Publications

June 2007 (Revised October 2009)
Case

Les is More, Times Four

By: Noam T. Wasserman and Rosy Fynn

"I've had enough! I've decided that I need to resign," read the email from the founder of Webpoint to the company's board of directors. Les Trachtman, the CEO of Webpoint, has to figure out how to react to the founder's "it's Trachtman or me" ultimatum. Webpoint was... View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Management Succession; Entrepreneurship

14 Dec 2016
HBS Seminar

Alexander Frankel, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

February 2014 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Go Mobile: Aligning District Managers and Store Teams

By: Tatiana Sandino

Indian cell phone retailer Go Mobile had implemented high-powered incentives to motivate its store employees to behave as owners and provide exceptional service. As the company scaled up, it faced multiple challenges in building a layer of district managers that were... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth Management; Organizational Design; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Telecommunications Industry; India

February 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Stock Reform of Shenzhen Development Bank

By: Li Jin, Li Liao, Aldo Sesia and Jianyi Wu

Shenzhen Development Bank, China's first publicly traded company, was undergoing the non-tradable share reform. Its current controlling shareholder, private equity firm Newbridge Capital LLC, needs to negotiate with its diverse minority shareholders to find a... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Private Equity; Investment; Corporate Governance; Managerial Roles; Emerging Markets; Negotiation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Banking Industry; China

December 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

ACTC Customer Service Department

Focuses on the young general manager of a new cable TV system and on its customer service department. Jeanne LaFrance, the general manager, has an uneasy feeling about the way in which the department is being managed. She sees symptoms of what she suspects are serious... View Details

Keywords: Management; Problems and Challenges; Planning; Customer Focus and Relationships; Performance Evaluation; Telecommunications Industry

08 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 8, 2007

is invested and aid has a small but insignificant effect on growth. Aid has no effect on the financial account, but does raise holdings of foreign reserves. Download the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2025
Case

Davivienda Bank's Upskilling and Reskilling Strategy in Colombia (Abridged)

By: Jorge Tamayo, Raffaella Sadun and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2022, this abridged case examines the digital transformation strategy of Davivienda—a leading player in Colombia’s commercial banking sector and one of the companies belonging to Grupo Bolívar, a major Colombian conglomerate—and the bank’s upskilling and... View Details

Web

Research - Private Capital Project

Arsenal’s ownership. Over just two years, Pinnacle's EBITDA increased from $13.5 million to $60 million. By mid-2021,... November 2024 (Revised December 2024) Case Moonfare and the Democratization of Private... View Details

01 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 1

of leader power on team performance. Three studies find consistent support for this argument. The implications for theory and practice are discussed. Download the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Meet Professor Elisabeth Paulson: A Conversation on Life, Research, and Teaching

lucky enough to continue doing at HBS. How has your teaching experience been at HBS so far? What do you like most about the case method and classroom experience? I just... View Details

09 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 9, 2015

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49226 Cases & Course Materials Harvard Business School Case 315-030 The Emergence of M&A in Microfinance Mibanco, a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Apr 2018
Research & Ideas

Can Consumers Be Saved From Their Misguided Decisions?

on a number of products and services including health insurance plans, generic versus brand drug choices, copays and medication use, mobile phone plan choices, and even better methods for farming seaweed. “If you’re thinking about using... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Consulting; Retail

February 1996 (Revised November 2003)
Case

Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (A)

By: Robert S. Kaplan

A new administration in the City of Indianapolis is initially determined to privatize many municipal services. Before taking this action, however, the city managers want to know the current cost of performing these services with the municipal workers. Existing... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Public Sector; Activity Based Costing and Management; Service Delivery; Privatization; City; Indianapolis

Web

Events & Presentations - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

January 9-13, 2023 January 2023 VBHC Intensive Seminar HBS Campus, Boston, MA The annual one-week Value-Based Health Care Delivery Intensive Seminar is a non-credit, graduate-level program held at Harvard Business School using in-depth... View Details

April 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.

By: Robert G. Eccles and David Lane

As CEO of leading executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles for the past 18 months, Kevin Kelly was pleased with his accomplishments so far but concerned about threats he perceived to Heidrick's position at the highest levels of the executive search business. In... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Recruitment; Disruptive Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Employment Industry; Service Industry

September 2007
Case

Metro International S.A.

By: Tarun Khanna, Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Vincent Marie Dessain, Ane Damgaard Jensen and Anders Sjoman

Explores the business model of Metro International, a company publishing 70 editions of its free newspaper in 20 countries. Metro had been a pioneer in the free newspaper market, fighting incumbent publishers distributing traditional paid-for newspapers. Looks at the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Digital Marketing; Advertising; Expansion; Globalized Firms and Management; Journalism and News Industry; Spain