Publications

January 2008 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Rubbish Boys

By: Noam Wasserman and Rachel Galper

It looked like founder-CEO Brian Scudamore might not be able to pursue franchising as a growth option for his junk-removal business after all. Over the years, he had overcome many hurdles, including buying out his "too-fiery" co-founder, firing all of his employees so... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Problems and Challenges; Brands and Branding; Business Model; Partners and Partnerships; Business Growth and Maturation; Franchise Ownership; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry; Canada; North America

05 Dec 2022
What Do You Think?

How Would Jack Welch’s Leadership Style Fare in Today’s World?

strategies that would be regarded today as archaic. I don’t doubt that the earnings were managed to come in close to target; GE’s management had the means to do so legally with its financial service businesses. When necessary, the company... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Industrial Products; Media & Broadcasting; Medical Devices & Supplies; Manufacturing

September 2020
Case

Getaway

By: Ryan W. Buell and Amy Klopfenstein

Since its founding, Getaway’s service offering – tiny, modern cabins in the woods, located within a two-hour drive of major metropolitan areas – had been met with tremendous demand. Overworked and overconnected city dwellers reveled in the opportunity to take a break... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Service Operations; Management; Demand and Consumers; Marketing; Strategy; Accommodations Industry

Web

Publications - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Services (CMS) recently announced that it will be removing more than 250 musculoskeletal surgeries from its “inpatient-only list” in January 2022. An additional 1,500 surgeries will be eliminated in the following year. The change... 01... View Details

01 Sep 2023
News

Solving for Z

positions for every job seeker, resulting in significant labor shortages in sectors ranging from business services to manufacturing. Gen Zers, meanwhile, will comprise approximately one-third of the workforce by 2025. And they are... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; Illustrations by Doug Chayka; Administration of Human Resource Programs; Government

16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

Delta will decide two years from now, ‘That was an initiative and now we’re done.’ They understand that it will take substantial investment in time and resources.” Atlanta is more than 50 percent Black Delta started as a Louisiana crop-duster View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

2010
Working Paper

Employee Selection as a Control System

By: Dennis Campbell

Theories from the economics, management control, and organizational behavior literatures predict that when it is difficult to align incentives by contracting on output, aligning preferences via employee selection may provide a useful alternative. This study... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Decision Making; Governance Controls; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Management Systems; Financial Services Industry

Randolph B. (Randy) Cohen is the MBA Class of 1975 Senior Lecturer of Entrepreneurial Management in the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School. Cohen’s main research focus has been the identification of top investment managers and the prediction of manager... View Details

Keywords: financial services; financial services

Brian J. Hall

Brian J. Hall is the Albert H. Gordon Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He served as the Unit Head for the Negotiation, Organizations and Markets (NOM) Unit for 14 years. Previously, he was an assistant professor of economics in the... View Details

Keywords: financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet

Companies looking for the best possible leaders—and leaders looking to become CEOs—would do well to heed the model of private-equity (PE) backed companies, which often look outside their ranks when hiring for the top job and see excellent results. Three-quarters of new... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

26 Sep 2023
Book

Digital Strategy: A Handbook for Managing a Moving Target

operating in a traditional physical infrastructure. For instance, the China-based firm Alibaba has spawned a massive shift from wholesale to consumer markets, as well as in financial services by operating its gigantic financial arm,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Information Technology; Technology

Web

Spangler Center | About

screens—and a 350-seat auditorium equipped with a state-of-the-art media and presentation system. Many student services are centralized in Spangler’s lower level, including IT Support Services, a branch of The Coop bookstore, a business... View Details

Web

Japan - Global

search and assessment firm. During his more than 15-year tenure there, he launched the firm's Tokyo-based financial service practice group and oversaw all executive searches in the financial sector. In addition, he managed a corporate... View Details

26 Sep 2023
Research & Ideas

Unpacking That Icky Feeling of 'Shopping' for Diverse Job Candidates

like they were joining a community, as opposed to trying to quickly hire a Black person. They still hired them, but they feel less repugnant about it.” Jackson theorizes that ShopCo’s decisions hurt the company’s ability to attract senior-level engineers, because the... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

February 2025
Case

RedBird Capital Partners

By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

In July 2024, Gerry Cardinale, the founder and managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners (‘RedBird’) has helped orchestrate a high-profile deal in the world of entertainment: one in which Skydance Media (‘Skydance’), a content production studio led by David Ellison... View Details

Keywords: Film; Television; Superstars; General Management; Investing; Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Asset Management; Entertainment; Media; Sports; Business or Company Management; Investment; Marketing; Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

February 2015 (Revised June 2016)
Case

AltSchool: School Reimagined

By: John J-H Kim, Kyla Wilkes and Christine S. An

Max Ventilla and his team launches in 2013 AltSchool, a new network of tech-savvy independent K-8 "micro-schools." AltSchool is born out of Ventilla's frustration with the education options available for his young daughter. During his search, Ventilla comes to the... View Details

Keywords: Education Technology; School Models; Product Development; Entrepreneurship; Talent Development And Retention; Social Impact Investment; Information Technology; Business Model; Education; Business Startups; Customization and Personalization; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; United States