Publications

September 1995
Case

Ares-Serono

By: Michael Y. Yoshino, Jean-Pierre Jeannet and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Ares Serono, a medium-size Swiss pharmaceutical company, is the global leader in the field of fertility drugs. The company has successfully transformed into one of the very few biotech firms in Europe. The case treats a set of major strategic and organizational... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Globalized Firms and Management; Asset Management; Balance and Stability; Expansion; Digital Platforms; Leadership Development; Health Care and Treatment; Transformation; Family Business; Problems and Challenges; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Switzerland; Europe

Find at Harvard

October 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

SEK: Reimagining Spanish Higher Education at Universidad Camilo José Cela (UCJC)

By: John J-H Kim, Mary C. Sauer and Emilie Billaud

In 2023, Nieves Segovia, President of the SEK Education Group in Spain, contemplates the future of her family's for-profit education company, which includes K-12 schools and the newly established UCJC university. Renowned for its innovation in education, SEK faces... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Curriculum and Courses; Higher Education; Teaching; Digital Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Knowledge Dissemination; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Succession; Resource Allocation; Organizational Structure; Education Industry; Europe; Spain

29 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

The Next Marketing Challenge: Selling to ’Simplifiers’

Editor's Note: Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing Know: How, for Harvard Business Online. It is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge. Watch out... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Retail; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation

01 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 1, 2007

capital for two companies using fixed benchmarks, the CAPM, and a multifactor model of returns. Purchase this exercise: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=207056 Negotiating Effectively in Family View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 23

increases reliance on one's own egocentric perspective when reasoning about the mental states of others. Publisher's link: http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/Todd%20et%20al%202014_162adbe2-6427-4cd1-8675-46aab9eda0e7.pdf Working Papers Managing the View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

08 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

Thinking Twice About Supply-Chain Layoffs

manager changes his or her hours, it can upset a delicate balance of work schedules, family commitments, and child care, which in turn can derail increasingly fragile family budgets. In a survey of Wal-Mart... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

May 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Supplement

Odebrecht's 'Transformation Journey' (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Pedro Levindo

The case describes the changes in Odebrecht’s board of directors while the company had to file for court-supervised reorganization and cope with an ongoing feud within its founding family, and the new challenges that the Group’s leadership has to face. The changes in... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Misconduct; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Reputation; Mission and Purpose; Business and Government Relations; Engineering; Family Business; Emerging Markets; Construction Industry; Brazil; Latin America

10 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

Women at Work

"Work/Life Balance: Are We Comfortable with the Choices We Make?" moderated by HBS professor Robin Ely, discussed their work/life decisions and the repercussions of those decisions at the 12th Annual Dynamic Women in Business... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild

September 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Case

Keroche (A): Fighting for Share in the Kenyan Alcoholic Drinks Market

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding

This case discusses the challenges faced by Kenyan alcoholic drinks producer Keroche Industries Limited in 2003, when the Kenyan government accused the company of manufacturing and selling substandard alcoholic drinks, revoked its liquor licenses, and shut down its... View Details

Keywords: Keroche; Alcohol; Wine; Manufacturing; Informal Market; Regulation; Illicit; Illegal; Shutdown; Factory; Low-income Consumers; Multinational; Local; Government; Allegations; Accusations; Negative Press; EABL; Tusker; Beer; SAB; Chang'aa; Naivasha; Rift Valley; East Africa; Lawsuit; Legal Battle; Business Ventures; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Production; Safety; Quality; Distribution; Small Business; Family Business; Crime and Corruption; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Income; Demographics; Geographic Scope; Geographic Location; Goods and Commodities; Government Legislation; Growth and Development; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Laws and Statutes; Lawfulness; Goals and Objectives; Consumer Behavior; Market Entry and Exit; Problems and Challenges; Social Issues; Poverty; Strategy; Competition; Entrepreneurship; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Kenya; Nairobi; Africa

02 Apr 2019
Research Event

Women Pay a Higher Career Price in Today's Always-On Work Culture

Even so, the executives brought the issue to Harvard Business School Professor Robin J. Ely. Eighteen months and more than 100 employee interviews later, Ely’s research team reached a conclusion that challenged steadfast beliefs about the... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Consulting; Service

September 2001 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Stevenson Industries (A)

By: John A. Davis and Kacie LaChapelle

Simon Carlson, chairman of the board of his family's fourth-generation industrial company, must decide how to deal with his conflict with the company's nonfamily CEO. Hired by the board just 15 months earlier to pursue growth more aggressively, CEO Paul Steel has upset... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Management Succession; Management Style; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Rank and Position; Organizational Culture; Decision Making; Manufacturing Industry

25 Mar 2001
Research & Ideas

Who Wants to Be an Entrepreneur? [Part II]

relying on $500,000 in financing provided by family members, friends, and "angel" investors, recurred in accounts of what she was trying to accomplish. "This is by far the most challenging thing I've ever done," she... View Details

Keywords: by John S. Rosenberg

September 2014 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling

By: Ethan Bernstein, Saravanan Kesavan, Bradley Staats and Luke Hassall

With 24,000 staff and over 300 stores, Belk Inc. sought to replace its entirely manual labor scheduling system with an automated software solution from Reflexis. Belk hoped the upgrade would simplify scheduling, reduce time employees spent in non-customer-facing roles,... View Details

19 Sep 2024
Research & Ideas

Global Talent, Local Obstacles: Why Time Zones Matter in Remote Work

Family Associate Professor at Harvard Business School. “There are many benefits to the individual and the company from embracing work-from-anywhere,” Choudhury says. “But there are also challenges—and one of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

September 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

SMARTBITES (A)

By: Michael Roberts, Jeronimo Silva and Amar Bhide

The case describes a Turkish brother-sister team who are evaluating the option of acquiring and operating a franchise of a US bakery/cafe in Turkey. They are comparing this option to that of simply starting a similar business. View Details

Keywords: Franchising; Start-up; Franchise Ownership; Family Ownership; Business Startups; Cost vs Benefits; Multinational Firms and Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; Turkey; United States

September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Alessi: Evolution of an Italian Design Factory (A)

By: Youngme E. Moon, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Alessio Alessi, head of distribution at family-run Alessi S.p.A., is facing price and brand confusion among customers and is considering reorganizing Alessi's worldwide network of distributors. By describing the challenges facing Alessi, an internationally acclaimed... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transition; Cost Management; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Production; Problems and Challenges; Networks; Consumer Products Industry