Publications

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16 Feb 2023
HBS Case

ESG Activists Met the Moment at ExxonMobil, But Did They Succeed?

The impact-investment hedge fund Engine No. 1 made a big splash in May 2021 when it managed to get three nominees elected to the ExxonMobil board of directors. It was an open effort to prod the oil giant toward renewable energy and test whether activist investing could... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Financial Services

16 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Earnings Calls That Get Lost in Translation

consideration to how they deliver important information during earnings calls. Between The Lines The research team studied 11,436 conference call transcripts by 4,540 firms based in 41 different countries outside the United States between... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

August 2015 (Revised May 2016)
Case

Riot Games: Can Culture Survive Growth?

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Norris

In 2015, Riot Games, the maker of the top PC game League of Legends, considers its growth strategy as it moves into a new campus in Los Angeles. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Culture; Organizational Behavior; Video Games; Culture; Strategy; United States

October 1987 (Revised January 1999)
Case

Microsoft Corporation: The Introduction of Microsoft Works

Microsoft must decide how to design a new software product for global markets, identify the timing for entry into different countries, and position the product around the world. View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Applications and Software; Product Design; Product Launch; Globalized Markets and Industries; Information Technology Industry; United States

05 Apr 2016
First Look

April 5, 2016

structuring. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/216035-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 216-003 Pershing Square 2.0 In June 2015 William A. Ackman, the CEO and founder of New View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthlorne

March 2014 (Revised January 2015)
Case

Prodigy Network: Democratizing Real Estate Design and Financing

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Katja Hutter and Greta Friar

This case follows Rodrigo Nino, founder and CEO of commercial real estate development company Prodigy Network, as he develops an equity-based crowdfunding model for small investors to access commercial real estate in Colombia, then tries out the model in the U.S. U.S.... View Details

November 2019
Case

Chief: Role for Lindsay Kaplan

By: Katherine B. Coffman, Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Kathleen L. McGinn, Julia Kelley and Katherine Chen

In 2018, Lindsay Kaplan is preparing to meet with Carolyn Childers about the possibility of co-founding Chief, a New York-based peer network for women executives. Kaplan is currently the vice president of communications and brand engagement at a successful mattress... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; North and Central America; United States; New York (state, US); New York (city, NY)

30 Nov 2021
In Practice

What's the Role of Business in Confronting Climate Change?

The 26th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, also known as COP26, ended with a hard-fought pact that called on businesses and governments to meet their climate change goals faster. The event followed an August report by the Intergovernmental... View Details

Keywords: by Lynn Schenk and Dina Gerdeman

10 Feb 2021
Research & Ideas

Has #MeToo Changed How Hollywood Hires?

Female representation in movies has been consistently low, with women making up only 4.5 percent of directors and 14.4 percent of writers for top-grossing films. Worse, many women have endured sexual harassment and abuse. In October 2017, the View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Media & Broadcasting

29 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

Why Do Outlet Stores Exist?

shopped at retail stores and outlets were virtually identical in terms of demographics, including income and zip codes. They differed, however, on two important variables: their willingness to travel, and the degree to which they cared about "quality," which... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Retail

04 Apr 2023
Book

Two Centuries of Business Leaders Who Took a Stand on Social Issues

While shareholders still reign supreme at many companies, a widespread shift toward more responsible business practices is driving more leaders to take a stand on social and environmental issues today, says Harvard Business School Professor Geoffrey Jones. Jones... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Consumer Products; Fashion; Retail; Green Technology

08 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

How to Demotivate Your Best Employees

motivated to work harder over the long term. But new research suggests that some awards may actually have the opposite effect, according to a recent paper called The Dirty Laundry of Employee Award Programs: Evidence from the Field,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Service

July 2021
Case

A Close Shave at Squire

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Zoë B. Cullen, William R. Kerr, Benjamin N. Roth and Michael Norris

In 2020, just after closing a $34 million Series B financing round, Dave Salvant and Songe LaRon consider how to adjust their business, Squire Technologies, to the new realities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their barbershop technology, including tools to run a shop... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Pandemics; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Technology Industry; New York (city, NY); San Francisco

12 Sep 2005
Research & Ideas

The Broadband Explosion: Thinking About a Truly Interactive World

the broadband explosion to come into being. But other countries are moving much more aggressively to create new broadband infrastructure. One result is that the United States appears to be slipping behind.... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant; Technology; Communications; Telecommunications

Stephen P. Bradley

Professor Bradley is the William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. In addition to teaching Management and Strategy in the Owner President Management Program and leading an... View Details

Keywords: e-commerce industry; financial services; health care; high technology; internet; pharmaceuticals; telecommunications

06 Mar 2013
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Women MBAs at Harvard Business School

making up 40 percent of the Class of 2014. But a new case study shows that there's still a ways to go. “We want them to grapple with what it takes to build an organization, to leverage diversity and create an inclusive culture."... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education

May 2008 (Revised April 2018)
Case

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center: Interdisciplinary Cancer Care

By: Michael E. Porter and Sachin H. Jain

In 2006, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was an internationally leading institution for cancer care, education, and research. Since 1996, it had successfully reorganized itself from a cancer hospital that was physically organized around clinical... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Health Disorders; Organizational Structure; Medical Specialties; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Value Creation; Service Delivery; Research; Health Care and Treatment; Education Industry; Health Industry; Texas