Open Market, Inc.: Managing in a Turbulent Environment

Lynda M. Applegate; Janis Lee Gogan

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Case | HBS Case Collection | March 1996 (Revised August 1996)

Open Market, Inc.: Managing in a Turbulent Environment

by Lynda M. Applegate and Janis Lee Gogan

Abstract

Presents the story of Open Market, Inc., one of numerous companies formed in 1994 to engage in electronic commerce over the Internet. This case examines the company's development--its business strategy and organization evolution--as the company increased in size and gained a firm foothold in the uncertain electronic commerce.

Keywords: Business Strategy; Growth and Development; Business Startups; Internet; Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizations; Web Services Industry;

Language: English

Format: Print

30 pages

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Citation:

Applegate, Lynda M., and Janis Lee Gogan. "Open Market, Inc.: Managing in a Turbulent Environment." Harvard Business School Case 196-097, March 1996. (Revised August 1996.)

About the Author

Lynda M. Applegate

Baker Foundation Professor, Sarofim-Rock Professor of Business Administration, Emerita

Entrepreneurial Management

General Management

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Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2019 (Revised May 2020)

Collibra

Lynda M. Applegate, Jeffrey F. Rayport and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2008 at Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Collibra was a data intelligence company that found product-market fit in the years after the global financial crisis when many companies were under pressure from consumers and governments to improve their data management efforts. Over the years, Collibra expanded its product offering from a Semantic Data Integration tool to a Data Governance Platform with a range of data management and governance tools and also expanded geographically from Belgium to the U.S. and other countries. In 2019, with more than 350 clients, Collibra became a unicorn with a valuation of more than $1 billion. Now, co-founders Felix Van de Maele, Stijn Christiaens, and Pieter De Leenheer needed to decide how to move from “data governance” to “data intelligence.”

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Governance; Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Markets; Technology; Information Technology; Software; Technology Adoption; Technology Platform; Semantic Web; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Expansion; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Europe; Belgium; Brussels; North and Central America; United States; New York (city, NY); New York (state, US);

Citation:
Applegate, Lynda M., Jeffrey F. Rayport, and Julia Kelley. "Collibra." Harvard Business School Case 820-013, November 2019. (Revised May 2020.) View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2020

Cafe Kenya

Lynda M. Applegate and James T. Kindley

This case describes Café Kenya (CK), a Kenyan-based chain of casual quick-food restaurants. The chain was started in 2011 in Nairobi by Nekesa Kuria. Kuria started Café Kenya and grew it by reinvesting profits into company stores and through franchising. She also concentrated on getting the details right, and she helped this effort by hiring the best people possible. Further, she feels a responsibility to help other African women succeed as business owners. The company is very successful. By early 2019, CK had 28 stores, 21 of which are franchised. All the stores are in major cities in Kenya, including Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu. Kuria is considering several options to grow CK, including organic growth, equity investment from an outside partner, and a buyout offer. Each involves tradeoffs that Kuria must decide among. The case can be used to discuss issues such as entrepreneurial ventures, managing a service business, human resource management, and options for growth. It is recommended for upper-level undergraduate students or MBA students in entrepreneurship courses.

Keywords: restaurants; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Kenya;

Citation:
Applegate, Lynda M., and James T. Kindley. "Cafe Kenya." Harvard Business School Brief Case 920-551, March 2020. View Details

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Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | March 2020

Cafe Kenya (Brief Case)

Lynda M. Applegate and James T. Kindley

Teaching Note for HBS No. 920-551.

Citation:
Applegate, Lynda M., and James T. Kindley. "Cafe Kenya (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 920-552, March 2020. View Details

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Open Market, Inc.: Managing in a Turbulent Environment

Abstract

Citation:

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