Publications

January 2008 (Revised September 2008)
Supplement

Marketing the "$100 Laptop" (C)

By: John A. Quelch and David Chen

In October 2007, the OLPC reported production delays and missed its shipment date. In early November, the $100 PC finally went into production, with initial shipments planned for Uruguay and Mongolia, and mid-month launched the "Give One, Get One" program. It enabled... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; For-Profit Firms; Partners and Partnerships; Information Infrastructure; Problems and Challenges; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Computer Industry; Canada; Mongolia; Uruguay; United States

October 2012
Teaching Plan

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: Venture Philanthropy Funding for Biotech (TP)

By: Robert F. Higgins

This is the teaching note related to HBS case 808005. In 2001, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated acquired the San Diego-based biotech company, Aurora Biosciences. The combination of Vertex's and Aurora's technologies would improve the flow of novel drug candidates... View Details

Keywords: Venture Philanthropy; Biotechnology; Funding Philanthropy Venture; Cystic Fibrosis; Foundations; Pharmaceuticals; Mergers and Acquisitions; For-Profit Firms; Venture Capital; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Science-Based Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States; San Diego

February 1987 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Polysar Limited

By: Robert L. Simons

Canada's largest chemical company produces and markets butyl rubber in two divisions, each treated as a profit center. The new plant in the North American Division operates below capacity resulting in a significant volume variance and an operating loss. The European... View Details

Keywords: Loss; Profit; Financial Management; Volume; Performance Capacity; Financial Statements; For-Profit Firms; Market Participation; Chemical Industry; Rubber Industry; Canada

01 Mar 2016
News

Off Script

top posts at Schering-Plough and Wyeth. Are there structural reforms that could be implemented in the drug industry to lower the market-driven price of drugs? Forcing pharma firms to invest in R&D a minimum percentage of the sales of any... View Details

Keywords: Insurance Carriers and Related Activities; Finance

October 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Calloway Laboratory: Pee for Profit

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and David Kiron

Describes the formation and rapid growth of a drug-testing company. The company needs to decide whether to enter the painkiller testing market, in addition to growing its drug treatment center business. View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Health Care and Treatment; Health Testing and Trials; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Health Industry

17 Feb 2011
News

Field Report: Rwanda

middle ground of companies that employ 50 to 100 people — somewhere between the nonprofit that would get help from USAID and bigger, for-profit firms served by traditional consulting companies.” For his... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

26 Jun 2013
Op-Ed

A Roadmap for Afghanistan’s Economic Future

responsible for the deployment of cell phones to two-thirds of Afghans. My research shows that throughout the developing world successful organizations like Roshan must inevitably take on more tasks than their counterpart firms in more... View Details

Keywords: by Tarun Khanna

Web

Advancing Social Enterprise | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

entrepreneurial way, measuring impact and having fun while doing it. HBS offers a global focus for people who are interested in exploring the intersection between the non-profit and for-profit worlds. Impact Having the talent and... View Details

March 2019
Supplement

KITEA (D): Further Changes

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in February 2016, when the official date of IKEA’s store opening (March 16, 2016) is announced after a five-month delay. It reviews the changes that Amine and Othman Benkirane had made to KITEA’s workforce in the extra five months afforded by the delay... View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; For-Profit Firms; Business Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Retail Industry; Africa; North Africa; Morocco

September 2010
Teaching Note

Acumen Fund: Measurement in Impact Investing (TN) (A) and (B)

By: Alnoor Ebrahim

Teaching Note for 310011 and 310017. View Details

Keywords: Projects; For-Profit Firms; Networks; Health Care and Treatment; Performance Evaluation; Investment Portfolio; Asset Pricing; Competition; Multinational Firms and Management; Venture Capital; Investment Return; Poverty; Financial Services Industry; Kenya

August 2001 (Revised April 2003)
Case

International Trachoma Initiative

By: Diana Barrett, James E. Austin and Sheila McCarthy

In an effort to combat trachoma, a major eye disease, the Clark Foundation entered into a partnership with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. After a successful pilot project, a joint initiative was established (the Trachoma initiative) that has as its goal to eradicate the... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Globalization; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Alliances; Partners and Partnerships; Non-Governmental Organizations; Health Industry

Find at Harvard

March 2019
Supplement

KITEA (E): IKEA's Opening Day

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in 2016 as Amine Benkirane, CEO of the furniture retailer KITEA, observes KITEA’s dormant sales on the day IKEA opens its first store in Morocco. It then provides information on IKEA’s Morocco store, as well as a detailed pricing comparison between IKEA... View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; For-Profit Firms; Business Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Adaptation; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; Africa; North Africa; Morocco

30 Sep 2014
News

Life Lessons on the Open Seas

on the island of Nantucket off Massachusetts, serves more than 1,000 children, adults, and veterans every year. “I’m a firm believer in growing only as fast as you can control the quality of your product,” says Callahan. “We’ve served... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken

01 Feb 2001
News

Porter Appointed to University Professorship

is particularly important to me since the scope of my work has broadened considerably over the years." Porter's first area of interest examines how firms compete in industries and gain competitive advantage. The next focuses on locations... View Details

Keywords: Doug Gavel; University Professorship; C. Roland Christensen; Sumner H. Slichter

05 Nov 2013
News

Start-Ups Get a Start in New Orleans

the pension firm State Street Research. Although the family moved because Wise got a job at Tulane, Wilkins quickly saw opportunities in the city's burgeoning business scene. "I'm an entrepreneur at my core, and after Katrina everyone... View Details

Keywords: New Orleans; Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services; Professional Services

March 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

The Market for Prisoners: Business, Crime and Punishment in the "American Dream"

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Laura Winig

In 2010, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prison operator in the U.S., was considering expansion options. The company's largest customers, federal and state governments, were under economic pressure to reduce the incarceration rate and... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Crime and Corruption; Profit; Law Enforcement; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Business and Government Relations; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; United States