Publications

December 2005 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Ben & Jerry's: Preserving Mission & Brand within Unilever

By: James E. Austin and James Quinn

In the months after Ben & Jerry's was acquired by Unilever, Ben & Jerry's head social mission faces challenges and opportunities unique in the company's history, including: how to manage employee morale; whether to include synthetic ingredients to meet consumer... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Problems and Challenges; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Management Teams; Governing and Advisory Boards; Value Creation; Corporate Governance; Employee Relationship Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; United States

November 2018
Case

Sportradar (A): From Data to Storytelling

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karen Elterman and Oliver Gassmann

In 2013, the Swiss sports data company Sportradar debated whether to expand from its core business of data provision to bookmakers into sports media products. Sports data was becoming a commodity, and in the future, sports leagues might reduce their dependence on... View Details

January 2018
Case

Peak Games: Hiring Priorities in Times of Rapid Growth (A)

By: William R. Kerr and Gamze Yucaoglu

Sidar Şahin, founder and CEO of Peak Games, a Turkey-based global mobile gaming company, must decide on the final list of candidates for the critical global marketing director position the company has been trying to fill for over a year. Since its founding in 2010,... View Details

Keywords: Recruiting; Staffing; Emergent Countries; Entrepreneurial Management; Private Sector; Business Strategy; Decision; Growth Management; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation; Organizational Culture; Decision Choices and Conditions; Technology Industry; Turkey

Emily Tedards is a Doctoral Student in the Organizational Behavior program at Harvard Business School and a Doctoral Fellow for the Reimagining the Economy Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School. Emily is interested in interorganizational networks, alliances, and the... View Details

March 2008 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Sony PlayStation 3: Game Over?

By: Elie Ofek

Outlines the challenges faced by Sony with the launch of its PlayStation 3. Information on the 2006 and 2007 holiday seasons and the success of rival consoles is outlined. In addition, the case allows examining the costs and revenues associated with a business model... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Cost; Revenue; Product Launch; Sales; Competition; Hardware; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

November 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Paytm: A Payments Journey in India

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, Amram Migdal and Kanika Jain

Paytm was an Indian financial technology company. Since its launch in 2010, it had built a dominant payments system in India, comprising mobile wallets, offline payments via QR codes, and a payments bank that offered no-frills banking. However, in 2016, the Indian... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Situation or Environment; Business Ventures; Business Model; Banks and Banking; Business Strategy; Competition; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Technology Industry; Asia; South Asia; India

02 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

The Secret of How Microsoft Stays on Top

off by disruptive technologies. Critics often argue that Microsoft can't innovate its way out of a paper bag—instead it has used its monopoly position to stamp out competition and force an industry to bend to its standards. But now comes... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

December 2007 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Alltech...naturally

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

Entrepreneur Pearse Lyons had built Alltech into the fastest growing company in the global animal health industry through innovative technology, creative marketing, and strong branding. Sel-Plex, a proprietary Alltech product, had shown important health benefits for... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Leadership Development; Customer Focus and Relationships; Expansion; Technological Innovation; Intellectual Property; Sales; Value Creation; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Industry

05 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

The Middle Manager of the Future: More Coaching, Less Commanding

driven economy, suggests new research from Harvard Business School, and managers who can collaborate—not just supervise and discipline—are reaping the rewards. To support more autonomous, creative workers, organizations want managers to... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

9 AM – 10 AM EDT, 12 Jun 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Disruptive Strategy

Make innovation a reality with strategies from two-time World's Most Innovative Business Thinker, Clayton Christensen. June 12, 2019 - July 10, 2019 View Details

Regina E. Herzlinger

Regina E. Herzlinger is the Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. She was the first woman to be tenured and chaired at Harvard Business School and serve on many established and start-up corporate health care/medical... View Details

Keywords: health care; insurance industry; medical devices; retailing; digital health

September 2006 (Revised August 2008)
Module Note

Assessing Your Organization's Capabilities: Resources, Processes and Priorities

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Stephen P. Kaufman

Summarizes a model that helps managers determine what sorts of initiatives an organization is capable and incapable of managing successfully. The factors that affect what an organizational unit can and cannot accomplish can be grouped as resources, processes, and the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Experience and Expertise; Innovation and Management; Business Processes; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Mathematical Methods

Isamar Troncoso is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Marketing Unit at HBS. She teaches the Marketing course in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Troncoso studies problems related to digital marketplaces and new technologies. She... View Details

Keywords: e-commerce industry; high technology; retailing

Kyle R. Myers

Kyle Myers is an assistant professor of business administration in the Technology and Operations Management unit. He teaches the first-year Technology and Operations Management course.

Professor Myers studies the economics of innovation. His research is at... View Details

Keywords: health care; biotechnology; pharmaceuticals; energy; high technology

2015
Book

How the Internet Became Commercial: Innovation, Privatization, and the Birth of a New Network

By: Shane Greenstein

In less than a decade, the Internet went from being a series of loosely connected networks used by universities and the military to the powerful commercial engine it is today. This book describes how many of the key innovations that made this possible came from... View Details

9 AM – 9 AM EDT, 05 Sep 2018
HBS Online

HBX Disruptive Strategy

Make innovation a reality with strategies from two-time Worlds Most Innovative Business Thinker, Clayton Christensen. Program Dates: September 5, 2018 - October 17, 2018 View Details

9 AM – 10 AM EST, 23 Jan 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Disruptive Strategy

Make innovation a reality with strategies from two-time World's Most Innovative Business Thinker, Clayton Christensen. Program Dates: January 23, 2019 - March 6, 2019 View Details

September 2001 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Webvan

Examines Webvan's operations and the processes by which it delivers groceries that were ordered from the Internet to customers' homes. Recounts Webvan's history from founding through early 2001 and concentrates on the unique approaches to warehousing, delivery,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Failure; Business Startups; Consumer Products Industry; Service Industry