Publications

1999
Case

Nucor Corporation (B)

By: Vijay Govindarajan

In January, 1999, Ken Iverson, the thirty-year leader of Nucor Corporation, was forced into retirement. Five months later, his successor, John Correnti, was asked to leave. The board of directors wanted fundamental shifts in Nucor's strategy and organization that... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Restructuring; Management Teams; Business Strategy

October 1990
Case

Beauregard Textile Co.

By: Francis Aguilar

The sales manager and controller have to decide on a price for a textile that lost significant market share as a result of a recent price increase. Information on manufacturing costs and on the pricing behavior of Beauregard and its only competitor are available for... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Price; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Inflation and Deflation; Consumer Behavior; Apparel and Accessories Industry

September 2024
Case

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners: Leading the Energy Transition

By: John Macomber and Maxwell Nii Laryea

A leading global infrastructure fund debates whether and when to become engaged in the electrolysis and distribution of hydrogen, as part of the hydrogen economy and the global transtion to a net zero energy world. The proposed billion dollar project consists of wind... View Details

Keywords: Infrastructure; Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Project Finance; Decision Making; Risk and Uncertainty; Energy Industry; Spain

30 Nov 2011
Research & Ideas

Only Capitalists Can Save Capitalism

Role of Business. "Our book argues that if we don't begin to address, in a systemic way, the issues and problems and the negative outcomes and challenges [of market capitalism], then we are likely View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

May 2016 (Revised September 2016)
Case

Hillside Beach Club: Delivering the Ultimate Family Vacation in the Mediterranean

By: Rajiv Lal and Gamze Yucaoglu

In 2015, Edip Ilkbahar, HBC’s founder and CEO, was looking over the plans for a new branch in Cyprus. Since the inception of the company by the Alarko Group of companies in 1994, Ilkbahar’s company had enjoyed high occupancy, high guest satisfaction, and high... View Details

April 2011
Case

Porcini's Pronto: "Great Italian cuisine without the wait!"

By: James L. Heskett and Richard Luecke

Porcini's Inc. operates a chain of 23 full-service restaurants located near shopping malls and downtown areas in the northeastern United States. Known for providing excellent service, Porcini's serves high-quality Italian cuisine made from fresh ingredients. Looking... View Details

Robert J. Dolan is the Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester and began his academic career in 1976 as a faculty member at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago. He joined... View Details

April 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Microsoft in Korea

By: Jordan I. Siegel and Lynn Pyun

Microsoft Korea sees a potential opportunity to dramatically improve its subsidiary's performance by actively recruiting and promoting female senior managers in South Korea. The question is to what extent multinationals can gain competitive advantage by actively... View Details

Keywords: Global; International Business; Multinational Management; Human Resource Management; Labor Market; Global Human Resource Management; Microsoft; South Korea; Asia; East Asia; Human Resources; Strategy; Global Strategy; Computer Industry; South Korea; East Asia

January 2013 (Revised June 2018)
Case

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google 2018

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Four businesses had, by 2012, grown to dominate the infrastructure that all firms rely on to reach online customers. Will the balance of power among the four persist, will one take command at the expense of the other three, or are all four more vulnerable than they... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Competitive Advantage; Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development; Service Industry; Retail Industry; United States

06 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

How South Africa Challenges Our Thinking on FDI

market share within their industry; and this, of course, wouldn't be a great environment for someone to go in and set up a new shop. If there are three or four firms sharing an... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

September 1996 (Revised September 1999)
Case

Mobil USM&R (A): Linking the Balanced Scorecard

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The CEO of the marketing and refining division of a major oil company is in the midst of implementing a profit turnaround. He transforms the strongly centralized, functionally-organized division into 17 independent business units and 14 internal service companies. The... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Measurement and Metrics; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Design; Balanced Scorecard; Corporate Strategy; Mining Industry; Energy Industry

21 Nov 2021
News

How Retailers Can Improve Self-Checkout

July 1994 (Revised April 1995)
Case

San Francisco Bay Consulting

By: George P. Baker III and Karin B Monsler

San Francisco Bay Consulting leads the field of economic consulting and litigation support in the application of powerful computers and cutting edge software to manipulate and analyze large data sets. The transfer pricing system, used to facilitate the purchasing and... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Profit; Marketing; Fluctuation; Consulting Industry; Computer Industry

November 2015 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Uber: Changing the Way the World Moves

By: Youngme Moon

In 2015, Uber is building what may be the largest point-to-point transportation network of its kind; it is literally changing the way the world moves. But unlike traditional transportation logistics companies like FedEx, Uber has an incredibly lightweight... View Details

Keywords: Service; Innovation; Pricing; Customer Loyalty; Uber; Taxi; Sharing Economy; On-demand Economy; Marketing; Operations; Strategy; Disruption; Customer Satisfaction; Transportation; Consumer Behavior

August 2016
Simulation

BDP Pharmaceuticals

By: Kevin Schulman, Emma Rasiel and Suresh Balu

Susan Durham has just been hired as the Chief Financial Officer of Blue Devil Pharmaceuticals (BDP). Her charge is to understand the optimal pathway for the development of a novel molecule, BDP-1, to understand the cost of drug development, the market opportunity, and... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Entrepreneurship

July 2016
Case

Blue D Pharmaceuticals

By: Kevin Schulman, Emma Rasiel and Suresh Balu

Susan Durham has just been hired as the Chief Financial Officer of Blue Devil Pharmaceuticals (BDP). Her charge is to understand the optimal pathway for the development of a novel molecule, BDP-1, to understand the cost of drug development, the market opportunity, and... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Entrepreneurship