Publications

July 2015 (Revised October 2016)
Case

China Lodging Group (A)

By: Tatiana Sandino, Shelley Xin Li and Nancy Hua Dai

This case study explores the challenges of aligning middle management interests with company goals as a company navigates rapid growth in a dynamic industry. China Lodging Group, a Chinese hotel chain that opened about 2,000 hotels during its first decade in business,... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Business or Company Management; Growth Management; Balanced Scorecard; Accommodations Industry; China

Derek van Bever is a Senior Lecturer in the General Management Unit of Harvard Business School. He teaches courses in both years of the MBA program (“Leadership and Corporate Accountability” in the first-year required curriculum and “Building and Sustaining a... View Details

January 2008 (Revised May 2008)
Supplement

China Netcom: Corporate Governance in China (B)

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Tracy Yuen Manty

Supplements the A case [308027]. With its dual listings on the Hong Kong stock market and New York stock Exchange, state-owned enterprise, China Netcom was mandated to meet the listing requirements of these exchanges. From this initial step, China Netcom's Chairman,... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Corporate Governance; State Ownership; Standards; Globalized Markets and Industries; Telecommunications Industry; China

Web

Faculty & Research

revealing a shortage of Turkish truck drivers impacting Europe. This crisis quickly affects CCI's distribution as third-party logistics companies struggle to provide trucks and drivers. Kerimoğlu urgently contacts Cem Yurdum, the Group's... View Details

February 2022
Case

Toraya

By: Lauren Cohen and Akiko Kanno

Mitsuharu Kurokawa was the 18th generation leader of a family firm that produced and sold premium Japanese sweets, Toraya Confectionery Co., Ltd. He had succeeded the business from his father, Mitsuhiro Kurokawa who had led the firm for thirty years. Mitsuharu was... View Details

Keywords: Branding; Luxury Brand; Succession; Family Business; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Marketing; Expansion; Globalization; Innovation and Invention; Customer Satisfaction; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; Japan

January 2002
Case

Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS on World AIDS Day 2001, The

Explores the motivation for businesses to be concerned with the global AIDS epidemic. The formation of the council serves as an example of how business leaders are building a network of companies to develop an effective business response to AIDS-both through workforce... View Details

Keywords: Health; Social Issues; Global Strategy; Business and Community Relations; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Health Industry

January 2023 (Revised September 2024)
Supplement

The END Fund (B)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Courtney Han

Founded in 2012, the END fund focused on eliminating five Neglected Tropical Diseases that accounted for 80% of the tropical diseases affecting nearly 1.5 billion people worldwide. Its roughly $25 million/year annual budget was fully committed when it got news that the... View Details

Keywords: Health Disorders; Investment Funds; Global Range; Nonprofit Organizations; Resource Allocation; Decisions; Health Care and Treatment; Mission and Purpose

February 2010 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Zynga (A)

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and David Chen

In January 2010 Mark Pincus is deciding how to double the number of Zynga games' players to 500 million without sacrificing profitability. These ambitious growth plans required changes to product, corporate strategy, and customer acquisition and retention. With regard... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development Strategy; Distribution Channels; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Corporate Strategy; Video Game Industry

July 2007 (Revised March 2008)
Case

ABRY Fund V

By: Nabil N. El-Hage, Richard S. Ruback and Leslie Pierson

In January 2006, Andrew Banks and Royce Yudkoff were considering raising a 5th fund for their media-focused private equity firm, ABRY Partners. ABRY had a strong track record that the co-founders attributed to their group's deep knowledge of the media industry and... View Details

Keywords: Cooperative Ownership; Venture Capital; Customer Relationship Management; Asset Management; Private Equity; Judgments; Competitive Strategy; Media; Corporate Finance; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Financial Services Industry

18 Apr 2018
News

What Most People Get Wrong About Men and Women

22 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

New Challenges in Leading Professional Services

the past, few leaders in PSFs took the time to gain commitment to the direction of the firm—they only talked about vision and then executed on it. Q: You note that senior partners have often preferred to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Consulting; Accounting; Legal Services

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

January 2024
Technical Note

Venture Capital and Private Equity Funds: A Primer

By: Jo Tango and Christina Wallace

How do venture capital and private equity funds actually work? This Technical Note covers the "when, who, and how" details:

"When": fund length, extensions, and when investors can no longer initiate new investments.
"Who": who is in the General... View Details

Keywords: Fund Flows; Fund Management; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment Funds

11 Sep 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Chief Sustainability Officers: Who Are They and What Do They Do?

Keywords: by Kathleen Miller & George Serafeim

June 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Suzhou Good-Ark Electronics: Creating and Implementing a Sage Culture

By: Sandra J. Sucher, Nien-he Hsieh, Susan J. Winterberg, Nancy Hua Dai and Shalene Gupta

Suzhou Good-Ark, a Chinese semiconductor implemented "Sage Culture" management based on traditional Chinese philosophy. Productivity doubled, turnover decreased, and employee satisfaction shot up. By 2015, more than 2,000 companies had toured Wu’s factories, and Wu had... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Philosophy; Leadership; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Transformation; Performance; Semiconductor Industry; China; Singapore

March 24, 2020
Article

A Time to Lead with Purpose and Humanity

By: Hubert Joly

In these unprecedented times, corporate leaders are being put to the test. Many just last summer had signed the Business Roundtable Statement of Purpose that committed their companies to serving all stakeholders. The pandemic is the first test of these principles. The... View Details

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April 2010
Article

Performance Persistence in Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital

By: Paul A. Gompers, Josh Lerner, David Scharfstein and Anna Kovner

This paper presents evidence of performance persistence in entrepreneurship. We show that entrepreneurs with a track record of success are much more likely to succeed than first-time entrepreneurs and those who have previously failed. In particular, they exhibit... View Details

Keywords: Performance; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Market Timing; Competency and Skills; Success; Business Startups

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2007
Working Paper

Testing Limits to Policy Reversal: Evidence from Indian Privatizations

By: Siddhartha G. Dastidar, Raymond Fisman and Tarun Khanna

We examine the effect of regime change on privatization using the 2004 election surprise in India. The pro-reform BJP was unexpectedly defeated by a less reformist coalition. Stock prices of government-controlled companies that had been slated for definite... View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; Privatization; State Ownership; Policy; India

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December 2007
Case

The Amsterdam World Trade Center

By: A. Eugene Kohn, Hans van Tartwijk, Nhat Minh Nguyen, Brent Kazan and David Lane

Late in September 2001, Hans van Tartwijk, president of Trimp & van Tartwijk Property Development (TvT) of Amsterdam, Holland, was deeply worried about the status of his largest ongoing project; the Amsterdam World Trade Center (WTC). As the discretionary developer,... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Property; Performance Improvement; Projects; Environmental Sustainability; Real Estate Industry; Netherlands