Professor Charles Williams - Publications - Faculty & Research

Willis M. Emmons

WILLIAM (WILLIS) EMMONS is Senior Lecturer and Director of the C. Roland Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard Business School, a position he has held since 2004. As Director of the Christensen Center, Emmons oversees programs to... View Details

Keywords: airline; infrastructure industry; pharmaceuticals; telecommunications; utilities

Divestment or Engagement? New Research on Innovation in the Energy Sector

Why you should watch: A new and important NBER working paper, by Cohen, Gurun and Nguyen, takes a long hard look at innovation in the energy industry - and concludes that divestment campaigns targeted at fossil fuel companies may not just be ineffective.... View Details

30 Jan 2019
Blog Post

The Life and Role of a CEO

Miho Sakuma (MBA '20) is from Tokyo, Japan and graduated with a major in history at Williams College. Prior to HBS, Miho worked in management consulting for Mickinsey in the Tokyo and New Jersey offices. As a former management consultant,... View Details

19 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

The History of Beauty

According to author Geoffrey Jones, the Isidor Straus Professor of Business History at HBS, the fragmented, secretive, often family-owned businesses that have constituted the industry have been difficult for scholars to unlock. Couple... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

It Came in the First Ships: Capitalism in America

became moderately wealthy, then that might be a sign of God's grace, so long as customers were not cheated or overcharged. The line between virtuous profit and damnable avarice was blurry then, as it remains today. But the Puritans had an unmistakably capitalist turn... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas K. McCraw

20 Dec 2010
Research & Ideas

Panama Canal: Troubled History, Astounding Turnaround

professor Noel Maurer and economic historian Carlos Yu discuss the canal's complicated economic and political history—including the first proposals dating back to 1529, the massive cost overruns associated with digging the canal in the... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Transportation

07 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 7

Stephan Heblich, and William R. Kerr Abstract We identify the impact of local firm concentration on incumbent performance with a quasi natural experiment. When Germany was divided after World War II, many firms in the machine tool... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

30 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Real Estate: The Most Imperfect Asset

As a driver of both the overall economy and of individual wealth, real estate is pretty hard to beat. As Harvard Business School professor Arthur Segel says, real estate is the largest asset class in the world—the value of housing in the... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston; Construction; Real Estate

05 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 5

are discussed. Will Working Mothers Take Your Company to Court? Authors:Joan C. Williams and Amy J.C. Cuddy Publication:Harvard Business Review 90, no. 9 (September 2012) Abstract An abstract is unavailable at this time. Read the article: View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Why IT Does Matter

advantage. As a result, he said, companies should rethink how much they pay for IT given this reduced return on investment. HBR received a large number of positive and critical responses to Carr's piece including a letter we offer here from two View Details

Keywords: by F. Warren McFarlan & Richard L. Nolan

Robert J. Dolan

Robert J. Dolan is the Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester and began his academic career in 1976 as a faculty member at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago. He joined... View Details

20 Oct 2003
Research & Ideas

Gaps in the Historical Record: Development of the Electronics Industry

In a recently published book on current international research in business history, edited by Harvard Business School professor Geoffrey Jones, HBS professor emeritus Alfred D. Chandler Jr. contributed an... View Details

Keywords: by Alfred D. Chandler Jr.; Consumer Products

10 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Taking Advantage of Life’s (Few and Far Between) Inflection Points

grasp those few "inflection points" that present themselves to change our lives—if we recognize the opportunity. Howard Stevenson is the Sarofim-Rock Professor of Business Administration. Slingshot Round the Moon From Howard's Gift:... View Details

Keywords: Re: Howard H. Stevenson

26 Sep 2011
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Lady Gaga

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in New York City, was merely a supporting act in a reunion tour of the erstwhile-boy band, New Kids on the Block. "When you tell that to people now they look at you like you must have your dates mixed up," says Harvard... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Entertainment & Recreation; Music

03 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

The Box Office Power of Stars

We all understand at some level that stars in the worlds of film, sports, and even business create results. If you want big box office for Pirates of the Caribbean, it probably pays to sign Johnny Depp to play the lead. But Harvard Business School View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Entertainment & Recreation; Motion Pictures & Video

02 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Not All M&As Are Alike—and That Matters

of books and articles published about M&A, no one has ever tried to link strategic intent to the implications for integration that result.— HBS Professor Joseph Bower I will turn now to the problems that arise in different types of... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph L. Bower

04 Nov 2009
What Do You Think?

What is the Role of Government Vis-à-Vis Capitalism?

asked, "If we take the invisible hand of capitalism away would we ever learn from our mistakes? The more government steps in the more accountability for actions decreases." Charles Green set forth an opposing view: "In the... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

18 Oct 2016
First Look

October 18, 2016

and miss? Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen has the answer. A generation ago, Christensen revolutionized business with his groundbreaking theory of disruptive innovation. Now, he goes further, offering powerful new... View Details