Publications

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08 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

NFL Head Coaches Are Getting Younger. What Can Organizations Learn?

three years of fast food experience. By contrast, Torres continues, incumbent C-level exes are “overly focused on internal issues and opt to invest in familiar technologies rather than taking bold risks.” Sound familiar? Over the years, we have seen many parallels... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht, and Abhijit Naik; Sports

June 2024
Supplement

Climate Governance at Linde plc (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In July 2023, the Linde plc board of directors' sustainability committee convened in London to review the company's environmental performance, with a focus on decarbonization and clean energy. Linde was the world's largest industrial gas supplier, with a workforce of... View Details

20 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Activist CEOs Are Rising Up—and Their Customers Are Listening

the Washington Post headlined, If Howard Schultz runs for president, Starbucks will be on the ballot, too. Schultz’s political ambitions mark a growing wave of business leaders speaking out on social issues—termed “CEO activism” by... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

20 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 20

self-report of a licensee. Self-reporting gives rise to demand for auditing by the licensor or third-party attestation by the licensee. We characterize the optimal royalty contract, accounting system choice by the licensee, and audit View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

20 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

How Much Is Freedom Worth? For Gig Workers, a Lot.

Business School Professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee, who outlined the research findings in a recent working paper, Being the Boss: Gig Workers’ Value of Flexible Work, co-authored with HBS doctoral candidate Laura Katsnelson. The gig economy... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Technology

19 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

Political Turmoil and Mexico’s Economy

What happens to a country's economy when its government is politically unstable, such as has been the case historically in Mexico? Can business get done under a strong-arm dictatorship, or when a government is too weak to protect the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

November 2012
Case

CSIRO: The Light Metals Flagship Decision

By: Willy Shih, Margaret P. Pierson and Dawn Lau

This case explores the challenge of investing in basic research as a public good. CSIRO was Australia's leading science and research agency, and it was chartered to enhance national prosperity through R&D. Its Flagships program was designed to align research interests... View Details

August 2011 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Lind Equipment

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Lind Equipment failed to meet its loan covenants with its senior bank lender in the summer of 2008, just six months after it was acquired. While the senior bank debt comprised only 6% of the capital used in the acquisition and was fully secured, it exercised its right... View Details

Keywords: Financial Condition; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Revenue; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Financial Management; Acquisition; Financial Crisis; Currency Exchange Rate; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Manufacturing Industry; Industrial Products Industry

27 Jan 2009
First Look

First Look: January 27, 2009

behavior and practices led Enron down the path from truly innovative to fraudulent management? How could Enron’s board of directors have failed to detect the business, ethical, and legal risks embedded in the company’s aggressive financial View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Aug 2015
What Do You Think?

What Happened to the ‘Innovation, Disruption, Technology’ Dividend?

even brighter future. Others predict that "disruption," perhaps the most overworked term in business English today, will foster competition, make long-term strategic planning a questionable management activity, and bring new... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Computer; Technology

07 Jan 2015
What Do You Think?

SUMMING UP: What Are the Limits On Workplace Transparency?

the business to 'roughly' understand what a person was earning . Each role was assigned to a pay range. The greater percentage of that range was awarded dependent on performance, benchmarked through goals and objectives agreed earlier in... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

07 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

Negotiation and All That Jazz

negotiators” "You can't script the process," says Wheeler, the MBA Class of 1952 Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School. "Whoever who sits across the table from you is likely to be as determined, as smart, and as... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

January 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Expanding the Culture of Learning at Kraft Heinz

By: Ashley V. Whillans and Carolyn Watson

The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) was an American food company formed in 2015 by the merger of Kraft Foods Group, Inc and the H.J. Heinz Company. The company sold food products like Heinz Ketchup, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Kool-Aid, and Philadelphia cream cheese to supermarkets,... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Culture; Work Culture; Workplace Practices; Mergers; Mergers and Acquisitions; Competitive Advantage; Human Capital; Training; Performance Evaluation; Growth and Development; Personal Development and Career; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry

02 Dec 2019
What Do You Think?

How Does a Company like Boeing Respond to Intense Competitive Pressure?

Hans-Peter Sebregondi, quoting from a Deloitte thought piece, wrote, “If your executive suite is like most discussion usually centers on the positive aspects of the company’s strategy and the need to rally around said strategy, with scant... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Air Transportation

January 1997 (Revised November 1997)
Case

Fojtasek Companies and Heritage Partners, The: March 1995

By: Samuel L. Hayes III and Josh Lerner

The Fojtasek Companies, a family business, faces several financing choices to address generational succession issues. Several buyouts have expressed interest in acquiring the firm outright; an investment bank has proposed a leveraged recapitalization; and a private... View Details

Keywords: Family Ownership; Financing and Loans; Private Equity; Mergers and Acquisitions; Investment Banking; Partners and Partnerships; Management Succession; Capital Structure; Financial Strategy