Publications

January 2021 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Tech with a Side of Pizza: How Domino's Rose to the Top

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott and Susan Seligson

After hitting an all-time low in 2008, Domino’s Pizza underwent a vigorous rebranding, product development, and embraced innovative technologies to become the world’s leading international fast-food retailer. Domino’s considered itself as much a tech company as it was... View Details

May 1991 (Revised April 2008)
Case

The Japanese Facsimile Industry in 1990

Japanese firms dominate the facsimile machine industry, accounting for more than 90% of worldwide sales. This case explores the reasons for this dominance. View Details

Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; Industry Structures; Business and Government Relations; Competition; Telecommunications Industry; Japan

31 Mar 2025
Video

Yiwei Li

October 2018
Supplement

JetBlue: Relevant Sustainability Leadership (B)

By: George Serafeim and David Freiberg

The case outlines JetBlue's decision to disclose according to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards and the ESG metrics they began reporting. Data on resulting changes in institutional ownership are also provided. View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Metrics; Leadership And Change Management; Airlines; Innovation; Purpose; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Sustainability Reporting; Change Management; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Financial Reporting

February 2001
Case

Trans-Share Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins

The seller of fractional interest aircraft programs must decide how to account in its IPO for the sales of fractional interest aircraft programs. Teaching Purpose: To expose students to revenue recognition issues. View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Revenue Recognition; Air Transportation Industry

November 2009 (Revised November 2010)
Case

SIPEF: Biological Assets at Fair Value under IAS 41

This case examines fair value accounting under lAS 41 for a European-listed agricultural firm. Students identify the firm's core operations, distinguishing the IFRS treatment for three distinct assets: land, agricultural assets that reside on the land, and inventory... View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Standards; Valuation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Europe

07 Apr 2015
News

Big Companies Pay Later, Squeezing Their Suppliers

04 Jun 2024
Cold Call Podcast

How One Insurtech Firm Formulated a Strategy for Climate Change

Keywords: Re: Lauren H. Cohen; Insurance

February 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

TimeCredit

By: Emanuele Colonnelli, Raymond Kluender and Shai Benjamin Bernstein

TimeCredit is an artificial intelligence (AI) startup that is developing large language models (LLMs) to generate accounting memos. The case follows Ndonga Sagnia, a Gambian Harvard Business School MBA student with an accounting background, as she decides how much... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; AI and Machine Learning; Entrepreneurial Finance; Identity; Technology Industry

September 2000
Case

MCI-WorldCom Combination, The (A)

By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Outlines the accounting decision faced by WorldCom in its acquisition of MCI. Two methods are discussed (purchase and pooling) and students are asked to evaluate which would be more suitable for WorldCom. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Accounting; Telecommunications Industry

October 1984
Case

NIKE (B1): Business Class Travel

Presents information about Nike's way of accounting for travel expenses. The teaching objective is to raise the academic question: What is a policy? and then to proceed to a specific action question: what should be Nike's travel policy? View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Policy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

October 2004 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Product Team Cialis: Getting Ready to Market

By: Elie Ofek

Lilly and ICOS are preparing for the launch of a new drug, Cialis, to compete against Viagra. To position against the incumbent firm Pfizer, which developed and markets Viagra, and other newcomers into the erectile dysfunction market, they must determine how best to... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Segmentation; Pharmaceutical Industry

Article

The Effect of Dividends on Consumption

By: Malcolm Baker, Stefan Nagel and Jeffrey Wurgler

Classical models predict that the division of stock returns into dividends and capital appreciation does not affect investor consumption patterns, while mental accounting and other economic frictions predict that investors have a higher propensity to consume from... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Investment Return; Economics; Stocks; Capital; Business Earnings; Investment Portfolio; Investment Funds; Cost; Saving

Read Now

August 2018
Case

Tapping Growth at Lord Hobo Brewing Company

By: Ethan Rouen and Susanna Gallani

Lord Hobo Brewing Company accounts for its inventory process as it prepares to create its first set of professional financial statements for investors. View Details

Keywords: Inventory; Start-ups; Craft Brewing; Investing; GAAP; Brand Management; Accounting; Working Capital; Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Business Startups; Business and Shareholder Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; Boston; New England; United States

Apr 12 2017
Testimonial

Career-Booster

Charlotte L. Robertson

Charlotte Robertson is an Assistant Professor in the Business, Government, and the International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School. She teaches BGIE in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Robertson conducts research on the history of financial... View Details

Profile

Tyler Todd

Why was earning your MBA at HBS important to you? I love my engineering background, but my long-term goals of senior management and running my own company necessitated that I learn how to make sound business decisions. While you can learn finance or View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity; Financial Services; Energy / Extractive Minerals; Manufacturing

September 1983 (Revised October 1984)
Case

Boston Whaler, Inc.: Managing the Dealer Network

Mr. Joseph Lawler, newly-appointed president of Boston Whaler, Inc. (BWI), believes that better dealer management is the key to his company's continued growth. BWI manufactured a high-price, high performance line of power and other boats for the recreational,... View Details

Keywords: Distribution Channels; Product Marketing; Consumer Products Industry