Publications

18 Oct 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Chewy.com’s Make-or-Break Logistics Dilemma

Keywords: Re: Jeffrey F. Rayport; Retail

May 2016
Case

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988—2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2015, Walmart surprised investors by announcing that it expected flat sales growth for 2015 and growth of only 3% to 4% over the coming three years. Profits would also fall due to significant investments in people and technology. The company’s stock price... View Details

Keywords: Asda; Costco; David Glass; Convenience Stores; Discount Retailing; Dollar Stores; Doug McMillon; E-commerce; Online Retail; General Merchandise; Grocery; Lee Scott; Mike Duke; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Neighborhood Market; Sam Walton; Sam's Club; Store Formats; Supercenter; Supermarket; Warehouse Clubs; Merchandising; Walmart; Wal-Mart; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Units; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Banks and Banking; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Global Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business History; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Human Capital; Labor Unions; Wages; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Web; Web Sites; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Distribution Industry; Banking Industry; United States; Arkansas; Bentonville

Jason Pananos is a Senior Lecturer of Business Administration in the Finance Department. Jason currently teaches and was the co-creator of a second-year field course titled “Value Creation in Small and Medium Firms”. Jason is also an active collaborator and guest... View Details

February 2020 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Sustainable Product Management at Solvay

By: George Serafeim, Vincent Dessain and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej

In November 2019, Ilham Kadri, CEO of Solvay, a Belgian specialty chemicals and advanced materials group, with annual revenues of more than €10 billion in 2018, announced the group’s mid-term strategy, eight months after she took the helm as Solvay’s 11th CEO. The case... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainable Business And Innovation; Sustainability Management; Sustainable Development; Management Accounting; Innovation; Carbon Emissions; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainability Targets; Target-setting; Product; Management; Transformation; Growth and Development Strategy; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Chemical Industry; Europe; Belgium

2010
Report

State of the Region Report 2010: The Top of Europe Recovering—Regional Lessons from a Global Crisis

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

The 2010 State of the Region Report, the seventh in this series of annual evaluations of competitiveness and cooperation across the Baltic Sea Region, takes the Region's economic temperature in the first year after the full onslaught of the global crisis. The focus of... View Details

Keywords: Trends; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Policy; Performance Effectiveness; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; Baltic Countries

August 2015 (Revised May 2016)
Case

Riot Games: Can Culture Survive Growth?

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Norris

In 2015, Riot Games, the maker of the top PC game League of Legends, considers its growth strategy as it moves into a new campus in Los Angeles. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Culture; Organizational Behavior; Video Games; Culture; Strategy; United States

January 2020 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Zara: An Integrated Store and Online Model (A)

By: Antonio Moreno

In 2010, amidst the growth of ecommerce and the emergence of new, purely online, fashion players, Zara launched its first online store, Zara.com. Since then, Zara’s online business had grown at a fast pace. By 2018, 12% of Inditex Group’s total sales came from the... View Details

Keywords: Stores; Integration; Operations; Business Model; Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry; Europe

12 PM – 1 PM EST, 12 Dec 2019
Webinars: Career

From Private Equity to Private Debt: Key Trends in Alternative Investments

Private equity industry has expanded substantially to include new strategies, new players, and new funding models. Professor Victoria Ivashina will explore new trends, limits to disintermediation, growth potential, and what to keep in mind if you are exploring these... View Details

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

Find at Harvard

12 Dec 2013
HBS Seminar

William Kerr, Harvard Business School

Christina M. Wallace

A self-described “human Venn diagram” Christina Wallace has crafted a career at the intersection of business, technology, and the arts. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: arts; venture capital industry; consumer products; service industry; internet

16 Jun 2013
News

A House of Cards

24 Aug 2021
Cold Call Podcast

Why Did Pet Concierge Startup Baroo Fail?

Keywords: Re: Thomas R. Eisenmann; Technology; Service

November 2007 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Iceland: Small fish in a global pond

By: Michael E. Porter and Christian H.M. Ketels

Describes the economic development of Iceland since 1945, focusing in particular on the years since 2000, when Iceland experienced strong growth and Icelandic companies aggressively internationalized. View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Competition; Macroeconomics; Iceland

June 2002 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Inside Intel Inside

By: Youngme E. Moon and Christina L. Darwall

In early 2002, Pamela Pollace, vice president and director of Intel's worldwide marketing operations, is debating whether the company should extend its "Intel Inside" branding campaign to non-PC product categories, such as cell phones and PDAs. The "Intel Inside"... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Growth and Development; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Sales; Expansion; Competitive Advantage; Semiconductor Industry; Manufacturing Industry; California

Kevin Mohan joined the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets unit at Harvard Business School in 2012 after a long career as a private equity investor. He teaches Negotiation in the MBA program and the Owners, Presidents, and Managers program. He also teaches War... View Details

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

October 2010 (Revised December 2015)
Supplement

Toyota Motor Corporation: 1990-2010

By: Roy D. Shapiro and Stephanie van Sice

This case follows Toyota's remarkable growth and geographic expansion from 1990 to 2010 and, in the recalls of 2009 and 2010, poses questions about the impact of that growth. Issues of increasing technological complexity also play a part. View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Problems and Challenges; Expansion; Complexity; Technology; Auto Industry