Publications

February 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

AGENTS.inc: Pathways to Growth at an AI Startup

By: Frank Nagle, Manuel Hoffmann, Karoline Ströhlein and Susan Pinckney

The case describes the history of AGENTS.inc. Despite being a small startup, with only four employees, that had never had a funding round, the company boasted an impressive client portfolio including multiple Fortune 500 companies. While AGENTS.inc had been an early... View Details

November 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Danone: Changing the Food System

By: David E. Bell, Federica Gabrieli and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Emmanuel Faber, Chairman and CEO of the food and beverage company Danone, believed that humankind had only ten years to bend the curve on climate change and restore the biodiversity that the global food and agricultural ecosystem was critically dependent on. Upon... View Details

Keywords: Animal-Based Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Food; Nutrition; Quality; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Business Model; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; France

17 May 2010
Research & Ideas

What Brazil Teaches About Investor Protection

The current debate in the United States about how to regulate Wall Street focuses on laws, regulations, and monitoring. But lawmakers may want to look to history for guidance, to Brazil 100 years ago, when transparent governance and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services; Financial Services

April 2005 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Evergreen Investments: Mobile CRM (A)

Evergreen Investments has had a troubled history with its customer relationship management (CRM) system. Sales agents feel that they derive no value from it and that it is a tax on their jobs. Evergreen is investigating whether it can improve CRM by making its data... View Details

Keywords: Management; Customer Relationship Management; Information Technology; Financial Services Industry

16 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 16, 2008

Working PapersSilent Saboteurs: How Implicit Theories of Voice Inhibit the Upward Flow of Knowledge in Organizations Authors:James R. Detert and Amy C. Edmondson Abstract This article examines, in a series of three studies, how people working in organizational... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Nov 2019
Op-Ed

Gender Bias Complaints against Apple Card Signal a Dark Side to Fintech

Apple Card marked another significant innovation in access to financial services. Fast forward two months, and Apple Card may now find its place in history for a less positive reason—the dark side of the... View Details

Keywords: by Karen G. Mills; Financial Services

January 2021 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Best Buy's Corie Barry: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: William W. George and Amram Migdal

This case examines the leadership of Corie Barry, the new CEO of Best Buy, with a focus on actions the company took in 2020 to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The case includes a history of Best Buy’s strategy and leadership, including the transitions between the... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Change; Disruption; Volatility; Communication; Competency and Skills; Customers; Decision Making; Ethics; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Finance; Cash Flow; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Goods and Commodities; Corporate Governance; Health Pandemics; Human Resources; Executive Compensation; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Jobs and Positions; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Job Design and Levels; Job Interviews; Job Offer; Labor; Employment; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Law; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Succession; Management Systems; Management Teams; Risk Management; Operations; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Logistics; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Outcome or Result; Personal Development and Career; Retirement; Work-Life Balance; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Science; Strategy; Retail Industry; North and Central America; United States; Minnesota

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Cable TV: From Community Antennas to Wired Cities

marketing and field service expenses. With low penetration and high capital and operating expenses, cable operators experienced significant losses in most urban systems. Hence, in 1975, the industry was not very profitable. Based on View Details

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann; Media & Broadcasting; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation

Christopher A. Bartlett

Professor Christopher A. Bartlett received an economics degree from the University of Queensland, Australia (1964), and both the masters and doctorate degrees in business administration from Harvard University (1971 and 1979).

As a practicing manager prior... View Details

Keywords: consulting; health care; management consulting; manufacturing; medical supplies; wine

October 1999 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Coca-Cola Company (A), The

By: David F. Hawkins

In order to fully appreciate Coca-Cola's profitability, financial risk, and operating risk, Jane Wilson, a security analyst, is considering preparing a consolidated financial statement for Coca-Cola analyzing Coca-Cola Enterprises as a fully consolidated entity. View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Financial Statements; Business Earnings; History; Private Sector; Business Units; Consolidation; Organizations; Operations; Private Ownership; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

1993
Book

British Multinational Banking 1830-1990

By: Geoffrey Jones

This book provides the first modern history of British multinational banking. It analyses their emergence, growth and performance from their origins in the 1830s until the present day. It is based on a wide range of confidential banking records, which are placed in the... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Multinational Firms and Management; Growth and Development; Information Management; Performance; Great Britain; United Kingdom

Find at Harvard

2016
Chapter

The Origins of High-Tech Venture Investing in America

By: Tom Nicholas

The United States has developed an unparalleled environment for the provision of high-tech investment finance. Today it is reflected in the strength of agglomeration economies in Silicon Valley, but historically its origins lay in the East Coast. Notably, immediate... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment; Information Technology; History; Financial Services Industry; United States

Read Now

24 Apr 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Bank Accounting Standards in Mexico: A Layman’s Guide to Changes 10 Years after the 1995 Bank Crisis

Keywords: by Gustavo A. Del Angel, Stephen Haber & Aldo Musacchio; Banking

17 Aug 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Corporate Governance and Networks: Bankers in the Corporate Networks of Brazil, Mexico, and the United States circa 1910

Keywords: by Aldo Musacchio

January 1999 (Revised December 2020)
Case

The U.S. Banking Panic of 1933 and Federal Deposit Insurance

By: Julio J. Rotemberg and Sabina M. Ciminero

After highlighting some key developments in the banking history of the United States, the case illustrates the Banking Panic of 1933 and the way in which Franklin D. Roosevelt dealt with it at the beginning of his presidency. Describes the main components of banking... View Details

Keywords: Government Legislation; Insurance; Crisis Management; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; History; Business and Government Relations; Banking Industry; United States

July 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Amagansett Funds (A)

Amagansett Funds has had a troubled history with its customer relationship management (CRM) system. Sales agents feel that they derive no value from it and that it is a "tax on their jobs." Amagansett is investigating whether CRM can be improved by making its data... View Details

Keywords: Management; Customer Relationship Management; Information Technology; Financial Services Industry

April 2012 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Social Strategy at American Express

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and David Chen

American Express has developed a number of strategic partnerships with Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter to improve their card members experience and lower its customer acquisition cost. The case details the history of these partnerships, examines American Express' own... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Social Marketing; Financial Services Industry

23 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 23

High-Wire Act of Building Sustainable Partnerships Harvard Business School Case 709-411 The case describes the history and business model of Cirque du Soleil (CdS). The case allows for a rich discussion and analysis of Cirque du Soleil's... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2006 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Clifford Chance: Repotting the Tree

By: Arthur I Segel, A. Eugene Kohn and Nhat Minh Nguyen

Clifford Chance, LLP, a global law firm headquartered in London, needs to make a decision whether to stay in the central business district of London or move to a redeveloped business park at Canary Wharf, three miles outside of central London. Peter Charleton, head of... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Business Headquarters; Decision Choices and Conditions; Geographic Location; Logistics; London