Publications

October 2020 (Revised April 2022)
Case

When Institutions Fail: HIV/AIDS in the 1980s

By: Tom Nicholas and Christian Godwin

During the early 1980s, young gay men in urban centers such as San Francisco and New York City began contracting a mysterious illness that would come to be known as HIV/AIDS. A diagnosis meant almost certain death, with a less than 1% survival rate. Conflicting... View Details

September 1992 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Kaiser Steel Corporation, 1987

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Kaiser Steel entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in early 1987. Nine months later it still faces several difficult obstacles to reorganization, including litigation, environmental liabilities, and pension and medical benefits for retired employees. Students are... View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Employee Relationship Management; Resource Allocation; Opportunities; Conflict and Resolution; Steel Industry; United States

January 2014
Case

In a Bind: Peak Sealing Technologies' Product Line Extension Dilemma

By: Robert J. Dolan and Heather Beckham

Peak Sealing Technologies (PST), a manufacturer of premium carton sealing tapes, stresses technological innovation as the company's core value. But when a new regional competitor introduces a less expensive and inferior product, PST is faced with a decision that could... View Details

2023
Working Paper

What Do Impact Investors Do Differently?

By: Shawn Cole, Leslie Jeng, Josh Lerner, Natalia Rigol and Benjamin N. Roth

In recent years, impact investors – private investors who seek to generate simultaneously financial and social returns – have attracted intense interest and controversy. We analyze a novel, comprehensive data set of impact and traditional investors to assess how the... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Socially Responsible Investing; Investment Decisions; Public Goods; Impact Investment; Investment; Private Equity; Venture Capital

SSRN

Read Now

Clubs

Hospitality & Travel Club

Keywords: Hospitality

2020
Working Paper

Mortgage Prepayment, Race, and Monetary Policy

By: Kristopher Gerardi, Paul Willen and David Hao Zhang

Over the period 2005 to 2015, Black borrowers paid more than 40 basis points higher mortgage interest rates than Non-Hispanic white borrowers. We show that the main reason is that Non-Hispanic white borrowers are much more likely to exploit periods of falling interest... View Details

Keywords: Mortgages; Consumer Behavior; Race; Ethnicity; Equality and Inequality; Policy; United States

Read Now

October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

John Branca: Negotiating Michael Jackson's Thriller (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

John Branca, attorney to pop musician Michael Jackson, must negotiate a series of deals on behalf of his client in order to safeguard his financial interests and creative license during a period of rising stardom. View Details

Keywords: Dealmaking; Negotiation; Entertainment; Music Entertainment

2022
Case

Tesla's Battery Supply Chain: A Growing Concern

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

In October 2021, the fictional vice president of supply chain sustainability at Tesla is working on finding the best way to achieve Tesla's goal of 100% recycling for the batteries in its electric vehicles (EVs) as they reach their end of life. A major challenge in... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governance Compliance; Metals and Minerals; Auto Industry

Research Summary

Strategic Decision-Making Processes

Michael Roberto is studying the processes that managers employ to make critical strategic decisions. Through extensive field research, he has examined how groups of senior managers make these decisions efficiently, and simultaneously build the consensus required to... View Details

April 2013 (Revised April 2014)
Case

Transitions Asia: Managing Across Cultures

By: Roy Y.J. Chua and Dawn H. Lau

The director of an interim executive search firm, Chee Lung Tham, faced a clash of culture and management styles when his mainland Chinese client threatened to fire the American interim manager that Tham had assigned. The client, Wong Lung, ran a family-owned garment... View Details

Keywords: China; Cross-cultural Management; Management Style; Conflict Management; Family Business; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Service Industry; China

Research Summary

Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution

By: Michael A. Wheeler

Disputes between organizations and among individuals are an all-too-familiar feature of modern life. Lengthy court proceedings consume resources, damage relationships, and often yield outcomes that do not fully satisfy the real needs of the litigants. As a result,... View Details

May 2009 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Ralph Nader: When Purpose and Legacy Collide

By: Nitin Nohria and Umaimah Mendhro

This case tells the story of Ralph Nader's leadership, from his success as a crusader for consumer interests and active public participation in the political process to his controversial campaigns for the U.S. presidency. View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Government and Politics; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Reputation; Public Opinion; Public Administration Industry

Find at Harvard

23 Jun 2016
Blog Post

How I Structured My Second Year at HBS

Formally trained as an engineer, Matt Holzapfel (MBA 2015) worked at both Sears and Dell in the years before business school. While at HBS he discovered a budding interest in entrepreneurship, and took advantage View Details

June 2023
Case

Tractor Supply Co

By: David L. Ager and Michael A. Roberto

In February 2023, Hal Lawton, CEO of Tractor Supply Co, the largest farm and ranch retailer in the United States reflected on the company’s 70% growth between 2019 and 2022. Economists had begun to predict an economic downturn and experts were predicting softening... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Demand and Consumers; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Retail Industry