Publications

2020
Book

Fit to Compete: Why Honest Conversations About Your Company's Capabilities Are the Key to a Winning Strategy

By: Michael Beer

Is Silence Killing Your Strategy?
In his thirty years of working in corporations, Harvard Business School professor Michael Beer has witnessed firsthand how organizational silence derails strategic objectives. When employees can't speak truth to power, senior... View Details

Keywords: Honesty; Communication; Organizational Culture; Trust; Strategy; Performance Effectiveness

Find at Harvard

Article

Are Buybacks Really Shortchanging Investment?

By: Jesse M. Fried and Charles C.Y. Wang

It’s no secret that the American economy is suffering from the twin ills of slow growth and rising income inequality. Many lay the blame at the doors of America’s largest public corporations. The charge? These firms prefer to distribute cash generated from their... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Investment; Stocks; Business and Shareholder Relations; Equality and Inequality; United States

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

November 2017
Teaching Note

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-455. On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales.... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Technology; Hardware; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Search Technology; Software; Web; Web Sites; Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul

August 2016
Case

Collective Academy

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton

This case is about making the decision to become an entrepreneur and early challenges in setting up a business model and team. In 2015, Pato Bichara co-founded Collective Academy to create an affordable, three-year undergraduate experience to infuse innovation into... View Details

Keywords: Early Stage; Team Building; Business Startup; Trade-offs; Risk; Founders' Agreements; Education; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Business Startups; Decision Making; Technology Industry; Mexico; Latin America; United States

November 2010 (Revised November 2017)
Case

Washout: The Founders' Tale and the Investors' Tale

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Chad M. Carr

The competing narratives of the founders of Alantec, Inc. and the venture capitalists who funded the company are explored in the context of Kalashian v. Advent VI Ltd. a California Superior Court case. The founders of the company, which produced switches for computer... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Governance Controls; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawsuits and Litigation; Managerial Roles; Ownership Stake; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Technology Industry

April 2006 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Chrysanthemum and Dragon: JAFCO Asia in China

By: Rawi E. Abdelal and David Lane

In the autumn of 2002, JAFCO Asia, a subsidiary of JAFCO Co., Ltd., became the first foreign private equity firm to open an office in Beijing's Haidian Science Park. JAFCO was the only Japanese private equity firm operating in China. As such, Managing Director Vincent... View Details

Keywords: History; International Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Government Relations; Expansion; Market Entry and Exit; Performance Effectiveness; Foreign Direct Investment; Business Strategy; Financial Services Industry; China; Beijing; Japan

July 2004 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Hines Goes to Rio

By: Arthur I Segel and Ricardo Reisen De Pinho

The Torre Almirante office tower, Hines' newest project in Rio de Janeiro, was a 36-story, Class AA office tower with an adjoining 420-stall parking structure and a preserved 14-story historic facade. It was completely different from anything that had previously been... View Details

Keywords: Property; Design; Construction; Buildings and Facilities; Risk Management; Problems and Challenges; Real Estate Industry; Brazil; New York (city, NY)