Publications

November 1999 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Webvan: Groceries on the Internet

By: John A. Deighton and Kayla Bakshi

What are the prospects for grocery shopping on the Web? This case invites a comparison of seven business models, with particular emphasis on Webvan. Why does the investment community value Webvan at $7.8 billion after less than six months of operating experience, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Experience and Expertise; Investment; Information; Marketing; Distribution Channels; Service Delivery; Cognition and Thinking; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

September 2020 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry: Engaging Clients

By: Ryan W. Buell and Amy Klopfenstein

Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry (ZKFJ) designs custom engagement rings that tell the story of a couple’s relationship. The case describes the company’s process for engaging clients, which has historically been a relatively offline, high-touch experience. Obliged by... View Details

Keywords: Customer Engagement; Service Delivery; Health Pandemics; Internet and the Web; Customer Satisfaction; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development; Retail Industry

13 Mar 2005
Research & Ideas

The Tricky Business of Nonprofit Brands

brands establish this incredible level of trust? A: Trust is essential for nonprofits. The purchasers or donors are not the ones receiving or benefiting from the nonprofit organization's services and programs. Since the purchasers cannot... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

31 Jan 2014
News

Body, Heal Thyself

breakthrough in] the biotech industry takes a lot of time; it takes a lot of money; it's complicated science." And it takes a lot of people—from scientists to executives to board members. Bancel admits that people see the potential fairly... View Details

Keywords: Maureen Harmon; biotech; Scientific Research and Development Services; Scientific Research and Development Services

06 Sep 2016
First Look

September 6, 2016

buyer characteristics. Consider the experiences of condo developers targeting retirees who wanted to downsize their homes. Sales were weak until the developers realized their business was not construction but transitioning lives. Instead of adding more features to the... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

02 Jun 2010
What Do You Think?

How Do You Weigh Strategy, Execution, and Culture in an Organization’s Success?

Several noted that "it all depends" on other factors. For example, Basel Kakah commented that "[responses to] those questions could [depend on] the nature and size of the organization as well as the nature of the industry... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

September 2015
Case

GovDelivery

By: Mitchell Weiss

Is government the biggest, worst customer in the world? And is that a reason for venture investors to back companies that sell to government or to stay away? It had been seven years since Scott Burns joined his friend Zach Stabenow to get a company called GovDocs off... View Details

Keywords: GovDelivery; Public Entrepreneurship; B2G; Business-to-Government; Scott Burns; Entrepreneurship; Government Administration; Venture Capital; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Minnesota; United States

04 Feb 2016
Blog Post

Meet the HBS Tech Club

register to attend! What courses are popular for students interested in tech? Many people cross-register for the foundational computer science course at Harvard College (CS50). A smattering also cross register for MIT courses at the Media... View Details

Web

Ludcke House | About

his retirement from Putnam in 1965, Ludcke continued his influence in the industry as the widely read author of “The Human Side of Investing,” a syndicated financial column that ran in 17 newspapers across the country. In addition, he and... View Details

15 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

The New Global Business Manager

now we see new competitors come from smaller countries that, because their home markets are too small to support them, are moving immediately onto the global stage. We also see whole industries that are being born global, particularly the... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

04 Apr 2018
Research & Ideas

Smart Cities are Complicated and Costly: Here's How to Build Them

Chombosan Much promotion of smart cities assumes that municipalities will take a proactive, top-down, technology-first approach to urban progress. Thus far, these initiatives look for some forward-thinking city official (or immensely deep-pocketed private investor) to... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Construction; Green Technology

March 2021
Case

Yale Investments Office: November 2020

By: Josh Lerner, Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

David Swensen and the Investments Office staff must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments—hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate, natural resources—given the impact of the COVID-19... View Details

Keywords: University Endowment; Asset Allocation; Real Estate; Equities; Fixed Income; COVID-19; Asset Management; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Natural Resources; Resource Allocation; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Health Pandemics; Financial Crisis; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Connecticut

August 1993 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Southwest Airlines: 1993 (A)

By: James L. Heskett and Roger H. Hallowell

Southwest Airlines, the only major U.S. airline to be profitable in 1992, makes a decision as to which of two new cities to open, or to add a new long-haul route. Provides windows into Southwest's strategy, operations, marketing, and culture. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Cost Management; Profit; Marketing; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Air Transportation Industry; United States

07 Jul 2003
What Do You Think?

Can We Have Too Much Productivity Improvement?

improvements improve life somewhere in the globe, but not necessarily in the U.S.A." Bill Donohue wrote that "In the 20's ... the root cause may perhaps have been the massive building of low cost assembly line-based industrial... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

May 2019
Supplement

Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (C)

By: Doug J. Chung

Kjell & Company was a Swedish retail electronics chain. The company’s products consisted of home electronics and accessories. The company was noted for its excellent customer service and a fair “one-for-all” HR policy. Historically, the salespeople had been compensated... View Details

Keywords: Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Change Management; Behavior; Electronics Industry; Sweden

November 1999
Case

Long-Term Capital Management, L.P. (C)

By: Andre F. Perold

Long-Term Capital Management, L.P. (LTCM) was in the business of engaging in trading strategies to exploit market pricing discrepancies. Because the firm employed strategies designed to make money over long horizons--from six months to two years or more--it adopted a... View Details

Keywords: Fluctuation; Capital; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Management; Risk Management; Markets; Motivation and Incentives; Financial Services Industry