Publications

June 2022 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Strategic Innovation at the United Nations: A Network of Ecosystems

By: Frank Nagle, Elizabeth J. Altman and Amy Klopfenstein

In 2021, Gina Lucarelli, leader of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Accelerator Labs, prepared for a meeting with UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. The two planned to discuss the future of the Accelerator Labs, a network of social innovation labs located... View Details

Keywords: Change; Disruption; Transformation; Change Management; Education; Learning; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Local Range; Geopolitical Units; Country; Human Resources; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Information Technology; Information Management; Innovation and Invention; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Dissemination; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Social Enterprise; Non-Governmental Organizations; Social Psychology; Social and Collaborative Networks; Society; Social Issues; Welfare; Strategy; Cooperation; Adaptation; Public Administration Industry; North and Central America

September 2019 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Othellonia: Growing a Mobile Game

By: Eva Ascarza, Tomomichi Amano and Sunil Gupta

In the summer of 2019, Yu Sasaki, Head of the Game Division of DeNA, a Japanese mobile gaming company, is evaluating various growth strategies for its recent game Othellonia. Sasaki needs to decide if he should focus on customer acquisition, retention, or monetization. View Details

Keywords: Targeting; Retention/churn; Freemium; Monetization; Customer Relationship Management; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Customers; Marketing Strategy; Retention; Acquisition; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan

August 2021
Case

Apax Digital

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

The Apax Digital team faced important decisions as they contemplated raising a second fund. Apax Digital Fund I was a $1.1 billion vehicle focused on mid-market growth equity and growth buyouts in the technology sector. The fund had performed well, and the Managing... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Acquisition; Investment Portfolio; Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

22 Jul 2019
Book

How to Be a Digital Platform Leader

business for 20 years. Its acquisition of Jet.com, however, let Walmart aggressively expand the top line of its platform revenue and bring in a team that understood platforms. Although still far behind Amazon, Walmart’s View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

19 Mar 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Overcoming the Stress of ‘Englishnization’

recent acquisitions in Poland and the UK and opened a subsidiary in China. “In English I am not myself. My personality is much smaller in this context.” Neeley, who speaks five languages, conducted in-depth interviews in English and... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

July 2021
Case

Bessemer Venture Partners: Century Fund

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

In July of 2021, Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) contemplated the future of its growth investing practice, known as “Century.” While still relatively new as a focused initiative, BVP’s growth investing already had significant momentum. The fund’s investment pace had... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Financial Institutions; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment Banking; Competitive Strategy; Public Sector; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Acquisition

04 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

Diversity Boosts Profits in Venture Capital Firms

“The more similar you are to someone, the more likely you are to work with them.” That homogeneity, however, came with a penalty: a clear lack in financial performance. Partners who came from the same school achieved an 11.5 percent lower success rate for View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Banking; Financial Services

01 Mar 2023
News

Step Change

adds, big acquisitions and IPOs started happening in the MENA region, catalyzing a virtuous cycle of entrepreneurial activity and investment: Amazon acquired Souq for $580 million in 2017 and Uber purchased Careem for $3.1 billion in... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photographed by Abdelrahman Gabr – Koree; entrepreneurship; women; venture capital; Egypt; developing economies; Finance

Web

HBS - Financials | Supplemental Financial Information

School’s total revenue in fiscal 2023, compared with 18 percent in fiscal 2022. HBS Online HBS Online revenue decreased 3 percent to $68 million from $70 million in fiscal 2022, as the group continued to navigate the challenges of increased competition and higher... View Details

Web

Harvard Business School

corporations such as ADT, American Express, Amgen, Owens Corning, Procter & Gamble, Silver Lake Partners, and Xerox. Between 1994 and 2004, Lewis was head or co-head of the Global Banking Department, the Global Mergers & Acquisitions... View Details

31 May 2017
What Do You Think?

Can Amazon Do What Walmart Couldn’t, Stop the 'Wheel of Retailing'?

it, “The acquisition of Whole Foods by Amazon (which took place after this month’s column was posted) shows that there still are vast opportunities for Amazon to avoid the mechanics of the wheel The wheel begins to turn only when volume... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail

August 2023
Case

Beamery: Using Skills and AI to Modernize HR

By: Boris Groysberg, Alexis Lefort, Susan Pinckney and Carolina Bartunek

Unicorn human relationships startup Beamery evaluates it's growth versus depth strategy as its strategic partners and customers could become future competitors in a quickly changing AI based human resources and talent management industry View Details

23 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Five Ways to Make Your Company More Innovative

crowdsourcing comes in-defining a challenge and offering an incentive, whether in status or money, can get people to self-select as resources to you. You may even want to hire some of them. So this strategy can play into talent View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons, Julia Hanna & Roger Thompson

May 2013
Case

Launching Krispy Natural: Cracking the Product Management Code

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Heather Beckham

Pemberton Products is a U.S. market leader in the cookie and bakery snacks segment of the sweet snack market. Looking to expand into the salty snack market, the company acquires Krispy Inc., a maker of salty snack crackers located in the southeastern U.S. To compete... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Competition; Organizational Culture; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Acquisition; Food and Beverage Industry; Ohio; United States