Publications

December 2016 (Revised December 2017)
Case

Faber-Castell

By: Ryan Raffaelli and Christine Snively

By 2016, Count Anton-Wolfgang von Faber-Castell had led the 255-year-old pencil manufacturer Faber-Castell through waves of technological change. The pocket calculator decimated Faber-Castell’s slide rule business in the 1970s, and computer aided design technology... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Leading Change; Family Ownership; Manufacturing Industry; Germany

November 2014 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Cravia: Launching High Growth Ventures in the Middle East

By: Lynda Applegate and Michael Norris

Walid Hajj (HBS '95), CEO of Dubai-based restaurant franchising company Cravia considers how best to expand his business in the fast-growing Gulf region. Should he add more American brands, expand to nearby countries, or open more of his current lineup of restaurants? View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship In Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurs; Middle East; Franchise; Food Retail Franchising; Franchise Ownership; Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; United Arab Emirates; Dubai

August 1988 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Dunkin' Donuts (E): 1988 Distribution Strategies

Dunkin' Donuts is exploring various methods of increasing distribution. Possibilities involving new outlets include area development contracts, subfranchising, regional rollout strategies, and an increase in company owned stores. Possibilities focusing on existing... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Franchise Ownership; Distribution Channels; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

January 1999 (Revised August 1999)
Case

Asia Property Limited

By: William J. Poorvu and Daniel J. Rudd

On October 23, 1998, Bud Lake leafed through his files on property markets in Asia. Lake was responsible for real-estate investments at an aggressive and eclectic investment fund with total assets of $1.5 billion--up from $400 million at its start in 1994. As the fund... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Entrepreneurship; Investment Funds; Globalized Markets and Industries; Public Ownership; Real Estate Industry; Asia; United States; Europe

April 1996
Case

Sunshine Villas

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Ms. Courtney Lowe is president and sole owner of CL Development. She is looking to sell Sunshine Villas to pay off her bank and make a profit. This case is part of a negotiation game simulation that includes Jason Bosworth, Silver Lane Apartments, and Major Insurance... View Details

Keywords: Property; Mortgages; Negotiation Tactics; Customer Ownership; Sales; Real Estate Industry

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February 2018 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Yunnan Baiyao: Transforming a Chinese State-Owned Enterprise

By: Michael Chu, William C. Kirby, Nancy Hua Dai and Yuanzhuo Wang

This case tells the story of how Wang Minghui, Chairman of Yunnan Baiyao Group since 1999, transformed a single-product traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) state-owned enterprise (SOE) into a major diversified consumer health player in China's highly competitive... View Details

Keywords: State-owned Enterprise (SOE); Traditional Chinese Medicine; Yunnan; Yunnan Baiyao; Consumer Health; Enterprise Transformation; Transformation; Health; Business History; State Ownership; Private Ownership; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Consumer Products Industry; Health Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; China

2012
Chapter

The Role of Venture Capitalists in the Acquisition of Private Companies

By: Paul A. Gompers and Yuhai Xuan

Keywords: Venture Capital; Acquisition; Private Ownership

January 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Supplement

Delphi Corporation (B)

By: Rakesh Khurana and Melissa Barton

Delphi Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2005. Delphi finally emerged in July 2009 as a private company. View Details

Keywords: History; Private Ownership; Insolvency and Bankruptcy

2004
Other Unpublished Work

The Role of Venture Capital in the Acquisition of Private Companies

By: P. Gompers and Yuhai Xuan

Keywords: Venture Capital; Acquisition; Private Ownership

February 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Korea Venture Investment Corporation

By: Paul A. Gompers and Billy Chan

Financial service sector Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC) is the venture capital arm of the Korean government with a founding mission to build a domestic startup ecosystem that would be as competitive as Silicon Valley. KVIC manages a basket of... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Society; Investment; Venture Capital; Mission and Purpose; State Ownership; Financial Services Industry; Asia; South Korea

2023
Working Paper

State Employment as a Strategy of Autocratic Control in China

By: Jaya Y. Wen

This paper presents evidence that autocrats use state-owned firms to strategically pacify social unrest via employment provision, a role that may contribute to their favorable treatment and persistence across settings. I use variation in a regional conflict between... View Details

Keywords: State Ownership; Employment; Government and Politics; Conflict Management; China

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July 1999 (Revised July 2007)
Background Note

Preparing Family Business Cases

By: John A. Davis

Advises students on how to prepare and discuss a family business case. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Business Education; Cases; Family Ownership; Research

January 1994 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Ocean Spray Cranberries: Environmental Risk Management

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Ocean Spray Cranberries, one of the nation's most successful agricultural cooperatives, faces some difficult environmental management problems associated with water usage and wetlands development. Because of federal and state wetlands laws, new bogs for expansion had... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Innovation and Invention; Risk Management; Cooperative Ownership; Environmental Sustainability; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

July–August 2014
Article

Obamacare Rules Pose Challenges for S Corp Owners

By: Josh Baron, Steve Salley and Judith L. Walsh

The article offers information financial impacts of tax by the U.S. Affordable Care Act (ACA) applied in January 2013 on family business shareholders and owners of S Corp. It discusses suggestions in tax planning to equalize tax burden including establishing family... View Details

Keywords: Ownership Type; Family Ownership; Compensation and Benefits; Taxation; Government Legislation

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March 2022
Case

Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Investment Co., Ltd.: December 2014

By: Josh Lerner, Luyang Zhang, Xinlai Tong and Yue Kong

In early December 2014, the senior team of Pudong Science and Technology Investment (hereafter, Pudong S&T) gathered in the offices of their chairman, Dr. Xudong Zhu. Before completing its cross-border acquisition of Montage Technology, Pudong S&T—wholly owned by the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Ownership Stake; Risk Management; Ownership Type; China

May 2016 (Revised March 2017)
Teaching Note

The Road to Kolkata: NH-34 and PPP in India

By: Sid Yog and Ben Eppler

It is May 2014 and construction of road NH-34 has been fraught with difficulties, but HCON CEO Arjun Dhawan can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Land acquisition is finally nearing completion throughout the entire stretch, and one parcel is almost ready to begin... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Partners and Partnerships; Construction; Emerging Markets; Infrastructure; Public Ownership; Construction Industry; India

October 25, 2023
Article

How to Bring an Outside CEO into the Family Business

By: Christina R. Wing and Rohit K. Gera

One of the challenges for a family-owned business is the transition to a non-family member as CEO — a transition most multigenerational businesses eventually face. Onboarding the new CEO is one piece of this challenge. To help make the onboarding successful, use a... View Details

Keywords: Family Ownership; Management Succession; Transition

winter 1990
Article

The Impact of Family Dynamics on Structure and Process in Family Foundations

By: J. A. Davis, K. Gersick and I. Lansberg

Keywords: Family Ownership; Management Practices and Processes

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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