Publications

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June 2021
Technical Note

SPAC Space

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2020, over half of all initial public offerings (IPOs) in the United States were special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), blank-check companies that typically had two years to find a business to take public, usually through a reverse merger. Together, 248... View Details

Keywords: Special Purpose Acquisition Companies; SPACs; Mergers and Acquisitions; Going Public; Initial Public Offering; Investment; Strategy

2023
Working Paper

Segmented Going-Public Markets and the Demand for SPACs

By: Angela Ma, Miles Zheng and Jessica Bai

We provide a regulatory-arbitrage-based explanation for the origin and proliferation of the Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC). SPAC sponsors act as non-bank intermediaries, and the SPAC market structure appeals to yield-seeking investors and riskier,... View Details

Keywords: Special Purpose Acquisition Companies; Non-bank Intermediaries; Regulatory Arbitrage; Adverse Selection; Initial Public Offering

SSRN

December 2013 (Revised May 2015)
Supplement

Land Acquisition in India: Public Purpose and Private Property (C)

By: Laura Alfaro, Lakshmi Iyer and Rachna Tahilyani

Keywords: India; Special Economic Zones; Land Markets; Land Politics; Industrial Development; Land Reform; Developing Markets; Developing Countries; Industrialization; Industrial Property; Economic Growth; Developing Countries and Economies; Economics; Economy; Macroeconomics; Social Issues; India; Asia; South Asia

December 2008 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Special Economic Zones in India: Public Purpose and Private Property (A)

By: Laura Alfaro and Lakshmi Iyer

In 2005, the government of India enacted the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act in order to attract investment, generate export revenues, and create manufacturing jobs. However, several planned projects faced difficulties in acquiring land for setting up the SEZ. In... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Development Economics; Economic Growth; Policy; Government Legislation; Property; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; India

Article

Governments as Owners: State-Owned Multinational Companies

By: Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, Andrew Inkpen, Aldo Musacchio and Kannan Ramaswamy

The globalization of state-owned multinational companies (SOMNCs) has become an important phenomenon in international business (IB), yet it has received scant attention in the literature. We explain how the analysis of SOMNCs can help advance the literature by... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Corporation; State-owned Enterprises; State Capitalism; FDI; Internationalization; Government And Business; National Oil Companies; State Ownership; Multinational Firms and Management; Business Subsidiaries; Acquisition; Pharmaceutical Industry; Energy Industry; China; India; Europe

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February 2009 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Tata Motors in Singur: Public Purpose and Private Property (B)

By: Laura Alfaro, Lakshmi Iyer and Namrata Arora

In October 2008, Tata Motors canceled their car manufacturing plant in West Bengal state, in the face of widespread farmer protests over land acquisition issues. This meant abandoning a project in which the company had invested $300 million and delaying the launch of... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Rights; Emerging Markets; Property; Business and Government Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; West Bengal

02 Apr 2008
Research & Ideas

Four Companies that Conquered America

company does not have a strong presence in the USA. So how do you penetrate the U.S. market? The annals of business are littered with foreign companies that have never quite succeeded in the USA. But here... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

18 Apr 2017
Blog Post

Why We Recruit: CRC Companies LLC

Organization Katie Urban, Digital Strategy & Communications Specialist, CRC Companies LLC Describe your organization in three to five sentences. CRC Companies LLC (CRC) is a national real estate... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate

19 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Why Companies Should Compete for Your Privacy

targeted ads on the lockscreen and home screen, consumers clamored for an ad-free version. Amazon backtracked and extended its Special Offers program to the tablet, allowing consumers to opt out from the ads. Q: You're expecting that more... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products

23 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Five Ways to Make Your Company More Innovative

In a hypercompetitive global economy, creativity has never been more important for success . But how do you create a company that unleashes and capitalizes on innovation? For answers, writers at the HBS Alumni Bulletin turned to five HBS... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons, Julia Hanna & Roger Thompson

April 2016
Teaching Note

Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

This Note was created for the purpose of aiding classroom instructors in the use of the Harvard Business School case, "Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016." As chairman and CEO, David Kenny guided the Weather Company's transformation from a cable television... View Details

Keywords: Weather Company; IBM; Digital; Technology; David Kenny; Television; Weather Channel; Legacy Business; Mainstream; Newstream; Reorganization; Acquisitions; Transformation; Information Technology; Television Entertainment; Acquisition; Consolidation; Change; Leadership

01 Feb 2022
Book

Innovation Isn’t Just for Startups: How Big Companies Can Succeed

What if more managers at big corporations channeled some of the same magic that helped Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos lead their startups to great success? Large companies are actually fertile ground for innovation;... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

May 2024
Supplement

Forest Park Capital (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

During the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020, Betsy Harbison formed the search fund Forest Park Capital with the intention of purchasing a small business. The case conveys the details of Betsy’s final decision at the terminus of her search, between a software company... View Details

Keywords: Search Fund; Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition; Acquisition; Small Business; Cost vs Benefits; Decisions; Business Education; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Problems and Challenges; Tourism Industry; Web Services Industry; North America; Missouri

October 2012
Case

Winfield Refuse Management, Inc.: Raising Debt vs. Equity

By: W. Carl Kester and Sunru Yong

A small, publicly traded company specializing in non-hazardous waste management considers a major acquisition in the Midwestern U.S. The acquisition can provide entry into the region, help the firm compete in a competitive industry, and improve its cost position. The... View Details

Keywords: United States; Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Equity Capital; Debt Management; Expansion; Leveraged Buyouts; Financial Analysis; Administrative/Support/Waste Management/Remediation Services; Equity; Borrowing and Debt; Service Industry

May 2024
Supplement

Forest Park Capital (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

During the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020, Betsy Harbison formed the search fund Forest Park Capital with the intention of purchasing a small business. The case conveys the details of Betsy’s final decision at the terminus of her search, between a software company... View Details

Keywords: Search Fund; Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition; Acquisition; Small Business; Cost vs Benefits; Decisions; Business Education; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Business or Company Management; Problems and Challenges; Tourism Industry; Web Services Industry; North America; Missouri

26 Jan 2004
Research & Ideas

What Developing-World Companies Teach Us About Innovation

When most people think of innovation, they envision developed-world companies such as the U.S.A.'s IBM, Japan's Sony, South Korea's Samsung, Finland's Nokia, or Switzerland's Novartis, technology leaders that have stayed at the cutting... View Details

Keywords: by Donald N. Sull, Alejandro Ruelas-Gossi & Martin Escobari

September 2008
Case

Yucheng Technology

By: Li Jin, Li Liao, Chang Chen and Aldo Sesia

The founder and CEO of an IT company servicing the needs of the financial services industry in China needs to raise capital for the company to grow and survive. He has two options. He can try and obtain financing from private equity investors, or he can accept a... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology; Financial Services Industry; China; United States

January 2017 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Royal DSM: From Continuous Transformation to Organic Growth

By: William W. George, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Amram Migdal

Royal DSM CEO Feike Sijbesma was pondering the challenges of shifting DSM’s global organization from the constant transformations of the past 100 years to creating organic growth. When Sijbesma took the helm as CEO in 2007, he further pushed and completed the company’s... View Details

Keywords: Organic Growth; Organizational Change; M＆A; Mergers And Acquisitions; Divestment; Business Ventures; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Restructuring; Change; Change Management; Transformation; Transition; Engineering; Chemicals; Mining; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Finance; Capital Markets; Financial Markets; Food; Globalization; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Health; Nutrition; History; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Management; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Ownership; Public Ownership; Performance; Strategy; Adaptation; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Value; Value Creation; Biotechnology Industry; Chemical Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Mining Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Europe; Netherlands