Publications

February 2006 (Revised August 2006)
Case

deCODE Genetics: Hunting for Genes to Develop Drugs

In 1996, Kari Stefansson launched a new kind of biotechnology company and a whole new way of attacking diseases. Based in Iceland, his firm, deCODE Genetics, plans to identify the individual genetic markers that lead to society's most prevalent diseases. To do so, it... View Details

Keywords: Information; Innovation Strategy; Genetics; Ethics; Health Disorders; Biotechnology Industry; Iceland

January 2004 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Rwandan Tea Industry, The: Looking into the Future

In 2003, the Rwandan government was focused on transforming the nation's tea industry into a world-class competitor. To accomplish this objective and stave off the downward prices that plagued the international tea market, the government believed that the industry... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Privatization; Government and Politics; Developing Countries and Economies; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Rwanda

September 1997
Background Note

Note on Political Risk Analysis

Describes the emergence and subsequent decline of the political risk analysis industry. Discusses what political risk means for multinational firms and various ways in which firms have tried to analyze and grapple with these risks. View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Foreign Direct Investment; Government and Politics

December 1995
Case

Layton Canada

In 1993, Layton Canada finds itself caught in an intractable political situation. As part of a global reorganization process, the firm has been transformed from a subsidiary of a Dutch parent corporation to a subsidiary of a U.S. parent. Now, if it continues with its... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Government and Politics

January 1996 (Revised June 1996)
Supplement

Toys "R" Us Japan (B)

Supplements Toys "R" Us Japan. View Details

July 1995 (Revised April 1996)
Case

Union Carbide's Bhopal Plant (B)

Describes the aftermath of the explosion at Bhopal. View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management

September 1993 (Revised September 1997)
Case

China (A): The Great Awakening

As the third largest economy after the United States and Japan, China's startling economic growth has spurred increasing interest in the economic, social, and political factors that catapulted the country to sudden prominence. This case starts with an overview of the... View Details

Keywords: History; Government and Politics; Society; Macroeconomics; China

October 1992 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Foreign Investment and Free Trade: Canada in the 1990s

January 1999 (Revised March 1999)
Background Note

Note on Rules

A central document for the Managing International Trade and Investment (MITI) course and its cases. Provides a conceptual framework for the course and a systematic way of analyzing the political circumstances that confront firms engaged in international trade and... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Government and Politics

April 2025
Teaching Note

'Care in Every Drop': Ayala Corporation and Manila Water (A) and (B)

By: Debora L. Spar and Sarah Sasso

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 324-038 and 324-039. View Details

October 2019
Teaching Note

Extend Fertility: Conceiving the Market for Egg Preservation

By: Debora L. Spar and Olivia Hull

Teaching Note for HBS No. 719-019. View Details

February 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Extend Fertility: Conceiving the Market for Egg Preservation (A)

By: Debora L. Spar and Olivia Hull

In April 2003, entrepreneur and MBA student Christy Jones was planning a new venture to help women preserve their fertility. Her company, Extend Fertility, would commercialize a technique known as egg freezing, in which a woman’s eggs were extracted and stored at low... View Details

Keywords: Assisted Reproduction; Entrepreneur; Health And Wellness; Fertility; Infertility; Women's Health; Creating Markets; Egg Freezing; Fertility Clinic; Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Marketing Strategy

January 2024
Case

TSMC and CHIPS

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia Comeau

Keywords: Semiconductor Industry; Arizona; Taiwan

February 1998 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Burma Pipeline, The

By: Debora L. Spar and Lane LaMure

In 1996, Unocal Corp. joined forces with the French Total company to construct an ambitious natural gas pipeline from the Andaman Sea across the southern tip of Burma and into Thailand. At an estimated cost of $1.2 billion, the pipeline was designed to bring sorely... View Details

Keywords: Political Risk; Risk Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Foreign Direct Investment; Energy Industry; Asia

November 2024
Teaching Note

Martine Rothblatt and United Therapeutics: A Series of Implausible Dreams

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 323-039. In 1990, satellite expert and Sirius XM founder Martine Rothblatt was determined to save the life of her seven-year-old daughter, Jenesis, who was diagnosed with a terminal illness called Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). At... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Companies; Technological And Scientific Innovation; Organ Donation; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Pharmaceutical Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; District of Columbia

January 2024
Technical Note

The ICARUS Principles: What It Takes to Tackle the World

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau

Over the course of the 20th century, most of the world’s major multinational corporations framed their mission around Milton Friedman’s famous mantra: that the sole purpose of the firm is to maximize its shareholders’ profits. Recently, however, growing numbers of... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Mission; Social Business; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; For-Profit Firms