Publications

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March 1998
Case

Bumper Acquisition (A1), A: Confidential Information for Thermo-Impact, Inc.

By: James K. Sebenius and David T. Kotchen

Located in Mundelein, IL, Thermo-Impact, Inc. is a rapidly growing, private firm that manufactures automotive bumpers. In 1995, a number of large automotive supply companies and a private equity investment firm offer to buy Thermo-Impact. The cases in this series focus... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Valuation; Negotiation Participants; Decision Making; Negotiation Process; Entrepreneurship; Negotiation Offer; Acquisition; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Illinois

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Program

OPM Renew

connections through cross-cohort collaboration. Details Broaden your global perspective and entrepreneurial leadership skills Learn how innovative global operators are changing buyer behavior and transforming bold ideas into new products and services Explore View Details

02 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 2, 2007

emerging paradigms governing marketing in this new media environment. It concludes that while meaning-making remains the central purpose of marketing communication, the shift from broadcasting to interaction within digital communities is... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2014
Teaching Note

Olympus (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Suraj Srinivasan

As 2012 approached the woes of the financial crisis seemed to be fading, companies were resuming business as usual and some of the scrutiny on corporate governance practices began to recede as well. That is until another major financial scandal emerged in Japan in the... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Electronics Industry; Japan

August 2016
Teaching Note

Mahindra Lifespace Developers' Venture into Affordable Housing

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Monica Baraldi

Mahindra Lifespace Developers Limited (MLDL) was the infrastructure and real estate arm of the Mahindra Group, an Indian conglomerate with revenues of $16.5 billion in 2014. Employing 400 experts in land acquisition, design, project management, sales and marketing, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Business Startups; Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Housing; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Human Needs; Social Issues; Urban Development; Real Estate Industry; India

19 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

The History of Beauty

disinclined to conform to assumed gender stereotypes by working on beauty. The fashion industry, which is also huge, suffers from the same lack of attention from management researchers. Q: You write, "Beauty emerges as an View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics

07 Mar 2023
HBS Case

ChatGPT: Did Big Tech Set Up the World for an AI Bias Disaster?

co-author of The Digital Mindset: What It Really Takes to Thrive in the Age of Data, Algorithms, and AI. The case, and its reverberations as ChatGPT’s success escalates the AI race, offers lessons for those who are interested in AI implementations—as well as those in... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis; Technology

Web

Topics - HBS Working Knowledge

Stagnation (12) Economic Systems (14) Economics (393) Economy (16) Education (118) Emerging Markets (14) Emotions (21) Employee Ownership (1) Employee Relationship Management (61) Employees (83) Employment (15) Energy Conservation (7)... View Details

01 Sep 2023
News

Startup Success Beyond Silicon Valley

Professor Paul Gompers visited Endeavor Saudi Arabia, a nonprofit that promotes startups in emerging markets. Pictured are Alpana Thapar and Fares Khrais (both of the Middle East and North Africa Research Center), Gompers, Lateefa... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Mele

March 2018
Case

Chaudhary Group: Rebuilding Nepal

By: Christopher J. Malloy, Lauren H. Cohen and Inakshi Sobti

After the 2015 Nepal earthquake, the Chaudhary Group, a billion-dollar conglomerate in Nepal, decides to play a pivotal role in rebuilding the country. The Group's philanthropic arm (Chaudhary Foundation) works with stakeholders and develops a blue print for short- and... View Details

November 2011 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Healthymagination at GE Healthcare Systems

By: Vineet Kumar and V. Kasturi Rangan

Jeff Immelt, the CEO of GE, introduced a new innovation strategy named "healthymagination" in 2009. With cost, quality, and access as its three pillars, healthymagination ensures a strong focus for new product introduction efforts all around GE. But will this focus... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Product Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

April 2020 (Revised October 2021)
Case

SpaceX, Economies of Scale, and a Revolution in Space Access

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl, Kylie Lucas and Mehak Sarang

From the time he transformed the world of online banking, Elon Musk established himself as a bold innovator. After selling X.com to PayPal in 2002, he founded a series of revolutionary start-ups, starting with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). Hoping to "make... View Details

Keywords: Space Tech; Space Access; Vision; Economies Of Scale; Technological Innovation; Emerging Markets; Commercialization; Finance; Aerospace Industry

February 2005 (Revised June 2006)
Case

UAL, 2004: Pulling Out of Bankruptcy

By: Daniel Baird Bergstresser, Kenneth A. Froot and Darren Robert Smart

UAL is a large air transportation company with roots that go back to the 1920s. As a legacy carrier, going back to before the 1978 deregulation of air transportation markets, United Airlines is burdened with cost structures that make it difficult to compete with newer... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Compensation; Costs; Loans; Reorganization; Cost; Restructuring; Financing and Loans; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Compensation and Benefits; Air Transportation Industry; United States

September 6, 2022
Article

Creating a Platform for Costless Personalization in Clothing

By: Shane Greenstein

This study analyzes the role of co-invention in the creation of a platform for print-on-demand-clothing, or PODC. Co-invention is the invention of a new business process to complement new technology, and turn it into a valuable commercial service. PODC copies a design... View Details

Keywords: Print-on-demand-clothing; Customization and Personalization; Digital Platforms; Apparel and Accessories Industry

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March 2011 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Cree, Inc.: Which Bright Future?

By: David J. Collis, Mary Furey and Matthew Shaffer

After its founding in the late 1980s, Cree Inc. quickly grew into a major player in the emerging LED market. By 2007, technological improvements in LEDs had made them suitable for TV, computer, and mobile "backlighting"; and concerns over global warning led to calls to... View Details

March 2016 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Tableau

By: Boris Vallee

Matrix Capital Management, a long-short equity hedge fund based in Waltham, Massachusetts, is assessing its investment in Tableau, a data visualization company. Tableau, which conducted an IPO a few years ago, has been experiencing substantial growth as it aims at... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Fund; Long-short Equity; Growth Investing; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment; Valuation; Technology; Technology Industry; Waltham

December 2019 (Revised June 2024)
Case

The Dutch East India Company in 1612 (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Giuseppe Dari-Mattiacci

The Dutch East India Company’s board of directors must decide what to do about an impending legal requirement to liquidate the company’s assets and return to shareholders their capital and any profits earned during a ten-year lock-up period. The charter granted to the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Globalized Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Laws and Statutes; Financial Markets; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Government Relations; Business History; Shipping Industry; Netherlands

Web

Leadership Fellows | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

levels: Providing social sector organizations with access to analytic and strategic talent to deliver high-impact results Encouraging emerging leaders to appreciate and understand the complexities of leading in the social sector For... View Details

January 2011 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (Abridged)

By: Anita Elberse

The management team of Marvel Enterprises, known for its universe of superhero characters that includes Spider-Man, the Hulk, and X-Men, must reevaluate its marketing strategy. In June 2004, only six years after the company emerged from bankruptcy, Marvel has amassed a... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Intellectual Property; Rights; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry