Publications

January 2003 (Revised July 2006)
Exercise

Travelexis.com Role for Robin Knight from TravelPlanner.com

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Nicole Nasser

Two fictional travel companies, SCOUT and TravelPlanner, engage in competitive bidding to acquire a third party, Travelexis. This exercise consists of three roles, one representative from each of the three companies. It is based on the actual negotiations between... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Bids and Bidding; Acquisition; Travel Industry

28 Apr 2021
Blog Post

Alumni Spotlight: Cissy Chen (MBA 2019)

values taught in this class within the firm. In these HBS courses and in the work you have pursued, you have gained perspective on ESG frameworks and their application to the View Details

January 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Google Car

By: Karim R. Lakhani, James Weber and Christine Snively

By 2013, Google, while not a traditional manufacturer of automobiles, had invested millions of dollars in its self-driving cars which had logged over 500,000 miles of testing. The Google management team faced several questions. Should Google continue to invest in the... View Details

Keywords: Digital Services; Innovation; Technology; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Market Entry and Exit; Transportation; Auto Industry; United States

December 1986 (Revised December 1987)
Case

Hewlett-Packard: Manufacturing Productivity Division (B)

By: Benson P. Shapiro and Lawrence B. Levine

Asks where in the Hewlett-Packard (HP) network of groups and sectors the Manufacturing Productivity Division should be placed. Provides a great deal of background regarding marketing, sales, and engineering at HP. It is thus possible to expand and broaden the... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Marketing; Production; Networks; Sales; Expansion; Manufacturing Industry

March 2000 (Revised April 2004)
Case

VacationSpot.com & Rent-A-Holiday: Negotiating a Trans-Atlantic Merger of Start-Ups

Describes a potential trans-Atlantic merger between two young companies in the Internet space. VacationSpot.com, based in Seattle, and Rent-A-Holiday, based in Brussels, both offer online listings and reservations for independent leisure lodging (i.e., villas,... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Valuation; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Travel Industry; United States; Brussels

Career Coach

Michelle Antonio

Wharton School, both as Director of MBA Career Management and the industry advisor covering the Consulting and Public Interest sectors, 4 years as an MBA Recruiting Director at... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Consumer Products; Education; Government

18 Apr 2015
News

Women in Business Q&A: Umaimah Mendhro, Founder & CEO, VIDA

Keywords: mindfulness; Dreamfly; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores

April 2013
Case

The Walt Disney Company: The Entertainment King (Abridged)

By: Michael G. Rukstad and David J. Collis

The first ten pages of this case are comprised of the company's history, from 1923 to 2001. The Walt years are described, as is the company's decline after his death and its resurgence under Eisner. The last five pages are devoted to Eisner's strategic challenges in... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Vertical Integration; Corporate Strategy; Boundaries; Brands and Branding; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

April 3, 2024
Article

How Automakers Can Address Resistance to Self-Driving Cars

By: Stuti Agarwal, Julian De Freitas and Carey K. Morewedge

Research involving multiple experiments found that consumers have biased views of their driving abilities relative to those of other drivers and automated vehicles. These findings have implications for the adoption of partly or fully automated vehicles, which one day... View Details

Keywords: Technology Adoption; Consumer Behavior; Government Legislation; Prejudice and Bias; Auto Industry; Auto Industry

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04 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 4, 2008

The carbon market has emerged in response to concerns about global climate change. This note characterizes the market in 2008, describing each segment View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Bored Ape Yacht Club: Navigating the NFT World

By: Scott Duke Kominers, Das Narayandas and Kerry Herman

The case explores the rise and popularity of the Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens (NFTs). View Details

Keywords: NFTs; Markets; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Technology Industry

October 2014 (Revised December 2016)
Case

NBCUniversal

By: Anita Elberse

In September 2014, Stephen Burke, chief executive officer at media and entertainment company NBCUniversal, has to decide between possible priorities for the company's 'Project Symphony,' guaranteeing the winners a high level of visibility and support across the media... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Film Entertainment; Product Marketing; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

June 1981 (Revised May 1988)
Case

L.L. Bean, Inc.: Corporate Strategy

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi

L.L. Bean, Inc., a Maine-based manufacturer and mail-order retailer of sporting goods and apparel, has grown from $3 million in sales (1967) to over $120 million (1980). Current projections predict an annual compounded growth of 25% through 1985. Management must decide... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Growth and Development; Growth Management; Production; Quality; Sales; Situation or Environment; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

October 2015
Teaching Note

Molycorp: Financing the Production of Rare Earth Minerals (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

Molycorp, the western hemisphere's only producer of rare earth minerals, was in the middle of a $1 billion capital expenditure project in its effort to become a vertically integrated supplier of rare earth minerals, oxides, and metals. Yet it had just reported lower... View Details

March 2004 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Newell Rubbermaid: Strategy in Transition

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery, Rhonda Kaufman and Carole Winkler

Describes the transformation of a company's corporate-level strategy. Begins by laying out the strategy that brought the Newell Co. stunning success for nearly three decades. The highly integrated, internally consistent strategy was tailored for manufacturing and... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Transformation; Problems and Challenges; Acquisition; Product Development; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

08 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

The Startling Percentage of Financial Advisors with Misconduct Records

missteps, an advisor with a record should raise a red flag. “It certainly warrants having a conversation.” (The researchers have also created a website around their findings: The Market for Financial Advisor Misconduct. See chart below.)... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

September 1995 (Revised April 1999)
Case

Exporting American Culture

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Jerry Useem

A large entertainment company, extensively criticized for producing violent, offensive, and anti-social material, is considering whether to sell its material to a semi-illegal operation that is beaming satellite TV into Turkey. The opportunity raises many questions... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Forecasting and Prediction; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Media; Business and Community Relations; Opportunities; Social Issues; Media and Broadcasting Industry