Publications

November 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Taking Charge at Dogus Holding (A)

By: Rakesh Khurana, Gina Carioggia and Simon Johnson

Describes 37-year-old Ferit Sahenk's challenges in taking over his father's traditionally managed $14 billion Turkish conglomerate in a period of economic instability. Leading the large holding company into the 21st century will require the establishment of a more... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Trade; Competitive Strategy; Decision Making; Leadership; Performance Effectiveness; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Family Business; Change Management; Turkey

September 2021 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Bühler: Mobilizing Industry around a Common Purpose

By: Ranjay Gulati, Franz Wohlgezogen and Malini Sen

Bühler Group, a Swiss multinational processing technology provider, started by selling machines for processing grains and later transitioned into selling food processing solutions. A family-owned business in the fifth generation, Bühler’s high-end milling, grinding,... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Customer Focus and Relationships; Machinery and Machining; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Innovation Leadership; Switzerland

September 2006
Case

Stedman Place: Buy or Rent?

By: Andre F. Perold and David S. Scharfstein

A couple has to decide whether to continue renting a townhouse or buy the one next door. Allows for a discussion of net present value, internal rate of return, and the costs and benefits of homeownership. View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Decisions; Asset Pricing; Investment Return; Housing; Family Ownership; Renting or Rental; Valuation

01 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 1, 2007

property development. A family member, Raymond Cheng, had narrowed the list of potential markets to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Notwithstanding a history of instability and conflict and substantial government control of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Feb 2021
Research & Ideas

Inside CEOs' Pandemic Worries: Uncertainty, Employees, and Kids

and their ability to pay for each of our projects to assess the situation.” Uncertainty about “what the runway of cash should be and how long to plan for” compounded CEOs' liquidity concerns. Family and friends. Like everyone else, CEOs... View Details

Keywords: by Gamze D. Yucaoglu, Robin Abrahams, and Boris Groysberg

29 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

The Next Marketing Challenge: Selling to ’Simplifiers’

and intimate spaces, more charm, and less maintenance. Their families are scattered, unable to share conveniently the family holiday home and often unwilling to inherit the burden of something they will... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Retail; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation

17 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 17

dealer of loose gemstones in 1969 in Jaipur, India. By the 2000s, it was headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and had expanded into diamonds and retail. The family business was now in its second generation of leadership and aimed... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Dec 2014
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles and Research Papers of 2014

emotions can play in negotiations. Managing the Family Business: Leadership Roles Poorly designed leadership roles set up a family business for failure. John A. Davis offers a system that produces the... View Details

29 Jan 2015
Op-Ed

The Fall of Greece

Editor's note. On Sunday, the left-leaning Syriza party and its leader Alexis Tsipra won a decisive national victory in Greece, partly on pledges to reduce current austerity measures and to seek a restructuring of debt commitments to European partners. George Serafeim,... View Details

Keywords: by George Serafeim

15 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Growing Pains: Prescriptions for U.S. Health Care

declares. "The fact of the matter is, advances in medical technology now make it possible for nurse practitioners to handle many cases with considerable expertise and at considerably less expense. Similarly, family physicians can now... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Health

08 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

Thinking Twice About Supply-Chain Layoffs

manager changes his or her hours, it can upset a delicate balance of work schedules, family commitments, and child care, which in turn can derail increasingly fragile family budgets. In a survey of Wal-Mart... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

October 1996 (Revised December 1996)
Case

United Electric Controls

By: H. Kent Bowen, Jody H. Gittell and Sylvie Ryckebusch

United Electric Controls (UE) was a small, traditional family-owned manufacturing company when Dave Reis, the youngest member of the Reis family, took over the business. This case describes Reis's efforts to change UE's traditional work practices in order to make the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Family Business; Production; Business Strategy; Human Resources; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Decisions; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology; Electronics Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States