Publications

January 2021 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Best Buy's Corie Barry: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: William W. George and Amram Migdal

This case examines the leadership of Corie Barry, the new CEO of Best Buy, with a focus on actions the company took in 2020 to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The case includes a history of Best Buy’s strategy and leadership, including the transitions between the... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Change; Disruption; Volatility; Communication; Competency and Skills; Customers; Decision Making; Ethics; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Finance; Cash Flow; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Goods and Commodities; Corporate Governance; Health Pandemics; Human Resources; Executive Compensation; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Jobs and Positions; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Job Design and Levels; Job Interviews; Job Offer; Labor; Employment; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Law; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Succession; Management Systems; Management Teams; Risk Management; Operations; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Logistics; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Outcome or Result; Personal Development and Career; Retirement; Work-Life Balance; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Science; Strategy; Retail Industry; North and Central America; United States; Minnesota

19 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 19, 2009

Working PapersDon't Just Survive—Thrive: Leading Innovation in Good Times and Bad (revised) Authors:Lynda M. Applegate and Bruce Harreld Abstract Battered by contracting markets and frozen credit, many businesses today are fighting for survival. Indeed, the current... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2024
Case

HarvEast

By: Jeremy Friedman and Natalie Kindred

In late 2023, Dmitry Skornyakov, CEO of Ukrainian agribusiness HarvEast, was navigating the turmoil caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began in 2014 and escalated into full-scale war in February 2022. Before the full-scale invasion, HarvEast managed 127,000... View Details

Keywords: Goods and Commodities; Natural Resources; Food; Problems and Challenges; Adaptation; Innovation and Management; Crisis Management; Logistics; Supply Chain; Risk and Uncertainty; Loss; Trust; Human Needs; War; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Chile; South America; Latin America; Ukraine

May 2020 (Revised March 2022)
Case

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and the Global Economy (A)

By: Alberto Cavallo and Christian Godwin

In April 2020, the world struggled to contain the exponential escalation of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Dozens of countries had imposed restrictions on travel, work, and social gatherings. A large share of the global population was under lockdowns and... View Details

30 Mar 2018
What Do You Think?

What Should Mark Zuckerberg Do?

The company is facing its largest crisis since its inception in 2004. What should it do next? The genius of the Facebook business model, similar to strategy used by other internet giants, was that it was free, paid for by advertising... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Web Services; Information Technology

07 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 7

This note briefly reviews the financial crisis in central Europe in late 2008 and summarizes how four central European countries—Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia—have coped with the economic downturn. Purchase this... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

ASOS PLC

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Launched in 2000, ASOS was one of the world’s largest online fashion specialists in 2018. Focusing on young consumers aged 16–25 years, the company offered over 85,000 items on its websites, many times more than the largest fashion stores, and added several thousand... View Details

Keywords: ASOS; AsSeenOnScreen; Online Fashion; Online Apparel; Nick Beighton; Nick Robertson; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Social Media; Marketplaces; Shipping; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Gender; Currency Exchange Rate; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

22 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 23

reason to reject the moral approach and to adopt the institutional approach instead. The commentary highlights key questions that need to be addressed if human rights are to play a central role in framing the responsibilities of business and helping View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2017
Case

Global Leadership in a Dynamic and Evolving Region: Molinas @ The Coca-Cola Company (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley and Esel Çekin

Galya Frayman Molinas, President of Coca-Cola's Turkish business and a 20-year company veteran, is unexpectedly asked to take the helm of a newly expanded territory with operations across eight additional countries in Central Asia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia,... View Details

Keywords: Functions; Structure; Centralization; Decentralization; Diversity; Country Of Origin Effects; Global Contextual Intelligence; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Organizational Structure; Experience and Expertise; Situation or Environment; Central Asia; Turkey

02 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 2

PublicationsThe Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work Authors:Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer Publication:Harvard Business Press, 2011 Abstract The most effective managers have the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Person Page

List of Videos by Professor Bower

By: Joseph L. Bower

Bower, Joseph L. "Interview with Bertrand Collomb, Honorary Chairman and Director, Lafarge." Succession Series. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School, 2008. Video.

Bower, Joseph L. "Interview with Reuben Mark, Chairman & CEO, Colgate Palmolive Co."... View Details

13 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

The Consumer Appeal of Underdog Branding

because historical opportunities to advance are in jeopardy. In today's world, underdog narratives address real-world challenges and anxieties faced by increasing numbers of Americans. Recession, inflation, and the financial crisis of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

09 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 9, 2019

(1776). Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55548 Harvard Business School Case 719-456 OTE: Managing in Times of National Crisis (A) In late 2010, Michael Tsamaz was... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

07 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 7, 2009

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=209113 The Home Depot: Leadership in Crisis Management Harvard Business School Case 309-055 Examines the challenges The Home Depot faced in the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2007 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Trouble with a Bubble

By: Tom Nicholas

Examines technology, firm performance, and the stock market during the 1929 Great Crash and the Great Depression of the 1930s. The 1920s was an extraordinary period of technological progress marked by a strong run-up in stock market prices. Firms invested heavily in... View Details

Keywords: Bubble; Stock Market; Great Depression; Irving Fisher; Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; History; Financial Markets; Performance; Labor and Management Relations; Equity; Financial Crisis; Innovation and Invention; United States

30 Jun 2021
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2021

What’s on HBS faculty members’ reading list for summer 2021? Which books are most meaningful to them and why? Below, faculty share their top picks, ranging from biographies and memoirs to their colleagues’ latest works. Julia Austin: Social justice and the Obamas I... View Details

Keywords: by Kathryn Haviland

05 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 5

PublicationsHow to Identify the Best Customers for Your Business Authors:Cespedes, Frank V., James P. Dougherty, and Ben S. Skinner III Publication:MIT Sloan Management Review Abstract How can businesses achieve profitable growth so... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2009 (Revised March 2009)
Case

AFSCME vs. Mozilo...and "Say on Pay" for All! (A)

By: Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber

Union seeks to protect its pension funds through shareholder activism focused on corporate governance and executive compensation. The case uses Countrywide Financial as an example. Richard Ferlauto, director of pensions and benefits policy at the AFSCME, the largest... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Mortgages; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Labor Unions; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States