Publications

09 Nov 2023
Blog Post

The No. 1 Character Trait You Will Need to Succeed in Business

If you choose to pursue a career in business, I can guarantee that you will experience moments that will test you as never before. At times like those, what quality will you need more than any other? I... View Details

February 2018
Case

Infrastructure in Nigeria: Unlocking Pension Fund Investments

By: John Macomber and Pippa Tubman Armerding

The so-called “infrastructure finance gap” was a problem in Nigeria as in many parts of the world. Infrastructure projects like power plants and dams were very large capital investments that could generate long-term consistent cash flows, but their financing and... View Details

Keywords: Pension Fund Investing; Infrastucture; Power/Energy; Credit Enhancement; Infrastructure; Project Finance; Investment Funds; Emerging Markets; Nigeria; Africa

2018
Working Paper

Oral History and Writing the Business History of Emerging Markets

By: Geoffrey Jones and Rachael Comunale

This working paper highlights the benefits that rigorous use of oral history can offer to research on the contemporary business history of emerging markets. Oral history can help fill some of the major information voids arising from the absence of a strong tradition of... View Details

Keywords: Oral History; Business History; Research; Emerging Markets

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14 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Andy Grove on the Confident Leader

people's question would be: Where was the board? You've been thinking about how to transform boards for a long time. Where's your thinking now? AG: Well, bit by bit, under duress, boards are moving in the right direction. But where they... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kiechel; Technology

Research Summary

Technology and Knowledge Transfer in the Evolution of China’s Machine Industry

This work-in-progress provides a historical perspective on the role of foreign companies as providers of machinery equipment and facilitators of technology transfer in China from the last decade of the 19^th century to the early 1950s. The project focuses on... View Details

2019
Working Paper

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 9 Organizing to Rationalize

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

The purpose of this chapter is to explain what the technologies of flow production with stochastic bottlenecks require and reward in organizations. I argue that organizations successfully implementing these technologies are likely to have unified governance and... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Organizational Design; Management Teams; Business History

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April 2017 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying to political activism. In 2016, Target CEO Brian Cornell must... View Details

September 1992 (Revised July 1998)
Case

Germany in the 1990s: Managing Reunification

By: George C. Lodge and James W. Ragsdale

In October 1990, eastern Germany was incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany. The German people rewarded the architect of these changes, Helmut Kohl, with an enhanced majority in national elections. But only two years later it was hard to remember these heady... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Inflation and Deflation; Central Banking; Interest Rates; Political Elections; Situation or Environment; Integration; Europe; Germany; Italy; United Kingdom

Market capitalism, a system that has proven to be a remarkable engine of wealth creation, is poised for a breakdown. That sounds dire, and it is. Increasing income inequality, migration, weaknesses in the global financial system, environmental degradation, and... View Details

February 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Google Inc. (Abridged)

By: Benjamin Edelman and Thomas R. Eisenmann

Describes Google's history, business model, governance structure, corporate culture, and processes for managing innovation. Reviews Google's recent strategic initiatives and the threats it poses to Yahoo, Microsoft, and others. Asks what Google should do next. One... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Search Technology; Web Services Industry

01 Mar 2013
Video

HBS at the Kumbh Mela

16 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 16

policies can be partially explained by respondents' low trust in government and a disconnect between concerns about social issues and the public policies meant to address them. Publisher's link: View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Research Focus of Chris Gordon

Chris Gordon's main area of interest and expertise is the delivery of complex capital projects. These projects can take the form of government sponsored infrastructure projects such as highways and utilities, private real estate development such as commercial and... View Details

2014
Working Paper

Entrepreneurship and Business Groups: An Evolutionary Perspective on the Growth of the Koç Group in Turkey

By: Asli M. Coplan and Geoffrey Jones

This working paper examines the origins and development of the Koç Group, which grew to be the largest business group in Turkey. This enterprise was an important actor in the emergence of modern business enterprise in the new state of the Republic of Turkey from the... View Details

Keywords: Business Groups; Turkey; Entrepreneurship In Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; History; Government and Politics; Auto Industry; Banking Industry; Electronics Industry; Middle East; Europe

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Robert Simons is a Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School. For over 35 years, Simons has taught accounting, management control, and strategy execution courses in both the Harvard MBA and Executive Education Programs. For 2024/25, he is teaching a... View Details

04 Feb 2009
News

Academy of International Business Fellow

11 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

The Future of Boards

maximizing shareholder value as the primary focus and motivation for a corporation's existence” Topics tackled include how boards can most effectively oversee company strategy, CEO succession, and executive... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

2013
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Laurent Adamowicz and Bon'App

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Juliane Calingo Schwetz and Patricia Bissett Higgins

After a successful career as Chairman and CEO of Paris-based luxury food company, Fauchon, Laurent Adamowicz, sought to reduce obesity and improve health outcomes. Adamowicz created a mobile application to provide consumers with more accessible and interpretable... View Details

Keywords: Nutritional Information; Obesity; Weight Loss; App Development; Business Startups; Nutrition; Health; Information; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Entrepreneurship; Social Enterprise; Information Technology Industry; Health Industry