Publications

09 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

War in Ukraine: Soaring Gas Prices and the Return of Stagflation?

this era? Abdelal: I think it really depends on the industry and the exposure. I think a smart executive will spend considerable intellectual effort trying to first, make sense of these geopolitical risks and how they will unfold on the... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Energy

06 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

The Innovator’s Battle Plan

naturally choose to bring all innovations—sustaining and disruptive—to their core markets where their best customers reside.9 For example, had Western Union purchased Bell's patents, we would predict that it would not have commercialized... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Scott D. Anthony & Erik A. Roth

April 2015 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Bankruptcy in the City of Detroit

By: Stuart Gilson, Kristin Mugford and Annelena Lobb

The June 2013 bankruptcy of the city of Detroit, Michigan was, at the time, the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history. Detroit had struggled for years with a weakening tax base, high unemployment, a heavy debt load and increasing retiree costs. These... View Details

21 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 21, 2009

institutional theory, and economic theory. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-025.pdf Broadening Focus: Spillovers and the Benefits of Specialization in the Hospital Industry Authors:Jonathan R. Clark and Robert S.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 1990 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A)

By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston

In 1989, the performance measurement systems and compensation policies of Nordstrom Department Stores unexpectedly came under attack by employees, unions, and government regulators. The case describes the "sales-per-hour" monitoring and compensation system that many... View Details

Keywords: Performance Consistency; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Labor Unions; Salesforce Management; Retention; Growth and Development; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry

March–April 2024
Article

Case Study: Navigating Labor Unrest

By: Jorge Tamayo

Paulo Ferreira, the president of Luna Brazil, has an ambitious plan to turn around the dismal performance of the plant he oversees in Campinas. The wrinkle is, he needs the buy-in of the powerful local union, which is still smarting from a 10-year-old labor conflict... View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Layoffs; Manufacturing; Labor and Management Relations; Labor Unions; Negotiation Tactics; Conflict and Resolution; Performance Improvement; Corporate Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Brazil

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15 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

Remembering Alfred Chandler

great-grandfather, the business editor and analyst Henry Varnum Poor, to 2 recent volumes, published while he was in his 80s: Inventing the Electronic Century: The Epic Story of the Consumer Electronics and Computer Industries and Shaping... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

October 2021 (Revised November 2022)
Case

The 2012 Spanish Labor Reform: Lifting All Boats, or Leveling Down?

By: Vincent Pons, Rafael Di Tella, Santiago Botella and Elena Corsi

Since 1978, Spain had struggled to control unemployment. The country’s labor law was protective of employees hired long-term and companies used temporary contracts as buffers. In 2012, amid economic recession and a 23.6% unemployment rate, a center-right government of... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Labor Market; Unemployment; Recession; Globalized Markets and Industries; Government Legislation; International Relations; Working Conditions; Employment; Labor Unions; Contracts; Social Issues; Public Opinion; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Spain; European Union

01 Nov 2019
What Do You Think?

Should Non-Compete Clauses Be Abolished?

have learned as well as their skills. If they are senior enough, they may also take trade secrets (although those are covered by NDAs, non-disclosure agreements, close relatives to NCCs). In certain industries in which startups are... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

10 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 10

widely, and research shows that it's often tough to increase profits by investing abroad. A new study of the grocery retail industry reveals that with a few exceptions globalization's benefits have not accrued to retailers. Local... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

March 2018
Case

EKOL Logistics: Thinking Outside the Box

By: Willy C. Shih and Esel Çekin

This case describes Ekol, an intermodal transportation and logistics company, and how it manages capacity planning. Its busiest routes linked motor vehicle assemblers in Germany and Turkey with many of their parts suppliers, but it had also developed key links in... View Details

18 Jul 2022
Research & Ideas

After the 'Crypto Crash,' What's Next for Digital Currencies?

Earlier this month, the US Treasury Department presented to President Biden what it called a “framework” for overseeing digital financial assets across the government and internationally, while the European Union and European Parliament... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Financial Services; Technology

January 1976 (Revised November 1987)
Case

Contract and Consensus at General Motors--1900-1984

By: George C. Lodge

Keywords: Contracts; Labor Unions; Auto Industry

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October 1982 (Revised September 1986)
Case

Coal Strike of 1977-78 (A) (Condensed)

By: D. Quinn Mills

Keywords: Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Mining Industry

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10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Privatization and the New European Economy

ownership to the private sector and become regulators—a position that will, in fact, give them more power to shape the competitive environment of industries not only in their own country but throughout the continent, as the European View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner; Air Transportation; Transportation

02 Nov 2020
What Do You Think?

Is Antitrust Just a Quaint Notion in the Digital Age?

taxpayers a bundle, but a fraction of what Google can easily afford to spend to defend itself and, if necessary, provide restitution. After all, a recent European Union judgment against Google of more than $9 billion was hardly noticed by... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail; Technology; Telecommunications; Communications; Consumer Products; Service

2006
Report

Clusters in the EU-10 New Member Countries

By: Christian H.M. Ketels and Örjan Sölvell

Keywords: Industry Clusters; European Union