Publications

May 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Supplement

Odebrecht's 'Transformation Journey' (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Pedro Levindo

The case describes the changes in Odebrecht’s board of directors while the company had to file for court-supervised reorganization and cope with an ongoing feud within its founding family, and the new challenges that the Group’s leadership has to face. The changes in... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Misconduct; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Reputation; Mission and Purpose; Business and Government Relations; Engineering; Family Business; Emerging Markets; Construction Industry; Brazil; Latin America

November 1998
Case

Holts (A), The

By: Howard H. Stevenson

Focuses on the decision of whether to sell a business or to continue it. Issues regarding the family's roles, the replacement of the business's earning power, and the owner's future roles are discussed. Among the issues raised are the values being transmitted. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Family Business; Financial Management; Business or Company Management; Value

Find at Harvard

24 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 24, 2007

attainment outcomes (measured primarily by students' completion rates at various grade levels). Deals with outcome trends within the general U.S. school-aged population and covers educational outcomes in various subpopulations of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 May 2016
First Look

First Look, May 3, 2016

tender offer and the urging of several activist investors and sold their firm to the smaller Dollar Tree chain. Dreiling could not help but revisit some of the key decisions he View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Dec 2011
Research & Ideas

The New Measures for Improving Nonprofit Performance

expertise to improve the lives of children and youth of low-income families in the Washington, D.C., region. Morino is the author of Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity. Alnoor S.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

03 Nov 2022
Op-Ed

Feeling Separation Anxiety at Your Startup? 5 Tips to Soothe These Growing Pains

employees to form personal relationships with founders outside of work. Late night beers or weekend family barbecues may have become routine. With a larger team, consider how these special out-of-work... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

02 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 3, 2008

performance of both the on-site and offshore managers. This strategy (as opposed to ones based on things like low cost and innovation used by Cognizant's competitors) is intended to build deep View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2012
Case

Owen's Precision Machining

By: Ramana Nanda and James McQuade

For the second time in fourteen months, Christopher Owen, the second-generation owner of Owen's Precision Machining (OPM), found himself running out of cash. Owen wondered what he was doing wrong. How much additional money would he need to raise to get OPM through the... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Cash Flow; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Making; Problems and Challenges; Business Strategy; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry; Massachusetts

March 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Oscar de la Renta

By: Bharat N. Anand, Elizabeth Lea Carpenter and Samhita Patwardhan Jayanti

Over three decades, Oscar de la Renta (ODLR) had established itself as one of the premier luxury brands in America. Its mainstay business had always been producing and marketing high-priced, couture/ready-to-wear luxury goods. Now, in September 2003, it faced a series... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Borrowing and Debt; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Production; Family Ownership; Luxury; Competition; Diversification; Expansion; United States

February 2005 (Revised October 2006)
Teaching Note

Khalil Abdo Group (TN)

By: John A. Davis and Courtney Sampson

Teaching Note to (9-898-011). View Details

Keywords: Family Ownership

September 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

SMARTBITES (A)

By: Michael Roberts, Jeronimo Silva and Amar Bhide

The case describes a Turkish brother-sister team who are evaluating the option of acquiring and operating a franchise of a US bakery/cafe in Turkey. They are comparing this option to that of simply starting a similar business. View Details

Keywords: Franchising; Start-up; Franchise Ownership; Family Ownership; Business Startups; Cost vs Benefits; Multinational Firms and Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Turkey; United States

29 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

The Next Marketing Challenge: Selling to ’Simplifiers’

and intimate spaces, more charm, and less maintenance. Their families are scattered, unable to share conveniently the family holiday home View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Retail; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation

02 Jan 2018
Op-Ed

'Dear Working Knowledge'--Our Favorite Reader Comments of the Year

economy. China is already grabbing from the US the largest home market" advantage, allowing them to subsidize pricing globally. I guarantee that Tencent, Alibaba and others will fill the gap left by a misguided break up. Editor’s... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

May 2025
Case

Wilburn Medical USA

By: David Ager, Lynda M. Applegate and James Barnett

In September 2024, Emily Wilburn Andrews, CEO of Wilburn Medical USA, is five years into her tenure leading the medical equipment supply company since taking over for her father, the company’s founder. She considers approaches to grow the company while maintaining the... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Change Management; Decision Making; Values and Beliefs; Health; Medical Specialties; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Family Business; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States