Operational Disruptions - Publications - Faculty & Research

28 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Supply Chain Risk: Deal With It

out of commission by such an event is to identify an alternate supplier. But such steps double back on the very measures implemented to remove supply chain costs. "Because everyone operates more leanly today, the cost of a [supply... View Details

Keywords: by David Stauffer

Web

Globalization - Faculty & Research

U.S. firms by analyzing detailed data on patent applications and on the operations of the foreign affiliates of U.S. multinational firms. The results indicate that increases in the share of a firm's innovation performed by inventors of a... View Details

01 Jun 2023
News

Buy Big, Sell Small

bus to restock. Their orders are relatively small, so they can’t negotiate on prices or credit terms,” adds Shruti, who watched her uncle’s kirana go out of business years ago due to issues with pricing and product selection. ApnaKlub (Hindi for “Our Club”) View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; retail; supply chain management; entrepreneurship; leadership; innovation; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade

13 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

The Unlikely Upside of Mergers: More Diverse Management Teams

States, Zhang found that purchased companies added nearly 15 percent more minority managers and 4 percent more female managers to their ranks than unacquired companies during the same period. "When the old ways are not working, we need to shake things up, and these... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

31 Jul 2023
News

Striving for Imperfection

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Since he left HBS in 1990, Charles Conn (MBA 1990) has built a full and varied portfolio career. Early on, he was a partner at McKinsey and then a tech executive, founding Ticketmaster-Citysearch. Today,... View Details

Keywords: Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management

Web

Social Enterprise - Faculty & Research

on pressing societal problems such as global poverty. This article draws on several cases to build a performance assessment framework premised on an organization's operational mission, scale, and scope. Not all organizations should... View Details

11 Dec 2023
Blog Post

Building Iconic Brands and Brighter Futures: Interview with Glossier CEO, Kyle Leahy

Kyle Leahy (MBA 2011) stepped into the CEO role of Glossier in May 2022 ready to take the brand to new heights. Since its founding in 2014, Glossier had disrupted the beauty industry, created a powerful community-driven brand, and was... View Details

06 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

The Innovator’s Battle Plan

innovative product's inherently disruptive nature, the incumbent inevitably tries to morph the product to fit into its existing processes and values. It alters the innovation to enhance its appeal to core customers and fit within its... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Scott D. Anthony & Erik A. Roth

Web

HBS Alumni Conference: Accelerating Climate Solutions - Alumni

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration Speakers: Danielle Colson (MBA 2022) , Cofounder & Chief Operating Officer, Mantel Richard Needham (MBA 2002) , Chief Commercial Officer, Commonwealth Fusion Systems Carmichael Roberts , Partner,... View Details

06 Sep 2022
Blog Post

Student Spotlight: Summer Internships in Business & Environment

renewables worldwide, GIP is committed to supporting the energy transition for a more sustainable future. Juan's role prior to HBS was an Investment Banking Associate at Goldman Sachs. Andrew Greener (MBA 2023, Section D), Summer Internship: Product Strategy &... View Details

12 Dec 2006
First Look

First Look: December 12, 2006

populations. The authors call it "catalytic innovation." Based on Clayton Christensen's disruptive-innovation model, catalytic innovations challenge organizational incumbents by offering simpler, good-enough solutions aimed at underserved groups. Unlike View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Jul 2011
What Do You Think?

So We Adapt. What’s the Downside?

levels, including that of the individual. We adapt by listening to and heeding customers. We adapt by delegating authority, often to teams operating at the lowest levels of the organization. We adapt by tracking, responding to, and even... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

07 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 7, 2015

Successful Products for Emerging Markets By: Winter, Amos, and Vijay Govindarajan Abstract—Multinationals are starting to catch on to the logic of reverse innovation, in which products are designed first for consumers in low-income countries and then adapted into View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

Decision Rights: Who Gives the Green Light?

these hurdles begins with the following steps: 1. Routinely Review And Update How Decision Authority Is Distributed Because organizations, what they do, and the environment in which they operate continually change, decision-rights updates... View Details

Keywords: by Peter Jacobs

31 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 31, 2018

is the right organization to operate the blockchain project. What challenges will the project face? Purchase this case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/518089-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 818-101 WeWork WeWork co-founder Miguel... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

11 Apr 2024
News

Mission Control

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Hi, this is Dan Morrell, host of Skydeck. By the time Peter Platzer (MBA 2002) was a teenager, he knew he wanted to be a physicist—and he was fascinated by space, eagerly engrossed in space-time diagrams... View Details

16 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

Has COVID-19 Broken the Global Value Chain?

The coronavirus pandemic has not only disrupted lives and businesses, it has illuminated underlying fragilities in the global value chain (GVC) that drives economies around the world. The smartphone you use many times daily is a product... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

17 Jan 2019
Blog Post

MBA Curriculum Spotlight: Short Intensive Programs (SIPs)

will be a combination of case discussions, guests, panels, and workshops. Fintech: Disruptions in Credit, Payments and Real Estate The advent of new technologies and big data promise to revolutionize the finance world by disintermediate... View Details

25 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

The Dark Side of Fintech Borrowing

up overspending or overstretching yourself, and then more likely to be in default which will cut you out of the credit market altogether.” [div class=infogram-embed data-id=_/Y3u7wC1M665X87bLBRAh][/div] Fintech companies, many of which have View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services; Banking

February 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Taffi: Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia

By: Paul A. Gompers and Fares Khrais

Taffi was a tech-enabled fashion styling startup founded by Shahad Geoffrey in Saudi Arabia in 2020. Within three years of operating, Geoffrey had pivoted the business multiple times. In 2023, Geoffrey was attempting the business’s most ambitious pivot yet, shifting... View Details