Publications

April 2013
Teaching Plan

Marks and Spencer: Plan A (TP)

By: David Bell and Michael Norris

Teaching Note for 509029. View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategic Planning; Environmental Sustainability; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry

June 2009
Case

Manchester Products: A Brand Transition Challenge

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

In January of 2005, Manchester Products Inc., a longtime leader in office furniture that only recently entered into the home furniture market, acquired Paul Logan's Furniture Division (PLFD). The acquisition of PLFD made Manchester an instant market leader in household... View Details

Keywords: Acquisitions; Consumer Marketing; Brand Equity; Branding; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

March 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Merrill Lynch HOLDRS

By: Andre F. Perold and Simon E. Brown

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and HOLDRS (Holding Company Depositary Receipts) represent recent and highly successful capital market innovations. HOLDRS closely approximates a buy-and-hold strategy, and Merrill Lynch believes the product has significantly lower taxes... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Cost; Stocks; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Taxation; Innovation and Invention; Product; Success; Expansion

20 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 20

self-report of a licensee. Self-reporting gives rise to demand for auditing by the licensor or third-party attestation by the licensee. We characterize the optimal royalty contract, accounting system choice by the licensee, and audit View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2009
Case

Nomura's Global Growth: Picking Up Pieces of Lehman

By: C. Fritz Foley and Linnea Meyer

What issues commonly arise in international financial management? Kenichi Watanabe and Takumi Shibata, CEO and COO of Nomura Holdings Inc., one of the leading investment banks in Asia, have the opportunity to expand their firm internationally through the acquisition of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment Banking; International Finance; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Expansion; Financial Services Industry; Japan

September 2000 (Revised March 2006)
Case

ZOOTS--The Cleaner Cleaner

By: Myra M. Hart and Sharon Peyus

A successful entrepreneur (retailing) starts a new venture in dry cleaning. The case focuses on transferable models, skills, and knowledge from one venture to the next. Areas of emphasis are: managing growth, challenges of operations, financing, and competitive moves. View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Competitive Strategy; Operations; Knowledge Dissemination; Business Startups; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

February 2002 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Volvo Trucks (C): Closing Volvo Global Trucks

By: Michael E. Porter and Orjan Solvell

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Five Forces Framework; Truck Transportation; Global Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States; Europe

April 2000 (Revised December 2005)
Case

Garanti Bank: Transformation in Turkey

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Maximilian Martin and Daniel Galvin

Discusses the complete transformation and turnover in every division of Garanti Bank. Describes the multiple change projects managed and cross-cultural issues confronted during the 1990s and the organizational challenge of transforming Garanti Bank into one of Turkey's... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Private Ownership; Restructuring; Business Divisions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Culture; Change Management; Expansion; Corporate Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Projects; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Turkey

September 1995
Case

Richina Capital Partners Limited

By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green

Richard Yan and Suzanne Foels raise a $52.5 million fund to invest in Chinese companies in concert with major multinational companies. They face all the challenges of starting a business from scratch in addition to the challenges of operating in a cross-cultural... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Problems and Challenges; Emerging Markets; Multinational Firms and Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governance Compliance; Business Strategy; Expansion; Investment Return; China

Find at Harvard

January 2025
Case

Jaipur Literature Festival 2024

By: Tarun Khanna and Kanika Jain

The Jaipur Literature Festival had evolved from a modest gathering in 2006 into one of the world’s most significant literary events. It was known for its principle of egalitarian access, allowing people from various social backgrounds to come together and engage with... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Business or Company Management; Media; Business Strategy; Expansion; Profit; Product Positioning; Asia; South Asia

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Making the Most of Government Upheaval

preliminary findings suggest that the profound economic metamorphoses taking place in Latin America's emerging economies have imposed dramatic changes on the competitive environment, compelling firms to develop new strategies and... View Details

Keywords: by Nancy O. Perry

June 2018
Teaching Note

Berkshire Partners: Party City

By: Victoria Ivashina and Jeffrey Boyar

Teaching Note for HBS No. 218-028. View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Fundraising; Cross-fund Investment; Private Equity; Vertical Integration; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

September 1999 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Auto Collection: Ford's Better Idea for Selling Cars and Trucks

Ford encourages its independent dealers to consolidate, showing them the benefits size can bring both to themselves and their customers. Now, consolidated dealerships improve customer service and reduce costs. View Details

Keywords: Consolidation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Sales; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

23 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 23, 2008

Chinese joint ventures annually, Hong Kong China Gas executives began extracting cross-border negotiating lessons from their 80 existing Chinese JVs. Chairman Alfred Chan and CEO Peter Wong knew that HKGC's growth strategy required... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

21 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

What Health Care Managers Need to Know--and How to Teach Them

smart about competitive analysis and forging a strategy that considers realities and which way public policy is moving," Herzlinger says. "She must also understand capital markets, group dynamics, and different kinds of leadership." But... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Guttry; Health; Education

20 Aug 2007
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Using Investor Relations Proactively

Total focuses on explaining how their cash use is prudent. Similarly, BP has a large base of retail investors but in many ways it treats them as just slightly different versions of its institutional investors. That is, BP assumes the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

30 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 30, 2018

that were more responsible and sustainable as well as how these strategies have faced constraints, trade-offs, and challenges of legitimacy. The industries covered range from sustainable finance and solar energy to organic food and wine,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

March 2020 (Revised May 2020)
Case

Redefining Mogul

By: Ethan C. Rouen

Tiffany Pham taught herself to code and created a technology platform, Mogul, with the goal of providing girls and women around the world with information and opportunities. After several years Mogul had reached more than 146 million women around the world and had... View Details

Keywords: Women; Inclusion; Technology; Branding; Social Impact; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Information; Knowledge Dissemination; Gender; Diversity; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Strategy; Media; Personal Development and Career; Technology Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

July 2019 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Salary Finance

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In April 2019, Asesh Sarkar, co-founder and chief executive of Salary Finance Limited, a London-based FinTech, faced tough choices. Sarkar had founded Salary Finance with Dan Cobley and Daniel Shakhani in 2015. The company’s value proposition was quite simple: partner... View Details

Keywords: Credit; Financing and Loans; Wages; Innovation and Invention; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Services Industry