Publications

It is taken for granted in the knowledge economy that companies must employ the most talented performers to compete and succeed. Many firms try to buy stars by luring them away from competitors. But Boris Groysberg shows what an uncertain and disastrous practice... View Details

03 Oct 2023
Blog Post

Hire an MBA: The Benefits and Misconceptions for Startups

Startups are exciting to HBS MBA students for many reasons, including the opportunity for impact, exposure to multiple functions, and the ability to practice skills they are learning at HBS. But, why should a startup hire an HBS MBA?... View Details

Keywords: All Industries; Entrepreneurship

Spring 2018
Article

The Next Phase of Business Sustainability

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

The era of corporations integrating sustainable practices is being surpassed by a new age of corporations actively transforming the market to make it more sustainable. View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Trends; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Disclosure

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January 2008
Article

The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy

By: Michael E. Porter

This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. In 1979, a young associate professor at Harvard Business School published his first... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Five Forces Framework; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Business and Government Relations; Competitive Strategy

Research Summary

The Impact of ABC on Managerial Decisions

In this type of research, Ratna Sarkar seeks to determine whether, in fact, new cost systems such as ABC (Activity Based Costing) have a measurable effect on managerial decisions regarding product and customer mix.

The theory of ABC is now academically established,... View Details

Innovation Corrupted: The Origins and Legacy of Enron's Collapse

Although much has been written about the rise and fall of Enron, the focus of most of this work has been more on “What Happened?” rather than on “Why it happened?” This research reports on four important questions relating to the social pathology of Enron’s... View Details

10 Jul 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: It’s a Bad Idea to Ban Customers From Recording Videos

suggest, though, that a ban is the wrong way to go. Three key concerns are: There’s little evidence that recording bans actually work. As a practical matter, preventing recordings means banning customers who are obviously taking photos... View Details

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman; Food & Beverage; Air Transportation; Retail; Service

30 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 30, 2007

they can adapt and adopt institutional practices already legitimized by counterpart industries in other parts of the world. The paper builds on existing community ecology and social movement perspectives on industry emergence and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March–April 2017
Article

Hiring an Entrepreneurial Leader: What to Look For

By: Timothy Butler

Aspiring to be innovative and agile, companies of all shapes and sizes want to recruit entrepreneurial managers. But most firms lack a scientific way to separate the true entrepreneurs from other candidates. To address that problem, Butler compared the psychological... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Leadership Style; Attitudes

autumn 1993
Article

Motivational Synergy: Toward New Conceptualizations of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation in the Workplace

By: T. M. Amabile

The foundation for a model of motivational synergy is presented. Building upon but going beyond previous conceptualizations, the model outlines the ways in which intrinsic motivation (which arises from the intrinsic value of the work for the individual) might interact... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Theory; Creativity; Situation or Environment; Organizational Culture

October 23, 2013
Article

Banyan Family Business Advisors On The Keys to Long-Term Resilience

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

Family businesses have been found to excel in resilience during economic downturns compared to publicly-traded ones. This is attributed to their focus on resilience over performance. Key qualities of resilient family firms include managing low debt, practicing... View Details

Keywords: Performance Consistency; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Family Ownership; Family Business; Values and Beliefs; Business Strategy

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15 Jul 2011
News

Bad News at News Corp.

October 2016
Case

Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc.

By: David A. Garvin and Rachel Gordon

This case follows Jenica Fletcher as she rebuilds her company's guitar strings division from the ground up. Convinced that she could turn the division around if given complete independence from corporate headquarters, Fletcher relocated the group, rebranded it as... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Style; Management Practices and Processes; Restructuring; Business Divisions; Consumer Products Industry

2013
Working Paper

The Operational Consequences of Private Equity Buyouts: Evidence from the Restaurant Industry

By: Albert W. Sheen and Shai Bernstein

What, if anything, do private equity firms do with businesses they acquire? We find evidence of significant operational changes in 101 restaurant chain buyouts between 2002 and 2012. Analysis of health inspections conducted for over 50,000 stores in Florida shows that... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Quality; Private Equity; Food; Management Practices and Processes; Leveraged Buyouts; Performance Efficiency; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Florida

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May 2010
Case

CEIBS: A Global Business School Made in China

By: John A. Quelch

In 2009, just 15 years after it was founded, the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) has achieved the remarkable 8th position in the Financial Times Global MBA rankings. The case describes the short history of the school and the reasons for its success.... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Quality; Business History; Competitive Advantage; Business Education; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; China

Program

Competing in the Age of AI—Virtual

leveraging massive amounts of data and sophisticated analytics. This program is eligible for the Digital Transformation Certificate. Learn More Key Benefits This online artificial intelligence course is a "how-to" guide that demystifies AI and its View Details

October 2015
Case

Clearwater Seafoods

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Clearwater sought to market value-added shellfish products in a traditionally commodities based industry, while facing supply uncertainties and regulatory, environmental, and foreign exchange challenges. Clearwater harvested lobsters, clams, scallops, shrimp, and other... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Profit; Goods and Commodities; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Product Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Canada

2012
Book

Harder Than I Thought: Adventures of a Twenty-First Century Leader

By: Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan and Shannon O'Donnell

Being a great leader today is much harder than you think—meet Jim Barton. He's a newly minted CEO, rising leader of a firm in transition, and manager of massive complexity—thanks to our incredibly networked and increasingly unpredictable world of business. What if you... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Complexity; Crisis Management; Problems and Challenges; Volatility