Publications

2012
Working Paper

Clear and Present Danger: Planning and New Venture Survival Amid Political and Civil Violence

By: Shon Hiatt and Wesley Sine

Although entrepreneurs constitute a key economic driving force for many emerging economies, they often face unstable environments due to the failure of governments to maintain civil and political order. Yet, we know very little about how environments characterized by... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Developing Countries and Economies; Government and Politics; Crime and Corruption; Balance and Stability; Strategic Planning

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February 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Shanghai Diligence Law Firm (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Catherine Zhang

Shanghai Diligence Law Firm, started in January 2006, is a rapidly growing law firm in China's burgeoning legal services market. In addition to the usual challenges facing all professional service firms (picking and retaining talent and building a desired client... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Motivation and Incentives; Legal Services Industry; China

January 2011
Case

Founder-CEO Succession at Acer

By: Noam T. Wasserman, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Stan Shih, founder-CEO of Acer, Inc., had proactively chosen and transitioned the "perfect" successor as CEO, but was now faced with major problems. Over the last two years, his heir apparent, Leonard Liu, had made the changes he had been hired to make, including... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Management Style; Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Conflict Management

April 2005 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Tata Consultancy Services Iberoamerica

By: Michael Chu and Gustavo Herrero

To launch its Latin American operations, the Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services recruits a seasoned executive who becomes the only non-Indian member of senior management. Reviews the start-up operations, from the site selection to staffing and training, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Developing Countries and Economies; Initial Public Offering; Investment; Globalization; Human Resources; Selection and Staffing; Management Teams; Emerging Markets; Problems and Challenges; Consulting Industry; Latin America

August 1998 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Harbus Foundation, The

By: James E. Austin and Linda Carrigan

Describes the challenges faced by a group of HBS students as they create a foundation. Given surplus funds generated by the student-run newspaper, The Harbus leadership decides to find a meaningful use for the excess cash. Profiles both the entrepreneurial process used... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Asset Management; Financial Institutions; Investment Portfolio; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Problems and Challenges; Social Enterprise; Valuation; Financial Services Industry

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June 1993 (Revised April 1998)
Case

COMCO Holding AG (B): COMCO Martech

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

COMCO Martech was a new breed of joint venture for COMCO Holding, a mid-sized Swiss-German company that had grown over a five-year period through tie-ups with small, start-up companies. Whereas a typical COMCO venture provided services to a large German retailer, was... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Business Startups; Trade; Operations; Environmental Sustainability; Business or Company Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Switzerland; United States; Europe

22 May 2020
In Practice

Post-COVID Health Care: More Screens, Less Red Tape?

Peter Barrett is a senior fellow. Laura Huang: Startups will flock to virtual care Health care is going to change in delivery modes. COVID-19 is showing us that telehealth, virtual appointments, and phone call consultations are replacing... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

09 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 9, 2015

a lower price. In late 2012, Quincy's cofounders are debating how to approach a crucial board meeting. Their seed-stage startup is running low on cash; to survive, they will need more capital, probably in the form of a bridge loan from... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 3, 2007

Bureau's Longitudinal Business Database. The comprehensive micro-data allow us to study how both the entry rate and the distribution of entry sizes for new startups responded to changes in banking competition. Moreover, we distinguish the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2022
Supplement

Maestro Pizza (C): Taking the Fight Outside

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais

Maestro pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details

22 Apr 2015
Op-Ed

Reforming Greece: Myths and Truths

helped large Greek companies and startups compete more effectively. But that hasn't happened.” Greek politicians are blaming, first, one another based on the party affiliation, and second, their European creditors for imposing harsh... View Details

Keywords: by George Serafeim

December 2001
Case

Sarah Vickers-Willis: Career Decisions (A)

By: Myra M. Hart, Lynda M. Applegate, Sarah Harden and Susan Saltrick

Sarah Vickers-Willis, HBS MBA 1999, faces a critical career decision: Does she redirect the Internet start-up she helped found or join in shaping a for-profit firm with a social mission? Sarah, a young Australian business executive, has always strived to "find space"... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Leadership; Internet and the Web; Social Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Business Startups

September 2000 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Freeport Studio

By: Rajiv Lal and James Weber

Describes the start-up and first-year difficulties of Freeport Studio, a unit of L.L. Bean, founded in 1998 to sell women's clothing by catalog. First-year sales were far below plan, and projected profits did not materialize. Fran Philip must identify the problems and... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Creativity

November 1997 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Interactive Minds (A)

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael J. Roberts and Christina L. Darwall

The efforts of two recent Harvard Business School graduates to start a venture capital/consulting firm focused on opportunities related to the Internet are recounted. Raises the question of what the nature of this opportunity is, how well-positioned the protagonists... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Internet and the Web; Market Entry and Exit; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Consulting Industry

August 1990 (Revised March 1991)
Case

Eli Lilly and Co. (C): Japan

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Describes the process of establishing an independent operation in Japan in the mid-1980s as a result of a decision to make a major investment in the market. Describes the challenges in setting up such an operation and focuses on the role of the country manager in... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Business Startups; Decisions; Investment; Growth Management; Managerial Roles; Markets; Problems and Challenges; Pharmaceutical Industry; Japan