Publications

June 2023
Supplement

Clash of Two Giants Simulation Exercise

By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti

Many markets are organized around platforms that connect consumers with complementary applications and services. These platforms are two-sided because both sides - consumers and those providing applications or services - need access to the same platform to interact. A... View Details

Keywords: Customer Acquisition; Platform Strategy; Technology Platform; Digital Platforms; Competitive Strategy; Network Effects

11 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating When the Rules Suddenly Change

other clubs would be likely to pay him. They also had to weigh what sort of precedent, good or bad, that deal would set for the other players they were trying to sign. Finally,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler; Sports

30 Jan 2024
Cold Call Podcast

Can Second-Generation Ethanol Production Help Decarbonize the World?

Keywords: Re: Gunnar Trumbull; Energy

October 2022 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Driving Decarbonization at BMW

By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel

The case describes BMW’s electrification and decarbonization strategy, and how the company measured carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of its vehicles and used tools like carbon abatement cost curves to evaluate decarbonization opportunities. In mid-2022,... View Details

Professor David B. Yoffie is the Max and Doris Starr Professor of International Business Administration at Harvard Business School. A member of the HBS faculty since 1981, Professor Yoffie received his Bachelor's degree summa cum laude and Phi Beta... View Details

Keywords: communications; computer; e-commerce industry; electronics; financial services; information; information technology industry; internet; retail financial services; semiconductor; soft drink; telecommunications; video games

October 2018 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation

By: Ryan W. Buell and Leslie K. John

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

In August 2017, Commonwealth Bank of Australia was looking for ways to differentiate itself from competing banks and was also trying to improve the financial well-being of... View Details

Keywords: Transparency; Experimentation; Banks and Banking; Credit Cards; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competitive Strategy; Banking Industry; Australia

October 2012
Case

Winfield Refuse Management, Inc.: Raising Debt vs. Equity

By: W. Carl Kester and Sunru Yong

A small, publicly traded company specializing in non-hazardous waste management considers a major acquisition in the Midwestern U.S. The acquisition can provide entry into the region, help the firm compete in a competitive industry, and improve its cost position. The... View Details

Keywords: United States; Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Equity Capital; Debt Management; Expansion; Leveraged Buyouts; Financial Analysis; Administrative/Support/Waste Management/Remediation Services; Equity; Borrowing and Debt; Service Industry

February 2004
Case

Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (A)

By: Mihir A. Desai, Alberto Moel and Kathleen Luchs

This case examines how insiders can expropriate value from shareholders in emerging markets when property rights are ill-defined. As such, it provides a platform for considering how institutions and legal rules impact financing patterns and economic outcomes. CME,... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Fairness; Financial Institutions; Corporate Governance; Rights; Ownership Stake

February 1981 (Revised May 1988)
Case

Marriott's Rancho Las Palmas Resort

Management of a resort hotel near Palm Springs is reviewing the hotel's performance nine months after opening and planning a marketing strategy for 1980. Of particular concern is the strategy to adopt during the shoulder and off-seasons when demand for the product is... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Accommodations Industry

January 2014 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Showdown at Cracker Barrel

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Tim Gray

In the fall of 2011, activist investor, Sardar Biglari, has acquired nearly 10% ownership in the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain. He believes that the board and senior management have failed and the company has underperformed relative to its peers. When he is denied a... View Details

13 Dec 2015
News

The Truest Measure of America's Progress

22 Oct 2010
News

Harvard Business School Launches Second Annual Alumni New Venture Contest

March 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Poweo: David and Goliath in the French Electricity Market

By: Noel Maurer and Elisa Farri

Charles Beigbeder, the president and founder of Poweo, an alternative electricity and gas operator in France, needs to decide on the company's strategy in light of electricity deregulation and the dominant position of Électricité de France (EDF) in the French market.... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Competitive Strategy; Competition; Privatization; Monopoly; Market Entry and Exit; Energy Industry; France

February 1997
Case

Archer Daniels Midland: Direction and Strategy

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Thomas N. Urban Jr

Sets out the strategy and competitive competencies of one of the leading grain trade and processing companies in the world. An overview of the company's innovations in corn and oilseed by-products is provided. The strategy of the firm is to add by-products to corn,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Strategic Planning; Business Strategy; Value Creation; Food and Beverage Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

July 2012
Case

Droga5: Launching Jay-Z's Decoded

By: Anita Elberse and Kwame Owusu-Kesse

In 2010, David Droga and Andrew Essex, co-founders of advertising agency Droga5, hope to convince both John Meneilly, manager of hip-hop star Shawn Carter—better known as Jay-Z—and a partner in Carter's company Roc Nation and Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Entertainment; Advertising Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

December 2023
Background Note

Organizational Learning

By: Willy Shih

This is a background note that surveys part of the extensive literature on organizational learning. The focus is on learning from experiences, how those learnings get translated into organizational routines and processes, and how that can also lead to getting stuck in... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Knowledge; Business Processes; Manufacturing Industry; Service Industry