Publications

June 1997
Background Note

The Normative Foundations of Business

What is the appropriate role for business to play in a capitalist society? In analyzing responses to this question, this note distinguishes two separate dimensions. The first involves the distinctive objective of business as a social institution, considers the pros and... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Economic Systems

08 Nov 2016
First Look

November 8, 2016

also consider the relationship of these outcomes to the immigrants’ age at arrival to the United States. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51811 2016 Experiences in Liberal Arts and Science Education from... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Supplement

Avaya (D): Early Results of the Demand Generation Initiative

Avaya's top management wants to improve demand generation. This requires an improvement in the relationship between Sales and Marketing. This case series (Avaya (A)-(D)) walks the student through each phase of this process. The (A) case begins with background on the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Cooperation; Sales

09 Oct 2020
HBS Seminar

Jeffrey L. Furman, BU, Questrom Sch of Business

22 Aug 2012
Working Paper Summaries

A Randomized Field Study of a Leadership WalkRounds™-Based Intervention

Background: Leadership WalkRounds have been widely adopted as a technique for improving patient safety and safety climate. WalkRounds involve senior managers directly observing frontline work and soliciting employees' ideas about... View Details

Keywords: by Anita L. Tucker & Sara J. Singer; Health

15 Jul 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Trade Policy and Firm Boundaries

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro, Paola Conconi, Harald Fadinger & Andrew F. Newman

February 1989 (Revised November 1991)
Case

Science Technology Co.--1985

By: Thomas R. Piper

The CEO of a U.S. electronics firm is assessing the financial forecasts and the financing plan prepared by the chief financial officer. Given the cyclicality of the industry and the volatility of the firm's performance, the CEO is unsure as to the usefulness of... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Change Management; Industry Growth; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Strategy; Volatility; Electronics Industry

November 2002 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Education in Chile: A Venue for Individual, Business and Community Involvement

Describes the alliance between a private businessman in Chile and a municipality to manage the local public education system. Describes the institution of a performance-based culture, including the use of management tools to align visions and incentives among key... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Social Entrepreneurship; Social Issues; Education; Business and Community Relations; Education Industry; Chile

Web

Named Fellowship Funds - Alumni

Company, where he headed the firm's operations practice and managed major client relationships in the industrial manufacturing and consumer goods industries. Conard holds a BSE in operations research from... View Details

December 2009
Article

Closing the Customer Feedback Loop

By: Rob Markey, Fred Reichheld and Andreas Dullweber

Realizing that customer retention is more critical than ever, companies have ramped up their efforts to listen to customers. But many struggle to convert their findings into practical prescriptions for customer-facing employees. Some companies are addressing that... View Details

Keywords: Customer Centric Initiative; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain

January 2022
Case

Bee-ing Better at Bombas

By: Elizabeth A. Keenan, Youngme Moon and John Masko

David Heath and Randy Goldberg founded Bombas in 2013 to serve two missions: to deliver the “best socks in the history of feet,” and to donate socks (the most requested item in homeless shelters) to Americans experiencing homelessness. Eight years later, Bombas had... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Values and Beliefs; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Digital Marketing; Distribution; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Quality; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Human Needs; Poverty; Growth and Development Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; New York (city, NY)

June 2004 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Scientific-Atlantia (S-A), a leading manufacturer of cable TV equipment, is confronting strategic challenges in mid-2004. For decades, cable operators have faced high switching costs that have locked them into exclusive supply relationships with either S-A or its... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Competition; Industry Structures; Television Entertainment; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Manufacturing Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

January 2018 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Lagunitas Brewing Company

By: Joshua Margolis, Allison Ciechanover and Jeff Huizinga

The CEO of a California-based craft brewery manages new partnership with—and potential acquisition by—industry giant Heineken. View Details

Keywords: Culture; Non-profit; International; Organizational Behavior; Food; Leadership; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Culture; Management; Partners and Partnerships; Technology Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

January 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Cisco Systems (2001): Building and Sustaining a Customer-Centric Culture

By: Ranjay Gulati

Customer centricity has been an important part of the culture at Cisco Systems since its inception. While part of this is attributable to values put in place by the founders and retained by subsequent management, it is also closely interwoven with its organizational... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Organizational Culture; Research and Development; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Employees; Brands and Branding; Customer Relationship Management; Business Units

September 2013
Case

SafeBlend Fracturing

By: Benson P. Shapiro, Frank V. Cespedes and Alisa Zalosh

The CEO of SafeBlend Technologies must set a price for the company's environmentally friendly fracturing fluid additive. The firm is negotiating a new contract with its biggest client, Bristol Natural Gas. For the last two years, SafeBlend has been the sole provider of... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Customer Relationship Management; Price; Negotiation; Competitive Advantage; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Sources; Sales; Energy Industry

2020
Working Paper

Updating the Balanced Scorecard for Triple Bottom Line Strategies

By: Robert S. Kaplan and David McMillan

Many companies are now attempting to achieve triple bottom line performance on financial, environmental, and societal metrics. Successful strategies for such performance, however, generally require new relationships among multiple players in multiple sectors across a... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Adaptation; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Performance; Strategy

SSRN

Read Now

November 1986 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Suzanne de Passe at Motown Productions (A)

By: Linda A. Hill

Illustrates: 1) the impact of a manager's leadership style on corporate culture, direction, and performance; 2) the concept of fit between leadership style and the requirements of situations in which managers find themselves; and 3) the need for managers to adapt their... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Race; Organizational Culture; Leadership Style; Gender; Management Teams; Change Management; Situation or Environment; Creativity; Relationships; Music Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Find at Harvard

August 2000
Case

Manila Water Company (A)

By: Michael Beer and Elizabeth Weldon

On February 3, 1997, the east zone of the Manila Metropolitan Water and Sewerage System (MWSS) was taken over by the Manila Water Co. (MWC), a newly created joint venture between the Ayala Corp., a large Filipino conglomerate; Bechtel Enterprises, Inc., an American... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Horizontal Integration; Privatization; Problems and Challenges; Utilities Industry