Publications

June 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Background Note

Primer on the U.S. Television Industry

This case provides background on the U.S. TV industry at the end of the 20th century. View Details

Keywords: History; Television Entertainment; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States

November 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Messier's Reign at Vivendi Universal

By: Rakesh Khurana, Vincent Dessain and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Focuses on a crisis in the board at Vivendi. Highlights the difficulties that arise when dramatic pressure from outside the boardroom affects boardroom dynamics. In this case, there are two events. The first is an unexpectedly large financial loss and a pending cash... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; History; Cash Flow; Acquisition; Performance; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry

February 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Cable Data Systems

By: Paul W. Marshall and Todd H Thedinga

Describes the operating challenges of Cable Data Systems (CDS), a minority-owned cable installation company with a dual mission of maximizing profits and providing employment opportunities to minorities in urban markets. Following the merger of two cable installation... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Employment; Forecasting and Prediction; Urban Scope; Cost Management; Infrastructure; Labor Unions; Demand and Consumers; Demographics; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Boston

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March 2002 (Revised June 2005)
Case

AOL Time Warner, Inc.

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Erin Sullivan

AOL Time Warner, which has been billed as the "first fully integrated media and communications company of the Internet Century," raises the fundamental question of how value will be created and captured by the merger of AOL and Time Warner. This case describes just how... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Internet and the Web; Value Creation; Organizational Culture; Consolidation; Change Management; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States

December 1999 (Revised May 2002)
Case

CNBC (A): NBC and Its Startup Friends

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

NBC expands further on to the Internet with CNBC.com. NBC's Internet strategy, supported by corporate parent General Electric, involves numerous investments as well as new ventures like CNBC.com. Soon after CNBC.com is launched in 1999, NBC brings in a new CEO, Pamela... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Change Management; Management Teams; Corporate Strategy; Leadership Development; Internet and the Web; Expansion; Media; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry

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Career Coach

Cathy Hutchinson

Cathy (Kellogg '01) is a member of the Career & Professional Development team and coaches students and alumni interested in entertainment/ media & technology career paths. In addition to managing external marketing, communications & technology initiatives... View Details

Keywords: Telecommunications; Telecommunications; Telecommunications; Telecommunications

01 Dec 1996
News

An Entrepreneurial Journey

specialized in failing companies," said the former management consultant in a 1985 HBS interview. "No matter what a firm's problem was, I always said it was my specialty to take care of it." MCI, an upstart telecommunications firm that... View Details

01 Dec 2012
News

50 Years & Counting

administrative decision-making as academic dean of the Kennedy School, says that firms from the financial services, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications industries have expressed interest as well. Adds Bazerman, a prolific scholar,... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

02 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 2, 2007

America Harvard Business School Case 908-004 Describes the auction of Cable & Wireless America (CWA), a bankrupt subsidiary of the British telecommunications company Cable & Wireless. While an initial "stalking-horse"... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Jan 2003
News

Greylock

Cablevision, and Tellabs (a maker of telecommunications products) in the late 1960s and 1970s to more recent investments such as Red Hat (a global provider of Linux and open-source technology), Internet Security Systems, online... View Details

01 Sep 2006
News

Notebook

Name: Sasha Novakovich (MBA ’99), President & CEO Company: GetConnected, Inc. (founded 1999) Size: $20M annual revenue, 100 employees Location: Boston, MA Web: www.getconnected.com Elevator pitch: GetConnected processes voice, data, and video digital-service... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Telecommunications; Telecommunications; Telecommunications; Telecommunications

23 Jan 2019
Blog Post

The First Five Years: '30 under 30' Edition

Pradhan: “I work as a technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) investor at TPG, a global private equity firm. While I work across the TMT sector, I primarily focus on TPG’s middle market buyout and growth equity investments, which... View Details

06 Jan 2021
News

A Message from Dean Srikant Datar

today with digitization and technology going at a very fast pace. Artificial intelligence, internet of things, the cloud, 5G telecommunication technologies, all of these are transforming organizations in very fundamental ways. And I... View Details

17 Jan 2019
News

The First Five Years: ‘30 Under 30’ Edition

reflect on what I’ve accomplished to date. But more importantly, being included among such illustrious company is a source of motivation to keep working hard and accomplish even more in the future.” Can you tell us about your current work? Pradhan: “I work as a... View Details

November 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Supplement

Global Unichip Corporation (B)

By: Willy Shih and Chen-Fu Chien

Jim Lai, President of Global Unichip Corporation (GUC), mapped out the changes he saw coming to the global semiconductor industry. The big question was how many system developers would start coming directly to GUC. View Details

October 1990 (Revised March 1993)
Background Note

Note on Cable Television Regulation

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Examines the evolution of the U.S. cable television industry since its inception in the early 1950s. Particular emphasis is given to the roles played by technology, consumer demand, and regulation at both the local and federal level. Designed to facilitate a conceptual... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Demand and Consumers; Government Legislation; Business Growth and Maturation; Monopoly; Television Entertainment; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry

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March 1999 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Network Associates: Securing the Internet

By: Debora L. Spar

Follows one company's path through the uncharted terrain of government regulation and the Internet. In March 1998, Network Associates announced it would begin selling powerful encryption software from its Dutch subsidiary. Such a move looked to the U.S. government like... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States