Publications

July 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Gera Developments: Leadership at a Crossroads

By: Christina R. Wing and John Masko

For decades, Gera Developments (Gera) was a boutique family-owned real estate development firm in Pune, India. But since 2000, managing director Rohit Gera had turned the company into a dynamic innovator in housing solutions for urban Indian families. Over the 2010s,... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Construction; Geographic Location; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Housing; Leadership Style; Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; Family and Family Relationships; Urban Development; Customization and Personalization; Real Estate Industry; Maharashtra; India; United States

24 Feb 2022
Blog Post

African American Student Union Spotlight on the Public Sector

before and during the MBA program. Leah Azeze (MBA 2023) Where is your hometown? Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. What was your pre-MBA industry and role? International Development /... View Details

July 2005 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Carnival Cruise Lines

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Robert Kwortnik and Gabriele Piccoli

Highlights the potential value of customer data and the choices and challenges the firm faces when attempting to capture this value. Carnival collects a significant amount of individual-level behavioral and demographic customer data. Senior management must now decide... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Demographics; Customer Relationship Management; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Performance Improvement; Business Strategy; Travel Industry; Travel Industry

11 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 11, 2007

imperialism, there is reason to believe that John Holt is not an isolated case of a company assuming this form. Holt and others function as intermediaries between global business, which rarely invests in... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 1987 (Revised May 1993)
Case

National Demographics & Lifestyles (A)

Describes National Demographics and Lifestyles (NDL), a Colorado-based company that compiles a database from product "warranty registration cards" and sells mailing lists from this database. The company has burned through more rounds of financing than ever intended,... View Details

Keywords: Demographics; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Management; Marketing; Information Industry; Colorado

10 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 10

Case 715-022 HEINEKEN-Brewing a Better World The Dutch company HEINEKEN, one of the leading global brewers known for its brands like Heineken, Amstel, and Desperados and for... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

January 2008 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Bidding on Martha's Vineyard (A)

By: James Sebenius

To buy a desirable Martha's Vineyard property, Robert and Sally Franklin must craft a bidding strategy informed by their assessment of their competitor. The "A" case sets up the situation and bidding history to date, describes how they assessed their valuations and... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Process; Valuation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Property; Bids and Bidding; Real Estate Industry; Martha's Vineyard

29 Jun 2016
Blog Post

Emerging Into Singapore

mixed group of local and multi-cultural young and driven people who I already have formed good friendships and memories with. Being an Avenger View Details

Keywords: Technology; Consumer Products / Retail

03 May 2004
Research & Ideas

Business History around the World

of a wider pattern for countries with shared geographical positions, cultural orientations, and historical patterns of development. It is a paradox that in a global world so much research on business history... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

October 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Strategic Inflection: TiVo in 2005

By: David B. Yoffie, Pai-Ling Yin and Barbara Mack

In the late 1990s, TiVo pioneered the digital video recorder (DVR), a new consumer electronics category. By 2005, the company was the clear leader in technology and installed base. It had also built extraordinary loyalty among its customers. However, TiVo lost a half... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Competition; Partners and Partnerships; Information Infrastructure; Television Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

November 2011
Case

Comfort Class Transport: Does Customer Service Need an Overhaul?

By: Michael J Roberts and Paul E. Morrison

The general manager of a chauffeured limousine transport company is concerned about underperformance at the company's customer service call center. The eight-person call center handles almost all customer interaction including discussing company services with... View Details

Keywords: Capacity Utilization; Supply ＆ Demand; Operations Management; Customer Service; Management; Demand and Consumers; Service Operations; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Performance Capacity; Customer Satisfaction; Transportation Industry

12 Dec 2016
HBS Case

Business Lessons from Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

his wallet and saw he only had seven dollars left. That stuck with him, and it has fueled him ever since. “The power in the entertainment industry is shifting to the... View Details

Keywords: Re: Anita Elberse; Motion Pictures & Video; Entertainment & Recreation

June 1991 (Revised February 1999)
Case

Willow Creek Community Church (A)

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger

Describes the historic evolution and current positioning of a Christian church which focuses on the attraction of "unchurched" individuals. Describes the church's strategic service vision and its current growth and leadership problems. View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Strategic Planning; Social Enterprise; Marketing Strategy; Growth Management; Religion; Service Industry

October 1987 (Revised October 1992)
Case

Black & Decker Corp.: Household Products Group, Brand Transition

This rewritten version differs from Black & Decker Corp.: Household Products Group (A1) in two ways: 1) It has an explicit decision focus. Homa must decide on a program to transfer the Black & Decker name to GE small appliances; and 2) The detailed information... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

November 2024
Supplement

Epic Games: Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite (B)

By: Andy Wu and Ronald Wang

In a significant ruling on April 24, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld portions of the district court’s decision against Epic Games back in September 2021. However, Apple’s anti-steering provisions, which restricted app developers from... View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Market Transactions; Applications and Software; Technology Industry; Technology Industry

July 2015 (Revised April 2016)
Case

Lomography: Analog in a Digital World

By: John T. Gourville, Karol Misztal and Emer Moloney

In spite of the world's move to digital photography, in 2013 Lomography continues to design and offer analog (film) cameras to a loyal following of artistic photographers. Now it must decide whether to stick to its traditional offerings, to expand into artistic lenses... View Details

Keywords: Positioning; Product Lines; Product Line Management; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Brands and Branding; Fine Arts Industry; Fine Arts Industry; Fine Arts Industry

March 1984 (Revised June 1998)
Case

MCI Communications Corp.--1983

MCI Communications Corp. is faced with a large need for external financing to support rapid growth and substantial uncertainty due to the AT&T antitrust settlement. The case illustrates the value of convertible debt as a financing instrument in these circumstances. View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Emerging Markets; Financing and Loans; Telecommunications Industry; United States

12 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: Strength in Numbers

emissions reductions. Of course, one might object that none of these countries committed to reducing CO2 emissions sufficient to stem global warming. That is, in part, because global warming poses a... View Details

Keywords: Re: Gunnar Trumbull

April 2011
Case

Shimano: The Intel of the Bicycle Business

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Shimano, known as the Intel of the bicycle business, is contemplating on investing in a new growth market, namely the comfort bicycle market. View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Interactive Communication; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Industry Growth; Expansion; Bicycle Industry