Publications

Ana Antolin is a doctoral candidate in the Strategy unit at Harvard Business School. She received her B.S. in Quantitative Economics and International Relations from Tufts University. Prior to joining Harvard, she worked as a full-time research assistant in... View Details

March 2005 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Columbia's Final Mission

By: Michael Roberto, Amy C. Edmondson, Richard M.J. Bohmer, Laura Feldman and Erika Ferlins

On February 1, 2003, the Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, and the seven astronauts onboard lost their lives. Explores Columbia's final mission from the perspective of six key managers and engineers associated with NASA's Space... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership; Crisis Management; Management Teams; Organizational Culture; Aerospace Industry

October 2012
Case

Hill Country Snack Foods Co.

By: W. Carl Kester and Craig Stephenson

Hill Country Snack Foods, located in Austin, Texas, manufactures, markets, and distributes snack foods and frozen treats. The CEO is passionate about maximizing shareholder value and believes in keeping tight control over costs and operating the business as efficiently... View Details

Keywords: United States; Financial Strategy; Debt Management; Retail Trade; Risk Management; Food; Capital Structure; Corporate Finance; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Texas

Career Coach

Oscar Mak

Oscar is currently a Senior Director at NORD/LB, a leading bank in financing renewable energy and infrastructure projects. He previously led strategic investments (e.g., M&A, corporate VC, joint ventures) in North America for Toyota... View Details

Keywords: Auto/Transportation/Logistics; Consulting; Clean Technology; Energy; Energy; Startup - Joiner; Entrepreneurship

May–June 2018
Article

Layoffs That Don't Break Your Company: Better Approaches to Workforce Transition

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

Today layoffs have become companies’ default response to the challenges created by advances in technology and global competition. Yet research shows that job cuts rarely help senior leaders achieve their goals. Too often, they’re done for short-term gain, but the cost... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Employees; Transition; Strategic Planning

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

Program

Competing in the Age of AI—Virtual

industry or business model, you cannot afford to ignore this exciting, highly disruptive trend. In this live online program, you will delve into new AI-based business models and operational approaches while View Details

February 2000 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Owens & Minor, Inc. (B)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

After a manager at Owens & Minor, a national medical and surgical distribution company, proposes and develops a formalized activity-based pricing and activity-based management approach to sales and service provision, this case explore the outcome. View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Logistics; Distribution; Price; Supply Chain Management; Sales; Outcome or Result; Management Style; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

29 May 2009
Research Event

Business Summit: Introduction to the Future of Market Capitalism

research project exploring the views of global business leaders and HBS faculty on what might threaten the world's economic progress. The spread of market capitalism around the world over the past 100 years... View Details

Keywords: Re: Joseph L. Bower

DJ DiDonna

Dennis “DJ” DiDonna has dedicated his career to commercializing social science research to create organizations which positively impact the world.

He is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School where he teaches the... View Details

02 Aug 2024
HBS Case

How a Mission to Cut Food Waste Launched a Multimillion-Dollar Venture

On a hectic Friday in October 2016, Josh Domingues wondered if he had made a mistake quitting the security of a well-paying job managing contracts for professional hockey players to start a new venture selling nearly expired groceries at discount prices. After all, a... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Technology; Information Technology

2020
Chapter

Building Emergency Savings Through Employer-Sponsored Rainy-Day Savings Accounts

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, J. Mark Iwry, David C. John, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

Roughly half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. When financial shocks occur during their working life, many of these households tap into their retirement savings accounts. We explore the practical considerations and challenges associated with helping households... View Details

Keywords: Savings; Household; Saving

Read Now

May 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Creating Meaning for the Customer: The Case of GMACI

Excellence in exploiting customer information and leveraging its affiliation to the GM group are among the strategic options that GMAC Insurance CEO Gary Kusumi is considering. GMAC Insurance, the wholly-owned auto insurance subsidiary of General Motors, formed through... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Strategy; Auto Industry; Insurance Industry

November 2018
Case

frog design

By: Srikant M. Datar and Caitlin N. Bowler

The case follows the genesis and development of Palo, a radical urban communications hub designed to replace payphone booths on Manhattan’s city streets, through a joint venture between frog design and a venture-backed firm LQD WiFi. The case explores the complexity of... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Prototyping; User Experience Design; Design Heuristics; Telecommunications; Urban Systems; Communication Technology; Urban Scope; Innovation and Invention; Design; Product Development

October 2003
Case

Fire at Mann Gulch

Describes the 1949 firefighting tragedy in Montana that led to the deaths of 12 smoke jumpers. Explores the myriad of poor decisions by the firefighting crew and their foreman. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Crisis Management; Public Administration Industry; Montana

30 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

Looking Behind Bad Decisions

African government take a stand against an effective AIDS treatment drug? The inability of government to make wise tradeoffs—give up small losses for much larger gain—has been investigated by HBS professor Max Bazerman and his research... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

03 Nov 2014
News

Brand Lessons From the Nobel Prize

September 2023 (Revised June 2024)
Case

CyberArk: Fearlessly Forward in a Digital World

By: David B. Yoffie and Daniela Beyersdorfer

CyberArk was a leader in privileged access management and was an emerging leader in security identity. This case explores strategies in cybersecurity and whether big bets are needed to become a global leader. View Details

Keywords: Cybersecurity; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Technology Industry