Publications

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October 1995 (Revised June 1996)
Case

Li & Fung (Trading) Ltd.

Li & Fung, one of the largest export trading companies in Asia, works primarily as an agent to connect U.S. and European manufacturers and retailers of nondurable, mass-market consumer goods with suppliers located all over East Asia who manufacture products according... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Marketplace Matching; Supply Chain Management; Trade; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; Asia; United States; Europe

21 Jul 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Organizational Structures and the Improvement of Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: Legalization, Participation, and Economic Incentives

Keywords: by Yanhua Z. Bird, Jodi L. Short, and Michael W. Toffel

September 2010 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Harvard Management Company (2010)

By: Andre F. Perold and Erik Stafford

In February 2010, Jane Mendillo, CEO of Harvard Management Company, was reflecting on the list of issues facing Harvard University's endowment in preparation for the upcoming board meeting. The recent financial crisis had vividly highlighted several key issues... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Higher Education; Asset Management; Financial Liquidity; Investment Portfolio; Risk Management; Education Industry; Financial Services Industry; Massachusetts

April 1999 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Tarnished Rings? Olympic Games Sponsorship Issues

By: John A. Clendenin and Stephen A. Greyser

Focuses on the impacts for Olympic sponsor companies of the bribery allegations related to the Salt Lake City Olympic Committee's successful bid for the 2002 Winter Games. The spread of the scandal to the International Olympic Committee board members and the recent... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Crisis Management; Marketing Channels; Consumer Behavior; Value Creation; Sports Industry

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10 Jul 2007
News

How to Reduce Risk in the Financial System

18 Mar 2016
Video

The Team Sport of Scaling a Business

December 2024
Supplement

Northvolt: Building Batteries to Fight Climate Change (B)

By: George Serafeim, Debora L. Spar, Peter Tufano, Hugo Etchegoyhen and Emilie Billaud

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; Transportation; Green Technology Industry; Europe; Sweden

July 2020 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Board Diversity at Amazon (A)

By: Aiyesha Dey and Anu Atluru

The case revolves around the decisions that the board of directors of ecommerce giant Amazon would need to make in response to the controversial letter that activist shareholder CtW investment group sent to Amazon’s shareholders, urging them to vote in favor of a... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Boards; Governing and Advisory Boards; Diversity; Gender; Race; United States

August 2016
Supplement

CEO Succession at Cisco (B): Announcement Strategy

By: Boris Groysberg, J. Yo-Jud Cheng and Annelena Lobb

Supplements the (A) case (417-031). This case supplement describes Cisco’s communications strategy around the CEO announcement, which focused on controlling the narrative and avoiding leaks. The strategy included both internal and external processes aimed at... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Communication Strategy; Technology Industry

August 2006 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Rwanda and the Thousand Hills Coffee Co.: Breaking New Grounds

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Michelle McDonald

Examines the strategies of a Boston-based start-up to market Rwandan coffee. Describes the history of the coffee industry, the era of cartelization and the International Coffee Agreement, and the subsequent collapse in producer prices after 1989. Also describes the... View Details

Keywords: History; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Food and Beverage Industry; Rwanda; Boston

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March 2005 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Aguas Argentinas: Settling a Dispute

By: Louis T. Wells Jr. and Alexandra de Royere

The French-owned Aguas Argentinas faces a demand from the Argentine government that it renegotiate its concession to operate the Buenos Aires water and sewage services. The company must decide whether to continue with efforts to settle on a new contract or to exercise... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Contracts; Infrastructure; Privatization; Business and Government Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Business Strategy; Utilities Industry; France; Buenos Aires

June 1996
Case

Black Magic and the America's Cup: The Victory

Chronicles New Zealand's participation in successive America's Cup regattas, culminating in its decisive 1995 victory. Allows for discussion of how an organization from a small nation can beat the world's best in a technologically, organizationally, and managerially... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Sports; Business and Government Relations; Sports Industry; New Zealand

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September 1991 (Revised December 1991)
Case

USA Today Decision, The: Making Headlines Across the Nation (A)

This two-part case series describes how the option of launching USA Today was defined and evaluated by the Gannett Corp. This case supports a broad discussion of whether the concept of a national, general interest daily fits with the changing external environment and... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Decision Making; Product Launch; Product Development; Journalism and News Industry; Publishing Industry; United States

30 Dec 2010
News

A New Model for Corporate Boards

08 Feb 2021
News

University Administrators Lay Out Lessons Learned for Future of Education in HGSE Panel

October 21, 2022
Article

Climate Regulations Are About to Disrupt Global Shipping

By: Willy C. Shih

Ships that transport goods across oceans are collectively a major generator of greenhouse gases. Rules from the International Maritime Organization and the European Union aimed at curbing these emission promise to make transoceanic and regional shipping more expensive... View Details

Keywords: Shipping; Decarbonization; Environmental Regulation; Supply Chain; Disruption; Shipping Industry; Atlantic Ocean; Oceania; Asia; Europe; North and Central America

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25 Jun 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Build It, Buy It Or Both? Rethinking the Sourcing of Advertising Services

Keywords: by Alvin J. Silk; Advertising

February 2021 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Muhammad Ali: Changing The World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case describes the rise of Cassius Clay, who later called himself Muhammad Ali, from the poor streets of Louisville, Kentucky to international fame. The case describes how Ali won a gold medal in the Olympics, three heavyweight boxing titles, and became a role... View Details

Keywords: Sports; Mission and Purpose; Personal Characteristics; Religion; Work-Life Balance; Family and Family Relationships; Success; Power and Influence; Personal Development and Career; Sports Industry

December 2020
Case

Tokio Marine Group (A)

By: David J. Collis, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

Tokio Marine, Japan's leading insurance company, has spent nearly two decades building a global footprint in different insurance businesses around the world. As the company becomes majority non-domestic it has to make a choice of what organisation structure to adopt to... View Details

Keywords: Organisational Design; Culture; Values; Global Strategy; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Values and Beliefs; Insurance Industry; Japan