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- All HBS Web
(1,906)
- People (15)
- News (675)
- Research (992)
- Events (2)
- Multimedia (4)
- Faculty Publications (491)
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- July 2005 (Revised September 2016)
- Case
24 Hour Fitness (A): The Rise, 1983–2004
By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth
In October 2004, Mark S. Mastrov, CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, reflected on how far his company had come in just over 20 years. From humble beginnings in 1983 in San Leandro, California, 24 Hour Fitness had grown to become the largest privately-owned health-club chain in... View Details
Keywords: 24 Hour Fitness; Mark Mastrov; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Sales Force Compensation; Incentive Systems; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Private Equity; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Operations; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Capital Structure; Performance; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Health Industry; United States; California; San Francisco
Wells, John R., Elizabeth A. Raabe, and Gabriel Ellsworth. "24 Hour Fitness (A): The Rise, 1983–2004." Harvard Business School Case 706-404, July 2005. (Revised September 2016.)
- January 2014 (Revised January 2014)
- Case
Showdown at Cracker Barrel
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Tim Gray
In the fall of 2011, activist investor, Sardar Biglari, has acquired nearly 10% ownership in the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain. He believes that the board and senior management have failed and the company has underperformed relative to its peers. When he is denied a... View Details
Keywords: Boards; Activist Investors; Proxy Battles; Shareholder Activism; Peer Firm; Ratio Analysis; Financial Accounting; Financial Analysis; Board Of Directors; Boards Of Directors; Financial Intermediaries; Financial Analysts; CEO Turnover; New CEO; Peer Groups; Hedge Fund; Hedge Funds; Proxy Contest; Proxy Fight; Proxy Advisor; Proxy Battle; Financial Statement Analysis; Financial Strategy; Corporate Governance; Corporate Disclosure; Governing and Advisory Boards; Competition; Valuation; Business Strategy; Value Creation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States
Srinivasan, Suraj, and Tim Gray. "Showdown at Cracker Barrel." Harvard Business School Case 114-026, January 2014. (Revised January 2014.)
- July 2012 (Revised April 2013)
- Case
Peter Jepsen
By: Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J. Roberts and James M. Sharpe
About to break bank covenants, Peter Jepsen has to deal with a contentious prior owner, improve profitability and staff appropriately all while maintaining credibility with his investors, in the furniture hardware company he has owned for less than a year. View Details
Keywords: Acquisitions; Bankruptcy; Crisis Management; Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurial Finance; Financial Crisis; Turnarounds; Financial Distress; Negotiation; Entrepreneurs; Bank Loan; Search Funds; Liquidation; Boards Of Directors; Ethics; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Manufacturing Industry; United States
Stevenson, Howard H., Michael J. Roberts, and James M. Sharpe. "Peter Jepsen." Harvard Business School Case 813-046, July 2012. (Revised April 2013.)
- January 2020 (Revised December 2024)
- Case
Governing PG&E
By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz
The five commissioners of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) listened intently at a public forum in April 2019 as PG&E Corporation’s out-going chairman Richard Kelly described the company’s proposed new board. PG&E, which provided electricity and natural... View Details
Keywords: Bankruptcy; Board Of Directors; Board Dynamics; Business Ethics; Business Model Innovation; Corporate Boards; Energy Efficiency; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Government And Business; Hedge Funds; Institutional Investors; Legal Aspects Of Business; Regulated Monopolies; Regulation; Shareholders; Stakeholder Management; Strategy And Execution; Utilities; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governing and Advisory Boards; Ethics; Capital Structure; Climate Change; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Environmental Sustainability; Executive Compensation; Leadership; Management; Safety; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; California; United States
Paine, Lynn S., and Will Hurwitz. "Governing PG&E." Harvard Business School Case 320-024, January 2020. (Revised December 2024.)
- 07 Nov 2011
- Working Paper Summaries
Investment Cycles and Startup Innovation
Keywords: by Ramana Nanda & Matthew Rhodes-Kropf
- 16 Feb 2023
- HBS Case
ESG Activists Met the Moment at ExxonMobil, But Did They Succeed?
The impact-investment hedge fund Engine No. 1 made a big splash in May 2021 when it managed to get three nominees elected to the ExxonMobil board of directors. It was an open effort to prod the oil giant toward renewable energy and test whether activist investing could... View Details
- 24 Apr 2023
- HBS Case
What Does It Take to Build as Much Buzz as Booze? Inside the Epic Challenge of Cannabis-Infused Drinks
Legalization turned cannabis into a multibillion-dollar industry seemingly overnight, but this hot new market has had more—and more unusual—growing pains than most. Many experts predict significant market expansion ahead as more states... View Details
- April 2015 (Revised April 2022)
- Case
Bankruptcy in the City of Detroit
By: Stuart Gilson, Kristin Mugford and Annelena Lobb
The June 2013 bankruptcy of the city of Detroit, Michigan was, at the time, the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history. Detroit had struggled for years with a weakening tax base, high unemployment, a heavy debt load and increasing retiree costs. These... View Details
Keywords: Chapter 9; Chapter 11; Bankruptcy; Municipal Finance; Restructuring; Financial Liquidity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; City; Government Administration; Public Sector; Financial Crisis; Financial Management; Failure; Labor Unions; Urban Development; Budgets and Budgeting; Decision Making; Demographics; Economics; Finance; Public Administration Industry; Michigan; Detroit
Gilson, Stuart, Kristin Mugford, and Annelena Lobb. "Bankruptcy in the City of Detroit." Harvard Business School Case 215-070, April 2015. (Revised April 2022.)
- October 2007 (Revised March 2009)
- Case
Advanced Energy: Programs for Energy Conservation
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Brooke Barton
Describes the dilemma facing Advanced Energy (AE), a $6 million nonprofit engaged in energy conservation in North Carolina. Most of the money for its programs comes from a Public Benefits Fund (PBF) enacted by the state legislature. With renewed effort by activists in... View Details
Keywords: Energy Conservation; Public Equity; Performance Efficiency; Nonprofit Organizations; Conflict and Resolution; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry
Rangan, V. Kasturi, and Brooke Barton. "Advanced Energy: Programs for Energy Conservation." Harvard Business School Case 508-003, October 2007. (Revised March 2009.)
- June 2013
- Supplement
Walker Insurance: Paul Thomson (Video Supplement)
By: Jim Sharpe
This is the Video Supplement for Walker Insurance: Paul Thomson (HBS Case 813057). View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurial Organizations; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Search; Search Funds; Sales Force Management; Sales; Sales Channels; Insurance And Reinsurance; Insurance Companies; Acquisitions; Hiring; Service Management; Service; Insurance; Salesforce Management; Selection and Staffing; Insurance Industry; United States
Sharpe, Jim. "Walker Insurance: Paul Thomson (Video Supplement)." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 813-717, June 2013.
- 18 Apr 2023
- Research & Ideas
The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet
includes more firms, the researchers note. Strategy yields dividends for companies and new CEOs Choosing an external CEO seems to pay off for both the executive and the private equity firm itself, the research finds. The average PE fund... View Details
- December 2007
- Case
The Campaign for Bank Insurance in Antebellum New York
By: David A. Moss and Cole Bolton
The New York State Legislature had come to a standstill in 1829 as lawmakers refused to charter any new banks or recharter any existing banks. Four of New York's forty banks had failed since 1825, and many legislatures believed that a significant change in the banking... View Details
Keywords: History; Risk Management; Government Legislation; Insurance; Decision Choices and Conditions; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry
Moss, David A., and Cole Bolton. "The Campaign for Bank Insurance in Antebellum New York." Harvard Business School Case 708-037, December 2007.
- 15 Apr 2015
- Research & Ideas
Why Americans Voted for an Income Tax
We can be forgiven, especially this time of year, for questioning a decision our predecessors made just over a century ago. In the 1910s, Americans decided to make personal and corporate income taxes a permanent feature of the United View Details
Keywords: by Matthew C. Weinzierl
- March 2023 (Revised January 2025)
- Case
Wilshire Lane Capital
By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Lindsay N. Hyde and Stacy Straaberg
In September 2021, Adam Demuyakor (MBA 2017) was faced with decisions about how to launch his venture capital (VC) investment firm. His previous investment activities were a series of angel investments and special purpose vehicles alongside two part-time general... View Details
Keywords: Ownership Stake; Investment Funds; Venture Capital; Business and Shareholder Relations; Real Estate Industry; Technology Industry; Los Angeles; California; United States
Bussgang, Jeffrey J., Lindsay N. Hyde, and Stacy Straaberg. "Wilshire Lane Capital." Harvard Business School Case 823-062, March 2023. (Revised January 2025.)
- 05 Feb 2008
- First Look
First Look: February 5, 2008
Ostrovsky, and Schwarz. We prove that convergence occurs with probability 1, and we compute the expected time until convergence. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-056.pdf Attracting Flows by Attracting Big Clients: Conflicts of Interest and Mutual... View Details
Keywords: Martha Lagace
- January 2015 (Revised October 2018)
- Case
Dogs of the Dow
By: Malcolm Baker, Samuel G. Hanson and James Weber
This case describes the Dogs of the Dow investment strategy, value investing, and using dividend yields as a means to determine intrinsic value. It also describes exchange traded notes and a particular exchange traded note, known as the Dogs of the Dow, which tracks... View Details
Keywords: Dow Jones; Dow Jones Industrial Average; Exchange Traded Note; Exchange Traded Fund; Value Investing; Benjamin Graham; Investment Strategy; Dividend Yield; Intrinsic Value; Dividend Discount Model; Michael O'Higgins; Financial Instruments; Investment; Strategy; Financial Services Industry; United States
Baker, Malcolm, Samuel G. Hanson, and James Weber. "Dogs of the Dow." Harvard Business School Case 215-020, January 2015. (Revised October 2018.)
- August 2021
- Case
Apax Digital
By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo
The Apax Digital team faced important decisions as they contemplated raising a second fund. Apax Digital Fund I was a $1.1 billion vehicle focused on mid-market growth equity and growth buyouts in the technology sector. The fund had performed well, and the Managing... View Details
Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Acquisition; Investment Portfolio; Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States
Tango, Jo, and Alys Ferragamo. "Apax Digital." Harvard Business School Case 822-016, August 2021.
- May 1998 (Revised February 2007)
- Case
Morningstar, Inc.
By: Andre F. Perold and Markus Mullarkey
Morningstar, Inc., a publisher of information for mutual fund investors, is considering alternative strategies for broadening its subscriber base and increasing its revenues. Potential strategies include tailoring information for the defined contribution pension fund... View Details
Keywords: Investment Funds; Asset Management; Revenue; Financial Strategy; Publishing Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States
Perold, Andre F., and Markus Mullarkey. "Morningstar, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 298-140, May 1998. (Revised February 2007.)
- February 2002 (Revised February 2004)
- Case
Brazos Partners: the CoMark LBO
By: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon
The partners of a new midmarket buyout fund are working on a buyout of a closely held modular building company. Although originally structured as a stock deal, they have realized that an asset deal would be preferable from their point of view and are trying to... View Details
Lerner, Josh, G. Felda Hardymon, and Ann Leamon. "Brazos Partners: the CoMark LBO." Harvard Business School Case 202-090, February 2002. (Revised February 2004.)
- July 2024 (Revised January 2025)
- Case
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: Bringing Systematic Investment to Philanthropy
By: Lauren Cohen, Hao Gao, Alexander Bischoff and Sophia Pan
Melissa Berman, CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), evaluated her client’s philanthropy project and its mediocre performance. RPA was a segment of the Rockefeller Family Office’s Philanthropy Department, becoming an independent charity in 2002. Consistently... View Details
Keywords: Philanthropy; Philanthropic Sector; Performance Evaluations; Social Network; Collaboration; Foundation; Due Diligence; Humanitarianism; Humanitarian Assistance; Grants; Expertise; HNW Products And Services; Donations; Impact; Advisor; Advice; Consulting; Funding; Consulting Services; Family Business; Cost vs Benefits; Developing Countries and Economies; Private Sector; Spending; Mission and Purpose; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Performance Evaluation; Nonprofit Organizations; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Social Issues; Wealth and Poverty; Consulting Industry; New York (city, NY); New York (state, US); United States
Cohen, Lauren, Hao Gao, Alexander Bischoff, and Sophia Pan. "Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: Bringing Systematic Investment to Philanthropy." Harvard Business School Case 225-005, July 2024. (Revised January 2025.)