Publications

11 Sep 2019
Research & Ideas

Germany May Have the Answer for Reducing Drug Prices

to prove that a new medication’s benefits merit a higher price if cheaper, similar drugs are available. The process rewards companies whose drugs are more novel or help patients more, while forcing manufacturers of equally or less effective treatments to cut prices,... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Health

07 Nov 2007
Op-Ed

How Marketing Hype Hurt Boeing and Apple

and brand-building can boost stock prices by raising customer and investor expectations. But the penalties for not delivering on marketing promises are fast becoming as significant as not meeting quarterly earnings targets. Boeing had... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Aerospace; Consumer Products

01 Aug 2012
What Do You Think?

Should CEOs Worry About ‘Too Big to Succeed?’

cause the lack of sufficient organic growth as opposed to the growth by mergers and acquisitions. As he put it, "Toobigs are enormously complex, with massive, self defeating strategies at war within, producing a lower return."... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing; Financial Services

January 2015 (Revised July 2015)
Case

Jimmy Choo

By: Anat Keinan and Sandrine Crener

Jimmy Choo is a British luxury accessories brand, specializing in shoes, handbags, accessories, and fragrances. Founded in 1996 in London by couture shoe designer Jimmy Choo and Vogue accessories editor Tamara Mellon OBE, the brand enjoyed immediate success and rapidly... View Details

09 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

Got a New Strategy? Now Make it Happen

Despite widespread rhetoric about the need for organizational agility, an astonishing number of businesses stay stuck in neutral when they need to implement a new strategy. Consider the situation that Lynne Camp faced in July 2000. Camp,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer & Russell A. Eisenstat

02 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

Government and Financial Tech Can Fix Cash Woes for Small Businesses

Additionally, a July 2016 American Express OPEN report found that nearly half (49 percent) of small business owners are concerned about cash flow issues at their company, and more than one-quarter (27 percent) experienced a cash flow... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills

30 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

India’s Ambitious National Identification Program

In a hugely ambitious project, the Unique Identification Authority of India has been charged with implementing a nationwide program to register and assign a one-of-a-kind ID number to every Indian resident—some 1.2 billion people—by 2020 and to meet an interim goal of... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

January 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Chemours (A)

By: David G. Fubini and David Lane

The July 2015 spin-off of DuPont’s performance chemicals division as the independent company Chemours burdened new CEO Mark Vergnano and his team with perilous challenges. Despite market-leading offerings in several areas, the company faced a glutted market for its... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Chemicals; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Chemical Industry; United States

01 Aug 2005
What Do You Think?

Is There an “Efficient Market” in CEO Compensation?

largely by scale alone." Several respondents offered an explanation for these phenomena. Typical was Rahul Sharma's comment: " . . . these high executive compensation packages are . . . necessitated View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

24 Jul 2014
Op-Ed

Reform Tax Law to Keep US Firms at Home

along partisan lines, from overhauling the US corporate tax to punishing companies who choose to move elsewhere. On July 22, 2014, Mihir A. Desai, Miuzho Financial Group Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School, testified before... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir Desai; Pharmaceutical

25 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Developing the Global Leader

process of understanding who I am, what I desire, what is my purpose, and what are my values," says George, who notes that this year the number of participants who can enroll in ALD has doubled to 240 people. Also coming next July is... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

01 Dec 2021
What Do You Think?

How Will the Metaverse Affect Productivity?

described the Metaverse as “alternate digital realities where people work, play, and socialize.” That reminds us of the things that were promised us by futurists at the time of the development of the internet, many of which have exceeded... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

A Latin American Vision: New HBS Research Center Opens

the complexities of case writing throughout the region. Conversations also focused on work that the new Center can foster between, and among, Latin American academics and HBS faculty. (The conference in Buenos Aires was preceded by a... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

03 Dec 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Against the Grain

activism and unwillingness to compromise, however, makes him a divisive character among business leaders who share his principles but question the ultimate effectiveness of his approach. Is it in their firms' best interests to support someone so politically divisive?... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Food & Beverage

April 1993 (Revised December 1994)
Case

Lehman Brothers and the Securitization of American Express Charge-Card Receivables

By: Andre F. Perold and Kuljot Singh

In early 1992, Lehman Brothers had received a mandate from its affiliate, American Express Travel Related Services (TRS) Co., to securitize a portion of its consumer charge-card receivables portfolio. It is now July 22, and Lehman and TRS have just returned from a... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Credit Cards; Financial Instruments; Stocks; Asset Pricing