Publications

May 2001
Supplement

Mike Levett, CEO Old Mutual

By: Tarun Khanna

Discusses issues related to the transformation of Old Mutual from a mutual company to a stock corporation, and from a South African insurer to a global financial institution. Emphasis is on understanding effects of South African institutional context. View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Globalized Firms and Management; Financial Services Industry; South Africa

September 2010 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Capital for Enterprise Limited (CfEL): Bridging the SME Early-Stage Finance Gap

By: Josh Lerner, Eli Talmor, Ananth Vyas Bhimavarapu and Thibaud Simphal

The CEO of the company set up to manage a British government effort to promote the venture capital industry considers the progress made to date, as well as how the program can be adjusted. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

19 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Alfred Chandler on the Electronic Century

Consider the title. "The Electronic Century" is the twenty-first century. The "inventing" refers to the creation of the technological and institutional foundations—the "infrastructure"—during the latter decades of the twentieth century,... View Details

Keywords: by Alfred D. Chandler, Takashi Hikino & Andrew Von Nordenflycht; Computer; Consumer Products; Electronics; Manufacturing; Technology

December 2017 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Tesla Motors (B): Merging with SolarCity

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2016, electric car manufacturer Tesla announced that it was making an offer to acquire solar panel manufacturer SolarCity in an all-stock offer worth $2.6 billion in Tesla stock. Tesla’s co-founder and CEO, Elon Musk, believed that the merger would generate... View Details

Keywords: M＆A; M＆A Valuation; Investing; Equities; Equity; Valuation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Auto Industry; Energy Industry; United States

Web

Faculty & Research

higher future profitability during periods of regulatory uncertainty, unexpected increases in climate concerns, and when a larger share of their sales occurs in states with climate plans and stronger public support for addressing climate... View Details

March 2021
Case

Yale Investments Office: November 2020

By: Josh Lerner, Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

David Swensen and the Investments Office staff must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments—hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate, natural resources—given the impact of the COVID-19... View Details

Keywords: University Endowment; Asset Allocation; Real Estate; Equities; Fixed Income; COVID-19; Asset Management; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Natural Resources; Resource Allocation; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Health Pandemics; Financial Crisis; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Connecticut

18 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

GM’s IPO: Back to the Future

On a journey that began 17 months ago, General Motors entered and emerged from bankruptcy to become a private company with Uncle Sam as its largest shareholder. The company reaches another milestone today by offering an initial public... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto

March 2008 (Revised November 2009)
Case

New Schools for New Orleans 2008

Founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as a catalyst for the transformation of the public education system in New Orleans, President Sarah Usdin and CEO Matt Candler must adapt their strategy to respond to a continuously shifting local context. By 2008, conditions on... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Education; Social Entrepreneurship; Situation or Environment; Adaptation; Value Creation; Education Industry; New Orleans

November 2009
Case

VF Brands: Global Supply Chain Strategy

By: Gary P. Pisano and Pamela Adams

This case examines VF Brands global supply chain strategy. Historically, VF has used a combination of in-house manufacturing and traditional arms-length sourcing arrangements. At the time of the case, the company is considering a third approach to supplier relations... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Logistics; Supply Chain Management; Partners and Partnerships; Cooperation; Vertical Integration; Apparel and Accessories Industry

February 1993
Supplement

Otis South Africa (C)

By: Michael Beer

Relates Otis South Africa's management actions in their efforts to transform the company. Students will be asked to judge the effectiveness of the corporate change programs instituted by management. View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Judgments; Business or Company Management; Performance Effectiveness; Industrial Products Industry; South Africa

Find at Harvard

October 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

ghSMART & Co: Building and Scaling a Time Smart Firm

By: Ashley Whillans and Sara Coronel Rodriguez

"For ghSMART, freedom is the first principle from which all good things flow”—Geoff Smart, Chairman and Founder, ghSMART. ghSMART was a leadership advisory firm that was grounded in the principle of freedom. Talented Consultants and Partners could work remotely from... View Details

Keywords: Time; Consulting Firms; Time Management; Talent and Talent Management; Employee Relationship Management; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge Sharing; Organizational Culture; Going Public; Partners and Partnerships; Expansion; Reputation

February 2017 (Revised June 2017)
Supplement

ExxonMobil: Business as Usual? (B)

By: George Serafeim, Shiva Rajgopal and David Freiberg

The case presents ExxonMobil's response to growing pressure to disclose how climate change will impact their business. This includes multiple asset impairments and losing a proxy vote to shareholders to increase climate change related reporting. Supplements the (B)... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Oil Prices; Oil Companies; Asset Impairment; Predictive Analytics; Sustainability; Environmental Impact; Innovation; Disclosure; Accounting; Valuation; Energy Sources; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Governance Compliance; Climate Change; Financial Reporting; Energy Industry; United States

06 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Mechanisms of Technology Re-Emergence and Identity Change in a Mature Field: Swiss Watchmaking, 1970-2008

Keywords: by Ryan Raffaelli; Consumer Products; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion

December 2002
Case

Putnam Investments: Work@Home

Putnam Investments uses technology to enable many of its frontline service providers to work routinely and permanently from their homes. This case explores issues related to this strategy, from conceptualization to implementation and highlighting continuous... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Service Delivery; Financial Services Industry

January 2020 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Governing PG&E

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

The five commissioners of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) listened intently at a public forum in April 2019 as PG&E Corporation’s out-going chairman Richard Kelly described the company’s proposed new board. PG&E, which provided electricity and natural... View Details

March 1993
Supplement

Burroughs Wellcome and AZT (C)

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Describes key developments relating to Burroughs Wellcome, AZT and other AIDS drugs, and the AIDS issue in general from late 1989 through 1992. Includes excerpts from Wellcome PLC's financial statements and updated statistics on AIDS in the United States. View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Multinational Firms and Management; Financial Statements; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States