Publications

October 2017 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Jumia Nigeria: from Retail to Marketplace (A)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Namrata Arora

Founded in 2012, Jumia Nigeria, a startup effort by Germany-based Rocket Internet, aimed to become an African Amazon. The company entered the nascent market and immediately enjoyed an uptick in consumer spending fueled by the strength of Nigeria’s oil-based economy. By... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Marketplace; Inventory; Ecommerce; Funding; Business Ecosystem; Business Ecosystems; Competition; Business Model; Globalization; Emerging Markets; Expansion; Logistics; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry; India; Nigeria; Africa

09 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life?”

its stores. But, obviously, it didn't make money from movies sitting on the shelves; it was only when a customer rented a movie that Blockbuster made anything. It therefore needed to get the customer to... View Details

June 2018
Teaching Note

The Transformation of Microsoft

By: C. Fritz Foley and F. Katelynn Boland

Teaching Note for HBS No. 218-048. In early 2015, Amy Hood, CFO of Microsoft, and the rest of the senior leadership team faced a set of fundamental choices. The firm had opportunities to serve customers in ways that would be associated with higher growth but lower... View Details

Keywords: Growth; Corporate Finance; Valuation; Growth Management; Communication Strategy; Transformation; Information Technology Industry; Computer Industry; United States

19 Jul 2013
News

Reinvigorate a Disengaged Sales Force

31 Aug 2012
News

From the frontlines of the Assamese exodus

December 2021 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Katerra (A)

By: Lindsay N. Hyde, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Tom Quinn

In April 2020, Katerra executives struggled with a series of decisions that would determine the fate of one of the best-funded construction startups in history. Katerra was founded in 2015 by technology-industry executive Michael Marks and commercial real estate... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Entrepreneurship; Failure; Construction; Real Estate Industry; Technology Industry; United States

22 Feb 2012
News

Disclosures Are Found to Change Financial Behavior

08 Apr 2013
Video

Booya Fitness, Inc. - Episode 2- Shifting Behavior

January 2010 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Credit Suisse Group: Managing Equity Research as a Business

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and Sarah Abbott

In 2003, in the midst of industry turmoil and company-specific challenges, Stefano Natella was named Global Head of Equity Research at Credit Suisse. Over a six-year period, Natella implemented and refined a new methodology for valuing equity research analysts, both... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Change Management; Customer Satisfaction; Compensation and Benefits; Selection and Staffing; Balanced Scorecard; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financial Services Industry

Article

Digital Ubiquity: How Connections, Sensors, and Data Are Revolutionizing Business

By: Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani

When Google bought Nest, a maker of digital thermostats, for $3.2 billion just a few months ago, it was a clear indication that digital transformation and connection are spreading across even the most traditional industrial segments and creating a staggering array of... View Details

Keywords: Digital Innovation; Digitization; Industrial Internet; Technological Innovation; Production; Competitive Strategy; Engineering; Aerospace Industry

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June 2005
Case

Furqan Nazeeri and the IMTrader Spin-Out

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Brian DeLacey

Furqan Nazeeri is looking to spin out a promising set of products and technologies from an established financial services firm. Designed as an exercise in negotiation. Includes material from the original business plan, and it is possible to simulate a negotiation... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business or Company Management; Negotiation Process; Product Development; Technology Adoption

February 2003 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Sheila Mason & Craig Shepherd

Describes a marketing executive and an engineer who are starting a company together. Each is still at his/her former employer, and each has signed a different employment agreement that, on paper, may prohibit soliciting customers or employees. Focuses on how... View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Intellectual Property; Contracts; Legal Liability; Entrepreneurship; Ethics

October 2000 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Li & Fung (A): Internet Issues

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Fred Young

This case looks at the issues facing a Hong Kong-based trading company, which links hundreds of factories in India and Asia with major customers like Gap and the Limited in Europe and in the United States. The company has recently launched a dot-com operation to allow... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Multinational Firms and Management; Distribution Channels; Logistics; Networks; Markets; Supply Chain; Retail Industry; Hong Kong; India; Europe; United States

July 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

AllHerb.com: Evolution of an E-tailer

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Christina L. Darwall

Serial entrepreneur Ken Hakuta, in the second year of his latest venture, reconsiders his original strategy of maintaining an independent, self-funded, self-led company. His Internet herbal remedy company, AllHerb.com, has already enjoyed considerable success with its... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Strategic Planning; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Web Services Industry

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January 2000 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Asia Renal Care

Presents a business plan for a start-up company focused on building a network of high-quality dialysis centers in the Asia-Pacific region. Includes a detailed financial forecast. An executable spreadsheet is available by contacting HBSP Customer Service at... View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Startups; Financial Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Asia