Publications

December 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Husk Power: Scaling the Venture

By: Benjamin N. Roth, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Natalia Rigol

In January 2018, Manoj Sinha—founder and CEO of Husk Power—was contemplating raising $20 million to scale operations for a second time. From 2007 through 2013, Husk built 80 biomass waste plants that provided electricity to 250,000 villagers and shop owners spread... View Details

Keywords: Scaling; Energy; Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Growth and Development Strategy; Energy Industry; India

2013
Article

Achievement Motivation, Strategic Orientations and Business Performance in Entrepreneurial Firms: How Different are Japanese and American Founders?

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Amir Grinstein, Elie Ofek and Sang-Hoon Kim

Purpose: There is lack of research on the link between the personal disposition of an entrepreneurial firm's founder, the firm's strategic orientation, and its performance outcomes. Also, there is lack of cross-national research on entrepreneurial firms' strategic... View Details

Keywords: Motivation; Entrepreneurs; Japan; Motivation and Incentives; Entrepreneurship; Japan; United States

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30 Apr 2024
Book

When Managers Set Unrealistic Expectations, Employees Cut Ethical Corners

willing to approve continued sales of a drug known to be lethal to some customers in fulfilment of their assigned role to maximise value for shareholders (Armstrong, 1977, p. 204). And so on. Yet, the insights from this research and their... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

June 2024
Article

Real Growth in Space Manufacturing Output Substantially Exceeds Growth in the Overall Space Economy

By: Tina Highfill and Matthew Weinzierl

Accurately measuring real economic output in the space economy is made difficult by the rapid increase in capabilities and decrease in prices of launch and satellite technologies achieved over the past two decades. Nominal measures of output in space will tend to... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Economic Growth; Price; Production; Aerospace Industry

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02 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

The Success of Persistent Entrepreneurs

When it comes to entrepreneurship, nothing says success like a track record of previous wins. Entrepreneurs with a history of success are much more likely to succeed in new ventures than first-timers or those who failed previously, new research from Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

February 2017
Teaching Note

Oversight Systems

By: Frank Cespedes

This Teaching Note accompanies the case, set in May 2016, which discusses sales strategy and channel partnerships at Oversight Systems, an early stage software firm that developed analytics for organizations to monitor their data for errors, fraud, and operational... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Sales Strategy; Entrepreneurial Sales; Entrepreneurial Sales And Marketing; Software Sales; Marketing; Marketing Management; Pricing; Salesforce Management; Distribution Channels; Marketing Strategy; Technology Industry; North America

August 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Danielle Marcoux at AdNet2Win Technologies

By: Anthony J. Mayo and Joshua D. Margolis

Danielle Marcoux, Director of Web Design at AdNet2Win Technologies, must decide how best to confront Charles Davide, the Chief Technology Officer and leader of the design team charged with overseeing a major upgrade of the company's proprietary customer loyalty... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Management Teams; Interpersonal Communication; Creativity; Status and Position; Web Services Industry

September 2007
Case

Vendor Compliance at Geoffrey Ryans (A)

Geoffrey Ryans, a regional department store, faced two major issues relating to its retail furniture line: a large percentage of stock received from East Asian vendors was not in sellable condition, and furniture pieces had high customer return rates. Discusses... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Supply Chain; Retail Industry; East Asia

January 1989 (Revised February 1993)
Case

Warner Cable (A)

The new general manager of Warner Cable's Medford, Massachusetts complex faces a number of turnaround challenges in 1985, including service deficiencies, customer complaints, high turnover, and low employee morale. By 1988 he has turned the situation around, but some... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Style; Human Resources; Telecommunications Industry; Massachusetts

13 Dec 2019
News

United’s Frequent-Flier Program Gets Some Game Theory

03 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 3

prospect of marketing ExperienceFLX's business to a new customer base through Groupon was very appealing, the Falks found that designing a deal that met Groupon's requirements while still allowing ExperienceFLX to make money and without... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2020 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Rumo: Infrastructure for a Healthier Economy

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Mariana Cal, Ruth Costas and Natalie Kindred

Brazilian logistics company Rumo operated 13,500 km in railway networks, port terminals, and inland transshipment terminals, connecting major Brazilian ports to the agriculture hubs of Mato Grosso and São Paulo state. Controlled by Cosan, Brazil's leading sugar and... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Customer Relationship Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Logistics; Rail Transportation; Value Creation; Rail Industry; Transportation Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Latin America; Brazil

12 Mar 2024
HBS Case

How Used Products Can Unlock New Markets: Lessons from Apple's Refurbished iPhones

Some of Apple’s most loyal customers think nothing of upgrading to the latest iPhone every time one comes out. But what about consumers who can’t splurge on a $1,000 iPhone 15 Pro? And what about the electronic waste that would accrue if people threw away functional... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Electronics; Information Technology

02 Apr 2024
What Do You Think?

What's Enough to Make Us Happy?

The result is measured in terms of outcomes that may be more or less than we expected, just as customer satisfaction is measured in terms of whether our expectations were met or exceeded. But how many of us take time out periodically to... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

May 2024
Background Note

Pricing Strategy and Channels of Distribution: Where Value Delivery and Value Capture Intersect

By: Elie Ofek

Channels of distribution are a critical component of a firm’s go-to-market strategy. A company may elect to sell its products directly to customers (DTC) without the assistance of any intermediaries or, alternatively, it may seek several channel partners to help it... View Details

Keywords: Price; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Markets

2014
Working Paper

Bride Price and the Returns to Education

By: Nava Ashraf, Natalie Bau, Nathan Nunn and Alessandra Voena

Traditional cultural practices can play an important role in development, but can also inspire condemnation. The custom of bride price, prevalent throughout sub-Saharan Africa and in parts of Asia as a payment of the groom to the family of the bride, is one example. In... View Details

Keywords: Zambia; Indonesia

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April 29, 2014
Column

Corporate Reporting in the Big Data Era

By: George Serafeim

Advancements in information technology can improve corporate communication with shareholders, but not through incessant data dumps. Instead, companies will more likely be poised for continued success if they use digital platforms for long-term oriented engagement and... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Reporting; Big Data; Corporate Reporting; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Governance; Accounting; Reporting; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Corporate Accountability; Analytics and Data Science; Information Technology; Communication; Financial Reporting; Business and Shareholder Relations

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January 1988 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Digital Equipment Corp.: The Endpoint Model (A)

By: David A. Garvin

Describes a comprehensive manufacturing strategy designed to reduce substantially the cycle time of orders (i.e. the time between the placement of an order by a customer and its delivery to the customer). To launch the strategy Digital has adopted manufacturing... View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Information; Time Management; Production; Strategic Planning; Strategy; Manufacturing Industry