Publications

Program

High Potentials Leadership Program

business challenges and career decisions Who Should Attend This program is designed for high-impact, top-performing individuals—from vice presidents to program managers and team leaders—with 10–20 years of... View Details

Article

Managing Proprietary and Shared Platforms

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

In a platform-mediated network, users rely on a common platform, provided by one or more intermediaries, that encompasses infrastructure and rules required by users to transact with each other. A fundamental design decision for firms that aspire to develop... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Digital Platforms; Infrastructure; Competition; Cooperation; Information Infrastructure

Find at Harvard

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: Benjamin C. Esty

I created and teach a course called Strategies for Value Creation (SVC). It is designed to be a capstone course in the Elective Curriculum (EC or second year of the MBA program) that integrates and further develops concepts developed in several Required Curriculum (RC... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Finance; Value Creation; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Financial Management

December 2011 (Revised June 2013)
Supplement

Bananas (B)

By: Eric Van den Steen

As owner and CEO, Wim Van der Borght had grown Bananas in 8 years from a 4.5 million euro company into a 40 million euro group of companies with a range of field marketing activities in Belgium and the Netherlands. The core of the group consisted of two companies —... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Competitive Advantage; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy

2021
Working Paper

Accounting for Product Impact in the Oil and Gas Industry

By: Katie Panella, George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the oil and gas industry. We design a monetization methodology that allows us to calculate monetary product impact estimates of... View Details

SSRN

Read Now

January 2023
Case

Crow Holdings Development: Mass Timber Construction

By: John D. Macomber, Robert Hernandez and Kyle MertensMeyer

Jim McCaffery and Cody Armbrister of Crow Holdings Development evaluate the pros and cons of committing to mass timber construction instead of conventional concrete or steel for a new 260,000 SF multi-story office building in Texas. Benefits include substantially... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate Development; Architecture; Air Quality; Health ＆ Wellness; Office Property; Sustainability; Carbon Abatement; Natural Environment; Environmental Accounting; Green Buildings; Design; Construction; Cost vs Benefits; Environmental Sustainability; Construction Industry; Real Estate Industry; Texas

20 Sep 2010
News

RX for Change

September 2009
Article

The Technology Manager's Journey: An Extended Narrative Approach to Educating Technical Leaders

By: Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan and Shannon O'Donnell

Technology management poses particular challenges for educators because it requires a facility with different kinds of knowledge and wide-ranging learning abilities. We report on the development and delivery of an information technology (IT) management course designed... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Management; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Business Education; Multinational Firms and Management; Entertainment; Communication; Curriculum and Courses; Framework; Design; Goals and Objectives; Learning; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

Read Now

September 2009
Case

Intel NBI: Image Components Organization

By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston

The Image Components Organization (ICO) was an internal venture that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives. It sought to initially develop and sell a high performance integrated CMOS image sensor module for cellular phones. ICO's opening assumptions were that it... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Development; Production; Failure; Diversification; Semiconductor Industry

Find at Harvard

December 2008 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Olam International

By: David E. Bell and Mary Shelman

In 20 years, Sunny Verghese had built Singapore-based Olam International from a small Nigerian export company into a $5 billion global leader in agricultural commodities with a core competence in Africa. Olam's growth had come by pursuing product and geographic... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Trade; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply Chain; Expansion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Africa; Singapore

October 1993 (Revised January 1994)
Supplement

Japan (A), Supplement

By: Bruce R. Scott

In an economy marked by severe inflation, a balance of payments problem, and large investment needs for modernization, the Minister of Finance has been asked to design a remedial program that cannot include borrowing abroad. He does so, and the case describes the... View Details

Keywords: Design; Developing Countries and Economies; Inflation and Deflation; Borrowing and Debt; Policy; Outcome or Result; Problems and Challenges; Programs

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro, Nick Bloom, Paola Conconi, Harald Fadinger, Patrick Legros, Andrew F. Newman, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen

08 Jan 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Come Together: Firm Boundaries and Delegation

October 1981 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B)

Reveals that Vicks chose a multi-condition positioning for the product. Describes testing of name and concept, and extensively reports on a four-city test market. Students are expected to evaluate both the design and results of the test, and face options ranging from... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Health Care and Treatment; Product Launch; Health Industry

March 2001
Case

Corruption in International Business (A)

By: Robert E. Kennedy and Rafael M. Di Tella

Explores various aspects of corruption in international business, in two sections. The first section provides a broad discussion of the ethical, business, and legal aspects of corruption. The second section provides a series of "caselets" that are designed to promote... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Emerging Markets; Policy; Globalization

April 1976 (Revised January 1989)
Case

Yellowtail Marine, Inc.

Designed for use as an in-basket exercise in a general management course. Focuses on the first few hours work of the new president of Yellowtail Marine, Robyn Gilchrist, and the decisions she has to make. The decisions mix strategic and operations issues and make the... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Operations; Business Strategy

May 2010 (Revised May 2013)
Case

C.K. Claridge, Inc.

By: James K. Sebenius

Sued for patent infringement, chemical manufacturer C.K. Claridge tries to design a settlement strategy taking into account a decision analysis of litigating v. negotiating. The plaintiffs are the patent holder and its sole licensee, who is also a CKC competitor. (This... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; Negotiation Style; Negotiation Tactics; Chemical Industry

30 Sep 2007
News

The M.B.A. Investment

August 2012
Case

Polar Sports, Inc.

By: W. Carl Kester and Wei Wang

Polar Sports, Inc. is a fashion skiwear manufacturing company in Littleton, Colorado. The company has a unique design for skiwear using a special synthetic material that improves insulation and durability. The ski apparel industry is highly competitive and the best way... View Details

Keywords: Production; Decision Choices and Conditions; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry; Colorado