Publications

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July 2007 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Launching Telmore (A)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Celso Fernandez and Moritz Jobke

When the Danish mobile phone service provider Telmore entered the market in October 2000, few people took notice. Its business model was not perceived as particularly aggressive or threatening to the industry. Less than three years later, Telmore's creative adaptation... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Disruptive Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Creativity; Adaptation; Competitive Advantage; Telecommunications Industry; Denmark

January 2002 (Revised July 2002)
Case

Vialog Corporation

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Michele Lutz

Traces the origin of Vialog Corp.--from its founding in 1996 through a roll-up of several independent teleconferencing companies in 1997 and its initial public offering (1999) and eventually to a potential merger or acquisition in June 2000. The company has grown... View Details

Keywords: History; Business Exit or Shutdown; Internet and the Web; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships; Initial Public Offering; Business Growth and Maturation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Processes; Information Technology Industry; Europe

09 Jan 2012
Research & Ideas

Location, Location, Location: The Strategy of Place

time to enter or exit that location. Reducing your costs might not provide you with a competitive advantage at all." Walmart has been a smart expander since it opened its first store in Rogers,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

March 2023
Case

Azenta Life Sciences: The Road to Transformation

By: Gary P. Pisano and Catherine Piner

When the Board brought Steve Schwartz in as President of Brooks Automation in 2010, they gave him a clear mission: strengthen the company’s core semiconductor equipment business and find a new industry to enter. Over the course of the next decade, Schwartz and the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Market Entry and Exit; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Segmentation; Technology Industry

October 1998 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Chantal Cookware Corp.

By: H. Kent Bowen, Paul W. Marshall and Stephanie Dodson

Chantal Cookware is a small, private company with a 15-year record of success in the design, assembly, and sale of high-end cookware. It experiences serious setbacks when consumers' tastes shift from colorful enamel-on-steel products to commercial-style cookware.... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Strategic Planning; Market Entry and Exit; Product Positioning; Trends; Manufacturing Industry

July 2023
Case

HealthVerity: Real World Data and Evidence

By: Satish Tadikonda

Andrew Kress (CEO and founder) and his team had built a promising marketplace business at HealthVerity serving its core market in healthcare, with a focus on pharmaceutical R&D and services. Thus far, HealthVerity’s products had been unique to the pharma and pharma... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Product Marketing

15 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

The Coming Transformation of Social Enterprise

There's an important distinction. Very early in the program we decided that we wouldn't focus purely on nonprofits. We thought it should be about social enterprise, regardless of whether it's for-profit or nonprofit. We defined social... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson

Program

Private Equity and Venture Capital

will foster teamwork and amplify the impact of the Private Equity and Venture Capital program. A participant team might include executives responsible for finance, marketing, business development, customer service, human resources, and... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Finance

January 2009 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Disaster in April: The Obligations of Kelly Construction

By: John D. Macomber, Christopher M. Gordon and Ben Creo

A construction company experiences a crane accident with multiple fatalities. The CEO, a client, and an employee must make choices to meet the company's obligations. Set in 2006, the case looks at the choices faced by board members of a museum that is an important... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Family Business; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Contracts; Crisis Management; Construction Industry

23 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Overcoming Nervous Nelly

instance. In buying a house or a car, a disparity in knowledge can cause purchasers to feel anxious over bargaining for the best price. In the study Can Nervous Nelly Negotiate? How Anxiety Causes Negotiators to Make Low Frst Offers,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

02 Mar 2021
HBS Case

The Tulsa Massacre: Is Racial Justice Possible 100 Years Later?

American history, yet descendants of residents harmed by the attack note that government officials have never made reparations for those killed or for homes and businesses that were destroyed. The killing of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

03 Apr 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 3, 2018

was already close to the margin of exit. Restaurants with lower ratings are closer to the margin of exit at all observed minimum wage levels and are disproportionately driven out of business by increases to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 21, 2025
Article

How a Company’s Ownership Model Shapes the Mistakes It Makes

By: Josh Baron

Why do some companies continue to thrive for decades and others die after an initial run of success? Like many kinds of accidents, company failure is generally the consequence of cascading effects that combine to overwhelm a previously effective strategy. But the... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Failure; Ownership

Register to Read

30 Mar 2018
What Do You Think?

What Should Mark Zuckerberg Do?

suggestion was that Facebook change its business model to include subscriptions for some users. As Renee put it, “Zuckerberg and his team need to reset their revenue model. Facebook users should be given the choice—use my data and I can... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Web Services; Information Technology

January 2017
Case

The Six CEOs of Tyco International Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In September 2016, Johnson Controls, Inc. completed the acquisition of Tyco International PLC, a $9.9 billion business with operating profits of $884 million. The purchase consideration was $14.4 billion. Although the deal was billed as a merger, Ireland-based Tyco... View Details

Keywords: Tyco; Dennis Kozlowski; Edward Breen; Fire Safety; Fire Protection; Security; Packaging; Securities And Exchange Commission; Fraud; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Earnings Management; Financial Statements; Goodwill Accounting; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Restructuring; Crime and Corruption; Engineering; Applied Optics; Chemicals; Construction; Metals and Minerals; Ethics; Finance; Cash Flow; Public Equity; Stock Options; Financing and Loans; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Health Care and Treatment; Business History; Executive Compensation; Selection and Staffing; Courts and Trials; Lawfulness; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Value; Chemical Industry; Construction Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; Energy Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Mining Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Utilities Industry; Republic of Ireland; Switzerland; Bermuda; United States; New Hampshire

September 2014
Case

FormPrint Ortho500

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Alisa Zalosh

The Senior Vice President of FormPrint's Medical Products business unit is considering issues raised by the upcoming introduction of a new 3D printing system, the Ortho500, which could print custom exoskeletal orthopedic splints, braces, and casts that conformed to a... View Details

Keywords: B2B Marketing; Technological Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Product Development; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

October 1976 (Revised May 1985)
Case

Raytheon Co.: Diversification

By: Michael E. Porter

Centers on the question of whether Raytheon should enter the electronic component distribution industry in the context of its broad diversification approach and acquisition criteria. This industry represents a vertical integration area for Raytheon, so the analytical... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Policy; Market Entry and Exit; Distribution; Diversification; Vertical Integration; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry

July 1982 (Revised July 2004)
Case

Esmark, Inc. (B)

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Esmark's management sells its most valuable business and its most unattractive business in an effort to reposition itself and maximize shareholder value. View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Product Positioning; Business and Shareholder Relations; Reputation; Value