Publications

November 2018 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Zespri Grows

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

Controlling about a third of global kiwifruit exports by volume and nearly half by value in 2018, Zespri was a grower-owned “corporatized cooperative” with the exclusive right to export New Zealand-grown kiwifruit (except to Australia). Zespri did not grow fruit but... View Details

2018
Working Paper

Opportunistic Returns and Dynamic Pricing: Empirical Evidence from Online Retailing in Emerging Markets

By: Chaithanya Bandi, Antonio Moreno, Donald Ngwe and Zhiji Xu

We investigate how dynamic pricing can lead to higher operational costs through more product returns in the online retail industry. Dynamic pricing has been widely applied by many online retailers. Research has shown that, in response to dynamic pricing, some customers... View Details

Keywords: Price; Policy; Consumer Behavior; Cost Management; Emerging Markets; Retail Industry

September 2004 (Revised April 2005)
Case

G.G. Toys

By: Dennis Campbell and Susan L. Kulp

This case highlights issues of management accounting and includes a review of product costing, excess capacity, variance analysis, and scrap costs. View Details

Keywords: Product; Cost Accounting; Financial Management

06 Oct 2011
News

Steve Jobs's Career, Vision for Apple

February 1990 (Revised July 1990)
Case

Internal Revenue Service: Automated Collection System

By: Nitin Nohria

Describes how the IRS's collection operations changed from a largely manual system (COF) to an automated system (ACS). A central aspect of ACS was the electronic scheduling and maintaining of work. While with ACS the IRS accomplished significant improvements in the... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Revenue; Information Technology; Taxation; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Human Resources; Public Administration Industry; United States

16 Nov 2021
HBS Case

How a Company Made Employees So Miserable, They Killed Themselves

eliminate one-quarter of its 162,500-member workforce by the mid-2000s. Yet the company continued to struggle. In 2002, turnaround expert Thierry Breton took over as CEO, restructuring the company’s debt, reducing operating costs, and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

January 1995 (Revised August 1996)
Case

Pacific Dunlop China (A): Beijing

Describes the predicament of an overworked Western plant manager in a Chinese joint venture. The fourth in a line of such managers, he must deal with the combined problems of an inability to delegate, different customs and practices, and difficulties in information... View Details

Keywords: Production; Joint Ventures; Management Skills; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Manufacturing Industry; Beijing

16 Dec 2020
Blog Post

Faculty Books Published in 2020

In 2020, our faculty published 14 books that dive into their research and pull from their professional experiences on topics including the future of capitalism, managing time, how AI is transforming work, the power of experiments, a... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

Web

Connect with Clubs - Recruiting

Yoon ryoon@mba2026.hbs.edu General Management & Operations Club Co-Presidents Thomas Cerier tcerier@mba2026.hbs.edu Kaitlyn Haase khaase@mba2026.hbs.edu Karalyn Baird kbaird@mba2026.hbs.edu Mikel Acha... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

By: Iavor I. Bojinov

Over the last decade, technology companies like Amazon, Google, and Netflix have pioneered data-driven research and development processes centered on massive experimentation. However, as companies increase the breadth and scale of their experiments to millions of... View Details

Web

Online Business Courses & Certifications | HBS Online

analysis techniques to solve real-world business challenges and drive informed decision-making. 8 weeks, 5 hrs/week Pay by July 31 $1,850 Certificate Economics for Managers Professor Bharat Anand Gain economic insights and learn how... View Details

February 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Case

International Agribusiness in China: Charoen Pokphand Group

By: William C. Kirby, Michael Shih-ta Chen, Tracy Manty and Yi Kwan Chu

The world's leading Thai agribusiness corporation and largest agribusiness investor in China, CP Group, is facing another crossroads in China as the country starts to undergo rural reform. The issues at hand for Chairman Dhanin Chearavanont is how CP can balance its... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; SWOT Analysis; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Rural Scope; Agribusiness; Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; China

2024
Working Paper

When Batteries Meet Hydrogen: Dual-Storage Investments for Load-Shifting Purposes

By: Christian Kaps and Simone Marinesi

Power systems account for nearly 40% of global emissions. As the world tries to reduce emissions by increasing renewable penetration, storage technologies are playing an increasingly important role in matching variable renewable supply with demand. Batteries have... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Renewable Energy; Transition; Utilities Industry; Battery Industry

SSRN

Research Summary

Research Overview

Jillian has an interest in understanding the effect of high worker autonomy and uncertainty on operational metrics. Her research attempts to empirically explore the relationship between efficiency, resource utilization, and quality in hospital settings.... View Details

04 May 2021
Book

Best Buy: How Human Connection Saved a Failing Retailer

“But, do you think that was standard operating procedure? No! What happened that day is that the two blue shirts found it in their hearts to do this, and felt they had the latitude to do it.” Stopping Best Buy’s freefall Creating such a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

July 1984
Case

Braniff International: The Ethics of Bankruptcy (A)

Intended to advance understanding of corporate responsibility in the context of a bankruptcy decision. The case documents the implementation of a turnaround plan for financially ailing Braniff International. This includes a new marketing and operations strategy,... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Insolvency and Bankruptcy