Publications

May 2008 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Tribune Company, 2007

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and Eric Seth Gordon

This case describes the proposed acquisition of Tribune Company by Sam Zell in 2007. Tribune Company is one of the largest newspapers and broadcasting companies in the United States. Zell's proposed acquisition is unusual in several respects. It is two-tiered, employs... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Markets; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Negotiation Offer; Journalism and News Industry; Journalism and News Industry

The Sales Acceleration Formula provides a scalable, predictable approach to growing revenue and building a winning sales team. Everyone wants to build the next $100 million business and author Mark Roberge has actually done it using a unique methodology... View Details

1989
Chapter

LBOs and the Reemergence of Institutional Monitoring of Managers

By: Michael C. Jensen

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Management

Web

Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise - Course Catalog

of success? To what extent do commonly used performance metrics kill innovation, and how can we develop metrics that encourage new growth? Can acquisitions become a pathway to new capabilities? Should we... View Details

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 7: Designing Asset Allocation Systems

By: Robert Simons

This module reading provides tools and analyses for acquiring and allocating resources. The module begins by reviewing the importance of setting strategic boundaries as a basis for asset acquisitions. Next, a distinction is made between new assets acquired to meet... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Asset Allocation Systems; Payback; Discounted Cash Flow; Internal Rate Of Return; Strategic Investments; Analyzing Acquisitions; Strategy; Capital Budgeting

June 2013
Supplement

Wayne Ferrari: iAutomation at a Crossroads (Video Supplement)

This is the Video Supplement for Wayne Ferrari: I Automation at a Crossroads (HBS Case #813120). View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Private Equity Exit; Pricing; Pricing Policies; Pricing Strategy; Pricing Structure; Distribution; Channels Of Distribution; Acquisitions; Integration; Growth; Salesforce Management; Price; Private Equity; Manufacturing Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; United States

2013
Chapter

Who Chooses Board Members?

By: Ali Akyol and Lauren Cohen

We exploit a recent regulation passed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to explore the nomination of board members to US publicly traded firms. In particular, we focus on firms’ use of executive search firms versus allowing internal members (often... View Details

Keywords: Boards; Boards Of Directors; Executive Search Firms; Governance; SEC Regulation; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Succession; Executive Compensation

Read Now

30 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

How Your Employees and Customers Drive a New Value Profit Chain

Value Exchange is improved through efficient information management. Mobil's Speedpass (read book excerpt here) is an example of how knowing your customer can lead to the creation of new products, increased loyalty, and the View Details

Keywords: by Manda Mahoney

May–June 1995
Article

Rehabilitating the Leveraged Buyout: A Look at Clayton, Dubilier and Rice

By: W. C. Kester and T. A. Luehrman

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Information

Find at Harvard

Web

The Railroads: The First Big Business - Railroads and the Transformation of Capitalism | Harvard Business School

Railroads Finance Management Business Analysts Mass Distribution Mergers & Syndicates Research Links The Railroads: The First Big Business Beginning in the mid-sixteenth century, local railroads around the world served as a means of... View Details

July 2022 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Call of Fiduciary Duty: Microsoft Acquires Activision Blizzard

By: Jonas Heese, Joseph Pacelli and James Barnett

In January 2022, Microsoft announces its acquisition of the video game company Activision Blizzard, in a deal valued at $68.7 billion, which would make Microsoft the world’s third largest video game company. The deal came as Activision Blizzard faced gender pay... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Goodwill Accounting; Analysis; Decision Making; Talent and Talent Management; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Ethics; Leadership; Risk and Uncertainty; Mergers and Acquisitions; Lawsuits and Litigation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; North America; California

24 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 24, 2018

Group between 2015 and late 2017 when it grew rapidly through global acquisitions to become 170 on the 2017 Fortune 500 list. A firm that had begun as a provincial airline in China was now a giant global... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2000 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Radio One, Inc.

By: Richard S. Ruback and Pauline M Fischer

Radio One (NYSE: ROIA and RIOAK), the largest radio group targeting African-Americans in the country, had the opportunity to acquire 12 urban stations in the top 50 markets from Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (NYSE: CCU) in the winter of 2000. The stations were... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Valuation; Race; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Strategy; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Indiana; United States; North Carolina

2012
Working Paper

Learning from Customers: Individual and Organizational Effects in Outsourced Radiological Services

By: Jonathan R. Clark, Robert S. Huckman and Bradley R. Staats

The ongoing fragmentation of work has resulted in a narrowing of tasks into smaller pieces that can be sent outside the organization and, in many instances, around the world. This trend is shifting the boundaries of organizations and leading to increased outsourcing.... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Learning; Health Care and Treatment; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Knowledge Acquisition; Volume; Performance Productivity; Health Industry

SSRN

Read Now

15 Feb 2018
News

Does CVS–Aetna Spell the End of Business as Usual?

10 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, October 10, 2017

early 2015, Becton Dickinson acquired CareFusion, an acquisition 25-times larger than any of its previous acquisitions, and set out to create a new, integrated company made up of the best of both. By late... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Aug 2016
Research & Ideas

Black Swans and Big Trends Can Ruin Anyone's Internet Prediction

a handful of internet startups were acquired by big incumbents during 2001: HotJobs by Yahoo, MP3.Com by Universal, and Peapod by Ahold. The pace of acquisitions didn’t really pick up until 2004. If you read... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann; Technology

May 1994 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Nelson Paper Products, Inc.

By: W. Carl Kester

A comprehensive review case that entails both investment and financing decisions. Students must value an acquisitions opportunity and determine how Nelson Paper ought to finance both the acquisition and its regular capital expenditures program. View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Financing and Loans; Investment; Acquisition; Financial Strategy

March 1980 (Revised December 1995)
Case

American Chemical Corp.

By: William E. Fruhan Jr. and John P. Goldsberry III

A large chemical manufacturer divests a plant that is acquired by a small specialty chemicals manufacturer. The acquisition decision is viewed from the vantage point of the small specialty chemicals manufacturer. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Chemicals; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Decision Making; Manufacturing Industry; Chemical Industry