Publications

03 Mar 2015
News

Shareholders Get a Louder Voice As Companies Become More Democratic

14 Mar 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Can AI and Machine Learning Help Park Rangers Prevent Poaching?

Keywords: Re: Brian L. Trelstad; Computer; Information Technology; Technology

September 2019
Case

Celgene: Business Development and Distributed Research

By: Peter Barrett and Kareem Reda

This case looks at the deal-making process between Celgene, a large publicly traded pharmaceutical company, and Agios, an early-stage biotech company. The framework of a potential deal is explored and the potential road-blocks to Agios’ profitability are discussed. ... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Deal; Alliances; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Research; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry

September 1999 (Revised June 2001)
Case

eBay, Inc.

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Kelley Porter

eBay was the world's largest and most popular person-to-person trading community on the Internet. In early 1999, the company was doing very well and seemed to have solved many of its early problems. However, on March 30, 1999, Amazon.com announced that it was entering... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Planning; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry

May 1996
Case

China Internet Corporation: http://www.China.Com

Tells the story of the China Internet Corp. (CIC), which was founded to serve both businesses wishing to conduct electronic commerce within China and those intending to trade with companies within China. The company provides access and advertising to companies; it does... View Details

Keywords: Internet; Growth and Development Strategy; Web Services Industry; China

November 2020
Case

Valuing Celgene's CVR

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

When Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) acquired Celgene Corporation in November 2019, Celgene shareholders received cash, BMS stock, and a contingent value right (CVRs) that would pay $9 if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved three of Celgene’s late stage... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Value; Valuation; Judgments; Decision Making; Cash Flow; Financial Instruments; Cognition and Thinking; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States

2010
Chapter

Business Groups in Historical Perspectives

By: Geoffrey Jones and Asli M. Colpan

Business groups-collections of legally independent firms interconnected by multiple economic and social linkages that exhibit widely diversified product portfolios-are viewed as the prototypical large-enterprise form in contemporary emerging economies. By exploring the... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Management Skills; Emerging Markets; Alliances; Groups and Teams; Competitive Advantage; Great Britain

Find at Harvard

15 Feb 2012
News

Will Business Step Up or Step Out?

October 2018 (Revised July 2023)
Case

The Boston Beer Company (A): New CEO

By: Christina R. Wing and Marco Iansiti

In 1984, when the Boston Beer Company’s Samuel Adams Boston Lager was first sold, founder Jim Koch had helped ignite a craft beer movement by making small-batch premium beers in an era of industry consolidation. By 2018, Boston Beer was a publicly traded company that... View Details

Keywords: Beer/brewing Industry; Succession; Leadership; Change; Supply Chain; Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Supply Chain Management; Management Succession; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Boston

January 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Delta Air Lines: Navigating the COVID-19 Storm

By: Ted Berk and Ryan Flamerich

This case examines Delta Air Lines’ response as demand for its services plummeted in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on the company’s funding needs and capital structure. Following a series of initial actions, the company’s cash “burn” had reduced from... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Pandemics; Financial Condition; Capital Structure; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Air Transportation Industry

January 1990 (Revised November 1990)
Background Note

Note on Compensation and Incentive Systems

Provides a brief analysis of issues in the design of an effective compensation system, with particular emphasis on incentives. Provides an analytic framework for thinking about compensation. Topics covered include the composition of the pay package, fringe benefits,... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits

July 2010 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Controlling Hot Money

By: Robert C. Pozen

The manager of the Japan Equities Fund is faced with an increase in "hot money" moving quickly in and out of the Fund. This short-term trading is an attempt to take advantage of the difference between the closing times of the Tokyo and New York Stock Exchanges. The CFO... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; International Finance; Investment Funds; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Market Timing; Market Transactions; Financial Services Industry; New York (city, NY)

08 Jan 2010
News

Multinational firms, agglomeration, and global networks

November 2010
Case

Lessons Learned? Brooksley Born & the OTC Derivatives Market (A)

By: Clayton S. Rose and David Lane

On May 7, 1998, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, chaired by Brooksley Born, issued a "Concept Release" inviting public comment on the relevance and appropriateness of existing regulation of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market, a market with a... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry; Public Administration Industry; District of Columbia

07 May 2021
News

From Dutch Tulips to Internet Stocks, How to Spot a Financial Bubble

William E. Fruhan

Professor WILLIAM E. FRUHAN, JR. is George E. Bates Professor, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. He received his BS degree from Yale University, and his MBA and DBA degrees from Harvard University. He has served as Senior Associate Dean and Director of... View Details

Keywords: aircraft; airline; chemical; electronics; grocery; medical supplies; oil ＆ gas; pharmaceuticals; retailing; steel

December 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Olam: On a New Course

By: David E. Bell, Forest Reinhardt and Mary Shelman

From modest beginnings as a cashew trader in Nigeria, Olam, founded by Indian nationals in 1989, has grown into a leading global agricultural trading company, with annual revenues of $14 billion. The company recently has begun investing in farms and in the production... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Leadership; Customer Value and Value Chain; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Environmental Sustainability; Expansion; Competitive Advantage; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Nigeria

January 2015
Case

Cresud and Argentina

By: David E. Bell and Mary Shelman

Argentina-based Cresud managed 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of land in South America. For 20 years, the publicly traded company's strategy had been to acquire underutilized properties and turn them into productive farmland for cattle and crops. In 2014,... View Details

Keywords: Argentina; Farmland Ownership; Farming; Government Agricultural Policy; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Argentina; South America

February 2010
Case

Real Blue? Viagra and Intellectual Property Rights Law in China

By: Regina M. Abrami and Tracy Manty

On July 5, 2004, Pfizer's China team received disappointing news. China's patent review board just invalidated the company's existing patent on one of its most successful drugs, Viagra. Making matters worse, a Guangdong-based pharmaceutical company laid claim to... View Details

Keywords: Trade; International Relations; Patents; Trademarks; Lawsuits and Litigation; Rights; Business and Government Relations; Pharmaceutical Industry; China