Publications

June 2013
Article

How to Profit from 'Lean Advertising'

By: Thales S. Teixeira

This article introduces the concept of Lean Advertising, i.e., how to use non-traditional approaches to create and distribute advertising using extremely low-cost approaches online. A framework for Lean Advertising is proposed that identifies the four ways in which... View Details

Keywords: Viral Advertising; Viral Ads; Online Marketing; Lean Advertising; Digital Marketing; Advertising; Advertising Industry

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17 Jan 2013
News

Home or abroad?: Herd instinct

March 2012
Article

Choosing the United States

By: Michael E. Porter and Jan W. Rivkin

The U.S. is not winning its appropriate share of location decisions, even those involving the high-value-adding activities that the country has long been able to attract. In part, this is because U.S. policy makers are not addressing weaknesses in the national business... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; United States

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October 2005
Case

Wipro Technologies: The Factory Model

Based in Bangalore, Wipro Technologies is a rapidly growing software services company. Wipro is experimenting with a new software service delivery model that draws on the principles of the Toyota production system and "lean" manufacturing. Addresses the advantages and... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Service Operations; Applications and Software; Standards; Information Technology Industry; Bangalore

February 1990 (Revised July 1992)
Case

Whistler Corp. (A)

By: Gary P. Pisano

Describes the circumstances surrounding Whistler Corp.'s decision whether or not to continue manufacturing operations in the United States. The company had been experiencing severe problems in its domestic manufacturing operations and was thus unable to compete with... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Production; Problems and Challenges; Competitive Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

November 2007 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Excerpts from Interview with Jim Triandiflou, Founder of Ockham Technologies

By: Noam Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-CEO regarding building a board, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing system development work. The abridged version does not include the introduction and final sections of the full case... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Governing and Advisory Boards; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Conflict Management

15 Dec 2015
News

The Year in Ideas 2015

outsource. Initially they outsourced customary household tasks, but now they are outsourcing unconventional tasks, like event help for birthdays, IKEA furniture assembly, city-to-city deliveries, View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna, Christine Lejeune, Dan Morrell, and April White

20 May 2019
Blog Post

Makeup: How Kenya Hunt Transformed Her Career Through Cosmetics

A few years ago, Kenya Hunt, HBS MBA 2019, was working full-time on an offshore oil rig – two weeks on, two weeks off – when she realized that “by eight months in, I knew this wasn’t for me.” Her role really did not fit her particular... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

May 1998
Teaching Note

Working Yourself Out of a Job (A) - (E) and Video TN

By: Norman A. Berg

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing

03 May 2012
News

Panel: U.S. must find way to get ’mojo‘ rising again

Article

The Emotional Tightrope of Downsizing: Hidden Challenges for Leaders and Their Organizations

By: Andrew Molinsky and Joshua D. Margolis

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Problems and Challenges; Emotions; Leadership; Organizations

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01 Dec 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

How Many U.S. Jobs Are ‘Offshorable’?

The controversial topic of offshoring U.S. jobs may have been shoved out of the headlines by recent events, but it remains front and center for senior business leaders operating in an increasingly global,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

16 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

What Football Firings Teach Managers About Staying Relevant

to adapt based on industry changes, as well as on team strengths and weaknesses; they get the most by leveraging competitive resources, while communicating and collaborating effectively with key... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht, and Abhijit Naik; Sports

October 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Komatsu Ltd.: Project G's Globalization

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

This case describes the major strategic and organizational transformation at Komatsu aimed at changing it from a Japan-based producer of construction equipment to a truly global company with the ability to leverage its groupwide portfolio of resources and capabilities... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Construction; Asset Pricing; Investment Portfolio; Global Strategy; Leadership; Resource Allocation; Risk Management; Expansion; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

January 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Cat is out of the Bag, The: KANA and the Layoff Gone Awry (A)

By: Leslie A. Perlow and David Ager

Vicki Amon-Higa, vice president of KANA, a publicly traded, midsize development company, was working with Bryan Kettle, KANA's CFO, to plan a layoff in which KANA would reduce the size of its workforce by nearly 40%. Despite the best of intentions, news of the layoff... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Employees; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Problems and Challenges; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Conflict Management

2012
Book

Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance

By: Gary P. Pisano and Willy Shih

For years—even decades—in response to intensifying global competition, American companies decided to outsource their manufacturing operations in order to reduce costs. But we are now seeing the alarming long-term effect of those choices: in many cases, once... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Production; Competitive Advantage; Transformation; Innovation and Invention; Manufacturing Industry; United States

1997
Chapter

Environmental Determinants of Work Motivation, Creativity, and Innovation: The Case of R&D Downsizing

By: T. M. Amabile and R. Conti

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Research and Development; Working Conditions; Motivation and Incentives; Creativity; Innovation and Invention

February 2011
Case

ABICI

By: Mukti Khaire, Elena Corsi and Elisa Farri

The co-founder of an Italian, design based bicycle manufacturer evaluates if reducing costs by outsourcing would impact its brand. The company was founded in 2005 in Italy by three friends and in its first five years, it had enjoyed steady growth and built a strong... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Entrepreneurship; Profit; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Brands and Branding; Product Design; Product Development; Production; Bicycle Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Italy