Publications

January 2025
Case

Thomas Müller: Mr. Bayern Munich

By: Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt, Alexander Liebhart and Sarah Abbott

In 2024, FC Bayern Munich superstar Thomas Müller announced his retirement from German national football. His contract with Bayern Munich runs through the end of the 2024-25 season. In 2025, Müller reflects on his long career in football, on the skills that have driven... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Football; Data Science And Analytics Management; Germany; Bundesliga; Sports Data; ＂Sports Organizations,; Career Changes And Transitions; Career Management; Retirement Transition; Skills Development; Sports; Analysis; Competency and Skills; Decision Making; Performance; Sports Industry; Germany

December 2018
Teaching Note

Bayern Munich in China

By: Karim Lakhani and Sascha L. Schmidt

Teaching Note for HBS No. 617-025. View Details

Keywords: Market Entry; Football; Soccer; Bundesliga; Digital Technology; Sports; Global Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Online Technology; Sports Industry; Germany; China

December 2013 (Revised October 2014)
Case

The Munich Oktoberfest: From Local Tradition to Global Capitalism

By: Juan Alcacer, Christian Bettinger and Andreas Philippi

Oktoberfest, an annual festival held in Munich (Germany) for more than 200 years, has grown in recent decades into a hugely popular event that attracts 7 million visitors annually, a large proportion of which are foreign. In fact, Oktoberfest's global appeal is so... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Product Positioning; Marketing Channels; Global Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Ohio; Munich; Brazil; Bangalore; Beijing

06 Oct 2016
Cold Call Podcast

The Munich Oktoberfest: From Local Tradition to Global Capitalism

Keywords: Re: Juan Alcacer; Tourism

February 2014 (Revised September 2014)
Teaching Note

The Munich Oktoberfest: From Local Tradition to Global Capitalism

By: Juan Alcacer

June 1996
Case

Siemens Corporation (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Describes the television advertising and presents examples of the comparable print ads, then documents new measurement tools and presents the results of key surveys that address audience awareness. Also includes other relevant activities to support Siemens USA's... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Learning; Balanced Scorecard; Operations; Outcome or Result; Advertising Industry

13 Jan 2021
Research & Ideas

How 'Small C' Change Can Beat Large-Scale Rebuilding

to success. The recent Champions League victory of FC Bayern Munich under new head coach Hansi Flick illustrates this powerful lesson. The dynamics of a comeback: A view from inside By making the historic treble of winning the Champions... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt, and Sebastian Flegr; Sports

06 Nov 2018
Research & Ideas

8 Ways to Make Olympic Stadiums Useful After the Games End

Isao Okada of Osaka Seikei Univerity and HBS marketing professor emeritus Stephen A. Greyser—a longtime student and observer of the Olympics—conducted extensive field research at 10 of the 12 Summer Olympics sites since the 1972 Munich... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Sports

March 2011
Case

MorphoSys AG: The Evolution of a Biotechnology Business Model

By: Gary P. Pisano, Ryan Johnson and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In the biotech world, the 18-year-old Munich-based company MorphoSys was a rarity: it was profitable. The company achieved this profitability not by developing and selling its own drugs, but by licensing access to its proprietary library of human antibodies. Recently,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Profit; Intellectual Property; Rights; Risk Management; Digital Platforms; Product Development; Business and Shareholder Relations; Vertical Integration; Biotechnology Industry; Munich

13 Oct 2009
Research & Ideas

7 Lessons for Navigating the Storm

trip to Bermuda, and we're coming off a great summer in Colorado with our two sons, daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren, who live in Munich and San Francisco. There is nothing more fun or rewarding than the time we spend together.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Entrepreneurship in Europe

"Six months ago, there were easily a hundred." Clusters Of Entrepreneurs The growth in the number of entrepreneurs has also been a factor, said Hobermann. "There are clusters of entrepreneurs," he said. "Everyone in London, everyone in View Details

Keywords: by Kenneth Liss

February 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Brainlab: Imaging a MedTech Future

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Gregory P. Licholai and Federica Gabrieli

Can Brainlab, a privately held firm, compete with giants like Medtronic and Amazon in delivering the Digital Operating Room of the future? The CEO is pondering solutions for secure exchange of medical information, pricing a new robotic imaging device, and reorganizing... View Details

07 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 7

projects, and the implications of global markets and extreme valuations for what a company must achieve. Purchase this case:https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/817052-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 617-025 Bayern Munich in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Jan 2007
What Do You Think?

Neuro Economics: Science or Science Fiction?

straightforward considerations are best answered in the conscious portion of the brain, presumably after considerable conscious thought. Work in neuro marketing at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich now claims that strong brands... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

05 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Can Putin Score Olympic Gold?

investment. Along with opportunities come risks. The 1972 Games in Munich will be remembered not for the prowess of athletes on the field, but for the terrorist attacks on Israeli athletes. Greece embarrassed itself in Athens in 2004 with... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports; Advertising

25 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 25

mark-up is a strong negative predictor of future economic growth, indicating that we may be measuring a phenomenon of the broader business environment. Download working paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2409251 Cases & Course Materials Harvard Business School Case... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2022 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Lilium: Preparing for Takeoff

By: Navid Mojir, Vincent Dessain, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

Lilium is a German company focused on developing electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) that can be used to offer air taxi services. The company went public in September 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal, raising more than... View Details