Publications

January 2014 (Revised December 2014)
Case

GenapSys: Business Models for the Genome

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Joseph B. Fuller and Matthew Preble

GenapSys, a California-based startup, was soon to release a new DNA sequencer that the company's founder, Hesaam Esfandyarpour, believed was truly revolutionary. The sequencer would be substantially less expensive—potentially costing just a few thousand dollars—and... View Details

Keywords: DNA Sequencing; Life Sciences; Business Model; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Genetics; Business Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

September 1972 (Revised September 1983)
Case

Timex Corp.

The evolution of Timex from its inception in the 1940s to its position as a leading multinational watch manufacturer in the early 1970s. Focuses on Timex's strategy for marketing, on a worldwide basis, and its line of inexpensive watches. View Details

Keywords: Product; Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Global Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

May 2009 (Revised June 2009)
Case

Areva

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

Areva, the world's market leader in civilian nuclear power, was positioned to take advantage of the resurgence of nuclear power. However, three issues clouded the positive outlook: (1) a 1.7 billion euro loss on the construction of the first next generation nuclear... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Financial Statements; Energy Generation; Cash Flow; Investment; Energy Industry; Europe

April 2021 (Revised December 2023)
Case

The Mahindra Group: Leading with Purpose

By: Ranjay Gulati and Rachna Tahilyani

India headquartered Mahindra Group is a multibillion-dollar federation of companies operating across the globe. It is ahead of its time in articulating its purpose and mapping its values, something it had first done at inception and then refreshed yet again as ‘Rise’... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Change Management; Communication Strategy; Family Ownership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Revenue; Auto Industry; Financial Services Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; Asia; India; Mumbai; South Korea; Italy; United States

September 1988
Case

Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (D)

Reveals that Vicks chose a multi-condition positioning for the product. Describes testing of name and concept, and extensively reports on a four-city test market. Students are expected to evaluate both the design and results of the test, and face options ranging from... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Health Industry

2008
Working Paper

Market Reaction to the Adoption of IFRS in Europe

By: Christopher S. Armstrong, Mary E. Barth, Alan D. Jagolinzer and Edward J. Riedl

This study examines the European stock market reaction to sixteen events associated with the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Europe. European IFRS adoption represented a major milestone towards financial reporting convergence yet... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Financial Markets; Code Law; Standards; Adoption; Europe

Dennis “DJ” DiDonna has dedicated his career to commercializing social science research to create organizations which positively impact the world.

He is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School where he teaches the... View Details

19 Nov 2012
News

Happiness may bring you more money, study says

2021
Working Paper

Does Social Media Cause Polarization? Evidence from Access to Twitter Echo Chambers during the 2019 Argentine Presidential Debate

By: Rafael Di Tella, Ramiro H. Gálvez and Ernesto Schargrodsky

We study how two groups, those inside vs. those outside echo chambers, react to a political event when we vary social media status (Twitter). Our treatments mimic two strategies often suggested as a way to limit polarization on social media: they expose people to... View Details

Keywords: Political Polarization; Political Elections; Internet and the Web; Attitudes; Social Media; Argentina

04 May 2020
Blog Post

Crisis Leadership with Nikhil Patel: The Critical Importance of Trust

Two weeks into his Leadership Fellows position with the Detroit’s Office of the Mayor, Nikhil Patel (MBA 2019) was summoned by the Mayor for a car ride. Among Patel’s mandates – which included economic development, housing, View Details

June 2013
Case

The World Economic Forum's Global Leadership Fellows Program

By: Rakesh Khurana and Eric Baldwin

This case examines a distinctive leadership development program within the World Economic Forum. The program, born out of the conviction that the complexity of global challenges at the beginning of the 21st century required a new generation of global leaders, recruited... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Leadership Skills; Training; Global Organizations; Global Leadership; World Economic Forum; Globalization; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change

21 Aug 2023
Book

You’re More Than Your Job: 3 Tips for a Healthier Work-Life Balance

Future-Proof Your Career, Avoid Burnout, and Build a Life Bigger than Your Business Card, which explains how to treat work-life calibration as you would a financial portfolio, through concepts like diversification. “There’s a calculus of:... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

12 Apr 2013
News

Deleveraging in the U.S. Just Started

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

October 2018
Article

Competing with Complementors: An Empirical Look at Amazon.com

By: Feng Zhu and Qihong Liu

Platform owners sometimes enter complementors' product spaces to compete against them directly. Prior studies have offered two possible explanations for such entries: platform owners may target the most successful complementors so as to appropriate value from their... View Details

Keywords: Amazon; Complementors; Co-opetition; Entry; Platform-based Markets; Competition; Digital Platforms; Competitive Strategy

September 2000 (Revised September 2005)
Case

New Beetle, The

By: Rajiv Lal and Nilanjana R. Pal

Volkswagen of America introduced the New Beetle at the Detroit auto show in January 1998 to rave reviews from the automobile press and industry gurus. Elisabeth Vanzura, marketing director of Volkswagen American had the challenging task of converting this enthusiasm to... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Leadership; Marketing; Marketing Communications; Product Positioning; Market Entry and Exit; Sales; Auto Industry; United States

Video

Reuel J. Khoza

Reuel J. Khoza, Chairman of South Africa's Dzana Investments and Discovery Bank, details his involvement with university student politics and advocacy during apartheid, which led to his firing from a faculty position in 1974. View Details

March 2020
Article

Knowing When to Ask: The Cost of Leaning-in

By: Christine L. Exley, Muriel Niederle and Lise Vesterlund

Women's reluctance to negotiate is often used to explain the gender wage gap, popularizing the push for women to “lean-in" and negotiate more. Examining an environment where women achieve positive profits when they choose to negotiate, we find that increased... View Details

Keywords: Negotiations; Leaning-in; Selection; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Style; Gender

June 1992 (Revised June 1995)
Case

RJR Nabisco Holdings Capital Corp.--1991

By: Peter Tufano

An investment manager notices a large apparent discrepancy in the prices of two nearly-identical bonds issued in conjunction with a major leveraged buyout. The manager must figure out whether the instruments are mispriced relative to one another, and if so, how to... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Financial Instruments