Publications

May 2010 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Friend Bank: The Time for Hope

By: Clayton S. Rose and Aldo Sesia

In 2010, Friend Bank was entering the fifth year of Hope Harris Johnson's ambitious 20-year growth plan to transform her family's one branch community bank into an institution with a substantial presence in southeastern Alabama. Harris Johnson was pleased, so far, with... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Family Ownership; Competitive Advantage; Banking Industry; Alabama

11 Feb 2016
Blog Post

First Came Love, then Came Business School

Native Canadians Jocelyne and Corey first met and fell in love when they were studying Mechanical Engineering at McMaster University in Ontario. While Jocelyne went on to work for PepsiCo in operations and supply chain roles after college, Cory worked in mechanical... View Details

17 Jun 2025
Blog Post

Balancing Career Stability with Creative Pursuits with Jeff Roslund (MBA 2013)

and coaching, which helped me refine my approach and ultimately return to a large corporate environment in a product management role. Building Business and Family In 2020, while still working my day job, I founded Dapper Barons—a company... View Details

July 2020
Case

Michael Solomonov: Jerusalem in a Bowl

By: Boris Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht and Katherine Connolly Baden

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook had begun to wonder whether it might be time to rethink their opportunistic approach to the expansion of their small restaurant empire in Philadelphia, CooknSolo. The pandemic, however, caused an... View Details

Keywords: Restaurant Industry; Entrepreneur; COVID-19; Crisis; Crisis Response Plans; Entrepreneurship; Food; Health Pandemics; Crisis Management; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Creativity; Strategy; Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Situation or Environment; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

07 Apr 2011
What Do You Think?

When Should the Public Sector Take Over in a Meltdown?

meltdown is. As Philippe Gouamba puts it, "Is it a partial collapse or a total collapse? What is at risk in this collapse; is it human lives, corporate capital or national pride?" Having asked these questions, he opts for... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Energy; Utilities

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Connecting With Nonprofits

Continuum can be used as an instrument for managing their "Partnering Portfolios." Not only can one ascertain the current nature of the existing relationships, but also begin to strategize as to the ideal mix of relationship... View Details

Keywords: by James Austin

01 Sep 2018
News

After the Fall

years to remind bankers and investors that they shouldn’t take on so much risk,” Hanson says. “That’s obviously impossible to operationalize, but the bank stress tests can teach people to manage risk more... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Myers; illustration by Dan Bejar; Monetary Authorities-Central Bank; Finance; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Government

January 2025
Teaching Note

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel and Stacy Straaberg

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 124-007. The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of... View Details

Profile

Marcela Sapone

As an undergrad at Boston University, Sapone created her own degree program. She took classes that enticed her including photojournalism, cognitive science and Zen meditation. She also took management courses and for one assignment, she... View Details

01 Aug 2001
News

Robert B. Stobaugh (DBA '68)

engineer Bob Stobaugh decided to pursue his true vocation: teaching. "As a manager in the oil and chemical industries, I often needed to explain complex business problems to my coworkers," Stobaugh says. "I found that I enjoyed the... View Details

Keywords: Alumni Achievement Award; Educational Services

Web

What Google, Lego, and Other Brands Know About the Promise and Peril of AI | Working Knowledge

of several brands’ early AI experiments reveals that so far, the technology has produced mixed results for businesses, providing a boon for some while posing a reputation risk for others. What made the difference in whether a company’s... View Details

29 Dec 2014
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles and Research Papers of 2014

the Case for Pluralistic Risk Management The failure to rescue survivors from the sunk Russian submarine Kursk is explored by Anette Mikes and Amram Migdalpaper. Better Deals Through Level II Strategies:... View Details

September 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Case

KKR: Leveraging Sustainability

The case describes KKR's Green Portfolio Program, one of the firm's environmental initiatives, which has achieved $160 million in cost savings. While pleased with its progress in achieving greater energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions, the firm is looking for... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Energy Conservation; Cost Management; Supply Chain Management; Risk Management; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development; Performance Efficiency; Financial Services Industry