Publications

October 2009
Supplement

Don Soderquist: Negotiating the Wal-Mart-P&G Relationship (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

This case follows the A case and describes the negotiations and strategic choices of Don Soderquist, who as Chief Operating Officer of Wal-Mart, helped to forge a major partnership with P&G in the 1980s and 1990s. The case chronicles the challenging barriers to success... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Style; Partners and Partnerships; Leadership; Value Creation; Problems and Challenges; Distribution Channels; Distribution Industry

29 Aug 2022
News

Harvard Business School Announces 2022 Goldsmith Fellows

Negotiate 1-2-3

Drawing on my book, The Art of Negotiation, the Negotiation 1-2-3 web project provides business practitioners, MBA students, and other learners, an interactive, online resource for improving their negotiation skills. The site’s numeric name reflects three... View Details

30 May 2024
Blog Post

PRIDE at HBS

Founded in 1981 as a student club at Harvard Business School, PRIDE is a home for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning MBA students and their partners. Our goal is to make PRIDE a safe... View Details

January 2007
Case

Lou Pritchett: Negotiating the P&G Relationship with Wal-Mart

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

Describes several internal and external negotiations in the 1980s that led to a significant and growing partnership between Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Wal-Mart. From the perspective of Lou Pritchett, P&G's Vice President of Sales and Customer Development, the unfolding... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Negotiation; Distribution Channels; Partners and Partnerships; Sales

June 1992 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Serendipity Software

Two partners, Anne Salpryn and Tom Hilliard, successfully develop a creative software company. While Anne becomes more managerially oriented, Tom wants to remain a software project creator. The partnership becomes jeopardized as Tom's personal life begins to fall apart... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Entrepreneurship; Software; Leadership Style; Gender Characteristics; Conflict and Resolution; Information Technology Industry

Crystal Guo is a doctoral student in the Health Policy Management PhD program at Harvard. Prior to pursuing her PhD, Crystal received her B.A. in English and Economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2019 and completed her Health Policy and Management,... View Details

Keywords: health care

June 2008 (Revised August 2008)
Case

World Wildlife Fund US

By: Jane Wei-Skillern and Kerry Herman

World Wildlife Fund US is a leading international conservation nonprofit that operates within a global network of WWF organizations. This case examines WWF US's strategy to achieve its mission of protecting natural wildlife and resources. In contrast to traditional... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Environmental Sustainability; Nonprofit Organizations; Social and Collaborative Networks; Trust; Integration; Sumatra; United States

October 2017
Case

LeBron James: Building a Hollywood Empire

By: Anita Elberse

It is June 2016. Superstar basketball player LeBron James and his childhood friend and business partner Maverick Carter are celebrating James’ third NBA championship. The duo will soon have to decide on a strategy for their media businesses—their film and television... View Details

06 Oct 2014
News

New tool maps economic clusters

June 2014
Teaching Note

Google Glass

By: Thomas Eisenmann

In early 2014, business development executives at Google were formulating a distribution strategy for Glass, a wearable computer that projected information on a display viewable with an upward glance. Options, which were not mutually exclusive, included 1) continuing... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Distribution Channels; Technology Adoption; Product Marketing; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

September 2010 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Gazelle in 2012

By: Andrei Hagiu and James Weber

Gazelle has pioneered a reCommerce intermediation model: it buys used electronics from consumers and resells them on eBay or to wholesalers. Going forward, its two main strategic challenges are 1) deciding how much to rely on partnerships with large retailers for... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Two-Sided Platforms; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; Service Industry

January 2024 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Data-Driven Denim: Financial Forecasting at Levi Strauss

By: Mark Egan

The case examines Levi Strauss’ journey in implementing machine learning and AI into its financial forecasting process. The apparel company partnered with the IT company Wipro in 2017 to develop a machine learning algorithm that could help Levi Strauss forecast its... View Details

Keywords: Investor Relations; Forecasting; Machine Learning; Artificial Intelligence; Apparel; Corporate Finance; Forecasting and Prediction; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Transformation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

May 1999
Case

Susan Brown

By: William A. Sahlman

A number of issues confront an associate in a venture capital firm. She has just learned that her senior partners are not yet willing to make her a general partner of the firm. She has several options and must decide what to do. View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Venture Capital; Personal Development and Career; Leadership Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financial Services Industry