Publications

May 2000 (Revised July 2000)
Case

U.S. Export-Import Bank and the Three Gorges Dam (A), The

By: George C. Lodge and Cate Reavis

Describes the dilemma Martin Kamarck faced as president of the Export-Import Bank in whether to provide U.S. companies financing for China's Three Gorges Dam project. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; International Finance; Construction Industry; Construction Industry; China; United States

February 2000 (Revised December 2001)
Case

Kmart Inc. and Builders Square

In 1997, Kmart received an offer from retail buyout specialists Leonard Green & Partners for the purchase of its ailing 162-store home improvement chain, Builders Square. Green's offer included a $10 million cash payment, a warrant to purchase a 28% stake in the new... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Valuation; Leveraged Buyouts; Construction Industry; Construction Industry; United States

September 1994
Case

Otis Elevator Company: China Joint Venture (D)

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Describes a set of challenges facing Otis Elevator's joint venture in China as it seeks to expand to other regions of the country. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Globalization; Construction Industry; Construction Industry; China

September 1994
Case

Otis Elevator Company: China Joint Venture (B-2)

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Asks the students to evaluate the challenges a company faced in the summer of 1989 in the light of great political uncertainties. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Strategy; Government and Politics; Globalization; Construction Industry; Construction Industry; China

Find at Harvard

Under Neumiller's "home-town-boy" leadership style, Caterpillar's revenues grew from over $100 million in 1941 to $827 million in 1963, prospering through World War II and the global post-war boom. Neumiller built the Caterpillar brand into a common worldwide... View Details

Keywords: Construction & Real Estate

Howard H. McClintic

Marshall and McClintic built the largest independent steel fabricating firm in the United States. Among their numerous projects were the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Waldorff Astoria Hotel. By 1931, the... View Details

Keywords: Construction & Real Estate

Garner A. Beckett

Through a series of four mergers, Beckett transformed his small Riverside Cement Company into the American Cement Corporation, one of the largest providers in the United States. During his tenure, the company’s revenues increased dramatically – from a few million in... View Details

Keywords: Construction & Real Estate

Henry Crown

During its first year of operation, Materials Service Corporation had sales of $218,000. Crown took over the helm shortly thereafter and grew the company until it dominated the Chicago sand and gravel market. After retiring from his presidency, the firm Crown built... View Details

Keywords: Construction & Real Estate

24 Apr 2014
News

For African farmers looking to escape poverty, honey brings sweet success

has a presence in eight countries where its mission is “to prepare individuals for constructive and exemplary leadership roles, and shape public and private policies, through strength in research and excellence in education, all dedicated... View Details

01 Dec 2004
News

Fall Reunions

remarks, Dean Kim B. Clark presented an overview of three areas that reflect the School’s spirit of innovation: the Global Initiative with its pathbreaking international research centers; the restoration and new construction under way at... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

01 Dec 2003
News

A Legacy of Investment

donated the entire cost of building the campus in the 1920s. In the 1930s, the “Two Hundred Fifty Associates” funded research and case-writing activities threatened by the Great Depression. Post-World War II support from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., enabled View Details

Keywords: Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions; Arts, Entertainment; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

February 1997
Case

Enron Development Corporation: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (A) (Abridged)

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

A large, lucrative power plant is negotiated for construction/operation by an American power company in India's evolving privatized power sector. The process of incorporating the project is captured in this case. The American company will own and operate the plant in... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Transition; Energy Generation; Construction; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Emerging Markets; Negotiation Process; Production; Privatization; Energy Industry

01 Mar 2014
News

Tata Open for Business

The architects employed open spaces and glass walls in an effort to give Tata Hall a visually light and airy feel. Ratan Tata (second from left) at his namesake building with Dean Nohria, William Rawn, and C.D. Spangler. Photos by Susan Young In 2007, as Dean Jay Light... View Details

Keywords: Morrell, Daniel; Construction of Buildings; Construction of Buildings; Construction of Buildings; Construction of Buildings

Research Summary

Overview

By: Michael W. Toffel

My research examines how companies manage environmental issues, occupational safety, and working conditions in global supply chains. More recently, I have also begun researching the drivers and implications of CEO activism, where organizational leaders speak out on... View Details

June 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

Cementos Argos in the U.S.: Go Big or Go Home?

By: Jorge Tamayo, Ruth Costas, Pedro Levindo and Karina Souza

In April 2011, Colombian group Cementos Argos had to decide on whether to double down its business in the U.S., amidst the U.S. cement industry’s lowest performance in 30 years. Argos— Colombia’s leading cement producer and one of the “jewels” of Grupo GEA, the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Organization; Business Subsidiaries; Talent and Talent Management; Cost vs Benefits; Financial Crisis; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business Strategy; Construction Industry; Construction Industry; Latin America; South America; North and Central America; United States; Colombia

June 2009
Teaching Note

Henry J. Kaiser and the Art of the Possible (TN)

By: Anthony Mayo

Teaching Note for [408072]. View Details

Keywords: Construction Industry; Construction Industry; United States

December 2001 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Poland's A2 Motorway

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Michael Kane

Autostrada Wielkopolska S.A. (AWSA) is a consortium of 18 firms that won a concession to build and operate Poland's first private toll road. In June 2000, AWSA's chief financial officer, Wojciech Gebicki, is preparing for a meeting with the projects' lead bankers to... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Cost vs Benefits; Project Finance; Projects; Construction Industry; Construction Industry; Poland