Publications

September 2017 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Tempur Sealy International (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Lauren G. Pickle

This case explores the long-term relationship between Tempur Sealy (TPX, a mattress manufacturer) and Mattress Firm (MFRM, a bedding retailer and TPX's largest customer). For almost 20 years, the firms enjoyed a mutually beneficial and commercially prosperous... View Details

06 Aug 2018
Research & Ideas

Supersmart Manufacturing Tools are Lowering Prices on TVs, Bulbs, and Solar Panels

those suppliers move downstream, potentially into competing with you, as they struggle to earn some kind of return? If your inputs are all becoming commodities and you don’t have a lot of differentiating complimentary assets as part of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing; Electronics

16 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Insights and Inspiration: A Look Back at the Summer Venture in Management Program

I will always remember how I felt during the program – surrounded by unique, hard-working, and passionate individuals. And of course, learning about the value of the case... View Details

October 2022
Article

Underestimating Counterparts' Learning Goals Impairs Conflictual Conversations

By: Hanne K. Collins, Charles A. Dorison, Francesca Gino and Julia A. Minson

Given the many contexts in which people have difficulty engaging with views that disagree with their own— from political discussions to workplace conflicts—it is critical to understand how conflictual conversations can be improved. Whereas previous work has focused on... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Conflict and Resolution; Values and Beliefs; Learning; Perception

17 Nov 2023
Blog Post

HBS Veteran Spotlight: Rex Willis (MBA 2024)

served as an incubator for personal and professional growth, reaffirming the belief that diverse experiences are a cornerstone of effective leadership. Upon graduation, I will continue serving my country... View Details

November 29, 2011
Article

The Role of The Board in Creating a Sustainable Strategy

By: Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim

While conceptually elegant, the belief that a corporation's role is to maximize value for shareholders is under increasing challenge as society's expectations for companies change. An equally elegant new concept that takes account of these dual pressures has yet to... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Strategy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Expectations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Practices and Processes; Decisions; Risk and Uncertainty; Cost vs Benefits; Information

Keywords: Garry Emmons and Julia Hanna; Latin America; research; infrastructure; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments

Read Now

02 Jul 2014
What Do You Think?

Are Today’s Business Heroes Challenging Our Ideas About Leadership?

Resolve," Harvard Business Review, January 2001, pp. 67-76. James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (New York: HarperBusiness, 1994). Bill George, Authentic Leadership:... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

08 Mar 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Can the Proposed American Health Care Act Improve on 'Obamacare'?

value individual freedom, having the ability to answer this question will be seen as a benefit. However, if too many people do indeed opt out of purchasing plans, the potential downside is that, collectively, costs may rise. Risk pools of... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch, Dr. Gordon Moore, and Emily Boudreau

01 Dec 2000
News

Latin America's Decade

Posadas was "my number one choice," despite the region's difficulties. "Because of the financial crisis in 1982, we had the 'lost' decade — and the '90s were probably as lost as the '80s. It's been an uphill battle for most businesses in... View Details

2018
Working Paper

Diagnostic Bubbles

By: Pedro Bordalo, Nicola Gennaioli, Spencer Yongwook Kwon and Andrei Shleifer

We introduce diagnostic expectations into a standard setting of price formation in which investors learn about the fundamental value of an asset and trade it. We study the interaction of diagnostic expectations with two well-known mechanisms: learning from prices and... View Details

Keywords: Bubbles; Price Bubble; Mathematical Methods

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30 Aug 2019
Blog Post

3 Growing Pains from my First Year at HBS: Academic, Social, and Career

unified identity as one firm. For instance, no matter which office you belong to, we can work as a team from day one because we have common values that guide our decision making and culture that makes trust... View Details

November 2022
Case

Hiring with the Community in Saint Paul

By: Mitchell B. Weiss and Sarah Mehta

This case reviews Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s decision to involve the community in the process of hiring his cabinet members. Rather than relying on an executive recruiting firm or choosing cabinet heads from his own network, Carter recruited 100 community members... View Details

Keywords: Community Engagement; Competency and Skills; Government and Politics; Human Resources; Government Administration; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Decision Making; Public Administration Industry; United States; Minnesota; Saint Paul

December 2017 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Bega Cheese: Bidding to Bring Vegemite Back Home

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Lauren G. Pickle

In January 2017, the leadership team of Bega Cheese—the Australian dairy company—was considering a bid for Mondelēz International’s Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) grocery business, which included several leading consumer brands such as Vegemite, the iconic Australian... View Details

September 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

OPOWER: Increasing Energy Efficiency through Normative Influence (A)

By: Amy J.C. Cuddy, Kyle Todd Doherty and Maarten W. Bos

The case profiles OPOWER, an energy efficiency software company that applies Cialdini's principles of social influence to successfully encourage consumers to reduce their energy usage. OPOWER was co-founded in 2008 by two young Harvard graduates, Dan Yates and Alex... View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Applications and Software; Attitudes; Entrepreneurship; Energy Conservation; Power and Influence; Growth and Development Strategy; Energy Industry; United States

Web

Using Oral History in Business and Management Studies - Creating Emerging Markets

materials for teaching in different institutional contexts in Europe, India, Latin America, and the United States. Each session included time for discussion and debate to lay the foundation for a community... View Details

December 2017 (Revised January 2022)
Supplement

Bega Cheese: Bidding to Bring Vegemite Back Home

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Lauren G. Pickle

In January 2017, the leadership team of Bega Cheese—the Australian dairy company—was considering a bid for Mondelēz International’s Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) grocery business which included several leading consumer brands including Vegemite, the iconic Australian... View Details

January 2019
Supplement

Understanding the Brand Equity of Nestlé Crunch Bar (B): Data Analysis

By: Jill Avery and Gerald Zaltman

In early 2018, Nestlé announced the sale of its U.S. candy-making division and a select collection of 20 of its confectionery brands, including the Nestlé Crunch Bar, to Ferrero SpA for $2.8 billion. Luckily, an old consumer research study on the Nestlé Crunch Bar... View Details