Publications

02 Nov 2015
News

Making Higher Ed Accessible to Africans

part time. ”I have now been to 10 countries in Africa in three years, and often times feel more comfortable here than I do in my other home, the USA.” With the acquisition of two universities (Cavendish in Uganda and Zambia) and a... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken

February 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Citigroup: Re-Branding in 2007 (A)

By: Rohit Deshpandé and Carin-Isabel Knoop

With its history of growth through acquisition, Citigroup has a conglomeration of sub-brands that need to be integrated and rationalized. Ajay Banga, CEO of Citi's Global Consumer Group International, chairs a task force to work through the process of re-branding the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Customer Focus and Relationships; Globalization; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry

16 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 16

assets in its home base, it also opened up many opportunities abroad, including in Russia, one of the largest electricity markets in the world. The case outlines Enel's internationalization strategy and then focuses on one piece of the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

06 Oct 2003
What Do You Think?

Is “the Innovator’s Solution” to Sustained Corporate Growth an Unnatural Act?

profitability. There are at least two antidotes to this scenario. One involves serial acquisitions. But research has suggested that most acquisitions destroy value. This helps explain why the stock of acquiring firms is often discounted... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

03 Feb 2021
News

Power Play

contributed complementary skills from the energy sector—to establish the firm’s leadership team. Advani believes the company’s middle-market private equity investment strategy is better executed and better aligns the firm with its... View Details

Keywords: Maureen Harmon

July 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Petstore.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Petstore.com is one of four contenders for leadership in the highly competitive online pet supply business. Petstore.com faces decisions regarding potential merger partners and how to brand its service within the website managed by its ultimate merger partner,... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Partners and Partnerships; Internet and the Web; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry

December 1998 (Revised December 1999)
Case

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Private Client Services

By: Thomas J. DeLong, David M. Darst, Ann K Rusher and Catherine M. Conneely

The 1997 merger of retail giant Dean Witter and investment bank Morgan Stanley was a year old when Bob Sculthorpe was appointed director of Private Client Services (PCS) at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MSDW). The firm was still operating under two separate broker-dealer... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Divisions; Investment Banking; Brands and Branding; Salesforce Management; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry

27 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

New Research: Surviving Bankruptcy, Useful Economics, and Retirement

to the Ground Navid Mojir and V. Kasturi Rangan “The case tells the story of Dell Technologies and its efforts to revitalize its value proposition and escape a commodity trap by acquiring EMC for $67 billion—the largest tech acquisition... View Details

Web

Courses by Title - Course Catalog

Seminar) General Management Andy Zelleke Fall 2025 Q1Q2 3.0 Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage Strategy Eric J. Van den Steen Fall 2025 Q1 1.5 Creating the Modern Financial System Business, Government & the International... View Details

November 2003 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Sanford C. Bernstein: The Fork in the Road (A)

By: Boris Groysberg and Anahita Hashemi

Soon after the death of the firm's legendary founder, the individuals then serving as chairman and as president--Lewis A. Sanders and Roger Hertog, respectively--talked about the future of their firm. Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., a private investment firm, had grown... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Expectations; Competitive Advantage; Valuation

Find at Harvard

October 2008 (Revised December 2008)
Supplement

Gillette Company (E): Procter & Gamble

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird

After arriving in 2001 as the first outsider Chairman and CEO in Gillette history, Jim Kilts led a remarkable turnaround. But by late 2004 he had to make a difficult decision. To better position the 104-year-old, Boston-based company, he opted to sell it to... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation

November 1996 (Revised August 1997)
Case

Project "Dial-Tone"

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Bob Hellman, a partner in a West Coast middle-market buyout firm, is attempting to simultaneously acquire and merge three disparate firms in the rapidly consolidating telemarketing services industry. Hellman must value the individual companies as well as the combined... View Details

Keywords: Complexity; Private Equity; Integration; Mergers and Acquisitions; Negotiation Deal; Strategic Planning; Investment; Opportunities; Valuation; Service Industry

09 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Around the World of Entrepreneurial Ventures

complexity that is astonishing, said Sahlman. The International Context According to Kuemmerle, there is one central question guiding his IEF research: how do entrepreneurial managers, and those who finance them, make sensible resource View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

April 2001 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Vodafone AirTouch's Bid for Mannesmann

Vodafone's bid for Mannesmann was the largest ever cross-border hostile bid. This case examines the economic, financial, and corporate governance issues in the deal. View Details

Keywords: Horizontal Integration; International Finance; Valuation; Corporate Governance; Acquisition; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Telecommunications Industry

September 1998 (Revised February 1999)
Case

Interactive Insurance Services: Redefining Insurance Distribution

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Marla Malcom-Nagler

Founded in July 1995, Interactive Insurance Services provided personal lines of insurance over the World Wide Web. In June 1996, the company was acquired by Intuit for $7.5 million. The case details the competitive and organizational issues faced by this rapidly... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Restructuring; Growth and Development; Distribution; Business Processes; Competitive Strategy; Web; Insurance Industry

Find at Harvard

May 1997 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Vermeer Technologies (C): Negotiating the Future

By: Ashish Nanda

The success of the Vermeer software offering suddenly transforms the start-up into a sought after company. After arduous negotiations, Vermeer management is faced with the choice of continuing as an independent company or being acquired by Microsoft or Netscape. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Applications and Software; Decision Making; Acquisition; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Information Technology Industry