Publications

June 2013
Supplement

Multiasistencia: Redefining the Relationship with its Service Professionals. Spreadsheet Supplement

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

Multiasistencia, a major Spanish BPO of insurance repairs, is changing the relational contract with its service profesionals from a referral model to a guaranteed workload one. View Details

Keywords: Outsourcing; Incentives; Relational Contracts; Business Model; Motivation and Incentives; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Contracts; Insurance Industry; Spain

29 Oct 2019
News

Why Open Offices Aren’t Working — and How to Fix Them

04 Jan 2023
Video

Harvard MS/MBA Engineering Sciences Program

2023
Working Paper

Toward a Better Understanding of Open Ecosystems: Implications for Policymakers

By: Feng Zhu and Carmelo Cennamo

The digital realm is undergoing a significant transformation, marked by the emergence of platform business models and the concept of open ecosystems. This paper delves into the intricate nature of ecosystem openness, underscoring the point that the openness of... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Business Model; Governance; System; Situation or Environment

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June 2020
Case

RBC: Transforming Transformation (A)

By: Ethan Bernstein, Francesca Gino and Aldo Sesia

In 2017, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), a Canadian financial icon, mandated a swat team of “enablers of collaboration” (their job description) to support the personal and commercial bank in the enterprise-wide RBC Cultural Transformation initiative. Historically,... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Information Technology; Transformation; Change Management; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Decision Making; Human Resources; Management Systems; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams; Management Teams; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Canada

March 2008 (Revised June 2009)
Compilation

"Doer's Profile" Bill Gates (William H.) (1955 - )

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Shirley M. Spence

Profile of Bill Gates designed to facilitate a discussion of the nature of enduring success. Includes both biographical data and excerpts from autobiographical records. View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Personal Development and Career; Success; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry

A fundamental implication of standard moral hazard models is overuse of low-value medical care because copays are lower than costs. In these models, the demand curve alone can be used to make welfare statements, a fact relied on by much empirical work. There is... View Details

April 2021
Case

Transforming BlackBerry: From Smartphones to Software

By: Ranjay Gulati and Nicole Tempest Keller

On the verge of failure, BlackBerry brought in John Chen as CEO in 2013 to orchestrate a bold turnaround of the company. Once an iconic leader in the smartphone market, BlackBerry was best known for its tactile QWERTY keyboard, strong security, and a focus on business... View Details

Keywords: Pivot; Managing Change; Turnaround; Smartphone; Change Management; Leading Change; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Change; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Competitive Strategy; Cybersecurity; Technology Industry; Transportation Industry; Canada

February 2025 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Accounting for Bitcoin at Block

By: Charles C.Y. Wang, Seil Kim and Sa-Pyung Sean Shin

Abstract: This case explores Block Inc.'s accounting practices for Bitcoin transactions and their impact on financial reporting. Following a 10% stock price drop after missing revenue estimates in Q3 2024, Block faced scrutiny over its Bitcoin-driven revenue model.... View Details

Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Bitcoin; Fair Value Accounting; Revenue Recognition; Business Model; Fluctuation; Volatility; Revenue; Standards; Valuation

January 2023 (Revised December 2023)
Case

OhmConnect: Energizing the Future

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Jennifer Fonstad and Nicole Tempest Keller

Founded in 2013, OhmConnect was a free consumer web app that alerted customers about peak hours of electricity demand, and paid them to lower their energy use at home during these periods. The company sold the aggregated reductions generated by thousands of households... View Details

Keywords: App Development; Renewable Energy; Electricity Usage; Regulations; VC; Technology; Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC); Scalability; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business Model; Venture Capital; Energy Industry; United States; California; Texas; Europe

November 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Pacesetters

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Mel Martin

City Sealcoating CEO Keith Chaney had just publicly called out the Boston Chamber of Commerce for their slow progress on their supplier diversity program, Pacesetters. Established in 2018 by regional business leaders, Pacesetters was supposed to facilitate... View Details

Keywords: Racial Wealth Gap; Procurement; Suppliers; Diversity; Programs; Small Business; Restructuring; Contracts; United States; Boston

September 2009
Article

The Technology Manager's Journey: An Extended Narrative Approach to Educating Technical Leaders

By: Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan and Shannon O'Donnell

Technology management poses particular challenges for educators because it requires a facility with different kinds of knowledge and wide-ranging learning abilities. We report on the development and delivery of an information technology (IT) management course designed... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Management; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Business Education; Multinational Firms and Management; Entertainment; Communication; Curriculum and Courses; Framework; Design; Goals and Objectives; Learning; Information Technology Industry

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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 1983 (Revised October 1988)
Case

Canon Inc.: Worldwide Copier Strategy

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes Canon's worldwide strategy in the copier business. Designed to be used to explore strategy formulation in a worldwide industry, and the principles of international competition. View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Global Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

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02 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 2

and Finance (forthcoming). (Also Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 05-053 and NBER Working Paper No. 13131.) Abstract The main arguments in favor of and against nominal and indexed debt are the incentive to default through... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

11 Jul 2021
News

Will Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Jaunt Boost Space Tourism?

June 2021
Article

From Predictions to Prescriptions: A Data-driven Response to COVID-19

By: Dimitris Bertsimas, Léonard Boussioux, Ryan Cory-Wright, Arthur Delarue, Vassilis Digalakis Jr, Alexander Jacquillat, Driss Lahlou Kitane, Galit Lukin, Michael Lingzhi Li, Luca Mingardi, Omid Nohadani, Agni Orfanoudaki, Theodore Papalexopoulos, Ivan Paskov, Jean Pauphilet, Omar Skali Lami, Bartolomeo Stellato, Hamza Tazi Bouardi, Kimberly Villalobos Carballo, Holly Wiberg and Cynthia Zeng

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges worldwide. Strained healthcare providers make difficult decisions on patient triage, treatment and care management on a daily basis. Policy makers have imposed social distancing measures to slow the disease, at... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Pandemics; AI and Machine Learning; Forecasting and Prediction; Analytics and Data Science

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April 2002
Teaching Note

Managing Technology Ventures - Module Teaching Note (TN)

By: Alan D. MacCormack

Describes the conceptual foundations for a module on venture design, which forms part of an MBA course called Managing Technology Ventures. The objective of the course is to teach students how to think critically about the design of a technology venture, using cases... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Business or Company Management; Organizational Design; Risk and Uncertainty; Opportunities; Technology