Publications

June 2012
Case

GlaxoSmithKline in Brazil: Public-Private Vaccine Partnerships

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich and Ian McKown Cornell

Three years into a major public-private partnership between GlaxoSmithKline and Fiocuz, Brazil's principal health institute, the company assesses technology transfer and joint research under the agreement. GSK was selling its Synflorix vaccine (against pediatric... View Details

Keywords: Public-Private Partnerships; Business and Government Relations; Foreign Direct Investment; Health Care and Treatment; Globalized Firms and Management; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Brazil

January 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

The Allstate Corporation

By: John R. Wells

In 2007, Allstate was the number two property and casualty insurer in the USA and had enjoyed five years of rapid profit improvement. The question facing CEO Thomas J. Wilson was how to maintain the momentum. This case tracks the evolution of Allstate's strategy over... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Financial Institutions; Insurance; Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financial Services Industry

March 2001 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Madison Avenue: Digital Media Services (C)

By July 2000, Madison Avenue had experienced extraordinary growth in sales, employees, clients, and service offerings. From late 1999 to July 2000, the company had taken several initiatives to redesign its internal processes so that the firm could continue to grow,... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Digital Marketing; Product Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Advertising Industry

Keywords: Professor Amy C. Edmonson; Professor Boris Groysberg; Professor Josh Lerner; Teaching Fellow Ann Leamon; Professor Leslie A. Perlow; Professor of Management Practice Felda Hardymon;; social media; Finance

01 Jun 2012
News

Faculty Books

How Trusted Leaders Use Conversation to Power Their Organizations by Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind (Harvard Business Review Press) How can leaders make their big or growing companies feel small again? How can they recapture the “magic”—the tight View Details

W. Earl Sasser

Earl Sasser is a Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School and has been a member of the faculty there since 1969. He received a B.A. in Mathematics from Duke University in 1965, an MBA from the University of North Carolina in 1967, and a Ph.D. in... View Details

March 2017 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Catalant: The Future of Work?

By: Thomas Eisenmann, Jeffrey F. Rayport and Christine Snively

Catalant, founded in 2013 as an online marketplace where MBAs could bid on consulting projects posted by small- to medium-sized businesses, had expanded by 2016 to provide Fortune 1000 companies with access to over 35,000 independent experts. The founders envisioned... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Recruitment; Labor; Market Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Employment Industry; Consulting Industry; United States

May 2024 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Hakluyt: From Corporate Intelligence to Trusted Advisors

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Lena Duchene

Established in 1995 by a group of ex-British intelligence officers, Hakluyt & Company (Hakluyt) was a corporate advisory firm that generated insights by leveraging a unique blend of internal expertise and a global network of well-connected individuals. Since 2019, the... View Details

April 2000 (Revised June 2000)
Case

E-Loan: The CarFinance.com Acquisition

E-Loan is an online mortgage lender that acquired an auto-lending arm in August of 1999. This case examines E-Loan's purchase of CarFinance.com and highlights E-Loan's strategy-setting process. In addition, the case explores business development as a strategic process... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Internet and the Web; Change Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

September 2006 (Revised May 2007)
Case

GE's Jeff Immelt: The Voyage from MBA to CEO

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Andrew N. McLean

GE believes its ability to develop management talent is a core competency that represents a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Traces the development of a 25-year-old MBA named Jeff Immelt, who 18 years later is named as CEO of GE, arguably the biggest and... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Human Resources; Leadership Development; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Energy Industry; Technology Industry

November 2011 (Revised May 2013)
Case

The Freelancers Union (A)

By: Michel Anteby and Erin McFee

Sara Horowitz faces a major strategic decision. Founder and CEO of the Freelancers Union, Horowitz has worked tirelessly to operationalize her new mutualist ideals, which comprise collective strength, independence, and shared protections. In 2008, she plans to move the... View Details

Keywords: Labor Unions

03 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Transforming Manufacturing Waste into Profit

It's been said that "one man's trash is another man's treasure." HBS Assistant Professor Deishin Lee, however, has taken that old adage a step further in her recent working paper Turning Waste into By-Product by showing how it's possible for companies to turn... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing

January 2025
Case

Redwood & Strong: The Value of a Consulting Engagement

By: David G. Fubini and Patrick Sanguineti

The board of Redwood & Strong LLP (R&S), the American branch of a large global law firm, is meeting to review the findings of a recent strategic initiative designed to identify potential merger candidates. The request for the engagement originated from Daniel Crawford,... View Details

Keywords: Client Service; Professional Service Firm; Professional Services; Consulting; Mergers and Acquisitions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Reports; Strategic Planning; Value; Consulting Industry; Legal Services Industry; United States

September 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

AB InBev: Brewing Up Forecasts during COVID-19

By: Mark Egan, C. Fritz Foley, Esel Cekin and Emilie Billaud

In July 2021, the CEO of AB InBev's European operations and his team strategized to position the company for success post-pandemic. As the world's largest beer company, boasting over 500 brands, revenue of $46 billion, and a workforce of 160,000 in 2020, AB InBev... View Details

19 Apr 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Top Executive Background and Financial Reporting Choice: The Case of Goodwill Impairment

Keywords: by Francois Brochet & Kyle Welch; Accounting

May 1990 (Revised July 1996)
Case

Ingvar Kamprad and IKEA

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Ashish Nanda

Traces the development of a Swedish furniture retailer under the leadership of an innovative and unconventional entrepreneur whose approaches redefine the nature and structure of the industry. Traces IKEA's growth from a tiny mail order business to the world's largest... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Management Succession; Distribution; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Value; Retail Industry

29 Jul 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Who Is Governing Whom? Senior Managers, Governance and the Structure of Generosity in Large U.S. Firms

Keywords: by Christopher Marquis & Matthew Lee

April 2006 (Revised April 2012)
Background Note

The Company Sale Process

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Lays out the steps, the timeline, and the process by which a company is sold. Focuses on the sale of companies with enterprise values greater than $100 million. These transactions are large enough to require the help of a financial adviser and attract both strategic... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Agreements and Arrangements; Sales

February 2009 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Cleveland Clinic: Transformation and Growth 2015

By: Michael E. Porter and Elizabeth O. Teisberg

The Cleveland Clinic's health care services are internationally renowned for quality. In 2008, The Clinic began to restructure the organization into teams defined around patient needs, rather than traditional medical specialties. "Patients First!" takes shape as the... View Details

Keywords: Health; Health Care Operations; Health Care Quality; Health Care; Strategy And Leadership; Strategy Development; Health Care and Treatment; Leading Change; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Measurement and Metrics; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Outcome or Result; Health Industry; Cleveland