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Publications
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(22,668)
- Faculty Publications (9,135)
- January 2025
- Case
A Winning Strategy (A): Innovation in Olympic Speed Skating
By: Rebecca Karp, Maria Roche, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon and Tom Quinn
This case describes two innovators in the Olympic sport of speed skating: the U.S. Men’s team, which devised a new approach to the team pursuit event following their disappointing performance in the 2018 Winter Olympics; and Nils van der Poel, a Swedish skater who... View Details
- January 2025
- Supplement
A Winning Strategy (B): Innovation in Olympic Speed Skating
By: Rebecca Karp, Maria Roche, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon and Tom Quinn
This case describes the aftermath of decisions made by two innovators in the Olympic sport of speed skating: the U.S. Men’s team, which devised a new approach to the team pursuit event; and Nils van der Poel, a Swedish skater who created a new training plan that defied... View Details
- January 2025
- Article
Communication Within Firms: Evidence from CEO Turnovers
By: Stephen Michael Impink, Andrea Prat and Raffaella Sadun
This paper uses novel, firm-level communication measures derived from communications metadata several months before and after a CEO transition for 102 firms to study whether and how this organizational event is reflected in employees’ communication flows. We find that... View Details
- January 2025
- Case
Constitutional Fiction: John Miller & the Legitimacy of Family Constitutions
By: Lauren Cohen, Octavian Graf Pilati and Sophia Pan
John Miller sat reviewing his family’s Constitution, grappling with how best to implement and enforce its provisions. Designed to prevent ambiguity in governance, the Family Constitution set out core values and guidelines to promote harmony and cohesion among family... View Details
Keywords: Conflict Resolution; Perspective Taking; Liabilities; Family Business; Family Ownership; Business Growth and Maturation; Alignment; Cooperation; Attitudes; Behavior; Cognition and Thinking; Conflict Management; Conflict of Interests; Power and Influence; Perception; Trust; Perspective; Motivation and Incentives; Happiness; Identity; Goals and Objectives; Legal Liability; Contracts; Fairness; Values and Beliefs; Governance Controls; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Family and Family Relationships; Manufacturing Industry; Germany
- January 2025
- Article
Overcoming Barriers to Employee Ownership: Insights from Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
By: John Guzek and Ashley Whillans
This research investigates the limited adoption of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) among small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) in the U.S. Through interviews with 30 SMB owners across various industries, we identify the key barriers to ESOP adoption as lack of... View Details
- January–February 2025
- Article
Want Your Company to Get Better at Experimentation?: Learn Fast by Democratizing Testing
By: Iavor Bojinov, David Holtz, Ramesh Johari, Sven Schmit and Martin Tingley
For years, online experimentation has fueled the innovations of leading tech companies, enabling them to rapidly test and refine new ideas, optimize product features, personalize user experiences, and maintain a competitive edge. The widespread availability and lower... View Details
- January–February 2025
- Article
What People Still Get Wrong About Negotiations: They Assume the Size of the Pie Is Fixed—and So Miss Opportunities to Create Value
By: Max H. Bazerman
Most executives leave value on the negotiating table, for two main reasons: First, many executives mistakenly believe that they’re negotiating over a fixed pie and that gains for one side necessarily mean losses for the other. Second, they focus exclusively on how to... View Details
- December 2024 (Revised March 2025)
- Case
The Shouldice Hospital Today
By: James Heskett and Roger Hallowell
The leadership and staff of Shouldice Hospital in Toronto, Canada have, for 75 years, sought to do one thing better than any other hospital in the world, repair inguinal hernias. For some years, a possible second hospital in another market has been under consideration.... View Details
- December 2024
- Supplement
Northvolt: Building Batteries to Fight Climate Change (B)
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; Production; Growth and Development Strategy; Green Technology Industry; Battery Industry; Europe; Sweden
- 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
- 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
- December 2024
- Case
AC Milan
By: Anita Elberse
In April 2024, Giorgio Furlani is nearing the end of his first full season as chief executive officer of Italian soccer club AC Milan. A Harvard Business School Class of 2007 graduate with a finance background, Furlani was appointed by RedBird Capital Partners’ founder... View Details
- December 2024
- Case
Core Innovation Capital: Investing in Fintech for Good
In 2017, Arjan Schütte, founder of Core Innovation Capital, faced a decision on whether to invest in Hugo Insurance, an auto insurance startup. Core, an early-stage social impact VC firm, focused on “fintech for good,” by investing in financial services for low- to... View Details
- December 2024
- Supplement
Core Innovation Capital: Investing in Fintech for Good (B)
In 2017, Core Innovation Capital invested $725,000 in Hugo Insurance, a pay-as-you-drive auto insurance startup targeting the non-standard market. Core followed with $300,000 in 2019 during a Seed II round. By 2022, Hugo founder, David Bergendahl, sought $10 million in... View Details
- December 2024 (Revised March 2025)
- Case
WayCool: Addressing Food Loss
By: Rajiv Lal and Kairavi Dey
Headquartered in Chennai, India, WayCool started by focusing on solving the growing challenge of food losses and low farmer incomes. Dasari and Jayaraman, surprised at the amount of fruits and vegetables lost in the agricultural supply chain, set up the company with... View Details
- 10 Dec 2024
- Interview
A New Model for Funding Healthcare Innovation
By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Duke Rohlen
Ajax Health founder Duke Rohlen (HBS MBA 2001) and HBS Professor Regina Herzlinger join host Brian Kenny to discuss the key success factors for both start-up and established medical technology firms. The case “Ajax Health: A New Model for Medical Technology Innovation”... View Details
- December 10, 2024
- Article
Is Your Company’s Problem Complicated? Or Complex?
By: Nitin Nohria, Bill George and Kayti Stanley
Complicated problems, which can be solved with systematic approaches, are different from complex problems, which require adaptive strategies and continuous learning. Many leaders conflate the two types, have more experience with complicated problems, and therefore may... View Details
- December 2024
- Case
Xtalic
By: Joshua Lev Krieger and Jim Matheson
This case study examines the commercialization efforts of Xtalic, a startup founded by MIT scientists based on their discovery of a novel material science method to protect metal substrates. The case focuses on the strategic decisions involved in bringing this... View Details
- December 2024 (Revised January 2025)
- Case
Balancing Returns and Responsibilities at Raya Partners
By: Arthur Segel, Ephraim Mernick, Derek C. M. van Bever and Olivia Barba
Raya Partners, a private equity firm, faces a crucial decision regarding Asa Specialty Coatings Company (ASCC). The dilemma involves shifting ASCC's manufacturing operations to Mexico, a move that would boost profitability and reduce emissions but result in significant... View Details