Publications

October 2024
Supplement

Hakluyt: from Corporate Intelligence to Trusted Advisors (B)

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Lena Duchene

This case is a continuation of an earlier study chronicling Hakluyt & Company (Hakluyt)’s transformation from an obscure boutique to a global corporate advisory firm with an outsized reputation. In August 2024, the firm faced a pivotal moment as managing partner Varun... View Details

October 2017
Teaching Note

Canadian Pacific's Bid for Norfolk Southern

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

Teaching Note for HBS No. 216-057. View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Cost of Capital; Financial Strategy; Investment Activism; Bids and Bidding; Negotiation Offer; Corporate Strategy; Rail Transportation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Transformation

05 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 5, 2007

capital ought to flow across country borders with minimal restriction and regulation. Freedom for capital movements became the new orthodoxy. In an intellectual, legal, and political history of financial... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 May 2000
What Do You Think?

Can You Hard-Wire Performance?

technicians, was legendary. Xerox hard-wired its success to results achieved for customers. Then the lure of improved cash flow combined with competitors' practices led to the decision to encourage machine... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

02 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Gear: Why Managers Don’t Act

or more of them, you should be very concerned. Your company boasts superior performance. This means that managers get comfortable with the status quo and think that they have hit on the winning formula and don't need to seek alternatives.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

25 Aug 2022
Research & Ideas

It’s All in a Name: Reputable Investors Help Startups Shine

a new study coauthored by Harvard Business School Professor Shai Bernstein. “Attracting high-quality talent is an important challenge for any young firm, and it’s critical to establishing reputation and growth.” “One of the key challenges... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

21 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Searching for Better Practices in Social Investing

In order to garner the capital necessary to foot the bill for social change, nonprofits need to think less about traditional grants and more in terms of innovation--and so do the organizations that fund them. This was a key message from... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

December 2017
Case

Molino Cañuelas: Serving Customers from Seed Development to the Kitchen Table

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Maria Fernanda Miguel and Mariana Cal

Molino Cañuelas was a vertically integrated food company with a management system that allowed it to innovate and grow systematically. With sales of $2 billion in 2016, the firm not only produced flour, vegetable oil, and packaged food products, it also owned a port... View Details

Keywords: Quality Management System; Food Industry; Molino Cañuelas; Argentina; Vertical Integration; Quality; Management Systems; Expansion; Global Range; Growth and Development Strategy; Agribusiness; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Argentina

15 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 15

ecosystems, hierarchy is an architectural property that refers to the degree to which transactions proceed in a single direction, from "upstream" to "downstream." It is often assumed that a unidirectional flow View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2023
Case

CornerUp: Digitizing the Corner Store

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, Stacy Straaberg and Diego Zainos De La Sota Riva

In July 2023, Jason Diaz, co-founder and CEO of CornerUp, assessed the progress of his business-to-business e-procurement software application (app) startup, founded in January 2022. CornerUp began as a fast-moving consumer packaged goods (FMCG) distributor in New York... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Small Business; Transition; Decisions; Social Entrepreneurship; Geographic Location; Disruptive Innovation; Market Participation; Digital Platforms; Trust; Business Strategy; Expansion; Information Infrastructure; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Value Creation; Technology Industry; United States

18 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

Wrap-up: Software, Telecom, and Recovery

professor who served as panel moderator, the money flow in venture capital may have been down 51 percent in 2001 compared to 2000, but the sum total was still greater than the previous eighteen or so years combined. Ed Kania, managing... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild & Martha Lagace; Financial Services; Technology; Communications; Telecommunications

09 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

The UK Needs a Bold Strategy Around Competition to Survive Brexit

far from clear. Brexit proponents continue to argue that getting out from under the yoke of the EU will solve all its problems through better trade deals, fewer regulations, and curtailed immigration. But an objective strategic assessment... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

April 2017 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Wal-Mart Update, 2017

By: David B. Yoffie and Eric Baldwin

In 2017 Wal-Mart was still the world’s largest company, with over $480 billion in annual revenue and operations in 28 countries. Although it had mostly vanquished its rival discount retailers in the U.S., it was struggling to find the right growth strategy. Facing a... View Details

Keywords: E-Commerce Strategy; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Range; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry

12 Mar 2007
Research & Ideas

The New Real Estate

2001, real estate has become a legitimate asset class and a good diversifier from stocks and bonds. Second, with graying populations in the West and Japan, real estate is particularly appreciated because it is a strong generator of... View Details

Keywords: by Arthur I. Segel; Construction; Real Estate

August 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Unilever's Butter-Beater: Innovation for Global Diversity

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Jorg Zobel

Unilever, one of the world's largest food product manufacturers, has achieved impressive growth in Europe, primarily by acquiring local food companies. Initially Unilever allowed each acquired company to manage its own product development in a way that was tailored to... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Mergers and Acquisitions; Local Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Innovation and Management; Food; Conflict Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Europe