Publications

Read Now

July 2008 (Revised June 2011)
Case

mixi (A)

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Masaru Nomura and Kanako Miyoshi

Kasahara, the founder and CEO of mixi, the most successful Japanese on-line social network, is deciding between two strategic options: (i) B2C or (ii) C2C to leverage the power of the social network. In the B2C option, mixi would become a portal for on-line shopping... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Digital Platforms; Social and Collaborative Networks; Business Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Japan

23 Mar 2022
News

The Great Resignation Didn’t Start with the Pandemic

Article

Experience Theory, or How Desserts Are Like Losses

By: Jolie M. Martin, Martin Reimann and Michael I. Norton

While many experiments have explored risk preferences for money, few have systematically assessed risk preferences for everyday experiences. We propose a conceptual model and provide convergent evidence from seven experiments that, in contrast to a typical “zero”... View Details

Keywords: Experiences; Monetary Gambles; Risk Preferences; Experience Theory; Risk and Uncertainty; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions

Find at Harvard

Read Now

02 Dec 2013
News

Colleges Can Still Save Themselves. Here's How.

March 1990 (Revised May 1993)
Case

USSR--1990

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Describes the political, economic, and social development of the USSR from 1921-90. Particular emphasis is placed on 1) institutional change, 2) the costs and benefits of central economic planning, and 3) the political economy of perestroika under Mikhail Gorbachev.... View Details

Keywords: Country; Strategy; Cost vs Benefits; Change; Government and Politics; Russia

Find at Harvard

December 1982 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Halloran Metals

By: Roy Shapiro

Two competitors in the Northeast steel service center industry have made very different choices with regards to logistics and operating strategy. One distributes from a large central location; the other operates seven widely scattered warehouses. Students can diagnose... View Details

Keywords: Logistics; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business Cycles; Decision Choices and Conditions; Metals and Minerals; Supply Chain; Steel Industry; United States

05 Feb 2020
News

January at HBS: SIPs Year Three

January 2020
Case

Ninja: Which Platform Wins Esports' Biggest Star?

By: Anita Elberse and Michal T. Leszczynski

It is July 2019, and the business of esports and gaming is booming. Tyler Blevins—better known as Ninja—has risen to stardom playing the immensely popular shooter game Fortnite. He has become the most followed streamer in the world and, helped by his management company... View Details

Keywords: Esports; Platforms; Superstar; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Internet and the Web; Personal Development and Career; Decision Making; Digital Platforms; Video Game Industry; Technology Industry

June 2021
Supplement

Reversing Course on a Reverse E-Auction (C)

By: Kym Lew Nelson, James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

Global consumer products powerhouse LSP has found enormous savings in a trial run of a new competitive bidding tool for their procurement organization known as a reverse e-auction. But when Jen Baldwin is asked to achieve the same savings from her suppliers for a... View Details

Keywords: Reverse E-auctions; Bids and Bidding; Auctions; Complexity; Cost vs Benefits

15 Mar 2022
News

Digital Transformers Don’t Neglect The In-Person Experience, They Reimagine It

April 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Confronting a Necessary Evil: The Firing of Alex Robins (A)

By: Joshua D. Margolis

A manager recounts his experience firing the person he was asked to replace and reflects on the challenges of the experience. Teaching Purpose: To role-play and reflect on tasks that entail harming other people to fulfill one's responsibility. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Problems and Challenges; Leadership Development; Behavior; Decision Making; Resignation and Termination

Forthcoming
Article

Perceptions about Monetary Policy

By: Michael D. Bauer, Carolin Pflueger and Adi Sunderam

We estimate perceptions about the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy rule from panel data on professional forecasts of interest rates and macroeconomic conditions. The perceived dependence of the federal funds rate on economic conditions varies substantially over time,... View Details

Keywords: Monetary Policy; Policy; Interest Rates; Perception; Economy; Forecasting and Prediction

April 21, 2023
Article

When Scenario Planning Fails

By: Kalle Heikkinen, William R. Kerr, Mika Malin, Panu Routila and Eemil Rupponen

How can organizations perform scenario planning when they are hit by shocks outside of leaders’ field of vision? Interviews with Nordic executives, who experienced both the Covid-19 pandemic and were in close proximity to Russia as the country invaded Ukraine, can... View Details

Keywords: Planning; Crisis Management; Organizational Structure; Forecasting and Prediction; System Shocks; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Read Now

July 2005 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Ryanair Holdings plc

Examines the valuation of an Irish airline that reported its first decline in net income in 2004 and saw a 30% stock price drop on the news. Ryanair is a low-cost, low-fare airline headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, operating over 200 routes in 20 countries. The company... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; International Accounting; Analysis; Valuation; Air Transportation; Forecasting and Prediction; Finance; Air Transportation Industry; Dublin

October 2016
Case

Turkasset: Bringing Customer-Centricity to Debt Collection

By: Dennis Campbell and Gamze Yucaoglu

In December 2014, in preparation for the year-end board presentation, Hilmi Guvenal (PMD 1993), shareholder and CEO of Turkasset, and Ilker Yoney, COO, sat down to discuss Turkasset’s five- and ten-year strategic plans. Since taking leadership of the company in 2009,... View Details

October 2010
Supplement

Belco Global Foods: Spreadsheet Supplement (CW)

By: C. Fritz Foley and Matthew Johnson

This case introduces students to the fundamental issues that managers face when deciding what international trade finance terms to use when transacting with other firms. In late 2009, Pam Arnold, the Head of Global Credit at Belco Global Foods must decide which trade... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Decisions; Trade; Financial Strategy; Governance Compliance; Managerial Roles; Market Transactions

01 Sep 2013
News

C.D. Spangler's School of Thought

wisdom gathered over the years. The earlier you start making decisions, the better. There's a learning curve involved: Making your bad decisions when you're young gives you... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

September 2020 (Revised June 2021)
Case

GreenFire Energy, 2020: Geothermal Innovation

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In June 2020, GreenFire Energy Inc. (GreenFire) presented its report to the California Energy Commission indicating that its proof of concept project to demonstrate its new geothermal electricity generation technology, ECO2G™, had been a success. While conventional... View Details

Keywords: Geothermal Electricity; Renewable Energy; Energy Generation; Technological Innovation; Commercialization; Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions