Publications

November 2012 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Learning Resources: A Hands-On Toy Company Deals with New Challenges and Opportunities

By: Boris Groysberg and Anahita Hashemi

Learning Resources is a family-owned educational toy company that, by late 2011, was facing a myriad of challenges, including increased competition, entry into new markets, new distribution methods, rising costs of production in China, and changing customer behavior.... View Details

Keywords: Leading Teams; Strategy Formulation; Strategy And Execution; Innovation; Corporate Culture; Industry Analysis; Organizational Alignment; Entrepreneurs; Sales Channels; Leadership; Strategy; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Product Design; Sales; Retail Industry; United States

July 2022
Teaching Note

Arçelik (A), (B): From a Dealer Network to an Omnichannel Experience

By: Ayelet Israeli, Fares Khrais and Menna Hassan

Arçelik Turkey, the country’s market leader in household appliances, was at an omnichannel crossroads in January 2020. Arçelik was a B2B player utilizing a dealership network with an umbrella of brands and had one of the largest brick-and-mortar store networks in... View Details

May 1993
Case

Kaufmann Manufacturing Company (A)

By: Julie H. Hertenstein and William J. Bruns Jr.

A management team at Kaufmann is studying the latest year's operations and sales, which seem to have led to very confusing financial results. Sales exceeded forecast and production for the first six months, however Kaufmann reported a loss. Yet, when sales were below... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Earnings Management; Cost Accounting; Financial Reporting; Cost vs Benefits; Capital Budgeting; Cost Management; Profit; Outcome or Result

November 1984 (Revised May 1989)
Case

Wright Line, Inc. (A)

The Wright Line division of Barry Wright sells accessories used to store, protect, and provide access to computer media such as cards, tapes, and diskettes. With the explosive growth in the business computer market and the pronounced trend toward decentralized use, the... View Details

Keywords: Salesforce Management; Product Marketing; Computer Industry

April 1995 (Revised May 1995)
Case

Kraft General Foods: The Merger (B)

By: David J. Collis and Elizabeth Wynne Johnson

Discusses the recent decision to blend the previously separate Kraft and General Foods units into one operating company with a focus on the creation of a single massive sales force. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Salesforce Management; Corporate Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2015 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Quincy Apparel (A)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lisa Mazzanti

Quincy Apparel designs, manufactures and sells work apparel for young professional women that offers the fit and feel of high-end brands at a lower price. In late 2012, Quincy's cofounders are debating how to approach a crucial board meeting. Their seed-stage startup... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Failure; Online Retail; Women's Apparel; Business Startups; Business Plan; Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Production; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Technology Industry; Fashion Industry; New York (city, NY)

November 2010
Supplement

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (B)

By: John A. Quelch

By 2009, Hikma Pharmaceuticals operated 13 manufacturing plants in 8 countries of which 5 were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Hikma tracked its sales revenues over the period to show where the largest contributors were from. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Sales; Pharmaceutical Industry

May 2020
Teaching Note

Talismark

By: Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 211-097. Talismark negotiated waste hauling contracts for small and medium size companies. Its owners, Charles Muszynski and Marshall Staiman, were able to grow the business by more than 30% per year since it was founded, but believed... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Small Business Administration; Infrastructure; Restructuring; Business Processes; Information Management; Sales; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Wastes and Waste Processing

June 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Siemens AG: A Private Equity Approach within an Industrial Corporation?

By: David J. Collis and Haisley Wert

In July 2022, Horst Kayser, Chairman of Siemens AG Portfolio Companies (POC), was reflecting on the advice he could offer Roland Busch, Chief Executive Officer of the parent company Siemens AG, about whether and how to operate a private equity-like approach inside the... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Management; Value Creation; Private Equity; Corporate Strategy

July 1995 (Revised April 1996)
Case

Cambridge Technology Partners (A)

By: Teresa M. Amabile, George P. Baker III and Michael Beer

Cambridge Technology Partners uses a highly innovative product strategy, supported by a human resources strategy, that has been very successful. However, high growth rates jeopardize product quality while tension about relative compensation levels between sales and... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Culture; Quality; Human Resources; Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Consulting Industry; Massachusetts

August 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Viterra

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Matthew Preble

As Mayo Schmidt's tenure as CEO of the Canadian-based agribusiness Viterra wound down before its sale to the Swiss-based commodity company Glencore, he reflected on his tenure, which had seen the firm grow from a Canadian-focused agricultural cooperative to an... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Vision; Strategy And Execution; Growth Strategy; Organizational Change And Transformation; International Business; Farm Cooperatives; Agribusiness; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Canada; Australia; Asia; North America; Europe

July 2012 (Revised June 2018)
Case

MC Tool

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Two partners acquired MC Tool in October 2007 for $5 million. The company was a machine shop that manufactured parts for a wide variety of applications in the energy, automotive, and industrial equipment industries. In their first year of ownership, the partners... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Risk Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Problems and Challenges; Transformation; Production; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; United States

May 1983 (Revised December 1987)
Case

Technical Data Corp.

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a decision confronting the president of a small company about selling some or all of the shares in his company to another firm. Technical Data Corp. provides analytical services to professional bond market traders over a system of computer terminals operated... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Valuation; Negotiation Tactics; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Strategy; Horizontal Integration; Information Industry; Service Industry

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Hennes & Mauritz, 2012

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2012, Hennes & Maurtiz (H&M) was the second-largest specialty apparel retailer in the world. Sales for fiscal 2012 were $18.1 billion and operating profits were $3.3 billion. H&M operated 2,776 stores, 93% of them outside its home base of Sweden. Over the past... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Strategic Decision Making; Strategy; Supply Chain; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Fashion Industry; Europe; Sweden

19 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Birth of the American Salesman

figures who operated at the fringes of established society, outwitting farmers and townspeople. Sam Slick, the Connecticut clock peddler, was able to place a timepiece in every farmhouse he visited, usually through flattery and false... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Linard

November 1995
Case

The Benetton Group

By: James L. Heskett

The management of the Benetton Group includes senior executives advocating two different strategies: 1) expanding manufacturing to develop economies in order to grow Benetton's sales in those markets, and/or, 2)find ways to provide additional support to retailers, some... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Business Strategy; Global Strategy; Sales; Growth and Development; Distribution; Distribution Channels

August 1989 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Harper Chemical Co., Inc.

A company acquires the rights to a mineral with potential uses in the ceramic and paint industries. After many years, sales are still far below expectations and the company considers selling the whole operation to a potential customer. Rewritten version of an earlier... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Industrial Products Industry; Chemical Industry

September 1988 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Mrs. Fields Cookies

By: James I. Cash Jr.

Mrs. Fields Cookies is a small company selling freshly baked goods through privately owned specialty stores (each store sells only Mrs. Fields products). The company has about 8,000 employees worldwide and less than 150 information systems people for a unique leverage... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Information Management; Organizational Structure; Customer Relationship Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Networks; Internet and the Web; Food and Beverage Industry; Information Technology Industry