafeim and Hui (Stacie) Wang

An increasing number of companies are providing products and services that help reduce carbon emissions in the economy. We develop a methodology to identify those companies and create a sample of publicly listed climate solutions companies allowing us to study their... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Climate Finance; Climate Impact; Climate Risk; Environment; Sustainability; Carbon Emissions; Electric Vehicles; Energy; Renewables; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Emerging Markets; Investment Portfolio

SSRN

February 2001 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Warnaco Group, Inc. (A)

By: David F. Hawkins

Warnaco's history of nonrecurring charges is traced from 1990 through 2000 along with the stock market and security analysts' response to these charges. Teaching Purpose: To expose students to the accounting for a variety of new recurring accounting items. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financial Reporting; Restructuring; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry