Publications

17 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Who is Boss in the Sharing Economy?

than traditional businesses that employ their workers. And so it seemed until June, when the California Labor Commission disrupted the sharing economy when it declared that an Uber driver was an employee, not an independent contractor. Far from being a "neutral View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology; Technology

01 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

Immigrant Innovators: Job Stealers or Job Creators?

IBM. But the program also has granted thousands of visas to India-based technology services companies that have US entities, including Infosys, Wipro, and Tata Consultancy Services. As with any controversial... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology

02 Aug 2024
HBS Case

How a Mission to Cut Food Waste Launched a Multimillion-Dollar Venture

consulting before trying, failing, and trying again to succeed with the Flashfood app. Food waste wasn’t on Domingues’ mind until 2016, when his sister, a caterer, told him that she had to throw out $4,000 worth of leftover food from a... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Technology; Technology

November 1997 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Interactive Minds (A)

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael J. Roberts and Christina L. Darwall

The efforts of two recent Harvard Business School graduates to start a venture capital/consulting firm focused on opportunities related to the Internet are recounted. Raises the question of what the nature of this opportunity is, how well-positioned the protagonists... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Internet and the Web; Market Entry and Exit; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Consulting Industry

21 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

Don’t Get Buried in Customer Data—Use It

With the advent of customer relationship management (CRM) in the late 1990s, companies came to believe that by using technology to tailor their offerings to individual consumers' needs, customer loyalty—and company profits—would... View Details

Keywords: by Jean Ayers

August 2022 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Braintrust: The Blockchain-Powered Talent Network

By: Christopher Stanton, Joseph B. Fuller and George Gonzalez

A San Francisco startup seeks to disrupt the freelancing industry through its user-owned talent network powered by the cryptocurrency, BTRST. View Details

Keywords: Freelancers; Blockchain; Cryptocurrency; Social and Collaborative Networks; Talent and Talent Management; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry; United States

Research Summary

Mastering Strategy Execution

By: Robert Simons

Professor Robert Simons’ research encompasses three areas of management accountability that are the foundation for successful strategy execution: organization design, performance measurement and control, and risk management. In addition, Simons is interested in the... View Details

July 2023
Case

Schuberg Philis: From Success to Significance

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The founders of Dutch professional services firm Schuberg Philis, and the new leadership team entrusted with the day-to-day management, must set the path forward in 2019. The company has grown into a €70 million revenue strong IT provider with top ranks in the... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Growth Management; Change Management; Transformation; Mission and Purpose; Leadership; Leading Change; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Europe; Netherlands

August 2011
Teaching Note

Exeter Group, Inc. (TN)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Penelope Rossano

Teaching Note for 409001. View Details

Keywords: Markets; Projects; Resource Allocation; Corporate Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Performance Capacity; Service Delivery; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

October 2004
Teaching Note

Keane's Acquisition of Metro Information Services (A) and (B) TN

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

Teaching Note to (9-103-042) and (9-105-026). View Details

Keywords: Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

November 2002 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Keane's Acquisition of Metro Information Services (A)

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

On August 21, 2001, Keane, Inc. announced the acquisition of Metro Information Services, Inc. This case analyzes the challenges facing firms and examines transactions whose major source of value creation hinges on intangible assets (e.g., people or knowledge). View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Value Creation; Goodwill Accounting; Problems and Challenges; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

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; Information Technology Industry

December 1998 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Knot, The

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael J. Roberts and Matthew C. Lieb

An online wedding resource company is seeking an equity investment to grow the business. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Venture Capital; Value Creation; Internet and the Web; Finance; Expansion; Strategic Planning; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry

September 2000 (Revised August 2011)
Teaching Note

AGENCY.COM (A) and (B) TN

By: Ashish Nanda and Thomas J. DeLong

Teaching Note for (9-800-061) and (9-800-062). View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Corporate Finance; Growth and Development; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry; San Francisco

July 2000
Background Note

Industry Transformation

By: Michael E. Porter and Jan W. Rivkin

One of the steepest challenges a strategist faces is to navigate his or her company through a period of industry transformation--an era of rapid and wholesale changes in industry structure. This note considers how periods of transformation typically unfold. It then... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry

February 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Doing Business in Seoul, South Korea

By: Sara Fleiss, Leonard A. Schlesinger, Bonnie Yining Cao and Dawn H. Lau

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Seoul, South Korea. It highlights South Korea's economic development in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Strategy; Management; Social Enterprise; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; South Korea; United States