Publications

October 1994 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Privatization of Rhone-Poulenc 1993, The

In mid-1993, representatives of Rhone-Poulenc, a leading nationalized French firm, worked with the French government to plan the imminent privatization of the firm. One aspect of the privatization was to create incentives for employees to buy and hold shares in the... View Details

Keywords: Privatization; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; France

January 1997 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Lynton V. Harris & Madison "Scare" Garden (A)

By: Michael A. Wheeler and Guhan Subramanian

A young entrepreneur, Lynton V. Harris, who successfully staged family-oriented shows in his native Australia and who had several entertainment ventures in the United States, is on the verge of signing an agreement with Madison Square Garden to jointly produce a new... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; New York (city, NY)

20 Jan 2023
Blog Post

The Importance of Mentorship: A Conversation With Professor Ting Zhang

their time, there is huge variability in terms of how much people prioritize mentoring activities. Some people see mentoring others as an obligation (that is, just another activity that HR wants employees to do), whereas others see it as... View Details

28 May 2013
News

10 Questions to Ask When Determining Your Salary

November 2022 (Revised September 2023)
Technical Note

SAFE Notes: An Introduction

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui and Jo Tango

A SAFE ("Simple Agreement for Future Equity") is a security increasingly used in seed financings. Not equity or debt, SAFEs allow founders to "get capital now and sell equity later." This Technical Note covers: 1. What is a SAFE and why use one?, 2. The key concepts... View Details

Keywords: Seed Financing; Seed Investing; Entrepreneurial Finance; Financing and Loans

June 2022 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Netflix's Culture: Binge or Cringe?

By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger, James Barnett and Stacy Straaberg

In May 2022, streaming entertainment company Netflix lost customers for the first time in more than 10 years. Once a first mover in the streaming landscape, Netflix was facing competition from Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, and others. A key component of... View Details

June 2020
Case

TransDigm: The Acquisition of Aerosonic Corp.

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel W. Fisher

In April 2013, TransDigm, a company that manufactured a wide range of highly engineered aerospace parts for both military and commercial aircraft, announced an agreement to acquire Aerosonic Corporation for $39 million in cash (1.2 times Aerosonic’s sales of $31... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Growth Management; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation; Valuation; Negotiation; Cash Flow; Contracts; Aerospace Industry; Air Transportation Industry; United States

January 2013
Article

Level Two Negotiations: Helping the Other Side Meet Its 'Behind-the-Table' Challenges

By: James K. Sebenius

A long analytic tradition has explored the challenge of productively synchronizing "internal" with "external" negotiations, with a special focus on how each side can best manage internal opposition to agreements negotiated "at the table." Implicit in much of this work... View Details

Keywords: James Baker; Internal Negotiation; Dispute Resolution; Bargaining; Two-level Games; Negotiation; Germany; United States

21 Apr 2008
Research & Ideas

The New Math of Customer Relationships

It's the E=MC2 of customer loyalty. Deeply satisfied employee = deeply satisfied customer = lifelong profit. Harvard Business School professor emeritus Jim Heskett and professor Earl Sasser have pursued this seemingly simple equation in... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Feb 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Noncompetes and Inventor Mobility: Specialists, Stars, and the Michigan Experiment

Keywords: by Matt Marx, Deborah Strumsky & Lee Fleming

10 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

High Commitment, High Performance Management

With many companies battered by the economy, commitment from leaders and employees might seem like increasingly precious resources. Yet commitment and performance are essential elements of any successful firm no matter the health of the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

31 Mar 2008
HBS Case

JetBlue’s Valentine’s Day Crisis

employee cross-training so that all 900 of the corporate employees in JetBlue's Forest Hills office could assist at nearby JFK during any future operational crisis. "JetBlue is ultimately better for... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Air Transportation

July 2004 (Revised September 2004)
Case

China and the WTO: Doing the Right Thing? (Abridged)

In late 2001, the People's Republic of China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). Sets the terms of China's accession agreement against its compliance record some two years later. Discusses why key actors, such as business, organized labor, and other governments,... View Details

Keywords: History; International Relations; Judgments; Trade; Business and Government Relations; Development Economics; Governance Compliance; Emerging Markets; Economic Growth; Global Strategy; China

April 2004 (Revised September 2005)
Case

China and the WTO: Doing the Right Thing?

In late 2001, the People's Republic of China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). Sets the terms of China's accession agreement against its compliance record some two years later. Discusses why key actors, such as business, organized labor, and other governments,... View Details

Keywords: Management; History; International Relations; Judgments; Trade; Business and Government Relations; Development Economics; Governance Compliance; Emerging Markets; Global Strategy; China

September 2010 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate

By: Willy C. Shih and Sen Chai

The learning objective of this case is to help students recognize the interplay between intellectual property (IP) rights and corporate strategy. We do this by examining what is a fairly atypical circumstance today in which a single firm is able to secure what it... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; Rights; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

27 Oct 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

Achieving Excellence in Nonprofits

of the same form that are not social-mission-driven. Q: What are some of the critical issues facing nonprofit boards and their leaders today? A: The biggest challenge is keeping focused on key goals; developing a strategy for... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

April 2008
Case

Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad

By: Michael Beer and Elizabeth Collins

In May 2007, the Engstrom Auto Mirrors plant, a relatively small supplier based in Indiana, faces a crisis. The business was in the second year of a downturn. Sales had started to decline in 2005; a year later, plant manager Ron Bent had been forced to lay off more... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Human Resource Management; Incentives; Motivation; Manufacturing; Leadership; Change Management; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Manufacturing Industry; Indiana