Publications

11 May 2016
Research & Ideas

Fix This! Why is it so Painful to Buy a New Car?

had booked 400,000 pre-orders for its Model 3 sedan—a $35,000 vehicle that won’t even go into production until 2017. None of those sales were made through franchised dealerships; Tesla uses only direct-to-consumer sales. Meanwhile, car... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Auto

April 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Restaurant Brands International: Version 2.0

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2010, 3G Capital acquired Burger King, the second largest burger chain globally. 3G expanded Burger King’s operations via acquisitions into a multi-brand business, renamed Restaurant Brands International. The acquisition had been a financial success story for 3G.... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Growth and Development; Performance Evaluation; Private Equity; Franchise Ownership; Culture; Change Management; Strategy; Human Resources; Information Technology; Competition; Retail Industry; United States

February 1998 (Revised July 2003)
Case

ICEDELIGHTS

Three second-year students at the Harvard Business School decide to buy a company. The case focuses on their thoughts about an entrepreneurial career, their search process, and the evaluation of an Icedelights (an ice cream/cafe) franchise. This is a rewritten version... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Franchise Ownership

October 1979 (Revised May 1980)
Case

Dunkin' Donuts (B): Field Management

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Franchise Ownership; Food and Beverage Industry

Find at Harvard

March 2005 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Noodles & Company (Abridged)

By: Linda A. Cyr

Aaron Kennedy has successfully grown Noodles & Co. from a single global noodle shop to a chain of 58 restaurants spanning six states in seven years. In the face of increasing competition, Kennedy has plans to roll out 240 new stores in the next four years. He must... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Entrepreneurship; Franchise Ownership; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

01 Jun 2011
News

All in Good Time

picked up steam after a nationwide franchise program launched in 2009. Revenues for that year were $2 million; in 2011, they’re projected to hit $10 million. The company charges employers a percentage of a worker’s hourly rate or salary;... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; staffing agencies; parenthood; Accounting, Tax, Bookkeeping, Payroll Services; Professional Services

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Cable TV: From Community Antennas to Wired Cities

provide to municipalities free of charge, as a condition of franchise approval. "Narrowcasting" would supplement broadcasting with an array of arts and educational programming. Jeffersonian democracy would bloom as cable... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann; Media & Broadcasting; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation

Web

Challenges and Opportunities in the Restaurant Industry - Course Catalog

first job experience in a restaurant. Restaurants have provided significant management and ownership opportunities for women and minorities. Restaurants are also big business. In 2023, US restaurant industry sales exceeded $1 trillion... View Details

Article

Enfranchisement of Service Workers

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Heskett

Enfranchisement is achieved through an integration of empowerment with methods of pay for performance. Evidence from Ito Yokado Group in Japan and Nordstrom in the US demonstrates the positive effects of enfranchisement. Successful efforts to enfranchise employees: 1.... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Franchise Ownership; Employees; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry; Japan; United States

Read Now

01 Mar 2011
News

Local Hero

from a franchise on the brink of leaving town in 1992 to toast of the town in 2010 is the stuff of Hollywood scripts. And indeed, when the lanky, loquacious executive talks about his lifelong history with the team, his reminiscences are... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment

March 2010 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Boston Scientific Corporation (A)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Charlie Attlan

Boston Scientific Corporation just bought Guidant at a record breaking price to expand their cardiovascular franchise. They need to rationalize their product portfolio to make the acquisition work. What should they sell and why? View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development; Product Marketing; Product Development; Franchise Ownership; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

March 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Noodles & Company

Aaron Kennedy has successfully grown Noodles & Co. from a single global noodle shop to a chain of 58 restaurants spanning six states in seven years. In the face of increasing competition, Kennedy has plans to roll out 240 new stores in the next four years. He must... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Culture; Franchise Ownership; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

December 2000 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Achieving Customer Satisfaction at Pizza Hut (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Preeti Choudhary

Describes how Pizza Hut measures and monitors customer satisfaction, customer complaints, and the quality of its retail locations. View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Systems; Risk Management; Franchise Ownership; Performance Evaluation; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry