Publications

August 2018 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Jackie Taylor: The Black Ensemble Theater

By: Steven Rogers and Dan Perkins

Jackie Taylor, an African American social entrepreneur, founded the Black Ensemble Theater in 1976. Since the ensemble’s inception, she has rented spaces where her group performed original musicals about black entertainers including Nina Simone, Etta James, and Marvin... View Details

Keywords: Theatre-company; Theatre Expansion; Theatre And Community; Black Theatre; Theater Entertainment; Buildings and Facilities; Strategic Planning; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Chicago

February 2014 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Red Star Furniture Group Co. Ltd.

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Pedro Nueno

Founded in 1986, Red Star had become the leading department store in China for furniture and home equipment products (bathroom, lamps, textiles complements, etc.). The business model of Red Star was to provide adequate space for vendors (that rented the space) in good... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship In Emerging Markets; Growth Strategy And Execution; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; China

March 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

WallStreetBets: Democratizing Retail Investing

By: Joseph Pacelli and Alexis Lefort

In summer 2024, Jaime Rogozinski anticipated the launch of a day-trading eSports event, a vision he had nurtured for years. Rogozinski, the founder of the influential subreddit WallStreetBets (WSB), created the forum in 2012 as a space for retail traders to explore... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Emerging Markets; Market Participation; Financial Strategy; Lawsuits and Litigation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Financial Markets; Financial Services Industry; United States

May 2022
Case

From GOP to NFT: Anthony Scaramucci and the Launch of Flatter NFT

By: Lauren Cohen, Richard Ryffel and Grace Headinger

Anthony Scaramucci, Managing Director of SkyBridge Capital, considered whether he should officially greenlight the launch of SkyBridge’s own NFT platform — Flatter NFT. He had led the investment firm to push first into Bitcoin and then Ethereum to make SkyBridge a... View Details

January 2025
Case

The Vision of Wonder

By: Michael S. Kaufman and Daniella Bertolotti

Serial entrepreneur Marc Lore successfully disrupted three marketplaces—trading cards, diapers (founded Diapers.com and eventually sold to Amazon for more than $500 million) and ecommerce (founded Jet.com competing directly with Amazon and eventually sold to Walmart... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Entrepreneurship; Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

November 1996 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Alexander Plaza

By: Arthur I Segel and William J. Poorvu

In May 1996, Henry Bower, an asset manager for a real estate adviser, Medcem, has to negotiate the details of a lease after signing a letter of intent with a high technology company, Defentek, Inc. Defentek, Inc. is a fast-growing company with limited net worth that is... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Preparation; Agreements and Arrangements; Risk and Uncertainty; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; District of Columbia

22 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 22, 2018

noncognitive, interpersonal skills during adolescence. Long-run administrative data shows that negotiation training significantly improved educational outcomes over the next three years. The training had greater effects than two alternative treatments (offering girls a... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

22 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

Advertising: It’s Not ‘Mad Men’ Anymore

with his latest brilliant inspiration. For decades, advertising agencies have thrived on, and in some ways fostered, the idea of advertising as a creative black box. “I think the story here is how the industry has evolved and adapted”... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Advertising

08 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 8

shareholder value in concentrated industries. By contrast, non-delay provisions have an unambiguously negative relation with value, and more so in concentrated industries. Overall, our analysis suggests that there are governance trade-offs for shareholders, and View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Delivering the Digital Goods: iTunes vs. Peer-to-Peer

and the development of incremental tradeoffs towards radical moves to create new business models, new forms of satisfying needs that drastically reduce costs and/or raise value perceived by customers. One important enabler of new business models is the Internet. This... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Music

27 Aug 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

Guts, Gall, and Good Luck: What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur

iStock What do these people have in common? The daughter of former slaves, pioneers in the private space race, and oddball inventors who created the green business industry. They all overcame long odds to become great American... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

June 2010
Case

Playa Dorada Tennis Club: Expansion Strategy

By: W. Earl Sasser Jr. and Brent Kazan

Playa Dorada Beach & Resort in Boca Raton, Florida, faces a growing seasonal demand for tennis services. The number of guests is expected to double in the next few years, and while the tennis facilities are a popular and well-promoted amenity at the resort, court space... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Planning; Price; Expansion; Tourism Industry; Tourism Industry; Tourism Industry; Florida

October 2016 (Revised February 2019)
Case

PTC: A Transformation to IoT

By: Rajiv Lal and Sarah McAra

In the 2010s, PTC, a leading provider of software for discrete manufacturers, faced maturing markets and changing customer needs as smart, connected products took hold—the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). PTC saw a first mover advantage in entering the IoT space... View Details

Keywords: Internet Of Things; IoT; Smart; Connected Products; Business Organization; Transformation; Customer Relationship Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Marketing; Product Development; Service Operations; Strategy; Competition; Technology Industry

2010
Case

Playa Dorado

By: W. Earl Sasser

Playa Dorada Beach & Resort in Boca Raton, Florida, faces a growing seasonal demand for tennis services. The number of guests is expected to double in the next few years, and while the tennis facilities are a popular and well-promoted amenity at the resort, court space... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Expansion; Planning; Mathematical Methods; Price; Profit; Sales; Operations; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Performance Capacity; Accommodations Industry; Florida

February 2017 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Link REIT

By: Siddharth Yog

Publicly listed in November 2005, Link REIT was the first real estate investment trust (REIT) in Hong Kong after the Hong Kong government decided to privatize a portfolio of community shopping malls, car parks, and fresh produce markets. Run by CEO George Hongchoy, the... View Details

Keywords: Hong Kong; REIT; Real Estate; Retail; Government; China; Housing; Public Company; Strategic Planning; Expansion; Public Equity; Real Estate Industry; Hong Kong; China

March 2020
Case

A Tower for the People: 425 Park Avenue

By: John Macomber, Joseph G. Allen and Emily Jones

Healthy buildings and superior air quality are increasingly important since people now spend so much time indoors. Indoor spaces drive performance and productivity. Commercial real estate landlords and investors are responding to the demands of sophisticated tenants... View Details

Keywords: Health And Wellness; Real Estate; Sustainability; Health; Pollution; Buildings and Facilities; Performance Productivity; Finance; Real Estate Industry; New York (city, NY)

September 2023 (Revised December 2023)
Case

TetraScience: Noise and Signal

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Tom Quinn

In 2019, TetraScience CEO “Spin” Wang needed advice. Five years earlier, he had cofounded a startup that saw early success with a hardware product designed to help laboratory scientists in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical spaces more easily collect data from... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Organization; Restructuring; Forecasting and Prediction; Digital Platforms; Analytics and Data Science; AI and Machine Learning; Organizational Structure; Network Effects; Competitive Strategy; Biotechnology Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States; Boston