Publications

September 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Background Note

Multinationals as Global Intermediaries

By: Tarun Khanna and Krishna G. Palepu

Presents a conceptual framework of the circumstances when multinationals attempt to create, or face difficulty creating, value in cross-border commerce. Particular attention is paid to the role of multinationals as intermediaries in international transactions where the... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Multinational Firms and Management; Marketing Channels; Market Transactions; Value Creation

23 Feb 2011
News

Low Risk, High Reward

20 Jan 2023
News

Behind the Research: Jillian Jordan

Design-Driven Innovation

How to create innovations that customers do not expect, but that they eventually love? How to create products and services, that are so distinct from those that dominate the market and so inevitable that make people passionate?

In a context where everyone is... View Details

January–February 2017
Article

Africa's New Generation of Innovators

By: Clayton M. Christensen, Efosa Ojomo and Derek van Bever

With a young, urbanizing population, abundant natural resources, and a growing middle class, Africa seems to have all the ingredients necessary for huge growth. Nevertheless, a number of multinationals have recently left the continent, discouraged by widespread... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Economic Growth; Africa

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Giving - Alumni

Fund Help support student financial aid, faculty research, and other HBS priorities. Learn More Advancing the HBS Mission Learn how giving to HBS makes an impact through stories about two alumni who are improving literacy in India, a... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

Professor Sawyer’s research focuses on U.S. political economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, concentrating on the development of competition policy and the administrative state. While the conventional history of U.S. competition policy portrays the... View Details

January 2017 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Susan Cassidy at Bertram Gilman International

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Michael Norris

In 2016, Susan Cassidy, VP of sales and marketing for the packaged foods division at CPG firm Bertram Gilman International, has to make a promotion decision. Should she choose the person she has been grooming for the position or another candidate recommended by central... View Details

Keywords: People Analytics; Algorithms; Promotion Decision; Human Resources; Business Processes; Consumer Products Industry; United States

January 2000 (Revised November 2000)
Case

Lucent Technologies New Ventures Group

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Michelle Heskett

Lucent Technologies' successful New Ventures Group must present company executives with a strong case for continuing corporate venturing activities despite a troubled financial performance in difficult market conditions. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Management Teams; Business Ventures; Venture Capital; Financial Condition; Change Management; Wireless Technology; Financial Services Industry; Computer Industry; New Jersey

January 2025
Teaching Note

AGENTS.inc: Pathways to Growth at an AI Startup

By: Frank Nagle and Susan Pinckney

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 724-444. In 2024, AI agent startup company AGENTS.inc faced multiple strategic decisions that could shape the company’s ability to grow into the future AI agent market leader. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Growth and Development Strategy; Open Source Distribution; Entrepreneurial Finance; Competition; Computer Industry; Technology Industry; Europe; Germany

29 Aug 2016
Blog Post

First Year at HBS: A Foundation for Business

Whether this means creating a go-to-market strategy or performing capital budgeting, I am confident that I can make valuable contributions and deliver results. But even if you intend to go into a specific functional area such as View Details

August 2018
Case

Enfoca: Private Equity in Peru

By: Victoria Ivashina and Jeffrey Boyar

This case follows Enfoca, Peru’s largest local private equity firm and its portfolio company Maestro, a leading player in Peru’s hardware retail market. Peru’s GDP growth between 2008 and 2014 was the highest of any Latin American country. Growth of the Peruvian middle... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Emerging Markets; Capital Markets; Transition; Strategy; Peru

May 2002
Case

Venture Capital Fund Restructuring Vignettes (Abridged)

By: Paul A. Gompers

This case examines the changes in fund structures proposed by four venture capital firms in 2002: Accel Partners, Battery Ventures, Charles River Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The venture capital market has experienced a major downturn, and these... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Restructuring; Financial Crisis; Motivation and Incentives; Business and Shareholder Relations; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry

April 1993 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India: In Service for Sight, The

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Starting as a modest 20-bed hospital, Aravind had grown into a 1,400-bed hospital complex by 1992. It had by then screened 3.65 million patients and performed 335,000 cataract surgeries, nearly 70% of them free of cost for the poorest of India's blind population.... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Social Marketing; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Welfare; Expansion; Health Industry; India

September 1999 (Revised November 2000)
Case

Swatch Group, The: On Internet Time

By: Luc R. Wathieu, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Under the leadership of Nicholas Hayek, the Swatch Group, makers of the Swatch watch, is widely credited with revitalizing the Swiss watch industry by offering a consistent set of brands addressing all segments of the global watch market. New opportunities beyond the... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

April 2005 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Candy Land: The Utopian Vision of Milton Hershey

By: Nancy F. Koehn and Erica Helms

Explores the life, work, and achievements of Milton S. Hershey. Analyzes his entrepreneurial achievements, including the creation of the Hershey bar, the founding of the business, and the development of the mass market for chocolate. Also investigates the broader... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Creativity; Business and Community Relations