Publications

fall 2008
Article

The Intermediation of Financial Risks: Evolution in the Catastrophe Reinsurance Market

By: Kenneth A. Froot

In this paper, I provide evidence concerning the imperfections in the reinsurance market. I try to get at some of the root causes of these imperfections, e.g., the behavior of ratings firms and the agency problems associated with the corporate form of ownership. I also... View Details

Keywords: Catastrophe Risk; Corporate Finance; Banking And Insurance; Hedging; Banking; Financial Markets; Insurance; Policy; Risk Management; Natural Disasters; Cost of Capital; Asset Pricing; Insurance Industry

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September 2016
Case

Partners Group: Ain't No Mountain High Enough

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Ricardo Andrade

Partners Group (PG), a Swiss-based PE manager, initiated a series of strategic shifts and evolved from a predominately fund-of-funds manager into a large, multi-asset class PE firm focused on direct investments. PG was the first PE firm to go public in 2006. A number... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Management Practices and Processes; Entrepreneurship

September 1992 (Revised November 1997)
Case

DHL Worldwide Express

By: John A. Quelch

The worldwide sales and marketing manager must determine the degree to which pricing strategy and tactics should be standardized or left to the discretion of the DHL subsidiary in each country. View Details

Keywords: Governance; Business Subsidiaries; Price; Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Sales; Shipping Industry

April 1999 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Be Our Guest, Inc.

By: Dwight B. Crane and Penny Joseph

Be Our Guest is a rapidly growing equipment rental company with substantial seasonality in its revenues and profits. In the spring of 1998, the senior management team is reviewing its financial plans in preparation for a meeting with the company's bank. The case... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Borrowing and Debt; Banks and Banking; Revenue; Management Teams; Business Plan; Forecasting and Prediction; Utilities Industry; Service Industry

February 2015
Case

Beckman Coulter, 2011

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In early 2011, Danaher was contemplating the acquisition of Beckman Coulter. With $3.7 billion of revenues in 2010 and $431 million in operating profits, California-based Beckman Coulter was a global leader in blood cell count diagnostic systems and also supplied a... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

July 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Teaching Note

MC Tool

By: Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld

Sean Witty and Jason Premo acquired MC Tool, a machine shop located in South Carolina in 2007 with the intent to transform it into a precision manufacturer. Witty and Premo were able to more than double revenue to $6 million in their first year of managing MC by... View Details

Keywords: Small ＆ Medium-sized Enterprises; Small Business; Production; Transformation; Problems and Challenges; Financial Condition; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; United States

02 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

Disruptors Sell What Customers Want and Let Competitors Sell What They Don’t

but can't afford the hefty prices for designer originals? Rent the Runway allows fashionistas to use those dresses and accessories at affordable rates. The company has decoupled the value part of the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Yuan Zou

Yuan Zou is an assistant professor in the Accounting and Management unit. She teaches Financial Reporting and Control (FRC) in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Zou conducts theoretically-motivated empirical studies aimed at furthering the understanding... View Details

January 2020
Case

Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2019, Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. (Lead) was the largest supplier of lithium-ion rechargeable battery manufacturing equipment in the world. Based in Wuxi, China, the company generated RMB 3.9 billion ($557 million) in revenues in 2018, up from RMB 175... View Details

Keywords: Lithium-ion Batteries; Electric Vehicles; Government Subsidies; Industry Dynamics; Markets; Change; Strategy; Decision Making; Manufacturing Industry; China

2011
Teaching Note

UFIDA (D) (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Ping He, Xiohua Wu and Lijuan Liu

This case describes the financing decisions of a software company at difference stages of its development. Started from 1988 as an individual business, along with the "Reform and Open" policy of China, the firm has experienced tremendous growth, and has become a... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Computer Software; Emerging Markets; Financial Strategy; IPO; Investments; China; Applications and Software; China

September 1990 (Revised November 1994)
Case

Kao Corp.

By: John A. Quelch

As the Japanese diaper market expands, Kao management must determine its response to new product introductions by its two major competitors. Options include launching a new premium priced brand or a new low priced brand, or increasing advertising and promotion... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Marketing Strategy; Industry Growth; Product Launch; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Japan

15 Apr 2019
News

How Companies Should Prepare Their Forecasts

Willy C. Shih

Willy Shih is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration. He is part of the Technology and Operations Management Unit, and he teaches in the MBA and Executive Education Programs. His expertise is in manufacturing, product... View Details

Keywords: aerospace; automotive; biotechnology; communications; computer; digital imaging; electrical equipment; electronics; entertainment; high technology; industrial goods; information technology industry; manufacturing; retailing; semiconductor

December 2001 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Borealis

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Bjorn N. Jorgensen

When Borealis, a European producer of plastics, used a traditional, time-consuming budgeting process, the budget was quickly out of date in a competitive environment characterized by continually changing input and output prices and dynamic market conditions. This case... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Budgets and Budgeting; Forecasting and Prediction; Investment; Governance Controls; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Manufacturing Industry; Europe

01 Dec 2020
News

In the Zone

good about myself; it’s about unlocking the great potential that exists in this community.” After joining HCZ as a senior manager and special assistant to Canada, Owusu-Kesse was named COO in 2014; in July... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; nonprofit management; urban development; leadership; public education; Educational Services

March 2000 (Revised September 2000)
Case

yesmail.com

David Tolmie wants yesmail.com to become a leader in "permission marketing." Yesmail sends clients promotional e-mail messages to targeted consumers who said "yes" when asked whether they wished to receive promotional offers in a set of categories of interest. Tolmie... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications

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01 Dec 2015
News

What to Do When Your Organization Has Dueling Missions

Mark N. Roberge

Mark Roberge is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at the Harvard Business School. He teaches Entrepreneurial Sales and Marketing in the second-year MBA program in the Fall term and The Entrepreneurial Manager and Startup Bootcamp in the... View Details

November 2004
Tutorial

Principles of Microeconomics for Strategists

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Pai-Ling Yin and Elizabeth Raabe

Reviews microeconomic principles from a business strategy perspective, using the digital music industry as context. Contains three modules: demand, supply, and equilibrium. The demand module discusses the willingness to pay, market demand, price elasticity, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Supply and Industry; Demand and Consumers; Microeconomics; Balance and Stability; Price; Cost; Revenue; Music Industry