Publications

August 2019 (Revised July 2023)
Module Note

Demystifying the Family Enterprise: Module 1 - The Family

By: Christina R. Wing, Madeline Keulen and Vicki Morton

Module 1 of Demystifying Families in Business focuses on the Family. The Family unit forms the bedrock of the organizations that comprise the collective Family organization, specifically, the virtues that define the Family members’ rules of engagement, and the... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; Governance; Values and Beliefs; Business Organization

January 2009 (Revised November 2010)
Case

The Dojima Rice Market and the Origins of Futures Trading

By: David A. Moss and Eugene Kintgen

In 1730, Japanese merchants petitioned shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune to officially authorize trade in rice futures at the Dojima Exchange, the world's first organized (but unsanctioned) futures market. For many years, the Japanese government had prohibited the trade of... View Details

Keywords: Futures and Commodity Futures; Price; Food; Business History; Market Transactions; Business and Government Relations; Japan

03 Jun 2021
Blog Post

HBS Pilots First Impact Investing Fund

This year, HBS piloted its first student-run Impact Investing Fund, focused on investing in BIPOC-led and owned small businesses in the Massachusetts area. Since launching, the fund has raised $200k, completed diligence on eight... View Details

02 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 2, 2010

using different methods (two experiments and a survey) indicate an inverted-U shaped relationship between degree of decision latitude and leadership effectiveness perceptions. The increase in leadership effectiveness perception between... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2018 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Tesla's CEO Compensation Plan

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Sarah Mehta

Tesla’s board of directors proposed an unusual compensation plan for the company’s CEO Elon Musk. The plan payouts were entirely contingent on achieving very ambitious market value, sales, and EBIT targets over the next ten years. If all the targets were achieved,... View Details

Keywords: CEO Compensation; Compensation Committee; Corporate Governance; Executive Compensation; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations; Auto Industry; United States

February 1998 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Airborne Express

By: Jan W. Rivkin

In the wake of a highly successful quarter, senior managers of Airborne Express, the third largest player in the express mail industry, review the firm's competitive position. Airborne has survived, and recently prospered, in an industry with significant economies of... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Business Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Global Strategy; Rank and Position; Service Industry

19 Dec 2006
First Look

First Look: December 19, 2006

percent of the 366 pairs of cross elasticities are sign asymmetric. Finally, we find that the occurrence of negatively signed cross elasticities can be partially explained by a set of hypothesized relationships between cross-price... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2020 (Revised January 2022)
Case

1928 Diagnostics: Fighting Antibiotics Resistance

By: Ariel D. Stern and Daniela Beyersdorfer

In 2019, the co-founders of the Swedish medical start-up 1928 Diagnostics, CEO Dr. Kristina Lagerstedt and COO Dr. Susanne Staaf, had to pick the right business model to commercialize their novel technology to hospitals and health care providers. Developed in... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Science-Based Business; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Information Technology; Digital Platforms; Health Disorders; Market Entry and Exit; Value Creation; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Health Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Technology Industry; Europe; Sweden

01 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 1, 2008

describes Chicago's approach to MBA education and the challenges it faced. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=308014 Weber Shandwick: The Client Relationship Leader Program Harvard View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

18 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

How New Managers Become Great Managers

turned over 75 percent of the assortment, tripled net direct product profitability, and increased sales. When she advanced again, she moved back into the marketing department as senior vice president of small business and retail... View Details

Keywords: by Linda Hill

28 Sep 2023
News

Screen Time

iStock/ST.art MBA 1982’s Section B had already formed a close-knit group that gathered often in the decades following their time at the School, when the pandemic appeared in the spring of 2020. Unable to enjoy one another’s company in person, the group didn’t miss a... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

25 Jun 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

FIELD Trip: Conquering the Gap Between Knowing and Doing

The mission: To sell more laptops. The market: Rural China. The challenge: The business partner wants to know what laptop features would be appealing to customers in rural China. Landing in Shanghai with eight days to find out, a team of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Education

February 1999 (Revised October 2009)
Background Note

Debt v. Equity: Definitions and Consequences

By: Henry B. Reiling and Mark Pollard

Explores the location of the somewhat imprecise line between debt and equity. Identifies the primary business contexts that give rise to problems, the alternative tax consequences attending the debt versus equity determination, and the most prominent tests used to... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Interest Rates; Taxation; Business and Government Relations; Public Administration Industry

28 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

Earth Day Reflections

Below are the views that faculty shared with the HBS community on Earth Day. 1. Robert G. Eccles Senior Lecturer of Business Administration and author of One Report: Integrated Reporting for a Sustainable Strategy (This article, titled,... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

January–February 2020
Article

Give Your Colleague the Rating He Deserves—or the One He Wants?

By: Anthony J. Mayo, Joshua D. Margolis and Amy Gallo

The article presents a case study on business friendship and its possible effect on employee ratings. It mentions a hypothetical case where one member of a team didn't meet his deadlines on the development of a new product, the use of a peer-to-peer employee rating... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Relationships; Performance Evaluation; Decision Making

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December 1993 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Marriott Corporation (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Charles A. Nichols

Marriott Corp.'s chairman and CEO must decide whether to recommend a restructuring of the company to the board of directors. The proposal he is considering would split the Marriott Corp., a premier hotel developer, owner, and manager, into two separate companies by a... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Restructuring; Governing and Advisory Boards; Decision Making; Ethics; Management Teams; Business and Shareholder Relations; Accommodations Industry