Publications

January 2007 (Revised December 2008)
Case

The Challenges of Launching a Start-Up in China: Dorm99.com

By: William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Tracy Manty

After graduating from Harvard Business School in June 2006, Ken Pao and Bill Li were ready to fully commit to the Internet start-up they had been working on since they first stepped foot on the business school campus. They moved to Beijing, rounded out their management... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Joint Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Business and Government Relations; Internet; China

February 1978
Case

Sierra Log Homes, Inc. (A)

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes the history and evolution of the log home manufacturing industry, a rapidly growing embryonic industry capitalizing on the back-to-basics lifestyle changes in the United States. Focuses on one of the leading firms in the industry, but allows a discussion of... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Change Management; Industry Structures; Supply and Industry; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; United States

June 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Technical Note

Note on the Future of Commerce

By: William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor and Nathaniel Schwalb

In 2019, the retail and consumer product industries were undergoing a significant transformation. Over the past 50 years, what was once a highly fragmented industry began to consolidate, digitize, and increase convenience while lowering costs. The winning enterprises... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Demand and Consumers; Demographics; Transformation; Global Range; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Model; Leading Change; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry

05 Dec 2006
First Look

First Look: December 5, 2006

Bowman, Steve LaValle, Vikas Mittal, Das Narayandas, Girish Ramani, and Rajan Varadarajan Periodical:Journal of Service Research 9, no. 2 (November 2006): 184-194 Abstract Conceptually, customer relationship management (CRM) has been... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 1978 (Revised February 1983)
Case

Polaroid-Kodak (B1)

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes additional events in battle between Polaroid and Kodak outlined in Polaroid-Kodak. Includes the competitive actions taken by the companies such as the introduction of customer rebates and bonus plans with dealers. Details the new products of each company and... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Product; Competitive Strategy; Electronics Industry

24 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Value Maximization and Stakeholder Theory

important constituencies of the firm. This includes not just financial markets, but employees, customers, suppliers, the community in which the organization exists, and so on. Indeed, it is obvious that we cannot maximize the long-term View Details

Keywords: by Michael C. Jensen

Web

Middle East & North Africa - Global

Center in Istanbul in 2013, followed by offices in Dubai and Cairo. Separately an office was opened in Tel Aviv in 2016 reporting to the Europe Research Center. All play an important role in helping HBS develop and strengthen View Details

09 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Unilever—A Case Study

States in the twentieth century. After 1945 Unilever's once successful business in the United States began to decline, yet the parent company maintained an arms-length relationship with its U.S. affiliates, refusing to intervene in their... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation; Food & Beverage; Manufacturing; Retail

13 Dec 2022
Research & Ideas

The Color of Private Equity: Quantifying the Bias Black Investors Face

that relatively few minority businesses get funded. Black and Hispanic-owned funds raised only 2.4 percent of total private capital in the study sample, according to the researchers, and minorities found it much more difficult to enter... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds; Financial Services

November 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

PureCircle

By: David E. Bell and Aldo Sesia

In December 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that high-purity Rebaudioside A (Reb A), a natural and calorie-free product that a young company named PureCircle manufactured from the Stevia plant, could be used in beverages, foods, and as a... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Investment; Globalization; Leadership; Risk Management; Product Launch; Production; Performance Productivity; Business and Shareholder Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

September 2009
Article

Deterring Online Advertising Fraud Through Optimal Payment in Arrears

By: Benjamin Edelman

Online advertisers face substantial difficulty in selecting and supervising small advertising partners. Fraud can be well hidden, and limited reputation systems reduce accountability. But partners are not paid until after their work is complete, and advertisers can... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Profit; Online Advertising; Advertising Industry

Read Now

April 1999
Case

French Pension System, The: On The Verge Of Retirement? (Abridged)

By: David A. Moss

Surveys the French pension system, its particular institutional characteristics, and some of the critical challenges and opportunities facing French reformers. Like almost every other industrialized country, France has a large pay-as-you-go public pension system that... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Economic Growth; Economics; Capital Markets; Wages; Public Administration Industry; France

Web

Faculty & Research - Business & Environment

Comeau Purpose of the Firm (PoF) is a short module designed to explore how, and under what circumstances, business leaders can harness the power of capitalism and markets to “make a difference in the world”... View Details

10 Jan 2020
Blog Post

Know Your Audience - Recruiting HBS Students for Retail

Director and Career Coach Renee Pappastratis – Recruiting Relations Manager Together, Laurie and Renee manage relationships with retailers interested in recruiting HBS students to join their teams. Their combined expertise in the student... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

April 4, 2009
Article

The Return of State-Owned Enterprises: Should We Be Afraid?

By: Aldo Musacchio and Francisco Flores-Macias

The global financial crisis of 2008-2009 has prompted many industrialized states worldwide to increase their stakes in private corporations. This wave of partial nationalizations has come amidst full-scale expropriations in developing countries such as Venezuela,... View Details

Keywords: History; Private Ownership; State Ownership; Financial Crisis; Business and Government Relations