Publications

25 Apr 2016
Blog Post

Attending HBS to Grow the Family Business

There are so many reasons I’m proud to be involved in Learning Express Toys. For one, our stores do so much for their communities. Aside from providing a great assortment of educational and specialty toys, they also offer View Details

09 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Organizations

kind of social contract, a promise of a certain mix of quality (D1), service (D2), novelty (D3), and reliability (D4) that adds up to a value... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Lawrence & Nitin Nohria

March 1998 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Egon Zehnder International: Implementing Practice Groups

By: Michael Y. Yoshino, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Since its creation in 1964, executive search firm Egon Zehnder International (EZI) marketed its consultants as "generalists." As searches became more global and industry-specific in the 1990s, CEO Daniel Meiland decided the firm needed to offer specialized services. By... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Global Strategy; Leadership; Brands and Branding; Service Operations; Organizational Structure; Service Industry; Service Industry

January 2024
Supplement

Winning Business at Russell Reynolds

By: Ethan Bernstein and Cara Mazzucco

In an effort to make compensation drive collaboration, Russell Reynolds Associates’ (RRA) CEO Clarke Murphy sought to re-engineer the bonus system for his executive search consultants in 2016. As his HR analytics guru, Kelly Smith, points out, that risks upsetting—and... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Talent and Talent Management; Compensation and Benefits; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives; Consulting Industry

September 2000 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Amazon.com: 1994-2000

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Meredith Collura

Enables a thorough analysis of Amazon.com and the company's value proposition, in terms of its business concept, digital business capabilities, and community and shareholder value. Examines the company's complex set of business models and web of business relationships,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Asset Pricing; Capital; Financial Strategy; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Web Services Industry; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

28 Jan 2020
Book

Advanced Leadership Requires More Than Outside-The-Box Thinking

innovation, but you argue that just as important is “thinking outside the building.” What’s the difference between the two? Rosabeth Moss Kanter: One difference is in scope, and thus the power of the resulting innovation. Thinking outside... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

November 2017
Teaching Note

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-455. On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales.... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Technology; Hardware; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Search Technology; Software; Web; Web Sites; Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul

10 Feb 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Land Institutions and Chinese Political Economy: Institutional Complementarities and Macroeconomic Management

Keywords: by Meg Rithmire; Financial Services; Financial Services; Financial Services

Research Summary

THEME #1: BUILDING CAPABILITIES THROUGH TEAM FAMILIARITY

Are organizational capabilities simply the aggregation of individual skills and experience, or do they also depend on particular connections between individuals developed through prior work experience? Since a capability consists of the accumulated... View Details

October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Dulcie Madden (A)—Growth or Exit?

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Christopher Payton and Shweta Bagai

This is part of a three-case series that follows Dulcie Madden's journey as a founder over five years. Case (A) is about managing growth and cash flow; Case (B) is about the exit decision and conditions on a sale; Case (C) shows Madden dealing with adversity and the... View Details

Web

Video Clips - Creating Emerging Markets

support from governments and corporate insitutuions. Duration: 01:57 Amina Laraki Slaoui Amina Laraki Slaoui Art & Music Amina Laraki Slaoui, President of AMH Group, emphasizes the importance of music as a... View Details

Research Summary

Putting Patients First: Marketing Strategies for Treating HIV in Developing Nations

It is more than mere coincidence that the highest rates of HIV occur in the world’s poorest countries. Of the over 40 million people currently living with HIV, 95 percent are in the developing world. The first half of this paper explores the economics of HIV and... View Details

09 Mar 2021
Blog Post

New BEI Director: Lynn Schenk

Harvard Business School (HBS) has named Lynn Schenk as the new director of its Business & Environment Initiative (BEI), succeeding Jennifer Nash, who will retire at the end of March after 5 years as... View Details

Web

Measure Outcomes & Cost for Every Patient - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

service, not simply charting the fact that the service was performed. Emerging technology will allow routine and efficient collection of such data. Long Leg vs. Petrie Cast: Boston Children's Hospital Example Example of View Details

21 Dec 2011
Research & Ideas

The Most Common Strategy Mistakes

strengths. There's an inward-looking bias in many organizations. You might perceive customer service as a strong area. So that becomes the "strength" on which you... View Details

Keywords: by Joan Magretta

April 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Rebuilding the New Orleans Public Schools: Turning the Tide?

After Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Public School System is faced with rebuilding from the ground up. The challenge is enormous, as is the opportunity to remake the lowest performing public school system in Louisiana and one of the lowest performing in the nation.... View Details

Keywords: Programs; Natural Disasters; Urban Development; Education; Infrastructure; Public Administration Industry; Education Industry; New Orleans

29 Mar 2016
First Look

March 29, 2016

citizens’ service requests—such as potholes and broken streetlamps—and efforts by city government to address them became more trusting and supportive of government. Study 3 (N=21,986) was View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Jul 2023
Blog Post

How I Landed My Manufacturing Internship at HBS

I came to the HBS summer internship process with considerable trepidation, worried about having only two years of work experience, and unfamiliarity with MBA recruiting. As a “nontraditional candidate,” I... View Details

March 2023
Teaching Note

Ransomware Attack at Colonial Pipeline Company

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 123-069. On the morning of May 7, 2021, Colonial Pipeline Company became aware that the company had been the victim of a malicious ransomware attack that had stolen and locked up company data. The extortionists demanded 75 bitcoins (worth... View Details