Publications

July 2005 (Revised September 2016)
Case

24 Hour Fitness (A): The Rise, 1983–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2004, Mark S. Mastrov, CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, reflected on how far his company had come in just over 20 years. From humble beginnings in 1983 in San Leandro, California, 24 Hour Fitness had grown to become the largest privately-owned health-club chain in... View Details

Keywords: 24 Hour Fitness; Mark Mastrov; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Sales Force Compensation; Incentive Systems; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Private Equity; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Operations; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Capital Structure; Performance; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Health Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

February 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Shanghai Diligence Law Firm (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Catherine Zhang

Shanghai Diligence Law Firm, started in January 2006, is a rapidly growing law firm in China's burgeoning legal services market. In addition to the usual challenges facing all professional service firms (picking and retaining talent and building a desired client... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Motivation and Incentives; Legal Services Industry; China

28 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Digital Discrimination: The Case of Airbnb.com

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman & Michael Luca; Construction; Real Estate

September 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Building Watson: Not So Elementary, My Dear!

By: Willy Shih

This case is set inside IBM Research's efforts to build a computer that can successfully take on human challengers playing the game show Jeopardy! It opens with the machine named Watson offering the incorrect answer "Toronto" to a seemingly simple question during the... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Standards; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mathematical Methods; Research and Development; Information Technology

04 Jan 2013
Working Paper Summaries

The Political Economy of Bilateral Foreign Aid

September 1994 (Revised September 1994)
Case

Acer Group, The: Vision for the Year 2000

By: D. Quinn Mills and Richard C. Wei

In the early 1990s, Acer, Inc. set two goals: to be a top-five PC company worldwide in 1995 and to be a global consortium of companies by the year 2000. The company identified potential obstacles concerning capital, image, number of experienced international managers,... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Goals and Objectives; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Organizational Structure; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Experience and Expertise; Marketing Strategy; Production; Rank and Position; Business Strategy; Capital; Computer Industry; Japan

August 2008
Case

Progressive Corporation: Variable Dividends

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and Brenda W. Chia

In 2006, Progressive Corporation announced a change in its dividend policy. Henceforth, dividends would be paid annually rather than quarterly and, more importantly, would be set according to a formula that would result in considerably greater year-to-year variability... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Policy; Goals and Objectives; Performance; Business and Shareholder Relations; Insurance Industry

April 1997
Case

ABB Germany

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven

Describes Europe's most famous postwar multinational merger between Asea of Sweden and Brown Boveri of Switzerland. Gives background on both companies and focuses particularly on BBC's geographic organization, its corporate culture, and the relationship between its... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Multinational Firms and Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Goals and Objectives; Organizational Culture; Performance Improvement; Geographic Location; Rank and Position; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Sweden; Switzerland; Germany

24 Jul 2007
First Look

First Look: July 24, 2007

implementation of a lean operating system at an Indian software services firm. By studying the introduction and impact of lean management techniques in a nontraditional setting we are able to move beyond the artifacts and gain insight... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2008
Book

On Competition

By: M. E. Porter

Competition is one of society's most powerful forces for making things better in many ﬁelds of human endeavor. The study of competition and the creation of value, in their full richness, have preoccupied me for several decades. Competition is pervasive, whether it... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Practice; Competitive Strategy; Theory; Value Creation

August 2019
Case

Bark Gift Shop Ltd.

By: Susanna Gallani, Jan Bouwens and Peter Kroos

This case describes a setting in which the CFO of Bark Gift Shop Ltd., a gift items retailer, discovers an undesired pattern in the performance data suggesting that her shop managers that perform well during the first part of the year, purposely reduce their effort in... View Details

Keywords: Data Analytics; Employees; Behavior; Performance; Management; Goals and Objectives; Motivation and Incentives; Analysis

15 Mar 2024
HBS Case

Let's Talk: Why It's Time to Stop Avoiding Taboo Topics at Work

could say: “I realize this is a tough month, but the sooner the better. I will schedule a time to discuss this with you next month.” Ask for a meeting with at least 24 hours’ notice. Set a clear agenda when you request the meeting and... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

16 Nov 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Data.gov: Matching Government Data with Rapid Innovation

generally." Goals Of The Case Study "I have several teaching goals," said Lakhani as he prepared for class. "One is to highlight the imperative for organizations to shift towards an open-data approach, especially in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Technology

April 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Adams Capital Management: March 1999

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Bill Wasik

On February 24, 1999, the advisory board of Adams Capital Management convened for its quarterly meeting at the firm's headquarters. One point on the agenda: whether or not to proceed with due diligence on an investment in Three Points, a maker of Internet-based team... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Systems; Investment; Goals and Objectives; Financial Services Industry

17 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

immediate and long-term goals in mind. One respondent summed up the challenge in a particularly apt way: “Shifting existing organizational structures from ‘peacetime’ value creation to ‘wartime/survival’ in a very short period of time As... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

26 Apr 2023
In Practice

Is AI Coming for Your Job?

new technological innovations, certain sets of skills become more important, while others become less important. I believe the same will be true with generative AI. Programmers, for example, will not need to write as much code from... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

26 Mar 2024
Research & Ideas

How Humans Outshine AI in Adapting to Change

the flexibility of AI versus humans in adjusting to new situations, the authors set up four video games, outlining certain tasks for humans and several popular game-playing AI algorithms to complete. The tasks tested the players’ ability... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology; Information Technology

20 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 20

performance measurement with the goal of increasing a nonprofit's ability to serve more people more effectively. This note discusses the full set of venture philanthropy practices and their impact on... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

June 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

High Liner Foods, 2015

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2015, Canadian-based High Liner Foods Ltd was one of North America's largest frozen fish processors with extensive shares of both the food service and retail channels in Canada, the USA and Mexico. With over C$1 billion in revenues, the company had grown four fold... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Strategic Decision Making; Family Business; Commodities; Strategic Planning; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; North America; Canada