Publications

Building Iconic Brands and Brighter Futures: Interview with Glossier CEO, Kyle Leahy - Recruiting

didn’t plan out a career in beauty. Instead, she tested out different hypotheses and followed her curiosity. Some early stops in her career included internships at Merrill Lynch and Putnam, consideration of joining Teach for America or law school, and then ultimately... View Details

Research Summary

Current Research: Issues in Corporate Governance

Effectiveness of shareholder voting

Reform of shareholder voting is a key component of legislation arising from the financial crisis of 2008. Professor Gow examines the effect of shareholder voting on corporate actions, particularly on... View Details

May 2017
Case

Vicki Fuller: Chief Investment Officer of New York State's $150+ Billion Employee Pension Fund

By: Steven Rogers and Valerie Mosley

Vicki Fuller traveled from a four-room tenement bordering Chicago’s infamous Cabrini-Green housing projects to speaking at conferences around the world and typically holding court wherever she went. As a teenager, she helped raise her siblings. As a Wall Street... View Details

April 1982 (Revised September 1986)
Case

Ideal Standard France: Pat Paterson

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

A newly appointed country subsidiary manager must decide on action for an operation losing $1 million per month. He is constrained by price controls on one hand and sensitive union relations on the other. Furthermore a major loss-contributing plant has recently been... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Transition; Cost Management; Management; Crisis Management; Labor and Management Relations

03 Apr 2006
What Do You Think?

Has Globalization Reached Its Peak?

might be, could provide a safeguard against any calamity except perhaps a world war. This assumes that astute global managers outsource primarily non-strategic activities, act responsibly, and maintain positive working View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

03 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

NFL Black Monday: How Much Do Coaches Really Matter?

important question: Can able managers create value for their organizations by applying the resources at their disposal, and are they thus a source of competitive advantage? In general, NFL head coaches are responsible for player View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg & Abhijit Naik; Sports

01 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 1

Repetition of interaction may improve learning, since experience working together aids in the identification, transfer, and application of knowledge among members within a group. Additionally, experience need not be constrained to one task. Prior work examining the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2010 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Gobi Partners and DMG

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Thomas G. Tsao, founding general partner of Gobi Partners, an early stage venture capital firm in China, must decide how to manage his firm's largest investment after the departure of the CEO. Tom has temporarily stepped in as CEO, but finding a replacement with the... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Competency and Skills; Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Investment; Business or Company Management; Management Succession; Emerging Markets; Problems and Challenges; Business and Stakeholder Relations; China

01 Mar 2024
News

In Harmony

negotiation. It’s the story of grappling with a relationship to two countries (Dae Joon also goes by the very Western name of Shane) while managing the weight of a father’s expectations. It’s about... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photographs by Jun Michael Park; private equity; fiction; financial crisis; leadership; Korea

April 2000
Background Note

Aligning Incentives for Supply Chain Efficiency

By: V.G. Narayanan and Ananth Raman

Introduces students to the basics of principal-agency theory as it applies to supply chains. Operational problems in supply chains can often be traced to incentive issues. Students and managers lack frameworks to analyze incentive problems in supply chains. This note... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Motivation and Incentives; Framework; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Agency Theory

01 Dec 2023
News

Leadership Transition for External Relations

Janet joined Harvard Business School in 2006, working as Associate Director of Alumni Clubs and Associations, Managing Director of Alumni Marketing and Communications, and Managing Director, Campaign and... View Details

November 1993
Case

FCB and Publicis (C): The German-Led Network

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Pamela A. Yatsko

After U.S.-based Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) and Publicis of France established an international advertising alliance in May 1988, alliance leaders set out to merge offices in Europe. They were confronted with a particularly tricky situation in Germany, which, if... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Alliances; Globalized Firms and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Advertising; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Diversity; Communications Industry; Advertising Industry; France; Germany; United States; Europe

November 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Miles Everson at PricewaterhouseCoopers

By: Robert G. Eccles and David Lane

Miles Everson, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), is the Global Engagement Partner (GEP) for a large U.S. financial institution and about to take over this role for a much larger global financial institution. The GEP role is a critical one at PwC. GEPs have... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Customer Relationship Management; Globalized Firms and Management; Managerial Roles; Consulting Industry

June 1986 (Revised July 1990)
Case

OTISLINE (A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Donna B. Stoddard

Describes the company's use of information technology to strengthen its position in the elevator sales and service market. Also demonstrates how information technology can be used to better manage and control a large geographically dispersed service organization. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Sales; Marketing; Rank and Position; Salesforce Management; Service Operations; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Global Range; Accounting; Business Ventures; Industry Growth

March 2006
Case

Cabo San Viejo: Rewarding Loyalty

By: Youngme E. Moon, Gail J. McGovern and Seth Schulman

In 2005, Cabo San Viejo, a premier health and fitness spa resort located in Palm Springs, California, is debating whether to introduce a Customer Rewards Program. Describes the customer management challenges the firm is facing and outlines the various ways in which a... View Details

Keywords: Debates; Customer Relationship Management; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Adoption; Value Creation; Health Industry; California

July 2003 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Branding Citigroup's Consumer Business

By: Rohit Deshpande and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In Spring 1998, Citicorp and Travelers merged to create a financial powerhouse that united the bank with Travelers' consumer finance and brokerage businesses, including Salomon Smith Barney and Primerica. It was the first U.S. financial services company to combine... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Decisions; Asset Management; Investment Banking; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Relationships; Business and Shareholder Relations; Banking Industry; United States

February 2009 (Revised July 2012)
Supplement

Jieliang Phone Home! (C)

By: Willy Shih, Ethan Bernstein and Nina Bilimoria

At Precision Electro-Tek's mobile phone manufacturing facility in southern China, thousands of operators - bright and capable young men and (mostly) women like Jieliang Hao are motivated to improve line productivity through small innovations for faster assembly and... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Compensation and Benefits; Surveys; Innovation and Invention; Management Practices and Processes; Production; Performance Productivity; Groups and Teams; Labor and Management Relations; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Manufacturing Industry; Telecommunications Industry; China

August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Amazon.com, 2021

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Internet; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Price; Applications and Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle