Publications

January 2005 (Revised August 2014)
Exercise

Hamilton Real Estate: Confidential Role Information for the CEO of Estate One (BUYER)

By: Deepak Malhotra

Presents a two-party negotiation between the executive VP of Pearl Investments and the CEO of Estate One for the sale of real estate in the town of Hamilton. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Price; Information; Contracts; Managerial Roles; Agreements and Arrangements; Sales; Strategy; Value; Real Estate Industry

Blog

Is AI Coming for Your Job?

irrelevant construct when considering how to harness generative AI capabilities. Processes ranging from negotiating contracts with vendors to developing marketing messages will be redesigned from the ground up in order to exploit the full... View Details

Web

Case Studies - Social Impact Collaboratory

to design use investment capital to create social change. Key Themes: The social impact bond is a unique financial contract that allows investors to fund social service organizations with the potential to earn a return. Returns, if any,... View Details

26 Mar 2018
Research & Ideas

To Motivate Employees, Give an Unexpected Bonus (or Penalty)

with how employees are motivated than the actual consequences they receive. Motivation is important in business for one reason: In the contract between employers and employees, it’s simply not possible to spell out how employees’ roles... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing

11 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

The High Risks of Short-Term Management

supposed to pay off, the greater the uncertainty. Hence, investment decisions and compensation contracts tend to converge toward more short-term, observable metrics that encourage corporate managers and professional money managers to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services

April 1998 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Acquisition of Consolidated Rail Corporation (A), The

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Lori A. Flees and Mathew M Millett

On October 15, 1996, Virginia-based CSX and Pennsylvania-based Consolidated Rail (Conrail), the first and third largest railroads in the eastern United States, announced their intent to merge in a friendly deal worth $8.3 billion. This deal was part of an industry-wide... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decisions; Contracts; Rail Industry; United States

23 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Arla Foods: How Sustainable Can A Dairy Company Be?

owned and contracted operations (Scope 1 and 2) and emissions from up- and downstream activities (Scope 3). Although we frequently hear Scope 1 and 2 emissions considered separately from Scope 3, it became clear that Arla corporate’s... View Details

August 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

DexAI

By: Jo Tango and Christina Wallace

During a challenging fundraising environment, the DexAI founders received two term sheets with nearly identical economic terms but very different legal ones. The entrepreneurs had to navigate: representations and warranties (their personal guarantees that the company's... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital Term Sheet; Term Sheet; Term Sheets; Founders; Legal Aspects Of Business; Seed Financing; Founders' Agreements; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Intellectual Property; Entrepreneurial Finance; Contracts; Business Startups; Agreements and Arrangements

01 Oct 1997
News

Brice Cutrer Jones

New York attorney. "We shook hands on the corner of 57th and Lex on September 17, 1972," recalls Jones. "He said, 'You go do it and I'll get the equity,' and that's been our only contract to this day." At his 15th HBS Reunion, Jones was... View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

10 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Globalization: The Strategy of Differences

cautionary tale of what can happen when companies go too far. Acer entered early into the contract manufacturing of personal computers, operating in low-wage Taiwan, and made good money with that arbitrage play. But in the early 1990s, it... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

April 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Oriental Land Co., Ltd.—Tokyo Disney Resort

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Akiko Kanno

This case describes the history of Oriental Land Co. Ltd.’s (OLC's) Tokyo Disney Resort (TDR), its operations, the extent of vertical integration, and the challenges it faced in 2018 as OLC's chairman and CEO, Toshio Kagami, contemplated how best to deal with... View Details

Keywords: Strategy For Multi-business Firm; Business Models; Growth; Theme Parks; Disney; Disney Parks; Licensing; Royalties; Two-part Tariffs; Oriental Land Co.; Tokyo Disneyland; Tokyo DisneySea; Tokyo Disney Resort; Tokyo Disney; Growth Strategy; Hotels; Hotel Industry; Partnership; Development; Attractions; Rides; Urayasu; Kagami; Congestion; Pricing; Amusement Parks; Amusement Park Industry; Brand; Branding; History; OLC; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business History; Price; Retention; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Agreements and Arrangements; Contracts; Operations; Vertical Integration; Problems and Challenges; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Expansion; Rail Transportation; Transportation Networks; Accommodations Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Tourism Industry; Asia; Japan; Tokyo; United States

04 Jun 2001
What Do You Think?

What’s the Future of the Subscription Model?

arrangement under which it charged a royalty for equipment usage, as I mentioned in an earlier column "Can You Hard-Wire Performance?" in this series. The model is so attractive that a number of "industrial" firms are adopting it, as shown by IBM's... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Mar 2024
News

Giving All Stakeholders a Voice

For John Wu (MBA 2000), “Web3” means more than technological innovation. “It’s a mindset,” he says of the movement toward a decentralized internet that accelerates innovation and gives end users greater collaboration with businesses. “It’s a transformative shift in... View Details

Keywords: April White

January 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

By: Anita Elberse and Melissa Rodman

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) develops and presents scripted hero-versus-villain storylines featuring its wrestlers at hundreds of live events—on several weekly television shows, on its own over-the-top streaming service, and on social media—to millions of... View Details

Keywords: Superstars; Talent; Talent Development; Labor Economics; General Management; Entertainment; Sports; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Contracts; Marketing; Strategy