Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(7,989)
- Faculty Publications (2,160)
- August 2004 (Revised July 2006)
- Case
PROPECIA TM: Helping Make Hair Loss History
By: Marta Wosinska and Youngme E. Moon
In late 1997, Tom Casola, brand manager for Propecia, debates the best approach to market this breakthrough one-a-day pill for hair loss. This launch would be atypical for a prescription drug because of the key position of the consumer. As a result, the team's... View Details
- June 2004 (Revised November 2005)
- Case
PalmSource, Inc.
By: David B. Yoffie, Pai-Ling Yin and Christina L. Darwall
PalmSource CEO David Nagel had grand ambitions. In this newly spun-off company, he wanted to create the next leading software platform for hand-held devices. Explores the strategic challenges of building a platform business. View Details
- June 2004 (Revised June 2004)
- Case
Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal
By: Thomas J. DeLong and David L. Ager
Anne Ewers, general director of Utah Opera, is awaiting the decision of the members of the board of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera about whether to merge Utah's top two arts organizations. If the vote favors the merger, Ewers will be asked to assume the helm of the... View Details
- June 2004 (Revised June 2006)
- Case
Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.
Scientific-Atlantia (S-A), a leading manufacturer of cable TV equipment, is confronting strategic challenges in mid-2004. For decades, cable operators have faced high switching costs that have locked them into exclusive supply relationships with either S-A or its... View Details
- June 2004 (Revised November 2004)
- Case
Birth of the Swatch, The
By: Youngme E. Moon
In 1993, the Swatch is the best-selling watch in history. Traces the history of the watch industry up to the early 1980s, when the Swatch was introduced. Describes the various elements that made the Swatch different from any watch the industry had ever seen. Also... View Details
- May 2004 (Revised March 2005)
- Case
Instant Messaging
By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier
Explores the usage and technology of instant messaging (IM). IM enables two or more users to communicate almost instantaneously over the Internet with short, private text messages. Most IM service providers chose to remain proprietary and, therefore, a user of most IM... View Details
- May 2004 (Revised April 2005)
- Background Note
Intellectual Property and Strategy
By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier
Explores the role of intellectual property in firms' strategies. Explains the legal and strategic differences between patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets and explores the multiple ways firms use these different legal protections to gain competitive... View Details
- April 2004 (Revised September 2004)
- Case
IKEA Invades America
By: Youngme E. Moon
In 2002, the IKEA Group is the world's top furniture retailer, with 154 stores worldwide. In the United States, IKEA operates 14 stores, all of which have been enormously popular despite their self-service requirements. The company's goal is to have 50 stores in... View Details
- April 2004 (Revised July 2005)
- Case
Offshoring at Global Information Systems, Inc.
This case explores the topic of offshoring high-tech jobs several perspectives. The issues presented include determining the stock price consequences of offshoring, examining the economic consequences of the offshore job to both the transferring and receiving... View Details
- April 2004 (Revised July 2019)
- Case
Wal-Mart in Europe
By: J. Gunnar Trumbull and Louisa Neissa
Presents challenges facing Wal-Mart during its move into Germany. Explores the dynamics of the German retail market. View Details
- April 2004 (Revised May 2006)
- Background Note
Achieving Profitable Growth and Market Value
By: James L. Heskett and Richard G. Hamermesh
Provides an overview of how a new venture needs to change as it passes from the initial start-up to the growth phase. Explores how a venture's leadership, strategy, and execution need to evolve to deal with rapid growth. View Details
- Article
Little Patents and Big Secrets: Managing Intellectual Property
By: James J. Anton and Dennis A. Yao
Exploitation of an innovation commonly requires some disclosure of enabling knowledge (e.g., to obtain a patent or induce complementary investment). When property rights offer only limited protection, the value of the disclosure is offset by the increased threat of... View Details
Keywords: Patents; Management; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge; Rights; Value; Information; Corporate Disclosure
- April 2004
- Case
Marks & Spencer: The Phoenix Rises - A Multimedia Case Study
By: Joseph L. Bower
Enables students to interactively research the steps Marks & Spencer's top executives took to restore prosperity and explore in depth the major issues remaining. The perspective is that of Luc Vandevelde, who arrived at the venerable U.K. retailer in 2001, and that of... View Details
- spring 2004
- Article
Multinationals and Linkages: An Empirical Investigation
By: Laura Alfaro and Andres Rodriguez-Clare
Several recent papers have used plant-level data and panel econometric techniques to carefully explore the existence FDI externalities. One conclusion that emerges from this literature is that it is difficult to find evidence of positive externalities from... View Details
- 2004
- Working Paper
Regulation and Reaction: The Other Side of Free Banking in Antebellum New York
By: David A. Moss and Sarah Brennan
Free banking, which first appeared in the United States in the late 1830s, comprised two essential features: general incorporation for banks and rigorous security requirements for note issue. Because the general incorporation feature is what allowed free entry, it has... View Details
- March 2004 (Revised June 2004)
- Case
Business of Life, The
By: Debora L. Spar
Every day, around the world, babies and children are being sold. Frequently, these transactions appear to be above or beyond the market. Orphaned children are never "sold"--they are only "matched" with their "forever families." Eggs are "donated," and surrogate mothers... View Details
- February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
- Case
Fuel Cells: The Hydrogen Revolution?
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Ryland Matthew Willis
The challenges faced in establishing hydrogen fuel cell-powered transportation in the United States, which promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on imported oil is examined. Foremost among these challenges is a "chicken-and-egg" dynamic: consumers... View Details
- February 2004 (Revised April 2004)
- Case
Orchid Partners: A Venture Capital Start-up
By: Myra M. Hart and Kristin Lieb
The development of a new venture partnership and the challenges associated with raising its first fund are chronicled. The decision to focus on early-stage investments, the determination of the appropriate size of the fund, the fund-raising process, and the steps in... View Details
- February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
- Background Note
Profitability Drivers in Professional Service Firms
By: Ashish Nanda
This case presents a simple model of the drivers of profitability in a professional service partnership and conducts an empirical exploration of the determinants of profitability among AmLaw 100 firms over the period 1994 to 1999. View Details
- January 2004 (Revised August 2004)
- Supplement
Innovation at the Treasury: Treasury Inflation-Protection Securities (B)
By: Kenneth A. Froot, Peter A. Hecht and Christopher Edward James Payton
In 1997, the U.S. Treasury was deciding whether to proceed with a proposal to issue inflation-indexed bonds. This case explores the challenges facing innovation in the financial markets as the Treasury tries to determine whether to introduce Treasury... View Details