Publications

January 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

iZumi

By: Robert F. Higgins, Jacob Ian Broder-Fingert, Eliot Sherman and Sidhartha Palani

Presents the issues faced while building an innovative company in an emerging space with new intellectual property from the perspective of a venture capitalist. Beth Seidenberg, a partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), had helped... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Globalized Markets and Industries; Innovation and Management; Intellectual Property; Rights; Genetics; Financial Services Industry; Health Industry

2009
Working Paper

Operational Failures and Problem Solving: An Empirical Study of Incident Reporting

By: Julia Rose Adler-Milstein, Sara J. Singer and Michael W. Toffel

Operational failures occur in all industries with consequences that range from minor inconveniences to major catastrophes. Many organizations have implemented incident reporting systems to highlight actual and potential operational failures in order to encourage... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Legal Liability; Management Practices and Processes; Service Operations; Failure; Health Industry

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March 2006 (Revised April 2010)
Case

China: To Float or Not To Float? (A)

By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

On July 21, 2005 China revalued its decade-long quasi-fixed exchange rate of approximately 8.28 yuan per U.S. dollar by 2.1% to 8.11 and, at the same time, introduced a more market-based exchange rate system. Many analysts and economists were disappointed with what... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Trade; Currency Exchange Rate; Governance Controls; Policy; Growth and Development Strategy; China

October 1998 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Preview Travel (A)

By: William A. Sahlman, Nicole Tempest, Daniel H Case III and Robert Keller

Preview Travel was a leader in the online travel industry, having generated $80 million in bookings in 1997 and growing at a 34% compound annual growth rate per quarter. This case describes the evolution of Preview Travel's business plan and financing strategy and... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Business Model; Initial Public Offering; Valuation; Internet and the Web; Business Plan; Capital; Financial Strategy; Travel Industry; United States

May 2006
Article

Tying Odysseus to the Mast: Evidence from a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines

By: Nava Ashraf, Dean Karlan and Wesley Yin

We designed a commitment savings product for a Philippine bank and implemented it using a randomized control methodology. The savings product was intended for individuals who want to commit now to restrict access to their savings, and who were sophisticated enough to... View Details

Keywords: Information; Product; Philippines

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Article

Power Imbalance, Mutual Dependence and Constraint Absorption: A Closer Look at Resource Dependence Theory

By: Tiziana Casciaro and Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

Despite ubiquitous references to Pfeffer and Salancik's classic volume, The External Control of Organizations, resource dependence theory is more of an appealing metaphor than a foundation for testable empirical research. We argue that several ambiguities in the... View Details

Keywords: Power and Influence; Theory

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August 1988 (Revised July 1990)
Case

Optical Distortion, Inc. (C): The 1988 Reintroduction

In 1988, Optical Distortion, Inc. was ready to reintroduce its only product, contact lenses for chickens. Tests had shown that the lenses significantly reduced bird aggression and feed costs, leading to potentially huge cost savings for egg producers. In the years... View Details

Keywords: Animal-Based Agribusiness; Ethics; Sales; Innovation and Invention; Product Marketing; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

28 Sep 2016
HBS Seminar

Benjamin Pugsley, Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

The Comprehensive Effects of Sales Force Management: A Dynamic Structural Analysis of Selection, Compensation, and Training

This study provides a comprehensive model of an agent’s behavior in response to multiple sales management instruments, including compensation, recruiting/termination, and training. The model takes into account many of the key elements that constitute a realistic... View Details

December 2015 (Revised January 2016)
Case

Woolf Farming and the California Water Crisis

By: Forest Reinhardt, David Bell, Natalie Kindred, Mary Shelman and Laura Winig

This case highlights the tough choices, competing interests, and decision-making mechanisms involved in California's management of its severe drought, entering its fifth year in 2015. Stuart Woolf, CEO of Woolf Farming, a grower and processor of almonds, tomatoes, and... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Natural Disasters; Climate Change; Resource Allocation; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Economics; Weather; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; California

13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

What Would It Take to Unlock Microfinance's Full Potential?

who could put capital to very good use, but microfinance has not yet unlocked those potential opportunities. Bulletin: How are these findings shaping your work? Roth: There are two strands of research that form the basis of our conviction... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint; Financial Services

12 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

Why Investors Often Lose When They Sue Their Financial Adviser

simply providing a longer list of potential arbitrators could help more consumer-leaning arbitrators serve on panels. How consumers can protect themselves Egan recommends two resources to consumers who find themselves in arbitration with... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services

Web

Business Fundamentals Course - CORe | HBS Online

to gauge performance. Examine how Green Mountain Coffee evaluates business performance and potential using financial statements. Show Hide Details Modules The Accounting Equation Recording Transactions Financial Statements Adjusting... View Details

01 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Encouraging Dissent in Decision-Making

calculation this way: "The potential costs to me for speaking out seem reasonably certain and somewhat immediate; the potential benefit to me for speaking out seems rather uncertain and definitely... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

20 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

The 5 Strategy Rules of Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs

figured out a way to make a more efficient processor that nevertheless wouldn't be compatible with Intel's previous architecture. After agonizing about the decision for a year, Grove chose to stick to the platform Intel had already developed, even if it meant... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Computer

23 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Men Want Powerful Jobs More Than Women Do

New research from Harvard Business School reveals a stark gap in the professional ambitions of men and women. Having surveyed a diverse sample of more than 4,000 men and women, a team of social scientists reports a list of potentially... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

22 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

How to Learn from the Big Mistake You Almost Make

about speaking up at work, incidents in which catastrophe is narrowly averted rise to the surface, spurring important growth and systems improvement. “People don't pay enough attention, especially in the business world, to the potential... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Health

03 Feb 2009
First Look

First Look: February 3, 2009

Working Papers Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting Authors: Lisa D. Ordonez, Maurice E. Schweitzer, Adam D. Galinsky, and Max H. Bazerman Abstract Goal setting is one of the most replicated and influential paradigms in the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2024
Teaching Note

El Salvador: Launching Bitcoin as Legal Tender

By: Laura Alfaro

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 322-055. In June 2021, Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, surprised the world with the announcement that the country would adopt bitcoin as legal tender, becoming the first nation to do so. Bitcoin was mostly used for trading and had... View Details

Keywords: Bitcoin; Cryptocurrency; Currency; Financial Strategy; Economic Growth; Governance; Macroeconomics; Assets; Latin America; El Salvador