Publications

01 Nov 2024
In Practice

Layoffs Surging in a Strong Economy? Advice for Navigating Uncertain Times

situation many tech firms grapple with. His statement, “We do not do layoffs to cut costs,” is a clearer message for employees who see the staffing up as well as the laying off, especially in light of the vast sums tech companies are putting into their race for AI... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology; Information Technology

November 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Bridgit: Persevere or Pivot?

By: Reza Satchu and Patrick Sanguineti

In late 2012, Mallorie Brodie and Lauren Lake, two young women in their final year of college, founded Bridgit, a technology startup that developed solutions to simplify vital but laborious processes within the construction industry. In the Fall of 2013, after months... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Founder; Co-founders; Women Executives; Pivot; Startup; Business Model; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Product Launch; Research and Development; Competition; Construction Industry; Technology Industry; United States; Canada

16 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 16

profitable investment decisions. During the last ten years, Wall Street research has been battered by a series of shocks. As concerns over conflicts of interest mounted, the integrity of research output was questioned, leading to transformative regulatory changes. New... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Reforming New Orleans Schools After Katrina

quality when networks of schools cooperate with each other. When school districts work well, they create these scale advantages; when they do not work well, they are cumbersome bureaucracies. Because of the number of independent charter schools in New Orleans, a View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Education

19 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

Doomsday Coming for Catastrophic Risk Insurers?

relatively few events.” The problem is, reinsurance isn't like any other equity investment: it isn't really exposed to market risk, so expecting high returns is unrealistic. A financial adviser might be willing to accept lower returns... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Financial Services

01 Aug 2012
What Do You Think?

Should CEOs Worry About ‘Too Big to Succeed?’

"called it 'creative destruction'" many years ago, the inevitable result of competition and entrepreneurship at work. Others pointed that whether size and success are compatible may rely on a number of factors. Usman Ghani... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing; Financial Services

December 2003 (Revised October 2005)
Case

High-Definition TV: The Grand Alliance

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Describes political and economic forces that influenced the development of an all-digital, high-definition television (HDTV) standard in the United States between 1986 and 1996. Outlines the stakes for various government and industry participants in the... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Policy; Management Practices and Processes; Emerging Markets; Standards; Business and Government Relations; Networks; Research and Development; Technology Adoption; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Technology Industry; Japan; Europe; United States

25 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

New Learning at American Home Products

in moving out of lower-value into higher-value paths as technologies and markets changed. Before World War II those managers became proficient in monitoring the processes of production and marketing in each... View Details

Keywords: by Alfred D. Chandler Jr.; Chemical; Health; Manufacturing; Pharmaceutical

29 Jan 2013
First Look

First Look: Jan. 29

countries still relevant? Should emerging market nations be given a greater role in the governance structure? Most importantly, was Jim Yong Kim, a U.S. national, the right choice to lead the bank, in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

SuperCorp: Values as Guidance System

internalize and use them in practice. “Societal purpose and values help meet an emerging public demand.” For vanguard companies, grounding strategy—which businesses to pursue and how—in a sense of wider societal purpose provides many... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

13 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 13, 2007

isolate the effects of channel expansion. We argue for advantages to using zip code level data for methodological and consumer data privacy reasons. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-043.pdf Multinational Firms, FDI Flows and Imperfect Capital... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Supplement

On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader, Jordan Mitchell and Karen Elterman

Slides to support the teaching of the On case, 723-430. On is a premium performance running shoe company founded in Switzerland in 2010. The company rapidly gained traction through its unique CloudTec cushioning technology, its innovative midsole plate called the... View Details

November 2010 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Innovating into Active ETFs: Factor Funds Capital Management LLC

By: Kenneth A. Froot, Lauren Cohen and Scott Waggoner

Kishore Karunakaran, President and COO of FFCM, faces a variety of challenges in launching an innovative investment management business in the rapidly evolving ETF space. View Details

Keywords: Investment Management; Institutional Investments; Entrepreneurial Finance; Financial Management; Innovation Strategy; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Capital Markets; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Management Teams; Financial Services Industry; Boston

Winter 2009
Article

Is Private Equity Out of Control in Latin America?: The Impact of Structures on Private Equity Transactions in Latin America 1988-2007

By: Roberto Charvel

This article explores the private equity industries in 25 Latin American countries from 1988 to 2007. View Details

Keywords: Latin America; Entrepreneurial Finance; Business Startups; Business Cycles; Development Economics; Economic Systems; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Assets; Capital Markets; Venture Capital; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Latin America; North and Central America

Find at Harvard

18 May 2009
Research & Ideas

The Unseen Link Between Savings and National Growth

the data) and generate realistic theories of the stock market and of the co-movement across countries at different horizons. I am using this to explore the macro consequences of the current crisis in the United States, Mexico, and Europe. View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

23 Jan 2015
Research & Ideas

Oil Price Fallout: What Happens Next?

The last six years have proved just how fluid the international oil market is. And if recent support of the Keystone Pipeline by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Nebraska Supreme Court (which approved the pipeline's path through... View Details

Keywords: Re: Richard H.K. Vietor; Energy; Utilities

01 Jun 2009
Lessons from the Classroom

The Challenges of Investing in Science-Based Innovation

markets have tightened, it's the companies with highly differentiated products that will be able to not only weather this storm, but come out the other side" in a strong position, says Harvard Business School Professor of Management... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Banking; Auto; Pharmaceutical

January 2024
Case

Fusion Industry Association: Igniting the Future of Clean Energy

By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Jim Matheson, Kyle R. Myers and Henry Tao

Fusion energy is evolving from a scientific idea to a commercial possibility, drawing large investments and regulatory discussions; how should the FIA navigate this evolution?

The Fusion Industry Association (FIA) is at the forefront of transforming fusion... View Details

Keywords: Science-Based Business; Engineering; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Government and Politics; Government Legislation; Industry Clusters; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Technological Innovation; Energy Industry; United States