Publications

January 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Geely SEA: New Electric Vehicle Platforms

By: Willy C. Shih and Shu Lin

Kent Bovellan, the Chief Engineer and Head of the Vehicle Architecture Center for Geely Holding, the Hangzhou, China headquartered global automotive group, was debating the platform choice for an upcoming "D" segment midsized battery electric vehicle (BEV). He had led... View Details

Keywords: Product Innovation; Product Architecture; Product Engineering; Platform Design; Platform Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Product Design; Product Development; Cost Management; Decision Making; Competitive Strategy; Industry Structures; Auto Industry; China; Sweden

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

2019
White Paper

Impact-Weighted Financial Accounts: The Missing Piece for an Impact Economy

By: George Serafeim, T. Robert Zochowski and Jennifer Downing

Reimagining capitalism is an imperative. We need to create a more inclusive and sustainable form of capitalism that works for every person and the planet. Massive environmental damage, growing income and wealth disparity, stress, and depression within developed... View Details

Keywords: Impact-Weighted Accounts; IWAI; Background; Economic Systems; Economy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Statements

Read Now

24 Jul 2013
Op-Ed

Detroit Files for Bankruptcy: HBS Faculty Weigh In

are steps that major players working together in metropolitan areas can do to save their cities: When it comes to the elements of soft infrastructure such as education and healthcare, it's essential to create an environment for capital,... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber, Robert C. Pozen, Eric D. Werker & Benjamin Kennedy; Auto

24 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

The ABCs of Addressing Climate Change (From a Business Perspective)

It's Climate Week in New York City. The schedule features a UN Climate Summit, a People's Climate March, the Clinton Global Initiative, substantial criticism of the whole endeavor, and plenty of agitated interaction. There is a lot of noise here. How can businesses cut... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Energy; Utilities

October 1973 (Revised May 1983)
Case

Zenith Radio Corp. (A)

By: Robert H. Hayes

Provides an analysis of capital investment (new plant and equipment), production, and operations management. View Details

Keywords: Management; Capital; Investment; Production; Infrastructure

03 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 3

An Overview of Infrastructure Finance Challenges and Opportunities This overview describes how the United States funds and finances View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

Cash and the Woman-Owned Business

risk-averse. b) They can't make tough decisions. Whether or not they are true, these assumptions create significant barriers to success for women entrepreneurs who want to build large enterprises. If true, they might reflect fundamental problems in the educational and... View Details

Keywords: by Candida Brush, Nancy M. Carter, Elizabeth Gatewood, Patricia G. Greene & Myra M. Hart

1999
Other Unpublished Work

Private Investment in Infrastructure: Managing Non-commercial Risk

By: L. T. Wells Jr.

Keywords: Risk Management; Investment; Infrastructure

29 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

Financial Crisis Caution Urged by Faculty Panel

income remained relatively stable, about 3 to 1. Over the last 20 years, however, the financial markets that financed the housing system in the United States changed remarkably. Local markets once dominated by tightly regulated savings... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

28 Jun 2004
Research & Ideas

Microfinance: A Way Out for the Poor

to Chu, himself a Wall Street refugee with grounding in consulting and buy-outs, microfinance has "a double bottom-line." It brings above-average returns for first-movers who tap into what finance specialists see as a new... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

20 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 20

about what Madhav should do next. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/110001-PDF-ENG An Overview of Project Finance and Infrastructure Finance—2009 Update Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Article

Pricing and Financial Resources: An Analysis of the Disk Drive Industry, 1980-88

By: J. Lerner

Keywords: Price; Information Infrastructure; Money; Computer Industry

Find at Harvard

10 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 10, 2018

another new product and, if so, what this move would mean for their ready-to-grow product line. Purchase this case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/518073-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 218-071 Infrastructure in Nigeria: Unlocking... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

February 2020
Case

Rotoplas: Bringing More and Better Water

By: John D. Macomber and Carla Larangeira

Private companies were being turned to for potable water in the world’s megacities due to impacts of climate change including droughts and flooding. Mexico City had endured several water-related crises, with its population suffering from floods, droughts, water... View Details

Keywords: Water Supply; Water Management; Finance; Infrastructure; Urban Development; Business and Government Relations; Latin America; Mexico

18 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

Wrap-up: Software, Telecom, and Recovery

for blocking hackers and preventing online invasion. There is a trend to invest in application and infrastructure hardware, said John G. Simon, a partner at General Catalyst. An opportunity exists, he said, for add-ons and plug-ins that... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild & Martha Lagace; Financial Services; Technology; Communications; Telecommunications

11 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 11, 2018

In 2016, Bruce Wayne, Managing Director of Energy Finance Corporation (EFC), was refining the Investment/Credit Committee materials for the development of up to 10 power generating plants in Argentina. As a subsidiary of the much larger... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

18 Jun 2001
Research & Ideas

Caught in the Cogs: When Manufacturing and IT Meet

"custom assembly." In the former, managers pick an existing manufacturing system here, a human resources and finance system there, and bring them together to serve the operation's needs. In the latter, bits and pieces of code... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

June 2004 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Millennial Net

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Johanna Regine Naunton Blaxall

Millennial Net created self-organizing, ultra-low-power, wireless sensor networks, a space that was getting a lot of attention in 2004. The company was founded in 2000 and in early 2004 was looking for a second round of funding. The area had attracted a number of new... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Technological Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Information Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry