Publications

August 2009 (Revised December 2012)
Background Note

Researching a Company

By: Willy Shih and Meghan Dolan

This note was written to help students at the Harvard Business School do a more thorough job of researching a company, utilizing the extensive resources of the Baker Library, as well as other widely available databases. Exhibits provide detailed information on key... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Knowledge Acquisition; Research

October 1991 (Revised August 1993)
Case

Acid Rain: Burlington Northern, Inc. (A)

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Burlington Northern (BN) hauls low-sulfur coal from the northern Great Plains to electric utilities in the Midwest. Acid rain legislation may affect the geographic scope of BN's markets. Railroad managers need to assess the economic effects of acid rain controls and... View Details

Keywords: Rail Transportation; Environmental Sustainability; Development Economics; Government Legislation; Natural Environment; Policy; Metals and Minerals; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Rail Industry; United States

February 1996
Case

TRW's Information Services Division: Strategic Human Resource Management

By: Michael Beer and Gregory C. Rogers

Looks at a change effort initiated by a human resources manager within a division of TRW. The effort utilizes a change process to try to deal with some of the division's issues around organizational effectiveness, especially that of a long-term strategy. In so doing,... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Managerial Roles; Strategy; Problems and Challenges

July 1999
Background Note

Note on Statistical Tests for a Randomized Matched Pair Experimental Design, A

By: Alvin J. Silk

Concerns understanding the conditions under which an experimental design that employs matching and randomization may result in gains in precision as compared to a design that utilizes randomization and independent samples--i.e., no matching. An empirical example is... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Performance Efficiency; Mathematical Methods

2012
Book

Judgment Calls: Twelve Stories of Big Decisions and the Teams That Got Them Right

By: Thomas H. Davenport and Brook Manville

This book includes twelve detailed stories of organizations that have successfully tapped their data assets, diverse perspectives, and deep knowledge to build an organizational decision-making capability. The book introduces a model that utilizes the collective... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Judgment; Decision-making; Decisions; Organizational Structure; Business Processes

August 2012 (Revised September 2013)
Case

EnerNOC: DemandSMART

By: Michael W. Toffel, Kira Fabrizio and Stephanie van Sice

EnerNOC is an energy company with an innovative business model: it serves as an intermediary between electric utilities and electricity users. It contracts with electricity users willing to reduce demand during periods of peak energy demand, and sells this as excess... View Details

Keywords: Production Planning; Productivity; Environmental Protection; Energy; Environment; Business Government Relations; Laws And Regulation; Business Model; Environmental Sustainability; Innovation and Invention; Opportunities; Risk and Uncertainty; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Supply Chain Management; Production; Energy Conservation; Energy Industry

January 1994
Case

National Convenience Stores, Inc.

By: Steven R. Fenster, Stuart C. Gilson and Roy Burstin

National Convenience Stores seeks to emerge from Chapter 11. Central to the nature of the reorganization plan is the company's determining enterprise value. The various constituencies (secured debt, unsecured debt, etc.) will seek to find an enterprise value that... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Valuation; Restructuring; Strategic Planning; Borrowing and Debt; Food and Beverage Industry; Texas

March 2024
Module Note

Accounting Standards for the 21st Century

By: Jonas Heese

Over the past two decades, accounting standards have evolved to meet the demands of a rapidly changing business environment. This module note focuses on understanding the impact of these standards on measuring firm performance and financial position in the context of a... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Standards; Performance Evaluation; Change Management

16 Dec 2021
News

Avoid a One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Sales Coaching

11 Nov 2016
News

The career afterlife

23 Jan 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Overcoming Institutional Voids: A Reputation-Based View of Long Run Survival

Keywords: by Cheng Gao, Tiona Zuzul, Geoffrey Jones, and Tarun Khanna

July 1979 (Revised August 2019)
Background Note

Note on Taxation

By: William J. Poorvu, Arthur I Segel, Glenn S. Miller, Michael D. Kummer, Charles F. Wu, Po Sit and Joseph M. Gerstel

Every real-estate transaction is affected by the tax consequences that result from its form and substance. Structuring a transaction without a thorough understanding of its tax considerations is likely to reduce the transaction's potential value. The failure to utilize... View Details

Keywords: Property; Taxation; Investment

25 May 2010
News

Harvard Business School Receives City of Boston Green Business Award

20 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 20

Publication:Journal of Public Economics (forthcoming) Abstract Argentina privatized most public utilities during the 1990s but re-nationalized the main water company in 2006. We study beliefs about the benefits of the privatization of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of millions of single-use take-out food... View Details