Publications

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June 2010
Supplement

Blue Man Group: Creativity, Life, and Business (Video)

This video complements the case "Blue Man Group: Creativity, Life and Surviving an Economic Crisis." (810108) With extensive clips from live performances, Blue Man's three co-founders offer their perspective on creativity, life and business; and describe the birth and... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Entrepreneurship; Financial Crisis; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

2020
Book

Experimentation Works: The Surprising Power of Business Experiments

By: Stefan Thomke

Don’t fly blind. See how the power of experiments works for you. When it comes to improving customer experiences, trying out new business models, or developing new products, even the most experienced managers often get it wrong. They discover that intuition,... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Experiments; Market Research; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Customers; Research

Find at Harvard

August 1994 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Olympus Optical Company, Ltd. (A): Cost Management for Short Life Cycle Products

Explores Olympus Optical's strategic response to major losses in its camera business. Key to Olympus's recovery were its extensive product planning process, a quality improvement program, and an aggressive cost-reduction program. In particular, the case details... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Product Design; Business Strategy; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry

April 1993 (Revised December 2001)
Case

General Dynamics and Computer Sciences Corporation: Outsourcing the IS Function (B)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Katherine Seger

Designed to look at outsourcing from the perspective of a major computer services company trying to get into the business. View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Business Startups; Business Plan; Business Strategy; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Financial Management; Management Teams; Communication Strategy; Organizational Design; Product Design; Accounting; Activity Based Costing and Management; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry

06 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Consumers Blame Business for Global Health Problems. Can Business Become the Solution?

long used corporate social responsibility initiatives and philanthropy to improve their standing with consumers. Now there is a new crop of companies that are making health and wellness a business imperative, not just because it is “the... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Health

April 1993 (Revised May 1994)
Case

General Dynamics and Computer Sciences Corporation: Outsourcing the IS Function (A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Katherine Seger

Designed to generate discussion on the issues of outsourcing from the perspective of a firm thinking about turning over its IS activities to a third-party vendor. View Details

Keywords: Management Systems; Management Style; Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Business Strategy; Economic Systems; Business or Company Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Processes; Employment; Emerging Markets; Activity Based Costing and Management; Information Technology Industry; Consulting Industry

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

23 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

8 Strategies to Sustain Business Innovation

Sooner or later, every company runs into challenges that force them to make tough trade-offs during the innovation process. Harvard Business School associate professor Rory McDonald calls these moments “tensions.” The streaming service... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

24 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

The Business of Climate Change

On Sunday, 300,000 activists took to the streets of New York for the People's Climate March, the biggest climate protest in history, and the United Nations on Tuesday held the Climate Summit. In the spirit of Climate Week, we present insights from members of the... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Energy; Utilities

Research Summary

The Business of Stem Cells

By: Debora L. Spar

In 2004, the topic of stem cell research made both medical and moral headlines. Buoyed by a series of technological breakthroughs, stem cell scientists grew increasingly convinced that they would eventually be able to use embryonic stem cells -- the pluripotent cells... View Details

2013
Book

Business and the Environment: Critical Perspectives in Business and Management

By: Susse Georg and Andrew J. Hoffman

Over the past four decades, the concept of corporate environmentalism has passed through multiple iterations. Prompted by landmark environmental events such the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962), the Santa Barbara oil spill, the Cuyahoga River fire,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Management; Natural Environment

06 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

Updating a Classic: Writing a Great Business Plan

Sean Silverthorne: "How to Write a Great Business Plan" has been one of the most downloaded articles on Harvard Business Publishing since you wrote it in 1997. Why do you think you hit a nerve?... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

12 Feb 2001
Research & Ideas

John Irving’s Lessons for Business

solitary pursuit of writing, not jockeying for advancement in a business organization. Even so, according to HBS professor Teresa Amabile, a good look at Irving's life to date reveals fascinating lessons on... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark & Martha Lagace

February 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Doing Business in Helsinki, Finland

By: Martin A. Sinozich, Lena Duchene, Tonia Labruyere and Daniela Beyersdorfer

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Finland. It highlights Finland's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Research and Development; Foreign Direct Investment; Crisis Management; Culture; Environmental Sustainability; International Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; Finland; Europe

07 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

The Business of Biotech

2,500 protesters marching through Copley Square—many of them costumed as ghoulish vegetables or three-headed beasts. The scene was hardly the ideal forum for discussion. But as knowledge of life sciences... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Biotechnology; Health; Technology

2021
Working Paper

The Business of K-12 Education in China

By: Geoffrey Jones and Yuhai Wu

This working paper examines the evolution of K-12 education in China, especially between 1985 and the present day, drawing extensive interviews with participants in the educational sector. China has been hugely successful in reaching almost 100 percent literacy,... View Details

Keywords: K-12 Education; China; Real Estate; Early Childhood Education; Performance Evaluation; Teaching; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Personal Development and Career; Social Issues; Nonprofit Organizations; Private Sector; Education Industry; Real Estate Industry; China

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01 Jun 2023
HBS Case

A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?

deflate,” Miller recalled in a recent Harvard Business School case. The partner had a job offer in his pocket that he had planned to hand Miller, but the prison time changed everything. View VideoVideo: Larry Miller looks back at the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Apparel & Accessories

February 1999 (Revised July 2004)
Case

Life as a Minor League CEO Frank Burke and The Chattanooga Lookouts

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Kirk A. Goldman

A "slice of life" depiction of the range of issues and activities experienced by Frank Burke (HBS MBA 1987), the president of a minor league baseball team (the Chattanooga Lookouts). Raises questions of the applicability of MBA skills in this role and the "quotient of... View Details

Keywords: Happiness; Managerial Roles; Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Marketing; Cost Management; Cost vs Benefits; Operations; Sports; Business Education; Sports Industry; Tennessee