Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,670)
- Faculty Publications (322)
- December 2017 (Revised June 2021)
- Case
Tesla's Bid for SolarCity (A)
By: Charles C.Y. Wang and Raaj Zutshi
In October 2016, Tesla asked its shareholders to ratify their $2.4 billion bid for SolarCity. Tesla had announced a series of large projects in the preceding months including the unveiling of the Model 3, the new Solar Roof, and pushing forward the opening of the... View Details
- November 2017
- Article
Overcoming Institutional Voids: A Reputation-Based View of Long Run Survival
Emerging markets are characterized by underdeveloped institutions and frequent environmental shifts. Yet they also contain many firms that have survived over generations. How are firms in weak institutional environments able to persist over time? Motivated by 69... View Details
- October 2017
- Article
Elevating Repositioning Costs: Strategy Dynamics and Competitive Interactions
By: Anoop R. Menon and Dennis Yao
This paper proposes an approach for modeling competitive interactions that incorporates the costs to firms of changing strategy. The costs associated with strategy modifications, which we term “repositioning costs,” are particularly relevant to competitive interactions... View Details
- September 2017 (Revised March 2023)
- Case
Careem: Raising a Unicorn
By: Shikhar Ghosh and Alpana Thapar
This case follows two ex-McKinsey consultants, Magnus Olsson and Mudassir Sheikha, who in search of their true purpose decide to found Careem, a Dubai-based ride-hailing service. Following its launch in July 2012, Careem experiences rapid growth of 30% per month in the... View Details
- September–October 2017
- Article
The Surprising Power of Online Experiments: Getting the Most Out of A/B and Other Controlled Tests
By: Ron Kohavi and Stefan Thomke
In the fast-moving digital world, even experts have a hard time assessing new ideas. Case in point: At Bing, a small headline change an employee proposed was deemed a low priority and shelved for months until one engineer decided to do a quick online controlled... View Details
- Article
The Error at the Heart of Corporate Leadership
By: Joseph L. Bower and Lynn S. Paine
Agency theory, a new model of governance promulgated by academic economists in the 1970s, is behind the idea that corporate managers should make shareholder value their primary concern and that boards should ensure they do. The theory regards shareholders as owners of... View Details
- April 2017 (Revised November 2017)
- Case
BlackRock (B): Acquire MLIM? (with video links)
In early 2006, BlackRock, Inc. is considering acquiring Merrill Lynch’s asset management business. The asset management industry was in a state of transition. In the prior year, more than 130 mergers and acquisitions had taken place. The proposed deal between BlackRock... View Details
- April 2017 (Revised March 2024)
- Case
Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity
By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu
Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying to political activism. In 2016, Target CEO Brian Cornell must... View Details
Keywords: Boycott; Corporate Political Activity; Lobbying; LGBTQ; Campaign Contributions; Campaign Finance; Retail; Shareholder Activism; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Problems and Challenges; Laws and Statutes; Rights; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Media; Political Elections; Taxation; Corporate Accountability; Values and Beliefs; Fairness; Diversity; Customers; Communication; Business and Government Relations; Retail Industry; United States
- April 2017 (Revised February 2020)
- Case
Restructuring Ukraine
By: Kristin Mugford, Seema Amble and Tian Feng
In June 2015, Ukraine found itself struggling with a volatile and devalued currency, dramatically diminished foreign reserves, and a projected financing shortfall of $40 billion. Ukraine’s new government sought to return the nation to stability following political... View Details
Keywords: Exchange Rates; Politics; Macroeconomics; Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Restructuring; Economy; Currency Exchange Rate; Banks and Banking; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Bonds; Sovereign Finance; Capital Markets; Credit; Debt Securities; Financial Liquidity; Financial Markets; Government and Politics; Ukraine
- January 2017
- Supplement
Terrapin Laboratory: Exercise
By: Joseph B. Fuller and Christopher Payton
In this exercise, we examine the capital requirements of Terrapin Laboratory as they contemplate entering into a new market segment. The company is faced with two potential financing options which have different effects on the ownership structure of the company.... View Details
- January 2017
- Case
Bayer AG: Bidding to Win Merck's OTC Business
By: Benjamin C. Esty, Marc Baaij and Arjen Mulder
Shortly after submitting their best and final offer to acquire Merck's Consumer Care Division (a collection of "over-the-counter" (OTC) products with sales totaling $2 billion), the Bayer M&A team was given a chance to revise their bid because another potential... View Details
- 2016
- Working Paper
Overcoming Institutional Voids: A Reputation-Based View of Long Run Survival
By: Cheng Gao, Tiona Zuzul, Geoffrey Jones and Tarun Khanna
Emerging markets are characterized by underdeveloped institutions and frequent environmental shifts. Yet they also contain many firms that have survived over generations. How are firms in weak institutional environments able to persist over time? Motivated by 69... View Details
- January 2017 (Revised March 2021)
- Case
Fitbit
By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Christine Snively and Sarah Mehta
In 2019, Fitbit lost its leadership in the wearable sensor market to Apple and to cheaper alternatives.
Why did it lose its market position?
How will the proposed acquisition affect it and Google? View Details
Why did it lose its market position?
How will the proposed acquisition affect it and Google? View Details
- November 2016 (Revised November 2016)
- Case
Mark43
By: Thomas Eisenmann, Mitch Weiss and Halah AlQahtani
The founders of Mark43, an early-stage startup that provides software for law enforcement agencies, must decide whether to bid on a request for proposals (RFP) from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). On the one hand, LAPD would be a second large and influential... View Details
- October 2016 (Revised March 2017)
- Case
Airbnb in Amsterdam (A)
By: Mitchell Weiss, Emer Moloney and Vincent Dessain
In February 2014, Amsterdam became the first city to issue new regulations specifically to allow home sharing. Airbnb's Molly Turner, global head of civic partnerships; her colleagues at the San Francisco–based home sharing platform; and her counterparts in Amsterdam's... View Details
Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Sharing Economy; Amsterdam; Airbnb; Molly Turner; Regulation; Homesharing; Tourism; Business And Government; Public-private Partnership; Entrepreneurship; Business and Government Relations; Government Administration; Public Sector; City; Tourism Industry; Public Administration Industry; Travel Industry; Netherlands; Europe
- October 2016 (Revised November 2018)
- Case
Indigo Agriculture
By: Marco Iansiti, Michael W. Toffel and Christine Snively
Indigo Agriculture had successfully developed and launched its first commercial product, microbe-enhanced cotton seeds, on an accelerated product development timeline. In late 2016, as the company was about to launch its second product, winter wheat, the management... View Details
- October 2016
- Article
Looking Across and Looking Beyond the Knowledge Frontier: Intellectual Distance and Resource Allocation in Science
By: Kevin J. Boudreau, Eva Guinan, Karim R. Lakhani and Christoph Riedl
Selecting among alternative innovative projects is a core management task in all innovating organizations. In this paper, we focus on the evaluation of frontier scientific research projects. We argue that the "intellectual distance" between the knowledge embodied in... View Details
- September 2016
- Case
Hotel Vertu: Analyzing the Opportunity in the Boutique Hotel Industry
By: Howard H. Stevenson and Michael J. Roberts DBA
Two soon-to-be MBA graduates are considering a business opportunity in the boutique hotel industry. Having found a seemingly attractive property in Savannah, Georgia, Yvonne D'Arcy and Elisabeth Whiting face questions about career issues, planning, financing, and the... View Details
- September 2016 (Revised November 2016)
- Case
Rose Electronics Distributing Company
By: Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Itamar Frankenthal was evaluating bank loan proposals to finance his acquisition of Rose Electronics Distributing Company (“Rose”). He contacted 40 small and large banks that lent in the region and that outreach and follow-up calls resulted in nine term sheets received... View Details
- September 2016 (Revised April 2020)
- Case
Dwyane Wade
By: Anita Elberse and Jennifer Schoppe
In July 2016, while on his annual China tour to help promote the sportswear brand Li-Ning, basketball superstar Dwyane Wade and his long-time business manager, Lisa Joseph-Metelus, face a decision regarding one of his other business partnerships—that with the American... View Details
Keywords: Branding; Fashion; Superstar; Celebrity Endorsement; Innovation; Creative Industries; Talent; General Management; Sports; Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Management; Strategy; Personal Development and Career; Consumer Products Industry; Fashion Industry; Sports Industry; China