Publications

January 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

By: Anita Elberse and Melissa Rodman

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) develops and presents scripted hero-versus-villain storylines featuring its wrestlers at hundreds of live events—on several weekly television shows, on its own over-the-top streaming service, and on social media—to millions of... View Details

Keywords: Superstars; Talent; Talent Development; Labor Economics; General Management; Entertainment; Sports; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Contracts; Marketing; Strategy

11 Jul 2013
News

Program Aims to Develop a Generation of Global Citizens

teenager, Abby Falik (MBA 2008) tried to join the Peace Corps upon graduating from high school, only to be rejected because of her age. Some years later, that rejection spurred Falik to develop an idea that in 2008 won the Pitch for... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

March–April 2013
Article

Unlocking Innovation Through Business Experimentation

By: Stefan Thomke

There is a downside to businesses that focus heavily on standardization, optimization, and driving out variability: Such organizations leave themselves vulnerable to underinvesting in experimentation and variation, which are the lifeblood of innovation. Good... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Innovation Management; Learning And Development; Research; Innovation and Management; Business Processes

Read Now

14 May 2009
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Teams

Sharpening Your Skills dives into the HBS Working Knowledge archives to bring together articles on ways to improve your business skills. Questions To Be Answered How does a team leader win the confidence of the group? What's the best method for View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

May 2021
Case

The SMA Foundation: Steering Therapeutic Research and Development in a Rare Disease

By: Amitabh Chandra, Spencer Lee-Rey and Caroline Marra

This case explores incentives for rare disease drug development by chronicling the role of the Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Foundation in forming strategic partnerships with the scientific research community and pharmaceutical developers to transform the trajectory... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Strategy; Business or Company Management; Society; Health; Public Administration Industry; Health Industry; United States

November 1997 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Guidant: Cardiac Rhythm Management Business (A)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Mikelle Eastley

Examines the choices Guidant must make in research and development spending and new product development. More specifically, CEO Jay Graf considers the payoffs and tradeoffs of using product development skills that he learned in CPI's core business when applied to a... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Product Development; Business or Company Management; Management Skills; Research and Development; Business Strategy; Communication; Product Design; Market Design; Organizational Design; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

July 2020 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Paris Saint-Germain: Building One of the World's Top Sports Brands

By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

In March 2020, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain (‘PSG’) sees his team clinch a spot among the last eight clubs to compete in the UEFA Champions League. Established in 1970 and initially a club with only moderate success, PSG’s... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Football; Superstars; Talent; Talent Development; General Management; Sports; Entertainment; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Globalization; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Strategy; Sports Industry; Europe

June 2001
Exercise

Strategic Human Resource Management Applications Exercise

By: Michael Beer

Overview of a method for diagnosing and developing an organization's capability to achieve its goals and implement its strategy, with exercises for application. A rewritten version of an earlier exercise. View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Design; Strategy

August 1996
Case

Howard, Shea & Chan Asset Management (B); The Partnership Meeting

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Continues the plot about growth and sales strategies, and adds interesting pricing and sales compensation elements. The partners' meeting sharpens the disagreements among the five partners, and forces Anne Howard, the managing partner, to develop a clear action plan. View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Price; Sales; Strategy; Asset Management; Partners and Partnerships; Service Industry

Web

Entrepreneurial Management Faculty - Faculty & Research

Entrepreneurial Management Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students Unit Head Thomas R. Eisenmann Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration Peter O. Crisp Faculty Chair, Harvard... View Details

March 2006
Background Note

Managing Innovation in an Uncertain World: Course Overview Note

By: Alan D. MacCormack

The Harvard Business School Managing Innovation in an Uncertain World course helps students understand the challenges that uncertainty implies for innovation and how to overcome them. The course emphasizes multiple levels of analysis--from creating and executing... View Details

Keywords: Curriculum and Courses; Innovation and Management; Projects; Opportunities; Perspective; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Risk and Uncertainty; Problems and Challenges; Managerial Roles

02 May 2023
Blog Post

Sustainability Career Advice from the Career & Professional Development Office

a position within the nonprofit space and specifically for an organization that had mission and purpose in their DNA. I was fortunate to find a position in the marketing department for HBS’s Career Professional Development team. I spent... View Details

24 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

Managing Alignment as a Process

corporate synergies should be defined at the top and realized in the business units. Just as the CFO coordinates the budgeting process, a senior executive should coordinate the alignment process—a responsibility for the Office of Strategy View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Retail

06 Jan 2021
News

Addressing Challenges and Accelerating Development for Women of Color

05 Jul 2023
What Do You Think?

How Are Middle Managers Falling Down Most Often on Employee Inclusion?

diversity aren’t occupying jobs in human resources. Instead, they are department managers and team leaders on the front line who are responsible for inclusion. But how much attention is being given to the View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

04 Mar 2014
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Innovation

Should managers lead innovation or get out of the way? It's not an either/or decision. Executives of some great innovative companies—Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg—are active participants in creation, getting their hands... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

August 1982
Background Note

ERISA and Pension Plan Management

By: Jay O. Light

Keywords: Retirement; Financial Management