Publications

November 2015 (Revised February 2016)
Case

Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A)

By: W. Earl Sasser and Gamze Yucaoglu

At the age of 39, Solmaz Altın took over the helm at Allianz Turkey. Solmaz quickly realized that, although the insurance market was thinly penetrated in Turkey, the company was operating in a very competitive environment with pressure on prices and, hence, cost... View Details

Keywords: Service Excellence; Customer Experience; Customer Service; Emerging Market; Customer Focus; Net Promoter Score; Customer Relationship Management; Competition; Leading Change; Service Operations; Emerging Markets; Customer Satisfaction; Insurance Industry; Turkey

15 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 15, 2008

of Maine by Colgate—to ascertain what is distinctive about the merger process and to analyze the elements critical to success. We develop suggestions about how other companies considering similar arrangements might best manage the View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Dec 2012
What Do You Think?

Should Managers Bother Listening to Predictions?

but with ability of the people handling this system." Alternatives to the use of predictions in the customary planning process were not ignored. Jean-Christophe Khuries suggested one when he asked:... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

33 more are planned to launch this year. Like Mercadona, a Spanish supermarket chain that Ton profiled in a case last year, QuikTrip systematically makes operating decisions that are good for employees, customers, and profits, she says.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

February 2021 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Shopify: The Conquest for Chinese E-Commerce

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Avani Patel, Samantha Lin and Ariel Yang

In mid-2020, Tobias Lütke, CEO of Shopify, faced a critical decision on how to time potential expansion into the China market. Over the prior 15 years, his Canadian software-as-a-service company had grown from a small e-commerce solutions provider to a full service... View Details

July 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Teaching Note

Hilti (A): Fleet Management?

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jan Rivkin

This Teaching Note accompanies the case HBS No. 718-419, “Hilti (A): Fleet Management.” It provides guidelines for class discussion, as well as a board plan and transcripts of the associated videos, Hilti Fleet Management Video Supplements.
The associated case... View Details

20 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Blind Spots: We’re Not as Ethical as We Think

and actual behavior, according to the authors. The rapidly developing field of behavioral ethics has described a decision-making process whereby we recognize what we should do—give equal weight to job candidates of all races, for... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

24 May 2018
Blog Post

3 Ways to Get to Know HBS

An important part of the application process is figuring out which business school is right for you. We would love for you to get to know HBS, so we wanted to take the opportunity to outline our resources in one place. 1. Connect with HBS... View Details

November 2009 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Warner Bros. Entertainment

By: Gary P. Pisano and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Examines the process used by a major motion picture studio to develop and select movie projects. Warner Bros.' strategy is to focus its efforts on a small number of major "event" films (i.e., films with the potential to generate gross box office receipts of $300... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Film Entertainment; Risk Management; Product Development; Strategic Planning; Projects; Sales; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

June 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

What Went Wrong with Boeing's 737 Max?

By: William W. George and Amram Migdal

This case describes the development of the Boeing 737 Max airplane model and the events leading up to two tragic plane crashes, in which a total of 346 people died: the crash of Lion Air flight 610 on October 29, 2018, in Indonesia, and the crash of Ethiopian Airlines... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Communication Intention and Meaning; Communication Strategy; Forms of Communication; Announcements; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Judgments; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Globalization; Global Strategy; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Governance Controls; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Leadership; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Skills; Management Style; Management Systems; Risk Management; Time Management; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Digital Platforms; Supply and Industry; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Industry Structures; Operations; Product Development; Organizations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Outcome or Result; Failure; Success; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Strategy; Transportation; Air Transportation; Aerospace Industry; Air Transportation Industry; Africa; Ethiopia; Asia; Indonesia; North and Central America; United States; Seattle; Chicago

August 1995 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Cricket Road, 503

By: William J. Poorvu and Donald A. Brown

In September 2003, Mason Sexton, a young, inexperienced developer, was making plans to replace a rooming house he had inherited next to the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville with a new 14-unit, 5-story apartment house. His attempts to assemble the... View Details

Keywords: Property; Entrepreneurship; Housing; Buildings and Facilities; Construction; Risk and Uncertainty; Management Practices and Processes; Real Estate Industry; United States

October 2005 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Volkswagen of America: Managing IT Priorities

Describes the efforts of Volkswagen of America, the U.S. subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, to arrive at a process for setting IT funding priorities so that they align with business priorities and the company's overall strategy. The process is carefully thought out and... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Business Subsidiaries; Resource Allocation; Information Technology; Alignment; Auto Industry; United States

07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

noticeably lacking at Enron. These processes include: Liberating evaluation processes by adding qualitative judgment to whatever standard quantitative measures of performance that business View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

April 2003 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Leadership in Crisis: Ernest Shackleton and the Epic Voyage of the Endurance

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Erica Helms and Philip Mead

Provides an opportunity to examine leadership and entrepreneurship in the context of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic expedition, a compelling story of crisis, survival, and triumph. Summarizes Shackleton's career as an officer in the British Merchant Marine, his... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; History; Leadership; Crisis Management; Management Practices and Processes; Groups and Teams; Behavior; Antarctica

Program

Program for Leadership Development

reflect greater confidence and capabilities Capitalize on the opportunities unleashed by digital transformation Formulate a detailed action plan to address your strategic and leadership challenges Build enduring bonds with accomplished... View Details

2016
Working Paper

More Effective Sports Sponsorship—Combining and Integrating Key Resources and Capabilities of International Sports Events and Their Major Sponsors

By: Ragnar Lund and Stephen A. Greyser

Organizations in the field of sports are becoming increasingly dependent on sponsors for their value creation and growth. Studies suggest that sports organizations (rights-holders) often fail to exploit the full potential of such sponsorship partnerships. The aim of... View Details

Keywords: Sponsorship; ＂Sports Organizations,; Case Study; Europe; Business Relationships; Collaborative Marketing; Value Co-creation; Relationship Portfolio Management; Value Creation; Cases; Marketing; Sports; Sports Industry; Europe

Read Now

May 11, 2020
Article

Steer Your Family Businesses Through an Unplanned Transition

By: Josh Baron and Nick Di Loreto

In a perfect world, family businesses will transition leadership from one generation to the next along a predictable and well-planned process — whether that’s determined within the business, the ownership group, or the family itself — passing the baton after years of... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Planning; Family Business; Management Succession

Register to Read

July 2021
Teaching Note

The Carlyle Group: Carving Out Atotech

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 321-153. On January 31, 2017, The Carlyle Group ("Carlyle") closed its $3.2 billion acquisition of Atotech, an international Specialty Chemicals and Equipment company. In Carlyle's Washington, DC headquarters, the US-based deal... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Deal; International Acquisition; International; Acquisition; Negotiation; Negotiation Deal; Transformation; Chemicals; Markets; Bids and Bidding; Globalized Markets and Industries; Standards; Chemical Industry; United States; Europe; Asia; Germany