Publications

2020
Working Paper

Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores

By: Ryan Raffaelli

This study examines how community-based brick-and-mortar retailers can achieve sustained market growth in the face of online and big box retail competition. The appearance of Amazon.com in 1995 led to a significant decline in the number of independent bookstores in the... View Details

Keywords: Bookstores; Competitive Strategy; Business and Community Relations; Customization and Personalization; Growth and Development; Retail Industry; United States

Read Now

February 2009 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Jieliang Phone Home! (A)

By: Willy Shih, Ethan Bernstein and Nina Bilimoria

At Precision Electro-Tek's mobile phone manufacturing facility in southern China, thousands of operators—bright and capable young men and (mostly) women like Jieliang Hao—are motivated to improve line productivity through small innovations for faster assembly and have... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Job Design and Levels; Business Processes; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Manufacturing Industry; China

18 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 18, 2008

other reasons. Implications for the link between religion and pro-social behavior are discussed. No PDF is available at this time. Cases & Course MaterialsExecutive Pay and the Credit Crisis of 2008 Harvard Business School Case 109-036 The credit crisis of 2008... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Experimentation Works: The Surprising Power of Business Experiments

* Top 10 Technology Books of 2020 (Forbes)
* 10 Best Business Books of 2020 (Inc. Magazine)
* Top Shelf Pick of Best Business Books 2020: Technology & Innovation (Strategy + Business)
* 9 Best Business Books for 2020... View Details

2014
Working Paper

What Courses Should Law Students Take?: Harvard's Largest Employers Weigh In

By: John C. Coates, Jesse M. Fried and Kathryn E. Spier

We report the results of an online survey, conducted on behalf of Harvard Law School, of 124 practicing attorneys at major law firms. The survey had two main objectives: (1) to assist students in selecting courses by providing them with data about the relative... View Details

Keywords: Curriculum and Courses; Law; Higher Education

SSRN

March 2000 (Revised January 2001)
Case

Microsoft's Vega Project: Developing People and Products

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Meg Wozny

With a focus on Matt MacLellan and his careful development as a project manager under his boss and mentor, Jim Kaplan, the case describes the evolution of Microsoft's human-resource philosophies and policies and illustrates how they work in practice to provide the... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Competitive Advantage; Retention; Personal Development and Career; Organizational Design; Information Technology; Motivation and Incentives; Leadership Development

October 2013
Article

The Strategy That Will Fix Health Care

By: Michael E. Porter and Thomas H. Lee

In health care, the days of business as usual are over. Around the world, every health care system is struggling with rising costs and uneven quality, despite the hard work of well-intentioned, well-trained clinicians. Health care leaders and policy makers have tried... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Value; Customer Focus and Relationships; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

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October 2018
Case

Recipe for Success: Growth and Evolution at Cafe Cupcake

By: Anthony Mayo and Heather Beckham

Café Cupcake (CC) is a fast-casual restaurant chain that offers artisan cupcakes and light fare throughout the southeastern United States and Texas. This case chronicles the growth and evolution of Café Cupcake. It also considers the specific human resource challenges... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Human Resources; Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry

16 Mar 2009
Research & Ideas

When the Internet Runs Out of IP Addresses

using combinations of four integers, about 4 billion possible combinations. The problem: Internet growth is so dramatic that potential IPv4 addresses are running short on supply. A new standard called IPv6 will solve the problem with trillions of possible combinations,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Telecommunications

John P. Kotter

John P. Kotter is internationally known and widely regarded as the foremost speaker on the topics of Leadership and Change. His is the premier voice on how the best organizations actually achieve successful transformations. The Konosuke... View Details

February 2018
Supplement

Qualtrics (B)

By: Doug J. Chung and James M. Lattin

Qualtrics was an online survey research platform and since the beginning, the company had relied entirely on an inside sales model—sales done remotely without face-to-face contact with clients. The low-cost inside sales model, along with an emphasis on a strong sales... View Details

Keywords: Inside Sales Model; Sales; Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation

December 2009
Article

From a Declaration of Values to the Creation of Value in Global Health

By: Jim Yong Kim, Joseph Rhatigan, Sachin H. Jain and Michael E. Porter

To make best use of the new dollars available for the treatment of disease in resource poor settings, global health practice requires a strategic approach that emphasizes value for patients, defined as health outcomes per dollar spent. Practitioners and global health... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Health Care and Treatment; Infrastructure; Service Delivery; Outcome or Result; Poverty; Value Creation

04 Dec 2020
Video

Managing Diversity: A Conversation with Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO & President of Ariel Investments, and Hubert Joly

05 Jun 2013
What Do You Think?

Do We Need to Extend ‘No Surprises Management?’

practices NSM, they are able to build affective engagement with their employees in creating a learning environment where each employee feels respected and fulfilled in an environment of trust.'' Kim Forbes observed, "This ties in... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

The Power of Experiments: Decision Making in a Data-Driven World

In this book, Michael Luca and Max Bazerman explain the importance of experiments for decision making in a data-driven world. Luca and Bazerman describe the central role experiments play in the tech sector, drawing lessons and best practices from the experiences of... View Details

2018
Book

Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and Life

By: F. Gino

The world’s best chef.
An airline captain who brought his flight to safety in a daring water landing.
A magician known for his sensational escape acts.
A computer scientist who founded a world-renowned animation studio.
What do all of these... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Personal Characteristics; Success; Behavior

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March 2012 (Revised December 2014)
Case

Schön Klinik: Measuring Cost and Value

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Mary L. Witkowski and Jessica A. Hohman

The case illustrates how a leading German hospital group has invested deeply in the measurement of patient-level outcomes and costs, the foundations of a health care value framework. The company launches a pilot project to use time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC)... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Costing; Activity-Based Costing; Hospitals; Activity Based Costing and Management; Value; Health Care and Treatment; Outcome or Result; Health Industry; Germany

Linda A. Hill is the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and Faculty Chair of the Leadership Initiative. Hill is regarded as one of the top experts on leadership and innovation. Hill is... View Details

July 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Background Note

Running and Growing the Small Company: Project-Paper Writing Recommendations

Students are required to do a team project. During the project, they are to do a benchmarking study of a business process to determine best practice or to study a single business process for the purposes of discovering improvement opportunities. The student teams are... View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Business Processes; Management Skills