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February 2002
Case

Fighting AIDS and Pricing Drugs

By: John T. Gourville

In early 2001, makers of AIDS drugs were suing to prevent developing countries from violating their patents. The issue was driven by price. The developing countries could not afford the market price for these drugs. At the same time, the drug companies were reluctant... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Patents; Price; Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Pharmaceutical Industry

December 1999
Case

Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman, Wendy Smith and Daniel Radov

After spending five years to develop a revolutionary product, the director of Ciba-Geigy's fungicide research department is handed an unfavorable market study. The case details the R&D process for the new product, including information on corporate partnerships,... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Research and Development; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Product Launch; Marketing Channels; Change Management; Product Development; Business Processes; Organizational Structure; Corporate Accountability; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

Find at Harvard

17 Aug 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Corporate Governance and Networks: Bankers in the Corporate Networks of Brazil, Mexico, and the United States circa 1910

Keywords: by Aldo Musacchio

July 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Pattern Brands

By: Sunil Gupta, Elie Ofek and Julia Kelley

In March 2020, direct-to-consumer (DTC) company Pattern Brands needed to decide how to allocate resources across its different brands. Pattern Co-Founders Nick Ling and Emmett Shine hoped to avoid the pitfalls faced by some DTC companies—such as inability to scale and... View Details

Research Summary

Organizations with Dual Competitive Advantage

A close examination of several leading US service firms illustrates an unusual competitive phenomenon in that these firms are both cost and service leaders in their industries. My research documents this phenomenon, critically analyzing it in light of strategic and... View Details

November 1991 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Motorola, Inc.: Bandit Pager Project (Abridged)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright

Describes the development of a fully automated production line for manufacturing radio pagers. The company regarded the project as highly successful; it becomes clear in the case, however, that there were some shortcomings as well. Some marketing issues were not... View Details

Keywords: Time Management; Marketing; Product Development; Production; Success; Projects; Technology; Telecommunications Industry

Video

Microfinance in the Classroom

15 Feb 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Expectations of Returns and Expected Returns

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood & Andrei Shleifer; Financial Services

May 1975 (Revised May 1982)
Case

Southwest Airlines (C)

Southwest Airlines, a small intrastate carrier, has just completed its first year of operations in June 1972 and management is debating what advertising and promotional strategy to adopt for the future. Southwest has successfully broken into a market dominated by two... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry; United States

August 2006 (Revised May 2016)
Case

Cluster Mobilization in Mitteldeutschland

By: Jeffrey Fear, Christian H.M. Ketels and Claudia Linsenmeier

As part of the privatization in Eastern Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Dow Chemical made a major investment in the Halle-Leipzig region, one of the largest chemical industry sites in Europe. The executive in charge of Dow's operations in the region, Bart... View Details

Keywords: Industry Clusters; Development Economics; Privatization; Chemicals; Foreign Direct Investment; Management Teams; Private Sector; Competitive Strategy; Brands and Branding; Market Participation; Chemical Industry; Germany

June 2014
Teaching Note

Google Glass

By: Thomas Eisenmann

In early 2014, business development executives at Google were formulating a distribution strategy for Glass, a wearable computer that projected information on a display viewable with an upward glance. Options, which were not mutually exclusive, included 1) continuing... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Distribution Channels; Technology Adoption; Product Marketing; Computer Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

View Details

Keywords: federal government; real estate

06 Apr 2017
HBS Seminar

Arkadiy Sakhartov, Wharton, University of Pennsylvania

Willy C. Shih

Willy Shih is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration. He is part of the Technology and Operations Management Unit, and he teaches in the MBA and Executive Education Programs. His expertise is in manufacturing, product... View Details

Keywords: aerospace; automotive; biotechnology; communications; computer; digital imaging; electrical equipment; electronics; entertainment; high technology; industrial goods; information technology industry; manufacturing; retailing; semiconductor

02 Oct 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities

Keywords: by David J. Collis and Bharat Anand

July 2016 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Tolaram: Innovating in Africa

By: Derek van Bever and Efosa Ojomo

Tolaram is a Singaporean company that began operations selling textiles in Nigeria in the 1970s. Executives and brothers, Haresh and Sajesh Aswani, however, saw an opportunity to create an instant noodle market in the country. In 1988, they began importing Indomie... View Details

Keywords: Fast Moving Consumer Goods; Business Model; Disruptive Innovation; Vertical Integration; Emerging Markets; Consumer Products Industry; Nigeria; Africa

March 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Microsoft: Positioning the Tablet PC

By: Youngme E. Moon and Christina L. Darwall

Microsoft is preparing for the launch of the Tablet PC, which allows users to use a pen (stylus) to run Windows and Windows applications, annotate documents, and create handwritten documents for later reference or even conversion to text. Microsoft's original equipment... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Product Positioning; Market Entry and Exit; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Computer Industry

February 2020
Technical Note

Talent Management and the Future of Work

By: William R. Kerr and Gorick Ng

The nature of work is changing—and it is changing rapidly. Few days go by without industry giants such as Amazon and AT&T announcing plans to invest billions of dollars towards retraining nearly half of their respective workforces for jobs of the future. What changes... View Details

Keywords: Human Resource Management; Human Capital Development; Human Resource Practices; Talent; Talent Acquisition; Talent Development; Talent Development And Retention; Talent Management; Talent Retention; Labor Flows; Labor Management; Labor Market; Strategy Development; Strategy Management; Strategy Execution; Strategy And Execution; Strategic Change; Transformations; Organization; Organization Alignment; Organization Design; Organizational Adaptation; Organizational Effectiveness; Management Challenges; Management Of Business And Political Risk; Change Leadership; Future Of Work; Future; Skills Gap; Skills Development; Skills; Offshoring And Outsourcing; Investment; Capital Allocation; Work; Work Culture; Work Force Management; Work/life Balance; Work/family Balance; Work-family Boundary Management; Workers; Worker Productivity; Worker Performance; Work Engagement; Work Environment; Work Environments; Productivity; Organization Culture; Soft Skills; Technology Management; Technological Change; Technological Change: Choices And Consequences; Technology Diffusion; Disruptive Technology; Global Business; Global; Workplace; Workplace Context; Workplace Culture; Workplace Wellness; Collaboration; Competencies; Productivity Gains; Digital; Digital Transition; Competitive Dynamics; Competitiveness; Competitive Strategy; Data Analytics; Data; Data Management; Data Strategy; Data Protection; Aging Society; Diversity; Diversity Management; Millennials; Communication Complexity; Communication Technologies; International Business; Work Sharing; Global Competitiveness; Global Corporate Cultures; Intellectual Property; Intellectual Property Management; Intellectual Property Protection; Intellectual Capital And Property Issues; Globalization Of Supply Chain; Inequality; Recruiting; Hiring; Hiring Of Employees; Training; Job Cuts And Outsourcing; Job Performance; Job Search; Job Design; Job Satisfaction; Jobs; Employee Engagement; Employee Attitude; Employee Benefits; Employee Compensation; Employee Fairness; Employee Relationship Management; Employee Retention; Employee Selection; Employee Motivation; Employee Feedback; Employee Coordination; Employee Performance Management; Employee Socialization; Process Improvement; Application Performance Management; Stigma; Institutional Change; Candidates; Digital Enterprise; Cultural Adaptation; Cultural Change; Cultural Diversity; Cultural Context; Cultural Strategies; Cultural Psychology; Cultural Reform; Performance; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Management; Performance Evaluation; Performance Appraisal; Performance Feedback; Performance Measurement; Performance Metrics; Performance Measures; Performance Efficiency; Efficiency; Performance Analysis; Performance Appraisals; Performance Improvement; Automation; Artificial Intelligence; Technology Companies; Managerial Processes; Skilled Migration; Assessment; Human Resources; Management; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Retention; Demographics; Labor; Strategy; Change; Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Working Conditions; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Disruption; Economy; Competition; Globalization; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Transformation

Article

Space, the Final Economic Frontier

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl

After decades of centralized control of economic activity in space, NASA and U.S. policymakers have begun to cede the direction of human activities in space to commercial companies. NASA garnered more than 0.7% of GDP in the mid-1960s but is only around 0.1% of GDP... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Economics; Private Sector; Aerospace Industry