Publications

August 2007 (Revised June 2008)
Case

The Lapdesk Company: A South African FOPSE

Shane Immelman, founding CEO of Lapdesk (South Africa), is facing several acute problems: a conflict between his director of marketing and his director of field operations; a dramatic increase in prices by a key supplier; and a major strategic alliance that does not... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; For-Profit Firms; Entrepreneurship; Problems and Challenges; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Education Industry; South Africa

01 Jun 2011
News

What’s after Fannie and Freddie?

Scharfstein: “Whenever you mix government guarantees with private, for-profit entities, those private entities put the government at risk.” Reforming the U.S. housing finance system remains perhaps the largest piece of unfinished business... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Credit Intermediation and Related Activities; Finance

March 2010
Teaching Note

Xi'an International University: The Growth of Private Universities in China (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan

Teaching Note for 309074. View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Competition; Growth Management; Governance Controls; For-Profit Firms; Higher Education; Education Industry; China

01 Oct 2000
News

Q & A: Bain & Company's Thomas J. Tierney

will address the challenges facing organizations in attracting, developing, and retaining outstanding talent. He calls the approach required today "constellation leadership." What impact has the Internet's rapid growth had on the way consulting View Details

Keywords: Peter K. Jacobs; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

winter 1997
Article

Risk and Reward in Private Equity Investments: The Challenge of Performance Assessment

By: Paul A. Gompers and J. Lerner

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Motivation and Incentives; For-Profit Firms; Equity; Investment; Problems and Challenges; Performance

Find at Harvard

March 2009
Teaching Note

Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll: The MTV Approach to Tackling HIV/AIDS (TN)

By: Tarun Khanna, Sonali R. Bloom and David E. Bloom

Teaching Note for [709429]. View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Emerging Markets; Health Pandemics; Announcements; Social Issues; Customers; For-Profit Firms; Business Strategy; Infrastructure; Multinational Firms and Management; Music Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Africa

01 Mar 2016
News

Measuring Impact

Nearly 40 percent of Harvard alumni from across all schools have founded for-profit and nonprofit organizations—launching more than 146,000 active ventures with an estimated $3.9 trillion in annual revenues and creating 20.4 million jobs... View Details

Keywords: April White

January 2008 (Revised September 2008)
Supplement

Marketing the "$100 Laptop" (C)

By: John A. Quelch and David Chen

In October 2007, the OLPC reported production delays and missed its shipment date. In early November, the $100 PC finally went into production, with initial shipments planned for Uruguay and Mongolia, and mid-month launched the "Give One, Get One" program. It enabled... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; For-Profit Firms; Partners and Partnerships; Information Infrastructure; Problems and Challenges; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Computer Industry; Canada; Mongolia; Uruguay; United States

01 Sep 2010
News

Faculty Books

Talent and the Portability of Performance by Boris Groysberg (Princeton University Press) Many firms try to buy star performers by luring them away from competitors. But after examining the careers of over 1,000 star analysts on Wall... View Details

Keywords: Retail Trade; Water Transportation; Transportation

February 2008 (Revised August 2008)
Case

Quanta Computer and the One Laptop Per Child Initiative

By: Willy Shih, Chintay Shih and Jyun-Chen Wang

When Quanta Computer, Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of laptop computers, first joined the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, it faced a challenge trying to balance the cost objectives of a laptop computer targeted at children of the developing world with... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Disruptive Innovation; Demand and Consumers; Supply Chain; Partners and Partnerships; Nonprofit Organizations; Hardware

October 2012
Teaching Plan

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: Venture Philanthropy Funding for Biotech (TP)

By: Robert F. Higgins

This is the teaching note related to HBS case 808005. In 2001, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated acquired the San Diego-based biotech company, Aurora Biosciences. The combination of Vertex's and Aurora's technologies would improve the flow of novel drug candidates... View Details

Keywords: Venture Philanthropy; Biotechnology; Funding Philanthropy Venture; Cystic Fibrosis; Foundations; Pharmaceuticals; Mergers and Acquisitions; For-Profit Firms; Venture Capital; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Science-Based Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States; San Diego

February 1987 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Polysar Limited

By: Robert L. Simons

Canada's largest chemical company produces and markets butyl rubber in two divisions, each treated as a profit center. The new plant in the North American Division operates below capacity resulting in a significant volume variance and an operating loss. The European... View Details

Keywords: Loss; Profit; Financial Management; Volume; Performance Capacity; Financial Statements; For-Profit Firms; Market Participation; Chemical Industry; Rubber Industry; Canada

October 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Calloway Laboratory: Pee for Profit

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and David Kiron

Describes the formation and rapid growth of a drug-testing company. The company needs to decide whether to enter the painkiller testing market, in addition to growing its drug treatment center business. View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Health Care and Treatment; Health Testing and Trials; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Health Industry

February 2010
Teaching Note

Fabindia Overseas Pvt. Ltd. (TN)

By: Mukti Khaire

Teaching Note for [807113]. View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Expansion; Mission and Purpose; Problems and Challenges; Employment; Rural Scope; Supply Chain; Profit; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; India

March 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/Fleet Financial Group Sponsorship of Monet in the 20th Century

By: Stephen A. Greyser and David Crockett

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Fleet Financial Group's sponsored the Monet in the 20th Century exhibition, the world's largest, in 1998. The case chronicles the solicitation of a large corporate sponsor, as well as the growth and development of their... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Finance; Product Development; For-Profit Firms; Partners and Partnerships; Arts; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention; Fine Arts Industry; Financial Services Industry; Massachusetts