Publications

Find at Harvard

March 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Perplexity: Redefining Search

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Michelle Hu, Sriraghav Srinivasan and Radhika Kak

By early 2025, Perplexity had rapidly evolved from a modest startup into a popular "answer engine" valued at $9 billion. The company had boldly positioned itself as the disruptor to Google aiming to redefine search for the AI age. Through novel AI... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Venture Capital; Innovation Leadership; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Competitive Strategy; Business Model; Technology Industry; United States

December 1999 (Revised May 2002)
Case

CNBC (A): NBC and Its Startup Friends

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

NBC expands further on to the Internet with CNBC.com. NBC's Internet strategy, supported by corporate parent General Electric, involves numerous investments as well as new ventures like CNBC.com. Soon after CNBC.com is launched in 1999, NBC brings in a new CEO, Pamela... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Change Management; Management Teams; Corporate Strategy; Leadership Development; Internet and the Web; Expansion; Media; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Telecommunications Industry

Find at Harvard

Forthcoming
Article

Antitrust Platform Regulation and Entrepreneurship: Evidence from China

By: Ke Rong, D. Daniel Sokol, Di Zhou and Feng Zhu

Many jurisdictions have launched antitrust enforcement and brought in regulation of large tech platforms. The swift and strict implementation of China’s Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for the Platform Economy (Platform Guidelines) provides a quasi-natural experiment... View Details

Keywords: Platform; Antitrust; Regulation; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competition; Market Entry and Exit; Supply and Industry; China

Read Now

September 2002 (Revised May 2008)
Case

The Arts Property and Hotel

By: Arthur I Segel and Ani M Vartanian

Julio Martinez finds himself as one of the owners of the Arts Hotel Project in Barcelona, Spain. The 455-room hotel is managed by the Ritz Carlton and is in a 44-story tower along Barcelona's beachfront. Julio needs to figure out a strategy to maximize his investment,... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Agreements and Arrangements; Property; Strategy; Accommodations Industry; Real Estate Industry; Barcelona

January 2007
Background Note

Choosing Corporate and Global Scope

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

Introduces students to the study of corporate strategy, while providing an overview framework for understanding international strategy. Focuses on questions of scope and ownership. Examines both horizontal and vertical integration. Underscores the point that economies... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Investment; Framework; Global Strategy; Ownership; Corporate Strategy; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration

September 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Supplement

Keroche (E): Considering Additional Capacity

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding

This case describes Keroche’s growth after entering the beer business in 2008. Although the company was operating at full capacity and not able to fulfill all of its orders, Tabitha Karanja had set a goal of growing Keroche’s share of the Kenyan beer market from... View Details

Web

Research Community - Doctoral

Research Community Innovative Research, Lasting Relationships Harvard Business School invests more than $140 million in research annually—more than any other school. These funds give researchers at the School the freedom, flexibility, and... View Details

11 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

Politicians Benefited From Using Toxic Loans

Christophe Pérignon, a finance professor at HEC Paris. The study offers empirical evidence that politicians routinely used high-risk loans on purpose, for political gain, in spite of the risks. Furthermore, the strategy worked: Toxic... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

August 2024
Case

The Walt Disney Company: Management Guidance

By: Joseph Pacelli and James Weber

In November 2023, financial analyst Aurora Fee was forecasting The Walt Disney Company’s earnings and stock price, with the goal of providing an investment recommendation to her clients. Disney, one of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies, had just... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Accounting; Investment; Communication; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Earnings; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

March 2005 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Aguas Argentinas: Settling a Dispute

By: Louis T. Wells Jr. and Alexandra de Royere

The French-owned Aguas Argentinas faces a demand from the Argentine government that it renegotiate its concession to operate the Buenos Aires water and sewage services. The company must decide whether to continue with efforts to settle on a new contract or to exercise... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Contracts; Infrastructure; Privatization; Business and Government Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Business Strategy; Utilities Industry; France; Buenos Aires

17 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 17, 2009

Berkshire Hathaway describes the history and strategy of one of the best known investment firms over the last forty years. The case describes the investment philosophy of... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2007 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Punjab and Kerala: Regional Development in India

By: Lakshmi Iyer

Between 2000 and 2004, India's economy grew by 6.35%. Focuses on the states of Punjab and Kerala, which emphasized sharply different development strategies. The states had to decide whether to focus their investment efforts on physical capital or improving social... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Capital; Investment; Policy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Social Issues; Kerala; Punjab

05 May 2015
News

Economist: The Internet of Things will deliver surge of productivity

15 Feb 2018
News

Black Business Leaders Series: John Rogers and the Importance of Hiring Minority-Owned Services Firms

29 Feb 2024
HBS Case

Beyond Goals: David Beckham's Playbook for Mobilizing Star Talent

despite the investments of Beckham and others, remained relatively small, dwarfed by homegrown sports like football and baseball. Beckham has committed to building US soccer as part of his legacy, the case says, and brands started... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

December 1998 (Revised December 1999)
Case

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Private Client Services

By: Thomas J. DeLong, David M. Darst, Ann K Rusher and Catherine M. Conneely

The 1997 merger of retail giant Dean Witter and investment bank Morgan Stanley was a year old when Bob Sculthorpe was appointed director of Private Client Services (PCS) at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MSDW). The firm was still operating under two separate broker-dealer... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Divisions; Investment Banking; Brands and Branding; Salesforce Management; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry

10 May 2015
Blog Post

Brand Strategist Turns Entrepreneur

Becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t part of Desiree Stolar’s plan. A brand strategy and market research consultant, Desiree (MBA 2015) expected to hone her skills at HBS and then return to the field she loved. That all changed when her... View Details

02 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 2

the practice of business strategy for 30 years. The problem lies instead in what strategic leaders are not trained to do. In caricature, Porter's view casts strategists as practitioner economists who expertly analyze and manage market... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2012 (Revised July 2012)
Supplement

Man Group (B)

By: Robert C. Pozen and Thomas M. Clay

The Man Group was a huge and successful UK-based hedge fund and fund of funds manager. Through acquisitions, the company had consciously diversified its portfolio of investment products. In 2007 Man had to decide whether or not to spin off its brokerage business. Man... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Funds; Asset Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Investment Funds; Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom