Publications

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16 Jul 2007
Research & Ideas

Understanding the ‘Want’ vs. ’Should’ Decision

Like having both an angel and a devil whispering advice in our ears, consumers often wrestle with the "want" versus "should" decision. Yes, I want to purchase that chocolate bar, but I should snack on granola instead. Yes, I want the gleaming red... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Retail; Entertainment & Recreation

April 2009 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Oprah Winfrey

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Erica Helms, Katherine Miller and Rachel Wilcox

The case explores the entrepreneurial journey of Oprah Winfrey, examining how she built an audience for one of the most successful television shows in history; how she created the company, Harpo Productions, that produces that show as well as other media offerings; how... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Personal Development and Career; Strategy; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

Article

Update on E-liability Accounting

By: Robert Kaplan, Karthik Ramanna and Piyush Jha

Since publication of the original E-liability carbon accounting paper (HBR, Nov 2021), we created the E-liability Institute to help companies, governments, and nonprofits implement the method. The Institute’s mission is to test and validate the method, and develop... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Carbon Footprint; Supply Chain; Environmental Sustainability; Environmental Accounting

Read Now

October 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Swizz Beatz

By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Sarah Mehta

This case explores the life and career of rapper and music producer Swizz Beatz. Set in 2019, it covers the evolution of Swizz’s musical career and his new venture into the commercial art market. View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Fine Arts Industry; Music Industry; United States

04 Feb 2020
Video

Gülsüm Azeri

Gülsüm Azeri, head of Şişecam, an industrial group in Turkey that produces glass and chemicals, describes how she chose to close down an outdated glassmaking factory because legal regulations prevented its modernization and her subsequent discussions with labor unions... View Details

03 Mar 2020
Video

Jorge Gerdau

Jorge Gerdau, Chair of Brazil-based Grupo Gerdau, which is one of the largest steel producers in Latin America, explains the importance of open communication among the different branches of his firm and the... View Details

February 2014
Teaching Note

The Slingshot: Improving Water Access

By: John A. Quelch

Entrepreneur Dean Kamen has inked a multimillion dollar partnership with Coca-Cola (CC) to mass produce and distribute the Slingshot, a low energy device that can convert raw sewage into potable water for poor people and communities in developing economies. View Details

Keywords: DEKA; Dean Kamen; Coca-Cola; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Commercialization; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Health Industry; North Africa; South Africa; Asia; South America

11 Oct 2012
News

Fatter Paychecks Expected at Tech Firms

28 Jul 2021
Video

Aroon Purie

Aroon Purie, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of India Today, discusses the importance of producing valuable content that people are willing to pay for when moving to digital magazines rather than print and the role that social media plays in advertising. View Details

November 2023
Case

Nourishing Communities: Brighter Bites Approach to Childhood Nutrition

By: David E. Bell, Forest Reinhardt and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

In September 2023, Brighter Bites, a Houston-based non-profit that distributed fresh produce and nutrition education in underserved communities across 11 cities and 5 states, grappled with identifying the best path forward for continued growth. Brighter Bites proved... View Details

Keywords: Nutrition; Growth and Development Strategy; Logistics; Nonprofit Organizations; Human Needs; Poverty; Houston

2011
Other Unpublished Work

Aligning Collective Production with Demand: Evidence from Wikipedia

Economic markets align supply and demand through prices. However, many social phenomena lack pricing to inform producers about consumer demand. This can lead to the over- or under-production of certain goods and services. In this paper, I propose a social mechanism... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry

SSRN

05 Jan 2021
Working Paper Summaries

The ESG-Innovation Disconnect: Evidence from Green Patenting

Keywords: by Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun, and Quoc H. Nguyen

27 Jan 2015
News

The Dark Side of America's Brightest Inventor: Edison

December 1998 (Revised September 1999)
Case

Novartis: Betting on Life Sciences

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Srinivas Sunder

The merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz produced genomic-based synergies for health care, agribusiness, and nutritional supplements. How to build on the strength of the individual divisions and provide synergies that would continue Novartis' leadership role is the question... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Divisions; Health Care and Treatment; Leadership; Product Positioning; Science-Based Business; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

July 2020
Case

Kathy Fish at Procter & Gamble: Navigating Industry Disruption by Disrupting from Within

By: Emily Truelove, Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards

When Kathy Fish, Procter & Gamble’s Chief Research, Development & Innovation Officer, and a 40-year company veteran, stepped into her role in 2014, she was concerned that the world’s leading consumer packaged goods company had lost its capability to produce a steady... View Details

Keywords: Female Protagonist; Organizational Change; Organizational Behavior; Culture Change; Digital; Innovation; Lean Startup; Experimentation; Metrics; Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG); Leadership; Leading Change; Change Management; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Disruption; Innovation and Invention; Digital Transformation

April 1985 (Revised March 1986)
Case

Seven-Up Division of Philip Morris

By: Michael E. Porter and Edward J. Hoff

In 1979, Philip Morris acquired the Seven-Up Co., the number three concentrate producer in the U.S. After four years of losses, Seven-Up had registered an operating profit in 1984. Industry analysts were debating the role that Seven-Up would play in Philip Morris's... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Divisions; Debates; Profit; Production; Personal Development and Career; United States

October 1996 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Chiquita Brands International (A)

By: Debora L. Spar and Terence Mulligan

When a new banana import policy is implemented in 1993 by the European Union, Chiquita Brands International, the world's largest banana distributor, watches its sales and net income plummet. The policy, Council Regulation (EEC 404/93), uses a new tariff and quota... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Trade; Government and Politics; Policy; Market Design; Fairness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Latin America; European Union

06 Jan 2020
Working Paper Summaries

From Know-It-Alls to Learn-It-Alls: Executive Development in the Era of Self-Refining Algorithms, Collaborative Filtering and Wearable Computing

Keywords: by Mihnea Moldoveanu and Das Narayandas; Education

December 2012
Case

Ocean Mist Farms

By: David E. Bell, Jose B. Alvarez, Mary Shelman and Michael Norris

In late 2012, Kori Tuggle, director of marketing and business development at Ocean Mist Farms, a California produce company, examines her social media-based marketing program and her attempts to create a brand for a bulk commodity. View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States; California