Publications

October 1999
Case

Intel Labs (A): Photolithography Strategy in Crisis

Intel has evolved a new approach to managing its industrial research, the distributed labs model. The benefits and limits of this model are explored. View Details

Keywords: Operations; Research and Development

January 1997 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Computron, Inc. (2006)

By: John A. Quelch

In July 1996, Mr. Thomas Zimmermann, European Manager of Computron, must select a price for a new computer for his largest customer. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Price; Product; Europe

10 Feb 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Investing in Improvement: Strategy and Resource Allocation in Public School Districts

Keywords: by Stacey Childress; Education

January 2018 (Revised June 2018)
Case

Medtronic: Navigating a Shifting Healthcare Landscape

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Michael E. Porter, Thomas W. Feeley and Alee Hernandez

Medtronic is adapting its strategy to changes in healthcare competition and payments. It has decided to develop new relationships with payers, hospitals, and physicians to become more accountable for patient outcomes and total costs. The case describes new forms of... View Details

Keywords: Value Based Health Care; Bundled Payments; Health Care and Treatment; Cost Management; Value Creation; Supply Chain Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Health Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; Netherlands

Web

Latin America - Global

greatly increased the volume of in-depth research and course materials that focus on business management issues specific to Latin American companies. This has also enabled HBS to strengthen its relationships with important companies and... View Details

September 1999 (Revised September 1999)
Case

Convergys Corporation

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Kelley Porter

Focuses on the important issue of capturing the synergies between the two sides of the business, Information Management Group (IMG) and Customer Management Group (CMG). In addition, the case also addresses strategic issues from each of the individual businesses. For... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Information Industry; Service Industry

March 2024
Case

Lyft 2023: Roads to Growth and Differentiation

By: Ranjay Gulati and Jeffrey Huizinga

Set in San Francisco in winter 2023, this case explores the strategic challenges and initiatives at Lyft under the leadership of its new CEO, David Risher. Confronted with declining market share and financial pressures, Risher spent his first six months at the helm... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Turnarounds; Ridesharing; Transition; Strategy; Culture; Change Management; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry

09 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Unilever—A Case Study

chairmen and one other director. Beneath the two parent companies a large number of operating companies were active in individual countries. They had many names, often reflecting predecessor firms or companies that had been acquired.... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation; Food & Beverage; Manufacturing; Retail

August 2014
Article

Incentives in a Stage-Gate Process

By: Raul O. Chao, Kenneth C. Lichtendahl and Yael Grushka-Cockayne

Many large organizations use a stage‐gate process to manage new product development projects. In a typical stage‐gate process project managers learn about potential ideas from research and exert effort in development while senior executives make intervening go/no‐go... View Details

Keywords: Stage-Gate Process; Production; Operations; Product Development; Innovation and Invention

Find at Harvard

03 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, October 3, 2017

2017 Emerald Group Publishing Extreme Teaming: Lessons in Complex, Cross-Sector Leadership By: Edmondson, Amy C., and Jean-François Harvey Abstract—Today's global enterprises increasingly involve collaborative work by teams of experts View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

24 May 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Improving Store Liquidation

Keywords: by Nathan Craig & Ananth Raman; Retail

15 Jul 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Trade Policy and Firm Boundaries

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro, Paola Conconi, Harald Fadinger & Andrew F. Newman

March 2008
Article

Radically Simple IT

Many managers think that developing and rolling out a major IT system is like putting up a warehouse: You build it and you're done. But that does not work for IT anymore. Taking that approach results in rigid, costly systems that are outdated from the day they are... View Details

Keywords: Design; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry

January 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Sales Razor Technologies

By: Paul Gompers and Noam Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-CEO regarding building a board of directors, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing system development work. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Conflict Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Employees; Management Teams; Product Development; Technology Industry

May 2019 (Revised June 2019)
Background Note

Responsibilities in the Supply Chain

By: Nien-hê Hsieh

Companies are increasingly called upon to take responsibility for what occurs in their supply chains. One particular area of debate is a company’s responsibility for working conditions in supplier factories. This note provides a framework for managers to grapple with... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Working Conditions; Safety; Corporate Accountability

February 2010 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Bardhaman (A): Shrachi and the West Bengal Housing Board

By: John D. Macomber and Viraal Balsari

A real estate developer decides whether to enter into a public private partnership with the government of West Bengal to develop a township on farmland. The decisions include whether to expand operations from the company's base in Kolkata to Bardhaman, 100 km away;... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Decisions; Private Equity; Design; Housing; Infrastructure; Projects; Real Estate Industry; West Bengal

October 2009
Case

Digital Chocolate

By: Linda A. Hill and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Trip Hawkins founded Digital Chocolate in Silicon Valley in 2003 to develop outstanding games for mobile devices. By 2008, the company had expanded its operations into four countries, and Digital Chocolate was one of the top developers of soloplayer games for standard... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Innovation and Management; Leading Change; Product Development; Groups and Teams; Creativity; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry

February 2022 (Revised September 2022)
Case

InstaDeep: AI Innovation Born in Africa (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Esel Çekin

Karim Beguir and Zohra Slim were the co-founders of InstaDeep, a deep tech startup focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. Instadeep was one of the few companies globally that were partnering with DeepMind, an AI subsidiary of Google [Alphabet Inc.].... View Details

Keywords: AI; Artificial Intelligence; Entrepreneurship; Operations; Business Subsidiaries; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Industry; Africa

January 2015
Case

Burberry in 2014

By: Anita Elberse

In February 2014, Burberry's chief executive officer Angela Ahrendts is preparing to hand the reins of the English luxury fashion company to chief creative officer Christopher Bailey. Under their partnership, in place since 2006, Burberry's revenues have tripled to... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Luxury; Product Marketing; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Fashion Industry; Great Britain