Publications

25 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 25, 2007

copper-mining company, widely considered to be one of the most professionally managed firms in South America in spite of the fact that it was 100% government-owned. A $10.5... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017

adding new settings to explore established core debates. The discipline of business history evolved around the corporate strategies and structures of developed economies. The... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

01 Sep 2003
News

Dean Clark Reflects on the School’s Key Initiatives

become even more closely linked, I believe the long-term benefits of these efforts will be significant. Corporate Governance, Leadership, and Values Our Corporate Governance,... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

March 1996 (Revised February 1999)
Case

Vistakon: 1 Day Acuvue Disposable Contact Lenses

By: Alvin J. Silk, Bruce Issacson and Marie Bell

Vistakon, an independent and entrepreneurial subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, pioneered the production and marketing of disposable contact lenses with the 1987 launch of Acuvue, the first disposable extended-wear lens--a soft contact lens that patients wear for a... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Business Subsidiaries; Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Price; Risk Management; Marketing; Product Positioning; Production; Performance Effectiveness; Consumer Products Industry; United States

01 Mar 2005
News

Ideas: Books

Bananas and Business by Marcelo Bucheli (New York University Press) Based on research in the archives of the United Fruit Company in Colombia, Bucheli, a Newcomen Fellow in Business History at HBS, disproves the idea that the firm was... View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

09 Jun 2011
News

The Tycoons, HBS's First A Cappella Group

after the founding of Harvard University's oldest a cappella singing group, the Krokodiloes, at the Hasty Pudding Club, the Tycoons, HBS's oldest a cappella singing group, was formed in 1948 with the enthusiastic support View Details

Keywords: Keith Larson; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment

October 2019
Case

Impax Laboratories: Executing Accretive Acquisitions (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

Impax Laboratories was a technology-based pharmaceutical company that used a “dual platform” strategy to sell both generic and branded treatments. While Impax had grown organically for most of its history, it was beginning to use major acquisitions for growth. In the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

01 Mar 2005
News

Women Entrepreneurs Share Insights at WSA Conference

THE CHALLENGE: Ana Shukla shares advice on securing venture capital. Karen Kerrigan and Brigitte Baumann (far left, center) stressed the importance of mentors and networks. As a first-time entrepreneur, Ana Shukla launched a... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Corporate Services; Corporate Services; Corporate Services

03 Sep 2020
Op-Ed

Why American Health Care Needs Its Own SEC

health care system could similarly gather and publish relevant data on health care prices and outcomes. Then corporations could see which clinicians, hospitals, insurers, and others provide the best value. The good ones would thrive, and... View Details

Keywords: by Regina E. Herzlinger; Health

September 2016
Case

Financial Services at Falabella (A)

By: C. Fritz Foley and Agustin M. Hurtado

In 2010, the board and senior management team of Falabella, a leading retailer with operations throughout Latin America, faced choices about what to do with its financial services division. More than 4.5 million customers had CMR credit cards that could be used in... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Credit; Financial Institutions; Personal Finance; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Banking Industry; Retail Industry; Latin America; Chile; Argentina; Colombia; Peru

01 Dec 2007
News

Lighten Up

Business and Pleasure: Kim and Coup Coupounas enjoy the scenic beauty of the Rocky Mountains just as much today as when they moved to Boulder almost a decade ago. (photo by Stephen Collector) The trail weaves back and forth in steep... View Details

Keywords: Kathryn Jones; Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores; Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores

March 1998 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Electronic Data Systems (EDS)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Thomas Dretler

Explores a global program of Electronic Data Systems (EDS) called "Global Volunteer Day" and examines the activities and business situation of the company in four countries. Asks students to address whether American values like "volunteerism" can be exported. View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Community Relations; Information Technology Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

April 2001 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Zaplet, Inc.

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Brian DeLacey

Start-up Zaplet, Inc., has radical software, prestigious venture capital funding, and a multitude of business opportunities. New CEO Alan Baratz must select a strategy and redesign the organization to deliver. This case describes the roles and philosophies of the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Information Technology; Organizational Design; Venture Capital; Valuation; Business Strategy; Restructuring; Expansion; Product Development; Innovation Strategy; Human Resources; Information Technology Industry; California

April 2006 (Revised November 2021)
Case

Endesa Chile: Raising the Ralco Dam (A)

By: Kathleen L. McGinn, Paula J. Laschober and Dina Pradel

Endesa Chile, the largest electricity generation company in Chile, is building a major power plant on the Biobio River in Southern Chile. A historic conflict involving the indigenous people of the Biobio River, the Chilean government, and international conservation... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Energy Generation; Government and Politics; Negotiation; Business and Community Relations; Natural Environment; Conflict and Resolution; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Industry; Chile

October 1996 (Revised December 1997)
Case

American Cyanamid (A): Boardroom Response to a Hostile Takeover Offer

American Home Products' (AHP) $9 billion hostile takeover of American Cyanamid (Cyanamid) was the largest mergers and-acquistions transaction in 1994, and made AHP the fourth largest pharmaceutical firm in the United States. At the time of AHP's offer, Cyanamid had... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

01 Dec 2003
News

Roger Ullman: Going Green with E2

Can white-collar corporate America do business with “green” environmentalists? Roger Ullman (MBA ’89) thinks so. Ullman, who worked in the mergers and acquisitions division of... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

May 2007
Case

Free the Grapes--Direct-to-Consumer Shipping in the Wine Industry

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Dennis A. Yao, Patricia Wu and Libby Cantrill

While wine tourism in the United States was booming, the majority of consumers who tasted a Cabernet Sauvignon in one of Napa Valley's tasting rooms were not permitted to ship the wine directly to their home. In 2002, direct-to-consumer shipping was either banned or... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Lawsuits and Litigation; Agreements and Arrangements; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States