Publications

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March 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Transforming Kimball International, Inc. (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Kimball International, Inc. (KII), led by CEO Kristie Juster, and its board of directors, chaired by Kim Ryan, faced critical questions about KII’s future in the spring of 2021. Two years earlier, the board had appointed Juster as the new CEO of KII, a publicly traded,... View Details

Program

Program for Leadership Development

Summary Innovative companies know that long-term success requires a pipeline of visionary leaders who can help build and secure a competitive edge. The Program for Leadership Development (PLD) prepares emerging executives to become more... View Details

22 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

Is Performance-Based Pricing the Right Price for You?

with care and vigor.It is not a half-way solution" Performance-based pricing differs from usage-based pricing in that it charges for the quality of performance as well as the quantity of usage. If the telephone company charged a... View Details

Keywords: by Benson Shapiro; Manufacturing

08 Apr 2021
Blog Post

HBS Entrepreneurship Immersion - Four Highlights

analytics for startups and small businesses. It is a very dynamic environment; I spent half of last year leading a new product launch (from customer discovery to creating marketing collateral) and the rest of the time on hiring, strategy,... View Details

March 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Supercell 2.0: Clash of Plans

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and George Gonzalez

Founded in 2010, Supercell was a Helsinki, Finland-based mobile gaming company that had developed and launched five global hit mobile games: Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Hay Day, Brawl Stars, and Boom Beach. The company’s early philosophy was that it could produce... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Restructuring; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Video Game Industry; Finland

February 2022 (Revised June 2022)
Case

Resident 2020

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Thomas O. Jones

Launched in 2016, Resident was a leading player in the direct-to-consumer bed-in-a-box mattress market, where it was one of at least 175 venture-backed companies competing in the space. By late 2020, it had realized over $500 million in revenue, profitability in the... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Operations; Entrepreneurship; Competitive Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Decisions; Marketing Strategy; Cash Flow; Demand and Consumers

08 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Seven Negotiation Lessons from Amazon's HQ Disaster in Queens

many of its most influential citizens. Yet a small group of opponents catalyzed a local movement that, despite being outspent 1,500 to one by the bid’s boosters, ultimately caused the city to back out in 2015. [DAD can be appropriate for... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius; Real Estate; Construction

20 Jul 2021
Research & Ideas

Bankruptcy Spells Death for Too Many Businesses

the 2019 Small Business Reorganization Act seeks to make it easier for small businesses to reorganize under Chapter 11—something smaller companies should seriously consider,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

16 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service

women traverse their stores. In addition, Best Buy acquired Geek Squad to broaden its footprint into installation of equipment. The company applied the same concerted effort toward serving other valuable customer segments it had... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products

17 May 2022
News

Robert F. Lanzillotti Prize for Assistant Professor Alex MacKay

26 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 26, 2008

http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=708053 Work Is Good: Branding the Employ+Ability Mission Harvard Business School Case 809-028 Employ+Ability, a small company... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Myra M. Hart

Myra Hart's research focus is high potential entrepreneurship. She has taught MBA and executive programs, co-chaired the entrepreneurship unit, and led several HBS initiatives. As a founding memberView Details

Keywords: consumer products; e-commerce industry; education industry; real estate; retailing

February 1996 (Revised November 1996)
Case

Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Norman Klein

Traces the growth of Wainwright, a small automotive supply company, focusing on its commitment to quality in 1981 and the evolution of its quality culture. Breakthrough programs that stress "trust and belief" in the workforce and commitment to customers result in... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Relationship Management; Ethics; Business or Company Management; Standards; Machinery and Machining; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Auto Industry; Missouri

Program

Advanced Management Program

Summary Market volatility, digital transformation, and innovation are changing the way companies compete in every industry—and increasing the demand for business leaders who are global changemakers. Whether you are looking to move up to... View Details

February 15, 2022
Article

How Managers Can Build a Culture of Experimentation

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Neil Hoyne

Testing in business presents qualitatively different challenges than those in clinical trials and most scientific research. There are very few opportunities for randomized control experiments in a changing, competitive market. Yet, change and competition make testing a... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Management; Decision Making

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June 2019
Case

ClearLife: From Prospect to Platform

By: Alexander Braun, Lauren Cohen, Mauro Elvedi and Jiahua Xu

ClearLife’s first product was a trading and analytics platform for participants in the U.S. life settlement market, the secondary market for life insurance. ClearLife played a key role in facilitating transactions and devising a common language for expressing value and... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Insurance; Entrepreneurship; Expansion; Diversification; Strategy

February 2017
Teaching Note

Paez

By: Jill Avery

Paez, an Argentine start-up fashion brand, sold traditional alpargatas, a sleepy category that suddenly woke up when TOMS, a U.S. company, appropriated the traditional alpargata design, covered it with fashionable colors and prints, and tied it to a social cause.... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Brand Positioning; Competitive Positioning; Competitive Strategy; Retailing; Go To Market Strategy; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry; Argentina; Latin America; South America; Europe

November 2009 (Revised October 2010)
Case

AME Learning Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Ann Leamon

Justin Joffe is about to graduate from HBS in Spring 2009. He must decide whether to join his father's company, Toronto-based AME Learning, as president working alongside his father who will be CEO. AME has been in business for 12 years, mostly as a small consulting... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Family Business; Age; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Growth and Development Strategy; Family and Family Relationships