Publications

September 13, 2021
Article

Managing Through Crunch Time—Without Burning Out Your Team

By: Flavio Serapiao, Andrew Hill and Boris Groysberg

Crunch times—the long, stressful hours of work that are often required in the final weeks before a new product launch—can have an inordinate impact on the success of businesses and they’re powerful shapers of organizational culture. Effective leaders understand that... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Situation or Environment; Management Skills

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August 2006 (Revised September 2012)
Case

Arrow Electronics--The Apollo Acquisition

By: Stephen P. Kaufman

Having already made 10 acquisitions of competitors in the last decade, the CEO of Arrow is evaluating the acquisition of another small competitor to boost sales, become #1 in a niche market segment, and achieve economies of scale. He is struggling with whether the deal... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Valuation; Performance Evaluation; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Strategic Planning; Growth and Development Strategy; Electronics Industry; United States

June 1990 (Revised August 1990)
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc.--1987 (A)

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

An integrated sequence of three cases on the financing of a technical workstation manufacturer. This case focuses on Sun's competitive strategy which requires an inordinately high rate of growth (over 20% per quarter) and commensurate amounts of working capital.... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Competitive Strategy; Financing and Loans; Capital; Financial Strategy; Public Equity; Corporate Finance; Information Technology Industry

16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

Johnson. They do this work hand-in-glove,” Hill says. The strategy must be pursued with transparency and rigor companywide. “The leadership needs to be exposed to people from... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

September 1994 (Revised May 1995)
Case

Time Life, Inc. (A)

By: David A. Garvin and Jonathan West

Time Life has historically been a continuity book publisher, selling 20-volume book series via direct mail. Now, however, music and video/TV divisions have been added, and the CEO is trying to craft a strategy that will align the divisions so they can produce... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Business Divisions; Horizontal Integration; Production; Creativity; Alignment; Advertising; Publishing Industry

15 Jul 2010
Other Presentation

Value-Based Health Care Delivery

By: Michael E. Porter

This presentation draws on Michael E. Porter and Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg: Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results, Harvard Business School Press, May 2006, and Porter, Michael E. "A Strategy for Health Care Reform," New England... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; United States

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January 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Live Nation Faces the Music

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Frank Cespedes and Kerry Herman

In 2008, concert producer and promoter Live Nation faces a decision about its strategy in light of the tumultuous changes in the music industry and the increasing power of the major artists. As the music business once again recreates itself in response to new... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Music Entertainment; Five Forces Framework; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 2002 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Note on Regulatory Choices

For many firms, government interaction is expansive, influencing the conduct of firms and industry structure. The visible hand of government, in the form of a regulatory scheme, plays a role in firm affairs along with the invisible hand of market forces. Deregulation... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Governance Compliance

September 2016 (Revised February 2019)
Case

KaBOOM!: Play at Scale (A)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby

A case on scaling social impact for nonprofits. Founded in 1995, KaBOOM! quickly became a nationally recognized nonprofit in building playgrounds with strong corporate partnerships and volunteer-organizing capabilities. Over the years, KaBOOM! developed new programs,... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Social Impact; Scaling; Nonprofit Scaling; Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; United States

David E. Bell is a Baker Foundation Professor at HBS. He has taught marketing many times in the MBA program including as course head.

During his career at HBS, David has taught a variety of other courses to both MBAs and executives, including risk... View Details

Keywords: agribusiness; agriculture; apparel; e-commerce industry; fashion; food; food processing; grocery; insurance industry; marketing industry; retailing

Research Summary

The American Chief Executive from 1850 to 2000

By: Richard S. Tedlow

Richard S. Tedlow's research explores changes in the leadership strategies, styles, and backgrounds of corporate chief executive officers in the United States over the past century and a half. This project has both a qualitative and a quantitative component. The... View Details

November 2016 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Radial Analytics Probes Post-Acute Care

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Olivia Hull

Thaddeus Fulford-Jones and Eric Weiss, founders of healthcare technology startup Radial Analytics, have been busy developing a software program designed to save hospitals money and improve patient outcomes by producing customized care plans for patients leaving the... View Details

Keywords: Electronic Medical Records; Electronic Health Records; Data Science; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention; Growth Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Health Industry; Technology Industry; Cambridge; Massachusetts

26 Jul 2016
First Look

July 26, 2016

its rivals) chooses not to enlist the help of financing partners. Is Disney Studios pursuing the right number of tentpoles, as well as the right mix of new versus existing properties, under the right financing structure? And will the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Jun 2014
News

Want to Know How to Make a (Good) Impact at Work?

June 1989 (Revised July 1993)
Case

CIGNA Worldwide

By: John A. Quelch

A CIGNA Worldwide (CWW) task group of European country directors and key functional managers is meeting in November 1988 to discuss how CWW should respond to the European Community's plan to remove existing internal barriers and restrictions to the free flow of goods... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Insurance; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Trade; Insurance Industry; Europe

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October 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

ATR KimEng Financial Corporation

By: Li Jin, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Dawn Lau

ATR KimEng is a Philippino asset management business. It is making an important decision on its own strategy going forward: should it stay independent, or be taken over by a large bank in the region. Through this case, we discuss the financial service industry in South... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Markets; Investment; Financial Services Industry; Philippines

December 2007 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Given Imaging Ltd. - First We Take Manhattan, Then We Take Berlin?

GI has developed a revolutionary video pill for imaging the small bowel in the gastro-intestinal tract. The development has required the integration of wide variety of technologies. GI founder and CEO Gabriel Meron must determine GI's marketing strategy and prioritize... View Details

Keywords: Medical Specialties; Globalized Markets and Industries; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Corporate Finance; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Japan; United States; Europe

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