Publications

August 2013
Case

Harold Mills at ZeroChaos (A)

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Maurice L. Kuykendoll II

After leading a management buy-out, Harold Mills transformed ZeroChaos into a global staffing enterprise. Poised to raise additional capital to fund the company's next phase of growth, he was also confronting the liquidity demands of his early-stage investors and... View Details

Keywords: Legal Aspects Of Business; Law; Business Growth and Maturation; Corporate Finance

21 Sep 2014
News

Amy Cuddy Takes a Stand

28 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Making a Comeback

While legacy companies like Sears are shuttering their doors, a growing number of online-first companies—from Amazon to Rent the Runway—are opening new storefronts and transforming the shopping experience. Senior Lecturer Jill Avery and Associate Professor Antonio... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint; Retail

December 2021
Case

Burning Glass Technologies: From Data to Product

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Amy Klopfenstein

In May 2021, Matt Sigelman, CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, a company that provided labor market analytics for a variety of markets, navigates his company’s transition from data company to product company. Burning Glass originated as a service that used artificial... View Details

05 Mar 2019
Blog Post

"It is Possible to Walk Away from Situations that Make You Unhappy": Cauvery Patel, MBA 2016

transforming rapidly. The work was sure to be interesting." But Cauvery wasn't satisfied with the work. "With 400,000 people, it was just too big. It took too long to see the fruits of my work." More importantly, Cauvery's... View Details

29 Sep 2014
News

Strike a power pose for success

07 Nov 2021
News

Companies that Pivot Are Best Placed to Prosper

21 Nov 2019
Blog Post

The Power of Business in the Energy Transition

How do countries and companies work to achieve their carbon reduction goals? Is a Green New Deal necessary to transform the United States economy? These were just a few of the questions driving discussions at the 16th annual Symposium... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Energy / Cleantech

July 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Teaching Note

MC Tool

By: Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld

Sean Witty and Jason Premo acquired MC Tool, a machine shop located in South Carolina in 2007 with the intent to transform it into a precision manufacturer. Witty and Premo were able to more than double revenue to $6 million in their first year of managing MC by... View Details

Keywords: Small ＆ Medium-sized Enterprises; Small Business; Production; Transformation; Problems and Challenges; Financial Condition; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; United States

30 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Market Makers Bid for Success

In late February, Harvard Business School professor Bill Sahlman spoke with two former MBA students, Scott Randall ('87) and Glen Meakem ('91), to discuss their perspectives on organizing markets in a new and evolving economy and what they have learned along the way.... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Web Services; Technology

November 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Amazon.com-2002

By: Stig Leschly, Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Todd H Thedinga

Describes the evolution of Amazon.com and its business model since its founding. Specifically, discusses Amazon's transformation from an e-Tailer to a commerce platform and its marketplace initiative, which has driven this. Also describes the economics of various... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Transformation; Retail Industry

December 2023
Case

Raízen: Helping to Decarbonize the World?

By: Gunnar Trumbull, Pedro Levindo, Daniel Tong and Rafaella Mazza

Raízen, the world’s largest sugar and ethanol producer, strived to find ways to expand the second-generation ethanol (E2G) market, which it pioneered. The company planned to invest R$24 billion (around $4.6 billion) in 20 production plants, with a total capacity to... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Production; Expansion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Energy Industry; Brazil; Europe; North America; United States; Argentina; Paraguay

September 1998 (Revised September 2001)
Case

IBM's Reinventing Education (A)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Describes IBM's national innovation strategy to transform K-12 public education through new solutions developed by IBM engineers and consultants using information technology. Examples are: data warehousing in Broward County, FL schools, tracking software for the... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Innovation Strategy; Information Technology; Education; Business and Community Relations; Information Technology Industry; Education Industry; San Jose; Philadelphia; Ohio; Florida