Publications

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24 Sep 2021
News

Rising Impact Investment Shows Doing Good and Doing Well Can Work Together: Vikram Gandhi, Harvard Business School

Web

The Five Forces - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

create. Rivalry tends to be especially fierce if: Competitors are numerous or are roughly equal in size and market position Industry growth is slow There are high fixed costs, which create incentives for price cutting Exit barriers are... View Details

December 1998
Background Note

Note on Dedicated Sports Stadium Revenues

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Kirk A. Goldman

An overview of the rapid growth of stadium development in professional sports in the 1990s. The range of special stadium revenue streams is described along with specific examples of stadiums for the Washington Redskins and Carolina Panthers. View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Development Economics; Decisions; Growth and Development; Revenue; Sports; Buildings and Facilities; Sports Industry; District of Columbia; North Carolina

16 Jun 2013
News

A House of Cards

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

March 1984 (Revised June 1998)
Case

MCI Communications Corp.--1983

MCI Communications Corp. is faced with a large need for external financing to support rapid growth and substantial uncertainty due to the AT&T antitrust settlement. The case illustrates the value of convertible debt as a financing instrument in these circumstances. View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Emerging Markets; Financing and Loans; Telecommunications Industry; United States

Career Coach

Jing Lin Lee

clear recruiting roadmap from personal branding, networking, resume building, to preparing for interviews and negotiating / deciding between offers. Jing Lin’s industry experience spans across management consulting, tech, and financial services. She is experienced in... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Emerging Markets; Fintech; Financial Services (All); Technology

December 2005 (Revised May 2009)
Case

C.R. Smith and the Birth of American Airlines

By: Anthony Mayo and Laura Gaie Singleton

Presents an overview of the path that C.R. Smith pursued to build American Airlines into one of the largest airlines in the world in the 20th century. Over the course of his 30-year tenure as president of American Airlines, Smith deployed a three-pronged... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Growth; Operations; Air Transportation Industry; United States

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December 2023 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Boortmalt: The Master Maltster

By: Forest Reinhardt, Jose B Alvarez, Damien McLoughlin, Lena Duchene and Emer Moloney

By May 2023, Boortmalt was the world’s leading producer of malt, with a production capacity of 3 million tonnes, 15% of global market share, and 27 malting plants across five continents. It had recently acquired a major competitor and had sustained an EBITDA growth of... View Details

November 1994
Case

Electrical Distributors, Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins

The owner of a small electrical supply firm has grown beyond his ability to fund growth with internally generated funds. He seeks a bank loan, which falls short of his needs. View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Private Equity; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financing and Loans; Borrowing and Debt; Corporate Finance; Apparel and Accessories Industry

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09 Mar 2017
News

India’s capital market a ‘great story’, says Harvard professor Suraj Srinivasan

January 2024
Case

BWX Technologies

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Yuan Zou and Aldo Sesia

Rex Geveden and Robb LeMasters, CEO and CFO of BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT), were concerned that investors and analysts did not fully appreciate the company's transformation from a nuclear reactor provider to the US Navy and Canadian utilities to a multi-product line... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Communication Intention and Meaning; Business and Shareholder Relations; Valuation; Diversification; United States; Canada

June 2012 (Revised December 2017)
Case

Marc Rich and Global Commodity Trading

By: Geoffrey Jones and Espen Storli

Examines the career of Marc Rich, the world's leading commodity trader before his criminal indictment in the United States in 1983. The case surveys the historical growth of commodity trading, especially in metals, from the late nineteenth century, and its evolving... View Details

Keywords: Commodity Market; Natural Resources; Metals and Minerals; Business History; Entrepreneurship; Service Industry; Mining Industry; Africa; Europe; Middle East; North and Central America; Israel; South Africa; Iran

June 1994 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Mrs. Fields, Inc. (1988-1992)

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Keri O. Pearlson and Randi Wade Purchia

Continues the story of Mrs. Fields Cookies. Explores the new challenges the company faced managing its geographic growth and its expansion of products and markets through combination stores. Details the decision of Debbi and Randy Fields to delegate management... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Growth Management; Organizational Structure; Globalization; Information Management; Food and Beverage Industry

July 1995 (Revised April 1996)
Case

Cambridge Technology Partners (A)

By: Teresa M. Amabile, George P. Baker III and Michael Beer

Cambridge Technology Partners uses a highly innovative product strategy, supported by a human resources strategy, that has been very successful. However, high growth rates jeopardize product quality while tension about relative compensation levels between sales and... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Culture; Quality; Human Resources; Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Consulting Industry; Massachusetts

December 2001 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Nestle S.A.

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

Peter Brabeck wants to focus Nestle as a wellness company in the global food system and do so in a way that provides both growth in sales and margins in both developed and developing countries. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Development; Supply Chain Management; Food; Multinational Firms and Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Sales; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Switzerland