Publications

September 2003
Case

Upromise 2002

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a set of decisions confronting the senior management of a company that has established a loyalty rewards program allocating cash to tax-advantaged college savings accounts for participants. The company has recruited a new CEO and needs to raise additional... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Management Teams; Capital; Internet and the Web; Decisions

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05 May 2017
News

Former CFO Paula Price makes her career teaching, serving on boards

June 2011 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Sino-Ocean Land: Responding to Change

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas, Jeffrey Hu and Runjiao Xu

In 2010, Sino-Ocean Land Holdings Limited was a highly successful, large real estate developer based in Beijing, China. Sino-Ocean Land had three main business segments—property development, property investment/management, and other real estate related businesses. From... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Diversification; Property; Policy; State Ownership; Business Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Real Estate Industry; Beijing

10 Dec 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Multi-sided Platforms

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu & Julian Wright; Technology

March 2011 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Cree, Inc.: Which Bright Future?

By: David J. Collis, Mary Furey and Matthew Shaffer

After its founding in the late 1980s, Cree Inc. quickly grew into a major player in the emerging LED market. By 2007, technological improvements in LEDs had made them suitable for TV, computer, and mobile "backlighting"; and concerns over global warning led to calls to... View Details

Forest L. Reinhardt is the John D. Black Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and HBS’s Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Promotions and Tenure.

Professor Reinhardt is interested in the relationships between market and nonmarket... View Details

Keywords: agribusiness; agriculture; beverage; biotechnology; chemical; energy; federal government; food; food processing; forest products; nonprofit industry; oil ＆ gas; paper; petroleum; tourism; transportation

06 Aug 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Field-Level Paradox and the Co-Evolution of an Entrepreneurial Vision

Keywords: by Ryan Raffaelli and Richard DeJordy; Manufacturing

Program

Real Estate Management Program

the real estate sector across the globe, this program will deepen your understanding of the industry. As you strengthen practical knowledge, you will acquire new frameworks and tools that will help you make better strategic View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Real Estate

Research Summary

International business and political risk in West Africa

This project, based on confidential corporate archives, explores the response of foreign companies to political decolonization and the threat of expropriation in Ghana and Nigeria. Foreign companies in Ghana and Nigeria, especially those from Britain, had a... View Details

2008
Working Paper

The Effect of Labor on Profitability: The Role of Quality

By: Zeynep Ton

Determining staffing levels is an important decision in retail operations. While the costs of increasing labor are obvious and easy to measure, the benefits are often indirect and not immediately felt. One benefit of increased labor is improved quality. The objective... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Selection and Staffing; Service Delivery; Business Processes; Quality; Retail Industry

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January 2017 (Revised January 2019)
Case

The Rise and Fall of Lehman Brothers

By: Stuart C. Gilson, Kristin Mugford and Sarah L. Abbott

With nearly $700 billion in assets, Lehman was the largest U.S. bankruptcy in history. In 2007, Lehman achieved record earnings of over $4 billion on revenues of $60 billion. By September 2008 the fourth largest investment bank in the world was bankrupt. How had a... View Details

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

A Perfect Fit: Aligning Organization & Strategy

begin with, the top team must first agree on a "statement of strategic and organizational direction" — an outline of what the company must do as a whole in order to gain competitive advantage. They then appoint an employee task... View Details

Keywords: by Judith A. Ross

September 2003
Case

Allscripts, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Laurence E. Katz

Describes a set of decisions confronting an entrepreneurial team that is considering taking managerial control of Allscripts, a health care venture. The company has gone through nine rounds of external financing and has changed its business model several times. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business or Company Management; Venture Capital; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Corporate Finance; Health Industry

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Career Coach

Rich Schneider

as a part-time faculty member focusing on strategy; and HBS as a career coach. He primarily works with people who are interested in transitioning their careers most typically those who are exploring moving into consulting and corporate... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Consumer Products; Health Care; Manufacturing; Sports

21 Jan 2021
Blog Post

How I Used the HBS Community to Hone My Professional Goals

decision for me at my stage in my career was a job that would give me the experience and skills I needed to succeed long-term in a leadership role. Me with my HBS Health Care Club Conference teammates I joined Medtronic’s View Details

May 2017 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Hilti Fleet Management (A): Turning a Successful Business Model on Its Head

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Oliver Gassmann and Roman Sauer

This case explores the introduction of fleet management in the construction industry by the premium power tools manufacturer Hilti in 2000. Following its customers’ needs, Hilti moved from selling power tools to leasing them as a service. The introduction of the new... View Details

January 2005 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Gobi Partners: October 2004

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

The general partners of Gobi Partners, a venture fund located in Shanghai, are trying to decide the best way to raise money for their first fund. Their strategy of investing in early-stage digital media companies in China was well-received by strategic investors--IBM... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment; Goals and Objectives; Emerging Markets; Problems and Challenges; Conflict Management; Shanghai

September 2015 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Château Margaux (Abridged)

By: Elie Ofek, Eric E. Vogt and Robert J. Dolan

Château Margaux, one of only five prestigious estates in the Bordeaux Medoc wine region to have been classified as a "first-growth", is facing a host of strategic decisions in early 2013. Up until this point the estate had been selling two red wines, a first wine whose... View Details

Keywords: New Product Launch; Marketing Plan; Brand Management; Go To Market Strategy; Channels Of Distribution; Wine Industry; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Product Launch; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; France

2007
Working Paper

How to Capture Value from Innovation: Shaping Intellectual Property and Industry Architecture

By: Gary P. Pisano and David J. Teece

In making strategic decisions about how to capture value from innovation, managers often look at two critical domains—the intellectual property environment and the architecture of the industry—as beyond their control. Yet, the intellectual property environment and the... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Intellectual Property; Industry Structures; Value