Publications

December 2001
Case

iSteelAsia-2001

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Iris T. Li

Presents a follow-up one year later. Shows how this online steel distributor has now reached breakeven. Focuses on the new challenges for the future. View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Economy; Goods and Commodities; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Information; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Problems and Challenges; Steel Industry; China; United States

April 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Supply Chain Management at World Co., Ltd.

By: Ananth Raman, Marshall L. Fisher and Anna Sheen McClelland

Describes a supply chain with very quick (i.e., two week) response times and allows students to explore how such short response times are achieved. Allows students to explore why other supply chains, with much longer response times, might not be able to replicate this... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Supply Chain; Knowledge Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Improvement

October 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Firestone/Ford Tire Controversy, The (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Roger Orosman Nieves

Examines the high-profile Firestone/Ford product recall/investigation that took place in the summer of 2000. Focuses on the management of supplier relationships and incentives. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Sharing; Supply Chain Management; Motivation and Incentives; Crisis Management; Corporate Accountability; Product; Service Operations; Auto Industry

March 2015 (Revised May 2018)
Case

JPMorgan Chase: Tapping an Overlooked Talent Pool

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

By the spring of 2014, the pilot had come to an end for JPMorgan Chase's ReEntry Program, a program designed for women coming back to the workforce after a period of time away. Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO of Asset Management, and her team had to evaluate whether or not... View Details

Keywords: Women; Training; Leadership; Motherhood; Talent and Talent Management; Experience and Expertise; Diversity; Gender; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Human Capital; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Programs; Financial Services Industry; United States

October 2007
Article

Opinion: Place Your Bets on the Future You Want

By: Forest Reinhardt

This piece posits that success in a carbon-constrained world will be determined by innovation and acumen, requiring companies to make bold moves. View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Leadership; Success; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Competitive Advantage

2003
Report

UK Competitiveness: Moving to the Next Stage

By: Michael E. Porter and Christian H.M. Ketels

In October 2002, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) appointed Professor Michael Porter and his team to conduct a brief, three-month review of the existing evidence on UK competitiveness. The effort was funded jointly by the ESRC and the Department of... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Economics; Performance Productivity; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Research and Development; Competency and Skills; Investment; Assets; Corporate Strategy; Policy; Management; Knowledge Use and Leverage; United Kingdom; United States

Read Now

24 Aug 2020
Working Paper Summaries

When Do Experts Listen to Other Experts? The Role of Negative Information in Expert Evaluations for Novel Projects

Keywords: by Jacqueline N. Lane, Misha Teplitskiy, Gary Gray, Hardeep Ranu, Michael Menietti, Eva C. Guinan, and Karim R. Lakhani

December 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Supplement

Vodafone in Japan (B)

By: Juan Alcacer, Mary Furey and Mayuka Yamazaki

By 2005, Vodafone Group was losing its footing in the sophisticated Japanese telecom market. What were they doing wrong? Should they cut their losses and leave Japan, or could they learn from mistakes and turn things around? View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Profit; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Knowledge Acquisition; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Adaptation; Diversification; Expansion; Telecommunications Industry; Japan

Web

Georges F. Doriot: Educating Leaders, Building Companies

Clubs Faculty & Research Business & Environment Business History Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning Entrepreneurship Faculty & Research Global Healthcare HBS Working Knowledge Institute for Strategy & Competitiveness Leadership... View Details

September 2000
Background Note

Professional Services Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda and Scot H. Landry

It is imperative for the internal systems and processes to be connected to the external processes of client management, competitive adaptation, and service delivery. View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Customer Relationship Management; Knowledge Acquisition; Service Delivery; Performance Effectiveness; Adaptation; Competitive Strategy

March 1997
Background Note

Note on Customer Behavior

By: Gerald Zaltman

A review of selected key concepts that are useful for understanding customers. The importance of understanding customers is also discussed, along with a short description of new frontiers in the study of customer behavior. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge; Marketing; Consumer Behavior

November 2019
Article

The Relevance of Broker Networks for Information Diffusion in the Stock Market

By: Marco Di Maggio, Francesco Franzoni, Amir Kermani and Carlo Sommavilla

This paper shows that the network of relationships between brokers and institutional investors shapes information diffusion in the stock market. We exploit trade-level data to show that central brokers gather information by executing informed trades, which is then... View Details

Keywords: Broker Networks; Institutional Investors; Asset Prices; Business and Shareholder Relations; Institutional Investing; Information; Knowledge Dissemination; Financial Markets; Asset Pricing

March 2010 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Design Creates Fortune: 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard

By: John D. Macomber and Griffin James

A real estate developer assesses its ability to capture the benefits of investing in LEED Platinum, Vedic Design, and EnergyStar components in new buildings. The building at 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard in Rockville, Maryland is said to be the healthiest building in the... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Cost vs Benefits; Energy Conservation; Construction; Investment; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Leasing; Renting or Rental; Value Creation; Real Estate Industry; Maryland

March 1999 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Honda-Rover (D): The Changing Tide of the BMW-Rover Alliance

By: Ashish Nanda, James K. Sebenius and Ron Fortgang

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Joint Ventures; Alliances; Knowledge Sharing; Strategy; Contracts; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Auto Industry; United Kingdom

June 2011
Article

Truth in Giving: Experimental Evidence on the Welfare Effects of Informed Giving to the Poor

By: Christina Fong and Felix Oberholzer-Gee

It is often difficult for donors to predict the value of charitable giving because they know little about the persons who receive their help. This concern is particularly acute when making contributions to organizations that serve heterogeneous populations. While we... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Policy; Information; Knowledge Acquisition; Game Theory; Prejudice and Bias; Poverty; Welfare

April 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

JPMorganChase: Leadership in the Age of GenAI

By: Iavor I. Bojinov, Karim R. Lakhani and David Lane

This case study examines JPMorgan Chase's (JPMC) journey in adopting and implementing Generative AI (GenAI) following the release of ChatGPT. It outlines JPMC's initial cautious approach focused on data security, followed by strategic investments in internal platforms... View Details

14 May 2007
Research & Ideas

The Key to Managing Stars? Think Team

important career matter for individuals as well as for managers who want to inspire, nurture, and recruit stars. A new study by Harvard Business School's Boris Groysberg and Linda-Eling Lee on star knowledge workers, specifically security... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

August 2021
Case

Wymsee

By: Julia Austin, Sarah Mehta and Tom Quinn

Wymsee was a company that aimed to develop a mobile application (app) that would allow television audience members to identify and purchase clothing or accessories worn by characters in the program they were watching, with the Wymsee founders taking a percentage of... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Plan; Business Startups; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Acquisition; Product Positioning; Opportunities; Adaptation; Mobile Technology; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Technology Industry; United States; New York (city, NY)

Fall 2013
Article

Engaging Supply Chains in Climate Change

By: Chonnikarn Fern Jira and Michael W. Toffel

Suppliers are increasingly being asked to share information about their vulnerability to climate change and their strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Their responses vary widely. We theorize and empirically identify several factors associated with suppliers... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Sharing; Motivation and Incentives; Risk Management; Climate Change; Supply Chain Management; Environmental Sustainability