Publications

16 Jul 2008
Op-Ed

What Should Employers Do about Health Care?

increasing employee attendance and productivity through comprehensive health and wellness programs. What is the best way for employers to address their health benefits issues? Here again, fuzzy thinking has made the problem worse. In... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter, Elizabeth O. Teisberg & Scott Wallace; Health

Program

Leading in the Digital Era

required for people to leverage those technologies? Blending explorations of technology, organizational transformation, and leadership, this program will help you master the mindset, capabilities, and practices required to drive your... View Details

August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Amazon.com, 2021

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Internet; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Price; Applications and Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

04 Dec 2023
Blog Post

My Summer of Joy with the National Parks Service

felt like I actually had the privilege to pursue opportunities that were never even open to me before, but also felt like I needed to use that privilege to find the best opportunities I could. Rhea Choudhury (MBA 2024) I remember finding... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government

27 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

How Leaders Build Winning Streaks

company. Sports certainly produces a very high number of prima donnas and big egos, yet I was struck by how many of the winning teams were led by unpretentious people who boosted others. Larry Coker, who had one of the best records ever... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

April 2021 (Revised January 2022)
Case

SA Taxi: A Vehicle for Empowerment? (A)

By: Nien-he Hsieh, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and F. Christopher Eaglin

SA Taxi was a vertically integrated business that operated in South Africa’s distinctive taxi industry. Despite being plagued by violence, informal structures, unsafe road practices and lack of government support, the taxi industry had grown to become South Africa’s... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Accountability; Ownership; Ownership Stake; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Equality and Inequality; Race; Situation or Environment; Transportation Industry; South Africa; Africa

20 Dec 2022
Blog Post

7 Resolutions for Recruiting in the New Year

workplace. 6. Resolve to Embrace the Right TrendsA competitor is using TikTok to attract new candidates, does that mean you should too? Maybe, and maybe not.It’s important to stay up to date on industry trends and best View Details

Keywords: All Industries

20 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Open Source Science: A New Model for Innovation

communities we see a vast degree of openness in which everybody can participate, but also the practice of broadcasting your work to everybody else. People continually broadcast their problems, others broadcast solutions, and the person... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

2011
Working Paper

How Foundations Think: The Ford Foundation as a Dominating Institution in the Field of American Business Schools

By: Rakesh Khurana, Kenneth Kimura and Marion Fourcade

The question of institutional change has become central to organizational research (Powell, 2008). Recent scholarship has demonstrated, often through carefully researched cases, that institutions can and sometimes do change. According to this research, there are two... View Details

Keywords: Change; Business Education; Business History; Organizations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Relationships; Behavior

Read Now

02 Mar 2020
Blog Post

Know Your Audience – Recruiting HBS Students for Energy

The “Know Your Audience” series on the HBS Recruiting Blog highlights trends in recruiting for various industries. Learn more about student interest, effective recruiting strategies, and best practices from... View Details

Keywords: Energy / Cleantech

12 Feb 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Management Practices, Relational Contracts, and the Decline of General Motors

Keywords: by Susan Helper & Rebecca Henderson; Auto

02 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Can Japan Compete? [Part One]

considered exemplary policies and practices by government. By looking more closely, however, Porter, Takeuchi, and Sakakibara also began to discover what they call "another Japan." While the country did boast a number of strong... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Hilah Geer

Program

Real Estate Management Program

leaders in different segments of the industry, you will develop a new ability to make informed decisions that help you make the most of new opportunities. This program is presented jointly with the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Key Benefits Focused on... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Real Estate

Program

Creating Brand Value

nurture relationships and create value for both consumers and your business. Key Benefits Through real-life examples of how B2C companies and their marketers are creating brand value, you will expand your understanding of today's branding challenges and discover View Details

March 2006
Module Note

Managing Innovation in an Uncertain World: Module 3: Expanding Diversity

By: Alan D. MacCormack

Describes the third module of the 30-session Harvard Business School elective course Managing Innovation in an Uncertain World. The course helps students understand the challenges that uncertainty implies for innovation and how to overcome them. The course emphasizes... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Business Processes; Projects; Risk and Uncertainty; Product Development; Managerial Roles; Opportunities; Perspective; Expansion; Goals and Objectives

February 2020
Case

Leading Change in Talent at L'Oréal

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan, Vincent Dessain and Emer Moloney

Jean-Claude Le Grand just stepped into a new role as Executive Vice-President for Human Resources at the global cosmetics company, L’Oréal. He is now responsible for the hiring, development, promotion, and retention of 83,000 employees worldwide. The highly successful... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Business Headquarters; Business Divisions; Business Organization; Change; Change Management; Transformation; Competency and Skills; Experience and Expertise; Talent and Talent Management; Demographics; Diversity; Gender; Nationality; Multinational Firms and Management; Human Resources; Employees; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Management; Jobs and Positions; Employment; Human Capital; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Organizations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Personal Development and Career; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Networks; Social Psychology; Attitudes; Power and Influence; Social and Collaborative Networks; Business Strategy; Advertising Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; France; Paris

Program

The Women's Leadership Forum

success. Key Benefits Offering exceptional opportunities for feedback, networking, and learning from peers, this program will help you lead with lasting impact and build strategic advantage for your company. Equipped with new perspectives, creative strategies, and... View Details

October 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Bizongo and e-B2B in India

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui and Radhika Kak

Bizongo, an Indian e-B2B platform was co-founded by three college graduates in 2015 with the goal of creating the "Alibaba of India" when the B2B e-commerce landscape was practically non-existent. The founders saw a significant opportunity in connecting mid-sized... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; E-commerce; Business Strategy; India

Article

How to Really Motivate Salespeople

By: Doug J. Chung

Much of what we believe about the best ways to compensate and motivate the sales force is based on theory and lab experiments. But in the past decade, researchers have been moving out of the lab and into the field, analyzing companies' sales and pay data, and... View Details

Keywords: Compensation; Motivating People; Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Sales