Publications

December 2017 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Globalization Past, 1850–1914 (A)

By: Sophus A. Reinert and Federica Gabrieli

On the evening of 3 August 1914, British Foreign Secretary Lord Edward Grey contemplated whether to advise King and Parliament to declare war on Germany in the wake of the country’s invasion of Belgium or to stay out of what quickly was becoming a world war triggered... View Details

Keywords: The World; The Rise And Fall Of Globalization; World War; Globalization; War; Economics; Trade; Business Cycles; Economic Growth; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Society; History; Values and Beliefs; Macroeconomics

October 2013
Case

Lufa Farms

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Robert Mackalski, Annelena Loeb and Lisa Mazzanti

In 2013, Mohamed Hage, founder of the rooftop farming business called Lufa Farms, thought his company had reached a level of maturity where scaling the business model was the next logical step. With two greenhouses already in Canada, he was looking into other locations... View Details

Keywords: Rooftop Farms; Agriculture; Greenhouse; Technology; Expansion; Strategic Partnerships; Cultivation; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Canada

June 2007 (Revised June 2008)
Case

GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project

By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Brian J. Hall and Nicole Bennett

In September 2003, Jeff Immelt challenged the business leaders at GE to come up with "Imagination Breakthroughs," innovative new projects that would serve as the centerpiece of GE's organic growth initiative. Follows the company as these changes are driven through the... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology Industry

Keywords: Garry Emmons and Julia Hanna; Latin America; research; infrastructure; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments

01 Dec 2000
News

Latin America's Decade

common issues most Latin American countries are dealing with. It's a factor that constrains business strategy across the region." Latin America's equity markets are thin and capital is scarce, Ghemawat says,... View Details

February 2008 (Revised November 2015)
Case

Danaher Corporation

By: Bharat Anand, David J. Collis and Sophie Hood

Between 1985 and 2007, Danaher has been one of the best-performing industrial conglomerates in the U.S. This case examines the corporate strategy of this diversified, global corporation. It describes the firm's portfolio strategy and the Danaher Business System—a... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy; Value Creation

September 2018
Supplement

From Beirut With Love (B): The Last Judgment

By: Christina R. Wing, Esel Y. Cekin and Samer Al-Rachedy

01 Mar 2023
News

Clearing the Air

who can really afford credits [to offset emissions] are funds like Frontier and the Microsofts of the world—organizations that want to encourage growth and development. But... View Details

Keywords: April White and Dan Morrell; Illustrations by Richard Borge

February 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Bidding for Finansbank

By: David Scharfstein and Esel Çekin

Because of the deepening Greek crisis, in October 2015, National Bank of Greece (NBG) was required to sell one of its most valuable assets, Finansbank, the eighth largest Turkish bank. There were three potential buyers: Garanti Bank, Turkey's second largest private... View Details

Keywords: Banking; Acquisitions; International Acquisition; Cross-border Investment; Bidding; Bidders; Regulations; ROE; Cost Synergies; Regional Growth; Emerging Market; Sales Process; Valuation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Banking Industry; Turkey; Europe

August 2022
Background Note

Retail Media Networks

By: Eva Ascarza, Ayelet Israeli and Celine Chammas

In 2022, retail media was one of the fastest growing segments in digital advertising. A retail media network (RMN) allows a retailer to use its assets for advertising. Retailers set up an advertising business by allowing marketers to buy advertising space across their... View Details

06 Aug 2018
Research & Ideas

Supersmart Manufacturing Tools are Lowering Prices on TVs, Bulbs, and Solar Panels

What the paper points out is the level of sophistication of this knowledge embodiment has increased dramatically, making it easy to make things that have long been very difficult or even impossible to produce otherwise. All you need is the money to buy the tool, View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing; Electronics

March 2003
Article

When the Law Does Not Matter: The Rise and Decline of the Mexican Oil Industry

By: Stephen Haber, Noel Maurer and Armando Razo

Keywords: Law; Business Ventures; Business Growth and Maturation; Energy Industry

Find at Harvard

30 Aug 2019
Blog Post

3 Growing Pains from my First Year at HBS: Academic, Social, and Career

during my first year, but reflecting back now, my first year surely brought transformations and growth in all of those areas. These expreiences are all valuable and to be... View Details

Juan Alcacer

Juan Alcacer is the James J. Hill Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He joined HBS in 2007 and has taught the required MBA strategy course, an elective on Global Strategy and PhD courses in Strategy and International Business. Within... View Details

Keywords: consulting; management consulting; telecommunications

13 Mar 2019
News

The First Five Years: Sierra Smith and Taylor Wiegele (both MBA 2017)

Taylor Wiegele and Sierra Smith on Shark Tank (photos by ABC) How did you come up with the idea for Zorpads? Sierra Smith: “We started Zorpads as part of a school project for FIELD 3 (which apparently no longer exists as required... View Details

March 2020
Technical Note

Intrapreneurship: Leading Innovation Efforts in Established Organizations

By: Karen G. Mills and Annie Dang

“Intrapreneurship” is the use of entrepreneurial management techniques within established companies to create new environments that foster innovation. Mature firms have consistently faced risk of elimination from competitors, shifting consumer preferences, and... View Details

Keywords: Intrapreneurship; Innovation; Corporate Venture Capital; Accelerators; Incubators; Lean Startup; Hypothesis Testing; Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Framework; Disruption

August 2020 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Digital Marketing at HBS Online

By: Sunil Gupta and Rajiv Lal

In July 2020, the management team of Harvard Business School Online (HBS Online) had to decide how to allocate its marketing budget for fiscal year 2021 between various digital channels and its portfolio of courses. Since its launch in 2014, HBS Online had grown to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Marketing Channels; Brands and Branding; Business Education; Education Industry; United States; Boston

September 2018
Supplement

Advent International: Kroton Investment

By: Victoria Ivashina, Priscilla Zogbi and Ruth Kostas

Keywords: Private Equity; Acquisition; IPO; Valuation; Education; Distance Learning; Turnaround; Growth; Exit; PE; Buyer; Middle-class; Low Income; K-12; Entrepreneur; Family Business; University; College; Consolidation; Fragmentation; Penetration; Value; Shares; Control; Negotiation; Equity; Transaction; Board; Majority; Minority; Post-secondary; Leverage; Campus; Deal; Shareholder; Tag Along

January 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

STRIVR: Changing the Game in Virtual Reality

By: Rajiv Lal, Matt Denison, Robert Higgins and Scott Johnson

The CEO of a growing virtual reality company that trains athletes must decide whether or not to stay in sports or expand into other areas. View Details