Publications

December 1998 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Korea Stock Exchange, 1998

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and James Chang

Following a major financial crisis, the South Korean government attempted to revive the Korea Stock Exchange to spur equity investment in Korean companies. This case describes the reforms undertaken so far and the challenges that lay ahead. View Details

Keywords: Equity; Stocks; Restructuring; Emerging Markets; Corporate Governance; Business and Government Relations; Accounting Industry; Financial Services Industry; South Korea

November 2008
Case

Adnexus Therapeutics, Inc.: Considering the Exit

By: Vicki L. Sato and Rachel Gordon

Dr. John Mendlein, CEO of Adnexus Therapeutics Inc. (Adnexus), a private biotechnology company, must decide whether to pursue acquisition talks with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) after a successful six-month collaboration or continue with Adnexus' planned IPO. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Initial Public Offering; Corporate Strategy; Biotechnology Industry

June 2006 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Teena Lerner: Dividing the Pie at Rx Capital (A)

By: Boris Groysberg, Victoria Winston and Robin Abrahams

Teena Lerner started her own hedge fund firm in 2001 after nearly 20 years as a star biotechnology analyst and hedge fund manager. After the start-up phase, her firm became highly profitable. In 2004, however, one of her four analysts lost a lot of money for the firm.... View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Investment Funds; Performance; Business Startups; Compensation and Benefits; Corporate Finance; Financial Services Industry

April 1999 (Revised September 2001)
Case

Penelope's Personal Pocket Phones

By: Paul A. Gompers

Provides students with an opportunity to use simple real options analysis to value a startup. Penelope Phillips is deciding whether to start a company to make wireless phones. Students get experience using traditional discounted cash flow valuation and a real options... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Capital Budgeting; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry; Electronics Industry

August 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

MGM Mirage's Bid for Mandalay Resort Group (A): Communicating During the Merger Process

After MGM Mirage decides to announce publicly its bid for Mandalay Resort Group, both companies face vital decisions about how to communicate with their various stakeholders during the merger negotiations. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Corporate Disclosure; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Communication Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

October 1996 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Northco (A)

By: Ananth Raman and Bowon Kim

A small school-uniform manufacturer wrestles with seasonal demand. The company is saddled with excess inventory when it is bought by a leveraged buyout firm. Students are required to identify ways to analyze and solve the problem. View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Leveraged Buyouts; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

22 Apr 2002
Lessons from the Classroom

Entrepreneurship: It Can Be Taught

often see staged financing in new venture situations. The fourth is sources of financing. While traditional finance courses have focused on classic corporate financing options, we introduce View Details

Keywords: by Staff

December 1993 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Kochman, Reidt + Haigh, Inc.

By: Richard S. Ruback and Roy Burstin

A small company faces the dilemma of how to finance growth (i.e., internally generated cash flows vs. outside financing sources). An innovative concept positions the company in promoting a niche within the kitchen-cabinet industry and in looking for an optimal way of... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Finance; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Utilities Industry

October 2023 (Revised July 2025)
Case

Thermo Fisher Scientific: Foray into Contract Research

By: Satish Tadikonda, William Marks and Kevin Emancipator

After publicly declaring that they would not enter the contract research organization (CRO) business in 2017, Thermo Fisher purchased Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), one of the biggest players in the CRO space, in 2021. Much had changed in the intervening... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Biotechnology Industry

August 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Background Note

Governance of the Family Business

By: John A. Davis

Reviews the ways to achieve governance of the family business. Points out the importance of plans (e.g., strategic plans), statements (e.g., mission statements), policies, rules, and agreements to the governance process. Discusses the roles of three structures in... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Mission and Purpose

January 2001 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Lawyers & Leases

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Michele Lutz

Profiles Rajath Chaundry, an aspiring entrepreneur, as he attempts to secure office space for his growing team, select a lawyer, and continue to build his fledgling enterprise, eLearning.com. Designed to be used in an entrepreneurial management or small business course... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Ventures; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Intellectual Property; Management Succession; Leasing; Negotiation; Education Industry; Legal Services Industry

Profile

Hiroshi Mikitani

the traditional path is to succeed in school, find an entry-level job at a reputable company and then climb the corporate ladder by working long, grueling hours. The job is a lifetime commitment and your success is tied inextricably to... View Details

April 2016 (Revised July 2019)
Case

"Doctor My Eyes"--The Acquisition of Bausch & Lomb by Warburg Pincus (A)

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz

In early 2010, senior partners at Warburg Pincus met to review a report on Bausch & Lomb Incorporated, the firm's largest investment at the time. Warburg Pincus had led a group of investors in acquiring Bauch & Lomb on October 26, 2007, taking the company private and... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Governance; Buyout; Private Equity; Finance; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Health Care and Treatment; Reports; Business Model; Health Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

March 2001
Case

Sime Darby Berhad (B): The Asian Crisis Begins

By: Tarun Khanna and Danielle Melito Wu

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Conglomerates; Economy; Capital Markets; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry; Malaysia

December 1996 (Revised June 1998)
Case

Midnight Networks, Inc.

By: H. Kent Bowen and Marilyn Matis

Midnight Networks, Inc., is a small computer network validation company. This case describes how the five founders built their business from operations earnings and how they established "best practices" operational processes to run their firm successfully. Operational... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Operations; Organizational Culture; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Business Growth and Maturation; Information Technology Industry; Massachusetts