Publications

February 2003 (Revised May 2008)
Case

AFP Provida

By: Michael E. Porter, Arturo L. Condo and Andrea Prado

Describes the evolution of AFP Provida, one of the early entrants into the Chilean pension fund system established in 1981. By 1999, AFP Provida was not only the largest pension fund administrator in Chile, but also the largest in Latin America in terms of number of... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Globalized Firms and Management; Industry Clusters; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Financial Services Industry; Chile

01 Mar 2012
News

Where Innovation Rules

computing to social impact bonds, from industrial robots to personal finance, from Internet retailing to Internet radio—a plethora of products and services that could well bear the stamp “Made by HBS.” View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg;Garry Emmons;Julia Hanna;Roger Thompson; Corporate Services; Corporate Services; Corporate Services

01 Jun 2015
News

The Military and the MBA: Gene Markowski (MBA 1973)

“You can’t just give orders in business.” —Unlearning some of the lessons of the military Gene Markowski (MBA 1973) served as an Army Huey helicopter pilot in Vietnam and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and many other honors for heroic action. He retired from a... View Details

Keywords: National Security and International Affairs; Government

31 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

Rethinking Marketing’s Conventional Wisdom

how they're marketing themselves? Youngme Moon: Many mature service industries are in a service "arms race" in which they keep adding more and more View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Service

May 2001
Supplement

Asian Strategies: Ian Buchanan

By: Tarun Khanna

Ian Buchanan, senior VP of Booz-Allen & Hamilton, comments on Sime Darby and the Asian financial crisis. He also discusses the value propositions of different types of business groups in Malaysia. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry; Asia; Malaysia

March 2003 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Threshold Sports

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Todd H Thedinga

Describes the sales, marketing, and operating issues facing Threshold Sports, a small cycling event management company that produces the Pro Cycling Tour. Examines the issues facing the company as it approaches breakeven and attempts to grow the business substantially.... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Bicycle Transportation; Service Delivery; Sports; Bicycle Industry; Bicycle Industry

01 Jun 2017
News

Ask the Expert: On the Fly

always been intriguing to me,” says Carty, which explains his five decades in the field—starting at Air Canada, moving on to American Airlines (where he served as chairman and CEO), and including board stints with Porter Airlines, Virgin America, and Hawaiian Airlines.... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

September 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Bank of America (B)

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Technology; Banking Industry

01 Jun 2015
News

The Military and the MBA: Maura Corby Sullivan (MBA/MPA 2009)

counselor in Evanston, Illinois, suggested I apply for a ROTC scholarship, I thought she was crazy. I was raised with the ideal of service to others, but I was a woman. I had blond hair. I lived in the suburbs. I was also a three-sport... View Details

Keywords: National Security and International Affairs; Government

01 Mar 2005
News

Better Care at Lower Cost

The U.S. health-care industry isn’t immune to the forces of disruptive innovation that already have transformed other businesses, from computer manufacturing to retailing, HBS professor Clayton M. Christensen told 250 participants at the... View Details

Keywords: Educational Services; Educational Services; Educational Services

August 2005 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Procter & Gamble: Electronic Data Capture and Clinical Trial Management

By: Robert S. Huckman and Mark J. Cotteleer

Considers whether the management of Procter & Gamble (P&G) Pharmaceuticals should adopt Web-based electronic data capture (EDC) as the default standard for the management of its clinical drug trials. Provides a detailed description of the existing paper-based process... View Details

Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Adoption; Business Processes; Industry Structures; Technological Innovation; Service Operations; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

01 Mar 2011
News

Cyberposium 16

The company wasn’t running on fumes, the fumes were gone,” said Pandora CEO Joe Kennedy (MBA ’85), describing his first desperate days at the firm that has now become a wildly successful online personalized radio service with 65 million... View Details

Keywords: Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services

September 1999 (Revised September 1999)
Case

Convergys Corporation

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Kelley Porter

Focuses on the important issue of capturing the synergies between the two sides of the business, Information Management Group (IMG) and Customer Management Group (CMG). In addition, the case also addresses strategic issues from each of the individual businesses. For... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Information Industry; Information Industry

2010
Working Paper

Specialization and Variety in Repetitive Tasks: Evidence from a Japanese Bank

By: Bradley R. Staats and Francesca Gino

Sustaining operational productivity in the completion of repetitive tasks is critical to many organizations' success. Yet research points to two different work-design related strategies for accomplishing this goal: specialization to capture the benefits of repetition... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Working Conditions; Service Delivery; Performance Productivity; Financial Services Industry; Japan

Read Now

September 2000 (Revised October 2002)
Case

National Logistics Management

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Mary Rotelli and Kristin Kohler

National Logistics Management (NLM), a third-party logistics company, is a successful, profitable business that provides a more cost-effective and efficient means to expedite premium freight. With the logistics landscape changing, NLM's market niche is threatened. Can... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management; Logistics; Industry Structures; Planning; Service Industry

March 1981 (Revised October 1984)
Case

Corning Glass Works: Indonesia

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Evaluates the market opportunities and risks by Corning and International Finance Corporation in Indonesia. View Details

Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; Risk and Uncertainty; Opportunities; Financial Services Industry; Indonesia