Publications

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September 2020 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Hot Wheels at Mattel: Reinventing the Wheel

By: Elie Ofek, Andres Terech and Nicole Tempest Keller

In 2017, Chris Down, Global Brand General Manager for Hot Wheels, and his team from the Advanced Play Group within Mattel, Inc., were considering which innovation path to pursue in order to "future proof" the Hot Wheels franchise going forward. Hot Wheels was the... View Details

Keywords: Toys; Industry Evolution; Innovation Strategy; Product Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Decision Making; Digital Transformation

January 2018
Case

Kids & Company: Entering the U.S.

By: Boris Groysberg, Matthew G. Preble and Katherine Connolly Baden

In April 2017, Victoria Sopik and Jennifer Nashmi, CEO and CFO (respectively) of Kids & Company, a Canadian childcare provider that they had co-founded in the early 2000s and developed into a nearly 100-unit enterprise, are discussing how the company should proceed... View Details

March 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Supercell 2.0: Clash of Plans

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and George Gonzalez

Founded in 2010, Supercell was a Helsinki, Finland-based mobile gaming company that had developed and launched five global hit mobile games: Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Hay Day, Brawl Stars, and Boom Beach. The company’s early philosophy was that it could produce... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Restructuring; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Video Game Industry; Finland

December 2019
Case

Small-Market Teams and Big Stars: The Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo

By: Anita Elberse and Melcolm Ruffin

In October 2019, National Basketball Association (NBA) team the Milwaukee Bucks are about to tip off their first home game in the 2019–2020 NBA season. Peter Feigin, president of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Jon Horst, the league’s youngest general manager, could look back... View Details

Keywords: Superstars; Talent and Talent Management; Sports; Strategy; Sports Industry

November 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Microsoft Xbox: Changing the Game?

By: Andrei Hagiu

In September 1999, the Microsoft Xbox team was wondering which strategic choices would give it the best chance against the upcoming Sony PlayStation 2. Initially called "Project Midway" within Microsoft, the console project was intended to counter the perceived threat... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Recruitment; Leadership; Management Teams; Multi-Sided Platforms; Two-Sided Platforms; Production; Strategy; Competition; Expansion; Video Game Industry; Texas

29 Feb 2024
HBS Case

Beyond Goals: David Beckham's Playbook for Mobilizing Star Talent

five-year, $6.5 million-a-year contract with LA Galaxy that positioned him to buy the Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Miami franchise in 2018. As his two-decade soccer career waned, Beckham’s star remained ascendant in business and... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

May 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Teaching Note

BrightStar Care: The Evolution of a Leadership Team

By: Boris Groysberg, Colleen Ammerman and Olivia Hull

Teaching Note for HBS No. 417-020. View Details

Keywords: Health Care Services; Entrepreneurs; Board Of Directors; Boards Of Directors; Health Care Industry; Growth Strategy; Organizational Change; Brand Positioning; Entrepreneurial Organizations; Entrepreneurial Management; Franchising; Family-owned Business; Home Health Care; Managing Growth; Management Styles; Organizational Development; Talent Management; Women Executives; Women And Leadership; Business Startups; Family Business; Small Business; Talent And Talent Management; Governing And Advisory Boards; Health Care And Treatment; Human Capital; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Business Or Company Management; Growth And Development Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, And Techniques; Management Skills; Management Style; Management Succession; Management Systems; Management Teams; Brands And Branding; Marketing Strategy; Strategy; Health Industry

25 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

How SHEIN and Temu Conquered Fast Fashion—and Forged a New Business Model

Motors leveraged its marketing and distribution power by buying up manufacturers. A brand like McDonald’s used franchising to achieve the same goal. SHEIN and Temu rely on IT to do the job. Will other platforms follow suit? For instance,... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton; Fashion; Retail; Consumer Products

07 Jul 2022
HBS Case

How a Multimillion-Dollar Ice Cream Startup Melted Down (and Bounced Back)

partnership that would make Ample Hills the official ice cream of the Star Wars franchise and harness its unique flavors to celebrate Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday. There were marshmallow “Light Side” and chocolate “Dark Side” flavors;... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

31 Jul 2017
HBS Case

It’s Hard to Fix the Family Business Without Offending the Family

Foundation Professor Leonard A. Schlesinger, who coauthored the case, Pho Hoa Dorchester, with 2017 MBA students Michael Raiche and Roger Zhu. Pho Hoa and Pho Linh, a smaller restaurant located in Quincy, Massachusetts, are owned as View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage

23 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

How to Brand a Next-Generation Product

Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig—without destroying the franchise Whereas with Rocky, you're pretty much stuck with Sylvester Stallone." Risk Vs. Reward Companies also must assess risk versus reward when branding a... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

June 2011 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Coca-Cola in 2011: In Search of a New Model

By: David B. Yoffie and Renee Kim

Muhtar Kent, CEO of the Coca-Cola Company, faced a critical decision in 2011 after closing a $12 billion deal to buy its troubled North America bottling operations from its biggest bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises. The decision was prompted by several changes in the U.S.... View Details

Keywords: Beverage Industry; Strategic Positioning; Mergers And Acquisitions; Competition; Business Model; Vertical Integration; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Franchise Ownership; Investment; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

11 May 2016
Research & Ideas

Fix This! Why is it so Painful to Buy a New Car?

had booked 400,000 pre-orders for its Model 3 sedan—a $35,000 vehicle that won’t even go into production until 2017. None of those sales were made through franchised dealerships; Tesla uses only direct-to-consumer sales. Meanwhile, car... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Auto

13 Jun 2011
HBS Case

Mobile Banking for the Unbanked

fundamental theorem of marketing: understand what your customers really want," Rangan says. To create a distribution channel, M-PESA franchised thousands of mom-and-pop convenience stores to act as M-PESA agents at their existing... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Banking; Communications; Telecommunications

April 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Restaurant Brands International: Version 2.0

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2010, 3G Capital acquired Burger King, the second largest burger chain globally. 3G expanded Burger King’s operations via acquisitions into a multi-brand business, renamed Restaurant Brands International. The acquisition had been a financial success story for 3G.... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Growth and Development; Performance Evaluation; Private Equity; Franchise Ownership; Culture; Change Management; Strategy; Human Resources; Information Technology; Competition; Retail Industry; United States

07 Nov 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Sir Alex Ferguson--Managing Manchester United

decades—he has been at his current club, Manchester United, for over a quarter of a century. Under his leadership, United has become one of the world's most successful franchises in all of sports. So when I learned through an industry... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Sports; Entertainment & Recreation

27 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

Want a Happy Customer? Coordinate Sales and Marketing

service lines, market segments, and competitive positioning. Marketing did the thinking, managed the brand and consumer franchise in consumer goods companies, and provided support to the sales force. In this simpler world, sales did the... View Details

Keywords: by Benson Shapiro

Research Summary

Mastering Strategy Execution

By: Robert Simons

Professor Robert Simons’ research encompasses three areas of management accountability that are the foundation for successful strategy execution: organization design, performance measurement and control, and risk management. In addition, Simons is interested in the... View Details

February 1998 (Revised July 2003)
Case

ICEDELIGHTS

Three second-year students at the Harvard Business School decide to buy a company. The case focuses on their thoughts about an entrepreneurial career, their search process, and the evaluation of an Icedelights (an ice cream/cafe) franchise. This is a rewritten version... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Franchise Ownership