Publications

Web

Harvard Business School and Polaroid - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

Education Alumni Baker Library Historical Collections MORE EXHIBITS HOME RESEARCH LINKS POLAROID FILMS SITE CREDITS “Mr. Land's intense interest in scientific research and his conviction that it could be profitably conducted by a small... View Details

19 Dec 2013
Blog Post

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

would do with my free time. By the second month, I found myself wondering where my free time went. In between my roles in the Entrepreneurship Club, TechMedia Club, Harbus Foundation, and Volunteers Club, I fortunately still have time to... View Details

Keywords: Technology

04 Apr 2022
News

Cost of Distancing May Outweigh Benefits for Healthy Adults

February 2017
Teaching Plan

Dhamani Jewels: Becoming a Global Luxury Brand

By: Lynda Applegate

Dhamani started as a loose gemstone dealer in 1969 in Jaipur, India. By the 2000s, it was headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and had expanded into diamonds and retail. The family business was now in its second generation of leadership and aimed to become a... View Details

Keywords: Luxury Retail; Jewelry; Luxury Goods; UAE; Retail; Brands and Branding; Family Business; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Dubai; India

June 2005 (Revised May 2006)
Background Note

Reminders for Owner-Managers Regarding the Board of Directors of Private Companies

By: John A. Davis

Presents a consolidated list of corporate governance best practices for owner-managers of private companies, including family businesses. View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Family Business

May 2, 2014
Article

If You're Feeling Unappreciated, Give Someone Else Credit

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

Conflict in a family business can escalate quickly, but it's crucial to avoid it whenever possible. The article emphasizes recognizing the signs of escalating conflict and taking steps to prevent it. When disagreements arise, people often resort to legal action, which... View Details

Keywords: Conflict and Resolution; Family Business

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July 1997 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Khalil Abdo Group

Three brothers inherit a business in Egypt; the complications begin as each gets married, has a family, and becomes torn among different family interests. Now the third generation is appearing. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Trust; Family and Family Relationships; Egypt

August 1986 (Revised February 1991)
Supplement

Population Services International: The Social Marketing Project in Bangladesh, Video

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Population Services International, a not-for-profit agency founded to promote family planning information and to market birth control products, had an agreement with the government of Bangladesh to conduct a social marketing program using modern marketing techniques to... View Details

Keywords: Social Marketing; Health; Advertising; Marketing; Nonprofit Organizations; Government and Politics; Agreements and Arrangements; Health Industry; Bangladesh

05 Jun 2014
Blog Post

Learning to fail at HBS

I’ve spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday reflecting on my first year at HBS. In that process, I wrote an email to a few close friends updating them on my time here. As I started to write this post, I realized... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Consumer Products / Retail

November 2013
Teaching Plan

Hotel Ivory

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas and Lisa Strope

Cheick Sanankoua is an MBA student who believes that he has found the perfect investment property, a small, independently-owned hotel, on the Ivory Coast. However, he has had trouble raising money for the investment beyond friends and family. Through contacts in the... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Emerging Market; Private Equity; Property; Real Estate Industry; Africa

21 Jan 2021
Video

José Alejandro Cortés

José Alejandro Cortés, President of the Colombia-based diversified business group Grupo Bolìvar, describes the evolution of the business, the significant role that his family plays, and how succession is handled. View Details

Web

Influence of the China Trade and the Heard Legacy - A Chronicle of the China Trade

often discussed with Uncle the expediency of my buying a house in town, in which all the family could be collected to live in the winter,” John Heard wrote. “He approved the idea, and I was not, therefore,... View Details

April 1988 (Revised November 1990)
Supplement

Precista Tools AG (B)

The family holds a meeting to talk about the future of the business. Designed to be used with Precista Tools AG (A) and (C) in a one class period. View Details

Keywords: Family Business

06 Mar 2025
Blog Post

IFC India 2025: Sustainability in Action: Inside Hindustan Unilever’s Public Sanitation and Plastic Recycling Facilities

and well-lit interiors. HUL cracked the challenge of sustainability by adopting a cross-subsidy model. Families pay 150 per month for unlimited toilet and bathroom use, while... View Details

28 Jul 2021
Video

Aroon Purie

Aroon Purie, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of India Today, explains his changing role in the leadership of his business, the appointment of his daughter as vice-chairman, and the downsides of having a family business. View Details

20 May 2022
News

Musk Misconduct Allegation Won’t Stop Twitter Deal, Experts Say

02 Dec 2020
News

A New Case at Harvard Business School Highlights the Real-World Issues for Latinx Considering an MBA

April 1988 (Revised July 1989)
Case

Precista Tools AG (A)

A young woman manager in a Swiss family firm finds that her role as a managing director becomes bitterly unpleasant once her older brother decides to leave an engineering career and join the family business. That is what the father, who was head of the business had... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; Gender Characteristics; Switzerland

January 2009 (Revised March 2010)
Case

LeBron James

By: Anita Elberse and Jeff McCall

In 2005, to the astonishment of many sports industry insiders, superstar basketball player LeBron James fired his agent and established his own firm, LRMR, to handle all aspects of his business ventures and marketing activities and named his childhood friend Maverick... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Compensation and Benefits; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Sports; Sports Industry