Publications

December 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Cann: High Hopes for Cannabis Infused Beverages

By: Ayelet Israeli and Anne V. Wilson

Founded in 2018 by Jake Bullock and Luke Anderson, Cann sold “social tonics,” or cannabis-infused beverages. By 2022, the company had several notable celebrity investors and talent partners, had sold over 10 million beverages to consumers, was distributing in six... View Details

November 2014
Teaching Note

Marketing Marijuana in Colorado

By: John A. Quelch

The case, set in the middle of 2014, reviews the first six months of marketplace activity in Colorado, following the legalization of marijuana for recreational use and the expansion of marijuana retailing from medical dispensaries to recreational stores. The case... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Innovations; Retail Government Services; Public Health; Agribusiness; Customers; Goods and Commodities; Government and Politics; Health; Marketing; Society; Consumer Products Industry; Distribution Industry; Health Industry; Public Administration Industry; North and Central America

June 1978 (Revised August 1987)
Background Note

Note on the Motorcycle Industry--1975

Discusses several changes in the motorcycle industry: the emergence of Japanese competitors; the growth in demand for light motorcycles; and the emergence of recreational uses; and how these changes have affected older United States and British manufacturers. View Details

Keywords: Change; Motorcycle Industry; Japan; Great Britain; United States

12 Feb 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

‘UpTick’ Brings Wall Street Pressure to Students

In a Harvard Business School classroom, students in the Dynamic Markets class may have one minute to make a decision in a pressure cooker one called "the most stress I've experienced in ten years." It's margin call time in a real-world market investment... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Financial Services; Education

October 2023 (Revised October 2024)
Case

UnDosTres: Building the Paytm of Mexico

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, Max Hancock and Amy Klopfenstein

Arpit Gupta, Naveen Sharma, and Vikram Deswal co-founded the mobile payment app UnDosTres in Mexico City in 2015. In the past, Gupta had worked at Paytm, an India-based payment app valued at over $1 billion. In Mexico, the co-founders hoped to recreate Paytm’s success.... View Details

Keywords: Technology Adoption; Advertising; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Adaptation; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; Mexico; India

August 1996 (Revised December 1999)
Case

J Boats, Inc.

By: Robert L. Simons

During the 20-year evolution of a family-owned, entrepreneurial sailboat company, two founders leverage their design and marketing skills to build one of the most recognized brands in the recreational boating industry. The founder then considers management succession... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Family Business; Risk Management; Financial Management; Leveraged Buyouts; Brands and Branding; Competitive Strategy; Capital Markets; Valuation; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry

September 2014 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Marketing Marijuana in Colorado

By: John A. Quelch and David Lane

Colorado's 2014 legalization of marijuana for adult recreational (not just medical) use created a new market that entrepreneurs rushed to enter, channeled by regulations that aimed to minimize marijuana's access to minors while not stifling the emergent new industry.... View Details

Keywords: Public Health; Regulation; Marijuana; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Public Sector; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Health Industry; Colorado

2024
Working Paper

The Value of Open Source Software

By: Manuel Hoffmann, Frank Nagle and Yanuo Zhou

The value of a non-pecuniary (free) product is inherently difficult to assess. A pervasive example is open source software (OSS), a global public good that plays a vital role in the economy and is foundational for most technology we use today. However, it is... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Open Source Distribution; Applications and Software

Read Now

December 1993 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Montana Land Reliance

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Thomas Patterson

The Montana Land Reliance is a small not-for-profit organization in the business of creating conservation easements on private lands in Montana. The easements preserve the scenic character and recreational value of the lands by precluding subdivision and other forms of... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Motivation and Incentives; Business or Company Management; Natural Environment; Nonprofit Organizations; Property; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Montana

Find at Harvard

January 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Live Nation Faces the Music

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Frank Cespedes and Kerry Herman

In 2008, concert producer and promoter Live Nation faces a decision about its strategy in light of the tumultuous changes in the music industry and the increasing power of the major artists. As the music business once again recreates itself in response to new... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Music Entertainment; Five Forces Framework; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

01 Dec 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

How Many U.S. Jobs Are ‘Offshorable’?

The controversial topic of offshoring U.S. jobs may have been shoved out of the headlines by recent events, but it remains front and center for senior business leaders operating in an increasingly global, competitive economy. To give MBAs a deeper understanding of this... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

January 2009
Supplement

Live Nation Faces the Music (B)

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Frank V. Cespedes and Kerry Herman

In 2008, concert producer and promoter Live Nation, faces a decision about its strategy in light of the tumultuous changes in the music industry and the increasing power of the major artists. As the music business once again recreates itself in response to new... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Transformation; Revenue; Framework; Five Forces Framework; Demand and Consumers; Industry Structures; Relationships; Opportunities; Power and Influence; Business Strategy; Music Industry

28 Apr 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Sweden’s Northvolt Electric Battery Maker: A Startup with a Mission

Keywords: Re: George Serafeim; Battery; Auto; Electronics; Energy

September 2020
Case

Summit Partners: Independent Vetcare

By: Victoria Ivashina and Terrence Shu

This case follows Summit Partners, a leading growth equity firm, as it evaluates an investment opportunity in IVC, a veterinary care group in the U.K. market. The case allows students to articulate and evaluate the investment thesis of this transaction. Additionally,... View Details

Keywords: Growth Equity; Investment Evaluation; Private Equity; Investment; Decision Making; Valuation

2022
Working Paper

E-commerce During COVID: Stylized Facts from 47 Economies

By: Joel Alcedo, Alberto Cavallo, Bricklin Dwyer, Prachi Mishra and Antonio Spilimbergo

We study e-commerce across 47 economies and 26 industries during the COVID-19 pandemic using aggregated and anonymized transaction-level data from Mastercard, scaled to represent total consumer spending. The share of online transactions in total consumption increased... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Health Pandemics; Spending; Internet and the Web; Global Range; Analysis; E-commerce