Publications

January 1999
Article

An Analysis of Value Destruction and Recovery in the Alliance and Proposed Merger of Volvo and Renault

By: Robert Bruner

Volvo's attempt to merge with Renault in 1993 temporarily destroyed SEK 8.6 billion (US$ 1.1 billion) in Volvo shareholder wealth. This study traces the destruction to hubris, managerialism, and the escalation of commitment—elements suggested in previous research. In... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Institutional Investors; Alliances; Privatization; Mergers and Acquisitions; Institutional Investing; Auto Industry

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Globalization - Faculty & Research

Centers The globalization of business has long encouraged Harvard Business School (HBS) faculty to research international business practices and the effects of globalization. Seminal contributions - Christopher Bartlett on managing across borders , Michael Porter on... View Details

February 2023
Case

Enstitute

By: Lindsay N. Hyde, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Kumba Sennaar and Sarah Mehta

Shaila Ittycheria (MBA ’10) founded the nonprofit organization Enstitute, in 2012 in New York City. Determined to challenge the status quo within higher education, Shaila and her cofounder sought to expand opportunities for talented young people by placing them in... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Operations; Business Startups; Business Growth and Maturation; Education Industry; Education Industry; United States

January 2018 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Transformation at ING (A): Agile

By: William R. Kerr, Federica Gabrieli and Emer Moloney

In December 2017, Vincent van den Boogert, CEO of ING in the Netherlands, was reflecting upon the company’s “agile” transformation, a reorganization of work that had been critical to respond to and exceed rapidly changing customer expectations. Launched in 2015 at the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change; Organizational Management; Workforce; Agile; Change Management; Leadership; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Leading Change; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Banking Industry

01 Dec 2023
News

Venturing Forth

“Right now the industry is going through a massive hangover after a complete rager,” says Jo Tango (MBA 1995), a senior lecturer at HBS and a venture capitalist who has exited from three unicorns. Like any financial industry, venture... View Details

Keywords: Janelle Nanos; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance

07 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 7, 2008

published in top peer-reviewed management, psychology, sociology, and industrial relations journals from 1990 to 2005. Our findings illuminate a continuum of open systems to closed systems phenomenological assumptions revealed in this... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

21 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: December 21

PublicationsHas the Shift to Stronger Intellectual Property Rights Promoted Technology Transfer, FDI, and Industrial Development? Authors:Lee Branstetter, C. Fritz Foley, and Kamal Saggi Publication:The WIPO Journal: Analysis and Debate... View Details

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Advisory Board - Entrepreneurship

before it went public. He then led Open Market's expansion into business-to-business applications. In 1999, he founded and ran PurchasingCenter.com, a "My Yahoo" portal for industrial purchasing agents who purchase $2-$10 million of... View Details

08 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

The Strategic Way To Hire a Sales Team

little performance variability—because the tasks are standard, because the firm or industry has reduced variability, or because the business model limits the bandwidth of performance variance. Think about the difference between sales... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

17 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 17

relationship, greater partner integration is associated with higher costs, but not with higher product quality. Our results shed light on the subtle interplay between formal and relational contracting. They have important implications for practice, with respect to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

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

21 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

Inside the OR: Disrupted Routines and New Technologies

organizations successfully integrate new technologies into their operations. "In an industry context in which individual heroism and skill are assumed to be critical determinants of important outcomes," they write, "this... View Details

Keywords: by Hilah Geer

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Becoming an Entrepreneur - Alumni

friction from ecommerce shopping, or applying Big Data to achieve supply chain efficiencies Enthusiasm for a particular industry or "space," such as IoT or green energy initiatives For those who recognize themselves as founders, the next... View Details

January 2008 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Glass Egg Digital Media

Glass Egg is an outsource games development firm in Vietnam. They are able to offer brand-name publishers-Microsoft EA, Atari-significant cost savings in the development of art assets for their video games. However, the firm's management find themselves at a point at... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Product Development; Organizational Structure; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

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Nonprofit Strategy & Governance | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

for-profits can deliver as much social value as charities. Despite the blurred distinction, all mission-driven start-ups will eventually face a stark choice about which legal structure to adopt, and they need to make it carefully, because... View Details

15 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 15, 2008

organizational studies research. We empirically assess this assertion by analyzing studies of negotiation published in top peer-reviewed management, psychology, sociology, and industrial relations journals from 1990 to 2005. Our findings... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2006
Case

A123Systems

By: H. Kent Bowen, Kenneth P Morse and Douglass Cannon

A 123Systems was a young company that was founded on basic materials science research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A co-founder of the company, Yet-Ming Chiang, was a full professor at MIT and served as scientific adviser. Intellectual property based... View Details

Keywords: Intellectual Property; Business Startups; Research and Development; Commercialization; Technological Innovation; Science-Based Business; Product Development; Battery Industry; Battery Industry; Massachusetts