Publications

May 2005 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Inniskillin and the Globalization of Icewine

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Jillian Hirasawa

Deals with the growth of the icewine industry and follows Vincor International as it creates an international market for its Inniskillin Icewine--a luxury alcoholic beverage consumed as a dessert wine. Gives the history of the alcoholic beverage industry in Canada and... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Luxury; Food and Beverage Industry; Canada

March 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Proximie: Using XR Technology to Create Borderless Operating Rooms

By: Ariel D. Stern and Alpana Thapar

In mid-January 2022, Nadine Hachach-Haram, founder and CEO of Proximie, was thinking about the company’s growth plans. Launched in 2016, Proximie was a platform that enabled clinicians, proctors, and medical device company personnel to be virtually present in operating... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Technological Innovation; Partners and Partnerships; Strategic Planning; Health Care and Treatment; Analytics and Data Science; Digital Platforms; Health Industry; Lebanon; United Kingdom; United States

May 2018 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Jason Blum's Blumhouse Productions

By: Anita Elberse

In March 2017, Jason Blum, the founder and chief executive officer of film and television production company Blumhouse Productions, has another blockbuster on his hands with the movie Get Out, produced for just $4.5 million. Remarkable returns for its micro-budget... View Details

02 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 2

They and What Do They Do? By: Miller, Kathleen, and George Serafeim Abstract—While a number of studies document that organizations go through numerous stages as they increase their commitment to sustainability over time, we know little about the role of the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Blue Skies, Distractions Arise: How Weather Affects Productivity

true in the corporate world, the researchers looked at preexisting field data at a midsize bank in Tokyo. The bank had tracked employee productivity for two-and-a-half years following the launch of a new mortgage-processing system in June... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

August 2024
Case

Quickmart: Sustaining Growth in a Challenging Economic Environment

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Kuria Kamau

In July 2023, Peter Kang’iri, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Quickmart, Kenya’s second-largest retail chain, sat in his Nairobi office reviewing the company’s first half financial results before the weekly executive committee (EXCO) meeting. The company was in... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Supply Chain; Logistics; Business Strategy; Expansion; Business Earnings; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Africa; Kenya; Nairobi

14 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Curiosity, Not Coding: 6 Skills Leaders Need in the Digital Age

senior executives at their organizations have the right mindset and skills to lead in the digital era. Those closer to the nuts and bolts of digital functions—the chief technology officers, chief information... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards; Technology

April 1980 (Revised December 1991)
Case

Hampton Machine Tool Co.

A bank lending officer must decide whether to extend and increase a loan to a small machine tool company. Case provides sufficient data for preparation of cash budgets and pro forma financial statements in order to analyze the lending officer's problem. Other issues... View Details

Keywords: Machinery and Machining; Financing and Loans; Financial Statements; Manufacturing Industry

July 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Mary Kay Inc.: Enriching Women's Lives while Embracing Change

By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Julia Kelley

In December 2020, Mary Kay Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Sheryl Adkins-Green considered several strategic dilemmas. Founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash, Mary Kay was a direct sales company whose Independent Beauty Consultants purchased its beauty and cosmetics products at... View Details

January 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

By: Anita Elberse and Melissa Rodman

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) develops and presents scripted hero-versus-villain storylines featuring its wrestlers at hundreds of live events—on several weekly television shows, on its own over-the-top streaming service, and on social media—to millions of... View Details

Keywords: Superstars; Talent; Talent Development; Labor Economics; General Management; Entertainment; Sports; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Contracts; Marketing; Strategy

February 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Steinhoff International and the Stock Exchange

By: Siko Sikochi and Austin Lim

Nicky Newton-King, the Chief Executive Officer of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), was put in a difficult position. A scandal had broken out at Steinhoff, a JSE-listed company, under her watch and there were calls to suspend listing of the company securities from... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Financial Reporting; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Markets; Corporate Governance; Retail Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Distribution Industry; Africa; South Africa

12 Mar 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Managing the Family Business: Firing the CEO

concerned patriarch finally admitted this to his board. After consulting with them and with me, the father walked into his son's office on a Friday afternoon and said, "Son, nobody can contemplate life with you as CEO. I'm very sorry to... View Details

June 2003 (Revised October 2006)
Case

George McClelland at KSR (A)

By: Joshua D. Margolis, Ayesha Kanji and Wan Wong

George McClelland accepts a position as the chief administrative officer/chief operating officer at Kendall Square Research (KSR), a fledgling computer company that is taking its promising parallel computer technology to market. McClelland is a veteran of the computer... View Details

Keywords: History; Technological Innovation; Leadership; Business History; Accounting; Problems and Challenges; Business Strategy; Growth and Development; Computer Industry; Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

July 10, 2024
Article

Designing a Successful Reskilling Program

By: Jorge Tamayo, Leila Doumi, Sagar Goel, Orsolya Kovács-Ondrejkovic and Raffaella Sadun

In this article, written as a follow up to the award-winning “Reskilling in the Age of AI”, the authors report the results of a reskilling survey that they conducted with chief human resource officers from approximately 1,200 organizations in the U.S., along with... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Training; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Employees

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January 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Teaching Note

Maritz Automotive

By: Ashley V. Whillans and Lamar Pierce

This case focuses on Charlotte Blank, the Chief Behavioral Officer at Maritz, as she tries to assist a major automotive manufacturer (CarCo) with increasing their sales by prepaying monthly bonuses to independently franchised car dealers and clawing them back if the... View Details

Keywords: Loss-framing; Sales; Performance Improvement; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Theory; Auto Industry

14 Oct 2021
In Practice

Reunited and It Feels (Not) So Good: Tips for Managing a Rocky Return

Offices may look just as they did in March 2020, but many companies attempting to welcome workers back are finding that the rules of engagement have changed. For many employees, the sweet freedom of remote work has turned into bitterness... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

21 Aug 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Traveling Agents: Political Change and Bureaucratic Turnover in India

Keywords: by Lakshmi Iyer & Anandi Mani

August 2020 (Revised March 2021)
Supplement

Migros Turkey: Scaling Online Operations (B)

By: Antonio Moreno and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in February 2020 as Ozgur Tort and Mustafa Bartin, CEO and chief large-format and online retail officer of Migros Ticaret A.S. (Migros), Turkey’s oldest and one of its largest supermarket chains, are looking over the results of the fulfillment pilot the... View Details

Keywords: Grocery; Business Model; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Value Creation; Globalization; Competition; Expansion; Logistics; Profit; Resource Allocation; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; Turkey

March 2023 (Revised May 2023)
Case

OneTen at Delta Air Lines: Catalyzing Family-Sustaining Careers for Black Talent (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Lydia Begag

It was December 10, 2020, and Ed Bastian, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Delta Air Lines (Delta), had just finished a meeting with Joanne Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, and Keyra Lynn Johnson, the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Training; Race; Equality and Inequality; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Job Design and Levels; Air Transportation Industry; United States