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November 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Hormel Foods

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

In 2019, CEO Jim Snee is weighing how to shape the image of Hormel Foods, one of the largest U.S. meat and food companies, at a time when the industry faces unprecedented scrutiny. Based in the small town of Austin, Minnesota, the nearly 130-year-old firm is best known... View Details

Keywords: Brand Portfolio Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product; Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Risk Management; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; China

February 2013 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Phu My Hung

By: John Macomber and Dawn H. Lau

Privately held city development promoters decide whether to partner on next phase or go it alone in a 20-year, 4000-acre project. Set outside of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, this decades-long project led by two Taiwanese families reshaped and built the economic... View Details

Keywords: Urban Development; Infrastructure; Real Estate Industry; Viet Nam

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

December 2008 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Hema Hattangady and Conzerv (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman and David Kiron

This case describes the evolution of a fast-growing Indian energy firm. It illustrates both leadership change as Hema is evolving as a leader, as well as how organization architecture (culture, systems, incentives, and human resources) is evolving. The case highlights... View Details

Keywords: Change; Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Energy Industry; India

Program

Behavioral Economics—Virtual

outcomes for your company. Details Understand the actions of your customers and employees Discover the subtle forces driving choices and become your organization's go-to problem-solver Develop a user-oriented, outcome-driven mindset... View Details

March 2008 (Revised June 2008)
Case

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer

Describes a set of key strategic decisions facing the scientific founder and CEO of a promising, early stage bio-pharmaceuticals company. Should the company establish a proposed alliance with a pharmaceutical firm? Should it create a nutraceuticals business in parallel... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry

October 2012
Case

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged)

By: Toby Stuart and James Weber

Describes a set of key strategic decisions facing the scientific founder and CEO of a promising, early stage bio-pharmaceuticals company. Should the company establish a proposed alliance with a pharmaceutical firm? Should it create a nutraceuticals business in parallel... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry

09 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 9

Working PapersSocial Influence Given (Partially) Deliberate Matching: Career Imprints in the Creation of Academic Entrepreneurs Authors:Pierre Azoulay, Christopher C. Liu, and Toby E. Stuart Abstract Actors often match with associates on a small View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

15 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

Why Giving to Others Makes Us Happy

to create conditions where helping people might feel good for the actor.” Plus, setting up both corporate and private giving programs properly may lead people to donate their time and money more often, she notes. At a time when economic... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

13 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

Breaking Through the Self-Doubt That Keeps Talented Women from Leading

this so much because it resonates with people, so we set out to do empirical work around that: Is this indeed the pattern we see in an experimental context? If it is, what might we be able to do about it?” she says. As it turns out,... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

26 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

When Other Companies Compete Like Crazy, Dare to Be Different

ever to come by. Q: What is "hyper-maturity?" A: It takes a period of time before a category reaches the point that we begin to experience it as a blur. When a product category is nascent, it tends to be dominated by a much smaller View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

March 1969 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Industrial Products, Inc.

By: Joseph L. Bower and John W. Rosenblum

Involves the decision of whether to construct a new plant in another part of the country for a line of fire protection equipment. Capital funds set aside for the construction are blocked by Fireguard's continued record of substantial operating losses and divisional... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Capital; Construction; Financing and Loans; Expansion; Business Earnings; Markets; Product; Manufacturing Industry

Find at Harvard

21 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

Employee Negativity Is Like Wildfire. Manage It Before It Spreads.

negative emotions at the collective level is often amplified, which may have adverse effects,” Goldenberg says. “In many cases, it can lead to suboptimal decisions, to irrational choices or, for example in the case of anxiety, to not... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

26 Sep 2024
HBS Seminar

Garrett Van Ryzin, Columbia & Amazon

May 2022
Case

Executive Decision-Making at Zola

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Michael Roberto

In April 2020, Rachel Jarrett, President and COO of wedding technology company Zola, called a meeting with the organization’s key decision-makers. The company had previously launched three business expansions: a vendor marketplace, a wedding apparel division, and a... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Voting; Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Skills; Management; Management Style; Organizations; Organizational Culture; Technology Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

January 2025
Case

Davivienda Bank's Upskilling and Reskilling Strategy in Colombia (Abridged)

By: Jorge Tamayo, Raffaella Sadun and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2022, this abridged case examines the digital transformation strategy of Davivienda—a leading player in Colombia’s commercial banking sector and one of the companies belonging to Grupo Bolívar, a major Colombian conglomerate—and the bank’s upskilling and... View Details