Publications

December 2011 (Revised June 2015)
Case

Chairman Zhang and Broad Group: Growth Dilemmas

By: Christopher Marquis, Nancy Hua Dai and Juelin Yin

Zhang Yue, founder and chairman of Broad Group, had developed a series of innovative products aimed at solving China's environmental problems. Broad Group's products, services, and management were guided by values that prioritized morals, responsibility, environmental... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; China

2007
Working Paper

Global Competitors as Next-Door Neighbors: Competition and Geographic Concentration in the Semiconductor Industry

By: Minyuan Zhao and Juan Alcacer

Despite the many advantages offered by technology clusters, firms located in them face the risk of losing valuable knowledge to nearby competitors. In this study, we argue that multi-location firms strategically organize their R&D activities to appropriate the value of... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Industry Clusters; Innovation and Invention; Geographic Location; Competitive Strategy; Globalization; Semiconductor Industry

SSRN

December 2000
Background Note

Online Market Makers

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Chris Hackett

Describes the business model for online market makers, firms that use the Internet to organize a marketplace, providing participants with a virtual "place" to trade, rules to govern their exchanges, and infrastructure to support trading. First it proposes a definition... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Web Services Industry

August 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Kmart and ESL Investments (A)

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah Abbott

A major bankrupt retailer is poised to emerge from Chapter 11. Two activist hedge funds ("vulture investors") will own over 50% of reorganized Kmart's common stock, based on prior investments in Kmart's debt claims, and an infusion of new equity financing. The Chapter... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment; Investment Activism; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; Retail Industry; United States

May 2007 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Dollar General (A)

By: Willy Shih, Stephen P. Kaufman and Rebecca McKillican

Dollar General Corporation (DG) operates one of the leading chains of extreme value retailers in the United States. 2006 revenues reached $9.2 billion, making DG the 6th largest mass retailer in the country. With revenues growing at 9% annually over the five-year... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Family Business; Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; United States

30 Apr 2024
Book

When Managers Set Unrealistic Expectations, Employees Cut Ethical Corners

willing to approve continued sales of a drug known to be lethal to some customers in fulfilment of their assigned role to maximise value for shareholders (Armstrong, 1977, p. 204). And so on. Yet, the insights from this research and their... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

29 Sep 2017
Working Paper Summaries

International Business and Emerging Markets: A Long-Run Perspective

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones

13 Jan 2011
News

Untangling Code

November 2010 (Revised May 2014)
Case

Dow's Bid for Rohm and Haas

By: Benjamin C. Esty and David Lane

This case analyzes Dow Chemical Company's proposed acquisition of Rohm and Haas in 2008. The $18.8 billion acquisition was part of Dow's strategic transformation from a slow-growth, low-margin, and cyclical producer of basic chemicals into a higher-growth,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Crisis; Capital Structure; Financial Condition; Financial Management; Contracts; Lawsuits and Litigation; Risk and Uncertainty; Valuation; Chemical Industry

Rakesh Khurana is the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development at the Harvard Business School. He is also Professor of Sociology at Harvard University, co-Master of Cabot House at Harvard College, and the Danoff Dean of Harvard College.

Professor... View Details

Keywords: executive search

02 Sep 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Information Risk and Fair Value: An Examination of Equity Betas and Bid-Ask Spreads

Keywords: by Edward J. Riedl & George Serafeim; Banking

June 2008
Case

System on a Chip 2008: Global Unichip Corp.

By: Willy C. Shih, Chintay Shih, Chen-Fu Chien and Yuan-Chieh Chang

Though much of the semiconductor industry has shifted to a horizontal model, complexity driven by technological evolution is driving a shift in the perceived boundaries in the value chain. Global Unichip sees itself as a "virtual integrated device manufacturer," a... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Boundaries; Semiconductor Industry

Find at Harvard

31 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Checking Your Ethics: Would You Speak Up in These 3 Sticky Situations?

Imagine you’re a consultant and you notice a few eyebrow-raising behaviors, such as a colleague who misuses a client’s meal stipend or an executive who screams inappropriately at his staff. Should you step in and speak up? For consultants, especially those starting... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consulting

October 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Customer-Centric Design with Artificial Intelligence: Commonwealth Bank

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Yael Grushka-Cockayne, Jin Hyun Paik and Steven Randazzo

As Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) CEO Matt Comyn delivered the full financial year results in August 2021 over videoconference, it took less than two minutes for him to make his first mention of the organization's Customer Engagement Engine (CEE), the AI-driven customer... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Customer-centricity; Banks and Banking; Customer Focus and Relationships; Technological Innovation; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance; AI and Machine Learning; Financial Services Industry; Australia

16 Apr 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Phenomenological Assumptions and Knowledge Dissemination within Organizational Studies

Keywords: by Corinne Bendersky & Kathleen L. McGinn

November 2020
Case

The 1,000-Year Plan: Lee Kum Kee and Sustaining a Family Culture

By: Lauren Cohen, Dawn H. Lau and Billy Chan

The Lee family, whose Hong Kong-based Lee Kum Kee company has established itself as a legend within the Chinese and Asian sauce world, sets out to create a daring new vision of what family legacy means. With the family business having been established in 1888, and by... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Business and Community Relations; Organizational Structure; Strategic Planning