Publications

December 18, 2024
Article

Is AI the Right Tool to Solve That Problem?

By: Paolo Cervini, Chiara Farronato, Pushmeet Kohli and Marshall W Van Alstyne

While AI has the potential to solve major problems, organizations embarking on such journeys of often encounter obstacles. They include a dearth of high-quality data; too many possible solutions; the lack of a clear, measurable objective; and difficulty in identifying... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; AI and Machine Learning; Problems and Challenges

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December 2024
Case

Palantir: Aligning Decisions with Values

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Cameron Stone

December 2024
Teaching Note

Assessing the Value of Unifying and De-duplicating Customer Data

By: Elie Ofek and Hema Yoganarasimhan

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 525-023. View Details

December 2024
Supplement

Northvolt: Building Batteries to Fight Climate Change (B)

By: George Serafeim, Debora L. Spar, Peter Tufano, Hugo Etchegoyhen and Emilie Billaud

The (B) case explores Northvolt’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on November 21, 2024, highlighting the company’s struggles to scale operations amid a global EV market slowdown and internal production challenges. While the (A) case detailed Northvolt’s ambitious... View Details

Keywords: Batteries; Electric Vehicles; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Energy; Green Technology; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment; Technological Innovation; Risk Management; Failure; Business and Government Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Transportation; Green Technology Industry; Europe; Sweden

December 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

KLog.co—Charting the Course of Its Future

By: Juan Alcácer, Jorge Tirado and Thomas Occhipinti

Keywords: Freighting; Logistics; Trade; Latin America; Chile

December 2024
Case

5G Networks

By: Andy Wu, Levi Stroud and Ruth Page

This case, featuring Ajit Pai, Former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, explores the potential of 5G wireless networks. It illustrates how 5G works by examining its infrastructure and technological advancements. The case considers the specific... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Technology Adoption; Technological Innovation; Infrastructure; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States

December 2024
Supplement

5G Networks (B)

By: Andy Wu, Levi Stroud and Ruth Page

Pre-Abstract: This multimedia case should be assigned to students in advance of class. Instructors should consider the timing of making the B and C video available to students, as they may reveal key case details.

Abstract: Featuring Ajit Pai, Former... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Technology Adoption; Technological Innovation; Infrastructure; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States

December 2024
Technical Note

Ethical Analysis: Complicity

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Matthew Souba

This note introduces students to the concept of complicity and outlines key questions to determine whether a party is complicit in the wrong or harm caused by another. The note uses examples from the well-known case of Theranos. View Details

Keywords: Ethics

December 2024
Case

Tencent Games

By: Rebecca Karp, Billy Chan and Nancy Hua Dai

For years, Tencent Games, a division of China’s largest internet company, had taken the lion’s share of revenue in the global gaming market with blockbuster titles such as “League of Legends” and “PUBG: Battlegrounds.” These games defined the game genres that they... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Organizational Culture; Business Strategy; Investment; Competitive Strategy; Video Game Industry; Europe; China

2025
Working Paper

Too Much, Too Soon? Early Funding, Technological Unconventionality, and Innovation Capabilities

By: Harsh Ketkar and Maria Roche

The availability of financial resources significantly shapes firm innovation outcomes, especially for early-stage, innovation-focused technology firms. However, prior research has provided conflicting findings about this relationship: On the one hand, resource... View Details

Keywords: Startups; Technology Strategy; Novelty; Unconventionality; Resource Constraints; Early Stage Firms; Business Startups; Technological Innovation; Entrepreneurial Finance

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December 2024
Case

Trust and Family at Fuwei (A): A Confucian Approach to Organizational Design

By: Letian Zhang, Wenjie Ma and Jiaqi Jin

December 2024
Supplement

Trust and Family at Fuwei (B): Ethan Yang's Perspective

By: Letian Zhang, Wenjie Ma and Jiaqi Jin

December 2024
Supplement

Trust and Family at Fuwei (C): Bringing Back Ethan Yang

By: Letian Zhang, Wenjie Ma and Jiaqi Jin

December 2024
Supplement

Vanguard Retail Operations

By: Antonio Moreno, Willy C. Shih and Margaret Underwood

December 2024
Case

Yum China: People First

By: David E. Bell, Shu Lin and Nancy Dai

Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China Holdings, Inc., which operated KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell in mainland China, oversaw KFC’s milestone as the first Western quick-service chain in China to surpass 10,000 stores, with Pizza Hut exceeding 3,000 locations. This expansion was... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Franchise Ownership; Performance Efficiency; Expansion; Employees; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; China

December 12, 2024
Article

6 Lessons from Companies That Shut Down Their Business in Russia

By: Kalle Heikkinen, William R. Kerr, Mika Malin, Panu Routila and Joel Ryynänen

Increasingly, companies are being pressured to decouple from regions that customers, employees, politicians, advocacy groups, and even leaders deem politically fraught. This can pose a dilemma for executives, as research both shows that fast decision-making is vital,... View Details

Keywords: Public Opinion; Ethics; International Relations; Crisis Management

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December 2024
Exercise

Airbnb: Imagining a Guest Loyalty Program

By: Sara McKinley Torti

December 2024
Case

Brainstorming a MVP for a Peloton Corporate Wellness Benefit

By: Sara McKinley Torti