Publications

Research Summary

Design Driven Innovation

By: Roberto Verganti

Firms, managers and scholars have often balanced between two approaches to innovation: user centered (where incremental innovation is pulled by the market) and technology push (where innovation comes from breakthrough development in technologies). However there is a... View Details

03 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 3, 2007

realize liquidity from its successful investment in American Seafoods Corp., Inc. An apparently innovative solution is developed, which calls for issuing Income Deposit Securities. Does this innovation make sense, and is it practical?... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

Helper's brand management team resulted in two potential solutions: (1) to reduce production costs through the simplification of the Hamburger Helper line by reducing the complexity of the product and eliminating the less View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Apr 2024
HBS Case

Deion Sanders' Prime Lessons for Leading a Team to Victory

caught the eye of major brands and led to marketing contracts. Ultimately, Sanders would go on to become one of the only athletes in the world to simultaneously play professional football and baseball, winning two Super Bowls in the NFL... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

14 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 14

entrepreneurs from other candidates. To address that problem, Butler compared the psychological testing results of over 4,000 successful entrepreneurs and of approximately 1,800 business leaders who described themselves as general... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

How SHEIN and Temu Conquered Fast Fashion—and Forged a New Business Model

methods. “The success of Amazon, Shopify, and social commerce sites such as Instagram convinced consumers to move much of their purchasing power online. ” That the model was born in China is not surprising because China has long had the... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton; Fashion; Retail; Consumer Products

21 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 21

reporting's current state of play, the authors provide guidance to ensure wider adoption of the practice and success of the movement, starting with how companies can improve their own reporting processes. But the support of investors,... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel & Sean Silverthorne

April 2009 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Bono and U2

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Katherine Miller and Rachel Wilcox

This case traces the 30-year development of the rock band U2 and the development of its four members as artists, business leaders, and humanitarians (with particular attention paid to lead singer Bono's global humanitarian work). The case examines the beginnings of the... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Business Model; Social Entrepreneurship; Globalized Markets and Industries; Leadership; Brands and Branding; Personal Development and Career; Social Enterprise; Music Industry

08 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 8, 2008

was an essential ingredient in the success of the transformation. The case ends with a review of changes in financial performance, employee attitudes and customer satisfaction. The case describes the important role that the human... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Jun 2023
HBS Case

3 Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage Now: Lessons from Amazon, Chipotle, and Facebook

fees that other brands pay department stores and other distributors. While it doesn’t charge the premium prices of competitors, its lower costs help it maintain an advantage. Perhaps recognizing that threat, Estee Lauder acquired The... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

September 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Arnold Communications

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Jeremiah Weinstock

The new owner and CEO of Arnold Advertising, a relatively small regional agency, aims to build it into Arnold Communications--a much larger, stronger firm competing successfully for national accounts. As part of this growth strategy, the agency develops a process for... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Creativity; Entrepreneurship; Advertising; Business Processes; Brands and Branding; Growth and Development Strategy; Advertising Industry

July 2018
Teaching Note

Ron Johnson: A Career in Retail

By: Ryan Raffaelli

In April 2013, Ron Johnson (HBS '84) stepped down after just 18 months as CEO of J.C. Penney. In his brief tenure, Johnson, an acclaimed retailer respected for his innovation and success in shaping the retail image at Target and Apple, introduced dramatic departures... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Leadership Development; Legal Industry; Procurement; Professional Service Firms; Pricing; Competition; Organizational Behavior; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Situation or Environment; Failure; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States

25 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 25

Publications 2006 pub Leviathan Evolving: New Varieties of State Capitalism in Brazil and Beyond By: Musacchio, Aldo, and Sergio G. Lazzarini Abstract—In this book we describe the transformation of state capitalism from a model in which governments owned and ran... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

June 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

High Liner Foods, 2015

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2015, Canadian-based High Liner Foods Ltd was one of North America's largest frozen fish processors with extensive shares of both the food service and retail channels in Canada, the USA and Mexico. With over C$1 billion in revenues, the company had grown four fold... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Strategic Decision Making; Family Business; Commodities; Strategic Planning; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; North America; Canada

Research Summary

Energy, IT, real estate, and sustainability

By: Rebecca M. Henderson

Professor Henderson’s current research focuses on the energy, information technology, and real estate sectors and the challenges firms encounter as they attempt to act in more sustainable ways. This work is an outgrowth of her decade-long examination of the... View Details

26 Jan 2016
First Look

January 26, 2016

diversity of sources. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50204 PathBreakers? Women's Electoral Success and Future Political Participation By: Bhalotra, Sonia, Irma Clots-Figueras, and Lakshmi Iyer Abstract—We... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2013 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Ron Johnson: Retail at Target, Apple, and J.C. Penney

By: Das Narayandas, Kerry Herman and Lisa Mazzanti

In April 2013, Ron Johnson (HBS '84) stepped down after just 18 months as CEO of J.C. Penney. In his brief tenure, Johnson, an acclaimed retailer respected for his innovation and success in shaping the retail image at Target and Apple, introduced dramatic departures... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Situation or Environment; Failure; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States