Publications

20 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Maybe Uber isn't God's Gift to Mankind

It’s easy to understand why so many people embrace transportation network companies like Uber and the growing number of other ride-sourcing startups, which enable drivers to make money using their own vehicles. By allowing passengers to hail a ride via a smartphone... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Transportation; Insurance

September 2020 (Revised July 2022)
Supplement

Spreadsheet Supplement to Artea (B) and (C)

By: Eva Ascarza and Ayelet Israeli

Spreadsheet Supplement to "Artea (B): Including Customer-level Demographic Data" and "Artea (C): Potential Discrimination through Algorithmic Targeting" View Details

Keywords: Gender; Race; Diversity; Marketing; Customer Relationship Management; Demographics; Prejudice and Bias; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Technology Industry; United States

19 May 2016
Research Event

Crowdsourcing, Patent Trolls, and Other Research Insights Highlighted at Harvard Business School Symposium

includes projects that have received funding from the Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator Fund. Needleman received funding from the accelerator last year, for a project that involves the success rate of assisted reproductive technologies such as in-vitro fertilization.... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman & Carmen Nobel

16 Jan 2024
Cold Call Podcast

How SolarWinds Responded to the 2020 SUNBURST Cyberattack

Keywords: Re: Frank Nagle; Information Technology

2017
Book

HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business: Think Big, Buy Small, Own Your Own Company

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Find, acquire, and run your own business. Are you looking for an alternative to a career path at a big firm? Does founding your own start-up seem too risky? There is a radical third path open to you: you can buy a small business and run it as CEO. Purchasing a small... View Details

Find at Harvard

November 2008 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Whole Foods Acquires Wild Oats (A)

Examines the implications of Whole Foods' CEO's anonymous message board postings including its potential impact on the company's proposed merger with Wild Oats. View Details

Keywords: Forms of Communication; Acquisition; Communication Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

October 1993 (Revised November 1994)
Case

Becton Dickinson & Co.: Multidivisional Marketing Programs

By: Frank V. Cespedes

In response to a potential competitive inroad at a key account, managers at Becton Dickinson are considering a multidivisional marketing effort. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Accounting Audits; Management; Supply Chain Management; Organizations; Sales; Change Management; Health Industry

October 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Epic Games

By: Andy Wu and Christopher Zhang

Epic Games entered a stagnant market with its PC-games digital storefront in 2018, in the context of incumbent competitors such as Steam, its meteoric rise via Fortnite, and imminent industry shifts in gaming distribution. On the surface, Epic Games Store’s competitive... View Details

Keywords: Industry Analysis; Video Games; Platforms; Comparative Advantage; Growth Strategy; Innovation Focused Strategy; Pricing Strategy; Strategy; Competition; Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Digital Platforms; Technology Industry

August 2006 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Anthem, Inc.

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Describes the U.S. Health Care industry and WellPoint's background, market growth strategies, and potential as an investment option. View Details

Keywords: Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Health; Industry Structures; Organizational Design; Health Industry; United States

Profile

Donna Khalife

What are you most looking forward to in your career? I am most looking forward to spending my days working in a job that doesn't feel like work at all. I think every person can achieve their full potential and maximize their impact on... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media; Entrepreneurship

August 1998 (Revised July 2002)
Case

Innovation at 3M Corporation (A)

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes how 3M Corp. introduces and learns a new and innovative methodology called Lead User research to understand future customer and market needs. A team from 3M's Medical-Surgical Markets Division applies the Lead User methodology to the field of surgical... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Managerial Roles; Marketing Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Market Timing; Product Development; Problems and Challenges; Business Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

2014
Article

Prosocial Spending and Happiness: Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off

By: Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Aknin and Michael I. Norton

While a great deal of research has shown that people with more money are somewhat happier than people with less money, our research demonstrates that how people spend their money also matters for their happiness. In particular, both correlational and... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Spending; Well-being; Happiness; Money; Spending; Welfare; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

Find at Harvard

Read Now

December 18, 2023
Article

Are Everywhere Stores the New Face of Retail?

By: David R. Bell, Santiago Gallino and Antonio Moreno

Historically, customer engagement and product fulfillment occurred in the same place — a traditional retail store. But today, retailers are beginning to explore how they can create opportunities for customers to engage with products in native environments. A related... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Consumer Behavior; Distribution; Logistics; Retail Industry

Register to Read

09 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

Fearing Fox News, Democratic-leaning Companies Delayed Negative Announcements

election, the first election on which Fox News would have an impact, as a uniquely clear-cut situation. This would be one time, they theorized, that executives at firms that had donated to the Democratic Party, knowing their firms were vulnerable to the FNC shows'... View Details

Keywords: by Jen Deaderick; Media & Broadcasting

07 Jun 2023
News

My One Case: MBA Class of 2023 Looks Back

March 2011 (Revised October 2011)
Case

Mittel Technologies, AG

By: David F. Hawkins

CFO of German heavy equipment manufacturer examines through company examples potential impact of proposed changes to revenue recognition rules. View Details

Keywords: Revenue Recognition; Manufacturing Industry; Germany

2019
Book

The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power

By: Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer and David B. Yoffie

The Business of Platforms explores the strategic, economic, and technology management challenges of digital platform businesses. We have five major themes in the book: 1) The world’s most valuable companies are all platforms, in part because platforms have... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Technology; Platform; Internet and the Web; Management; Competitive Strategy; Digital Platforms

February 2020 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Mission Related Investments at the Ford Foundation (A)

By: Shawn Cole, Michael Norris and T. Robert Zochowski

In 2017, Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the world, was preparing to meet with his board of directors to discuss beginning a mission related investments (MRI) program. Walker hoped to devote $1 billion of... View Details

Keywords: Mission-Related Investing; Philanthropy; Foundation; Endowments; Socially Responsible Investing; Investment; Institutional Investing; Investment Activism; Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States; New York (city, NY)

September 2008 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Keeping Google 'Googley'

By: Boris Groysberg, David A. Thomas and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

This case, set in 2008, examines how Google has worked to avoid potential negative byproducts of rapid growth such as bureaucracy, slow decision-making, lack of visibility, and organizational inconsistency. When the case protagonist, Kim Scott, started with Google in... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Internet; Information Technology Industry