Publications

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03 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

The Truck Driver Who Reinvented Shipping

Malcolm P. McLean, a truck driver, fundamentally transformed the centuries-old shipping industry, an industry that had long decided that it had no incentive to change. By developing the first safe, reliable, and cost effective approach to View Details

Keywords: by Anthony J. Mayo & Nitin Nohria; Transportation; Transportation; Transportation

June 2024
Module Note

Value Creation Potential of New Business Models

By: David J. Collis

A business model is composed of three elements. These describe a generic way of creating value and identify the maximum potential value of that model for customers. The elements of a business model are the “job to be done” for the customer, the asset configuration, or... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Corporate Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation

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; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry; Africa; Ethiopia; Asia; Indonesia; North and Central America; United States; Seattle; Chicago

11 Jan 2013
Working Paper Summaries

The Spatial Diffusion of Technology

Keywords: by Diego A. Comin, Mikhail Dmitriev & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

It Came in the First Ships: Capitalism in America

commerce, including several hundred from Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The total number of Africans transported to the New World was about 10 million. Their destination was usually Brazil or one of the Caribbean sugar islands, but some... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas K. McCraw

16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

At the end of 2020—seven months after COVID-19 had sent the airline industry into a tailspin and five months after George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police provoked nationwide protests for racial justice—Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian was moved to take more action... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

January 2014
Case

Emirates Airline: Connecting the Unconnected

By: Juan Alcacer and John Clayton

Narrates the story of Emirates, an airline founded in 1985 in Dubai that by 2013 was among the three largest commercial airlines in the world. The case emphasizes how Emirates capitalized on its location—a small city–state strategically located to reach ¾ of the world... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Competitive Advantage; Airlines; Multinational; Location Strategies; Geographic Location; Multinational Firms and Management; Air Transportation; Competitive Advantage; Business Strategy; Air Transportation Industry; Middle East; Dubai

January 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Trouble at Tessei

By: Ethan Bernstein and Ryan W. Buell

In 2005, Teruo Yabe is asked to revive Tessei, the 669-person JR-East subsidiary responsible for cleaning its Shinkansen ("bullet") trains. Operational mistakes, customer complaints, safety issues, and employee turnover are at or near all-time highs, even as the... View Details

Keywords: Service Management; Employee Engagement; Employee Motivation; Leadership And Managing People; Quality Improvement; Efficiency; Japan; Operational Transparency; Employee Coordination; Transparency; Leadership; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Employees; Quality; Transportation Industry; Japan

16 Nov 2016
Research & Ideas

Turning One Thousand Customers into One Million

Few companies in the past few years have rocketed to success faster than Uber, Airbnb, and Etsy, which together have transformed the way we hail a cab, plan a vacation, and shop for handmade gifts, respectively. In a previous HBS Working Knowledge article, How Uber,... View Details

Keywords: by Thales S. Teixeira and Michael Blanding; Transportation; Transportation; Transportation

13 Dec 2016
First Look

December 13, 2016

railroad track in the U.S. South to standard gauge between May 31 and June 1, 1886 as a large-scale natural experiment in technology standards adoption that instantly integrated the South into the national transportation network. Using... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

May 2016 (Revised March 2020)
Case

Fasten: Challenging Uber and Lyft with a New Business Model

By: Feng Zhu and Angela Acocella

Fasten, a new ridesharing start-up in Boston, entered the scene in September 2015 hoping its unique vision of transparency for both driver and passenger and strategy to keep riders' fares low and charge drivers a flat $0.99 fee per ride as opposed to the 20-30%... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Transportation; Business Startups; Business Model; Transportation Industry; Boston

21 Jun 2011
First Look

First Look: June 21

Publications Civilization: The Six Ways the West Beat the Rest Author: Niall Ferguson Publication: Allen Lane/Penguin Press, 2011 An abstract is unavailable at this time. Review the book:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

eBee: Affordable Mobility for Africa

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in March 2023, as Sten van der Ham and Jaap Maljers, CEO and co-founder of eBee, an electric bike (e-bike) company in Africa, are contemplating the different avenues for growth and path to profitability for the young and ambitious company. In 2023, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Bicycle Industry; Africa; Kenya

20 Dec 2010
Research & Ideas

Panama Canal: Troubled History, Astounding Turnaround

transporting Asia-bound exports down to the Gulf and through the canal and shipping them out to Seattle by land. Conversely, eastern-bound cargoes no longer consisted of strategic raw materials from California but inexpensive manufactured... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Transportation

20 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 20

Publications August 2013 Marketing Science Do Bonuses Enhance Sales Productivity? A Dynamic Structural Analysis of Bonus-Based Compensation Plans By: Chung, Doug J., Thomas Steenburgh, and K. Sudhir Abstract—We estimate a dynamic structural model of sales force... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

14 Jul 2010
Working Paper Summaries

From Russia with Love: The Impact of Relocated Firms on Incumbent Survival

Keywords: by Oliver Falck, Christina Guenther, Stephan Heblich & William R. Kerr; Manufacturing

February 2025
Supplement

eBee: Affordable Mobility for Africa

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Gamze Yucaoglu and Jordan Mitchell

The case opens in March 2023, as Sten van der Ham and Jaap Maljers, CEO and co-founder of eBee, an electric bike (e-bike) company in Africa, are contemplating the different avenues for growth and path to profitability for the young and ambitious company. In 2023, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Value Creation; Competition; Logistics; Profit; Resource Allocation; Expansion; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Distribution Channels; Entrepreneurial Finance; Bicycle Industry; Africa; Kenya

2002
Case

Southwest Airlines

By: Vijay Govindarajan and Julie Lang

Southwest used its short-haul and point-to-point strategy to achieve the lowest operating cost structure in the domestic airline industry. Flexible contracts and a rigorous peer recruiting process aligned its 35,000 employees with this strategy. View Details

Keywords: Cost; Air Transportation; Business Strategy; Air Transportation Industry

May 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

David Dao on United Airlines

By: Benjamin Edelman and Jenny Sanford

In widely circulated videos, United staff and Chicago security forcibly remove a passenger from his paid seat on an aircraft, injuring him severely. United leadership must decide how to respond to public outcry. View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Service Operations; Air Transportation; Contracts; Reputation; Air Transportation Industry; Chicago