Publications

10 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Encouraging Entrepreneurs: Lessons for Government Policy

Danish labor market across time (the data tracks when a person enters a company and when he or she moves between periods of employment and self-employment), Nanda and Sørensen found that rates of... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

01 Mar 2024
News

Game On

display announces the day’s run of show. Beginners get designated time in the morning so that they can play in the forgiving company of other newbies; intermediate and advanced players get their own dedicated time slots, too. One of the... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; photographed by Edward Linsmier; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment

Person Page

Media

This lists media reports covering my firm dollarDEX Investments or me (or my colleagues), or columns written by me (or my colleagues). There are all... View Details

29 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 29, 2018

School Case 218-094 Celgene In February 2011, Adam Koppel, a managing director at Brookside Capital, the public equity arm of Bain Capital, must decide whether to increase or exit the firm’s position in... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

01 Sep 2023
News

That Was Then, This Is Now

It started with a question. But before that, it started in the classroom. Tony Deifell (MBA 2002) loved the discussions in his LEAD course, taught by Professor (and now former Dean) Nitin Nohria; wanting to make them more tangible, Deifell adapted the idea of... View Details

Keywords: Photographed by Tony Deifell (MBA 2002); edited by Julia Hanna. Above: Heidi Brooks, photographed in 2003 and 2023.; life experience; family; leadership

November 2019 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Indigo Agriculture: Harnessing Nature

By: Marco Iansiti, Michael W. Toffel and James Barnett

Indigo Agriculture used a digital-enabled research and development (R&D) process to launch its initial product, microbial coatings for agricultural seeds, which increase crop yields while reducing the need for fertilizers. In doing so, the company developed direct... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Sequestration; Operations; Supply Chain; Social Enterprise; Product Development; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Digital Platforms; Environmental Sustainability; Science-Based Business; Climate Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States; Massachusetts

01 Feb 2008
What Do You Think?

How Sustainable Is Sustainability in a For-Profit Organization?

investors alike that, as Gaurav Goel put it, "Sustainable businesses have lesser risks associated with their future earnings ... triple bottom line (economic, social, and environmental sustainability) reduces uncertainty." View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

November 2002 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Charles Schwab in 2002

By: Lynda M. Applegate, F. Warren McFarlan and Jamie Ladge

Details the evolution of the Charles Schwab business model, from its founding in 1975 to October 2002. The protagonist, David Pottruck, is faced with re-inventing the firm as a full-service brokerage at a time of tremendous industry instability as the industry reels... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business Model; Business or Company Management; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Financial Services Industry

Research Summary

Wearing a Red Hat ¨C The Impact of Activist Industrial Policy on Software Development in China

The idea that the government should steer economic development by strategically hand-picking and managing certain industries is controversial but appeals to many developing countries that are eager to upgrade their industries. In this paper, I study China's recent... View Details

22 Feb 2024
Blog Post

It’s Time to Build: Why the MS/MBA Is Right for You!

In 2021, after working in big tech for just over four years, I felt an itch to try something new. I was seeing friends around me leave their more established jobs to pursue exciting opportunities as early employees in startups. Many of them were motivated by the... View Details

December 2022
Supplement

Freelancer, Ltd. Case Supplement

By: Christopher Stanton, Karim R. Lakhani, Jin Hyun Paik and Nina Cohodes

Over the course of the 2010s, the rapid advancement of mobile technologies and the rise of online freelancing platforms seemed to portend a radical transformation of labor markets into on-demand, flexible talent pools. Even though several Fortune 500 companies,... View Details

Keywords: Labor Markets; Freelancers; Change Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Globalized Firms and Management; Human Capital; Employment; Digital Platforms; Global Range; Adoption; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Employment Industry; Information Industry; Australia; United States; Philippines

October 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

eLance.com: Building a Professional Services Marketplace

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Kristin Kohler

Launched as an eBay for services, eLance promises to leverage the capabilities of the Internet to not only change the way services are bought and sold, but change the fundamental dynamics of the global economy. Building on theories posited in the HBR article by Tim... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Job Search; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Web Sites; Information Technology Industry; Service Industry

Find at Harvard

02 Apr 2020
What Do You Think?

What Are Lessons for Leaders from This Black Swan Crisis?

that can be kept fresh for generic, not specific, demands on various functions of the organization (such as 100 percent increases or decreases in short-term demand)? THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS More Business-Related Pandemic Coverage from... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

October 1997 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Asda (A)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

In the mid-1980s, Asda was one of the most successful retail companies in the United Kingdom. By 1991, the chain of 200 grocery stores had a lack of direction, a demoralized workforce, declining profits, rising debt, collapsing stock price, and was facing bankruptcy.... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Crisis Management; Management Teams; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United Kingdom

July 2024
Case

Freelancer, Ltd.

By: Christopher Stanton, Karim R. Lakhani, Jin Hyun Paik and Nina Cohodes

Over the course of the 2010s, the rapid advancement of mobile technologies and the rise of online freelancing platforms seemed to portend a radical transformation of labor markets into on-demand, flexible talent pools. Even though several Fortune 500... View Details

Keywords: Freelancers; Labor Markets; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Human Capital; Change Management; Globalized Firms and Management; Employment; Global Range; Employment Industry

December 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Yellow Corporation: On the Verge of Bankruptcy

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Edward A. Meyer

Yellow Corporation, one of the country’s oldest and largest less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers, was nearing its 100th anniversary in 2024. Whether it would reach that milestone, however, was uncertain as the company was attempting to restructure its operations to... View Details

Keywords: Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Capital Structure; Restructuring; Financial Management; Ethics; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Truck Transportation; Change Management; Transportation Industry; Shipping Industry; United States