Publications

November 2003 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina

By: Mihir A. Desai and Alexandra de Royere

What price should Dow Chemical bid for PBB, a petrochemical complex that is being privatized by the Argentine government? To answer this question, students are forced to consider the role of country risk, the underlying currency exposure of the business, and how to... View Details

Keywords: Bids and Bidding; Privatization; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Cash Flow; Emerging Markets; Valuation; Business and Government Relations; Multinational Firms and Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Energy Industry; Argentina

19 Oct 2022
Op-Ed

Cofounder Courtship: How to Find the Right Mate—for Your Startup

partnership. Just like a personal relationship may result in children, big financial decisions (like buying a house), running a household, etc., a cofounding relationship will force you to commit to how you... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

September 2024
Case

Open Door Legal: Universal Legal Access

By: Brian Trelstad, Taylor Greenthal and Sarah Mehta

This case is about Open Door Legal (ODL), a San Francisco-based civil legal aid nonprofit. CEO Adrian Tirtanadi founded the organization in 2012 with a mission to achieve universal access to legal representation for all city residents. By 2024, ODL had opened four... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Law; Management; Social Enterprise; Society; Legal Services Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles; San Francisco

February 2009 (Revised September 2009)
Supplement

Yahoo! in China (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Daniel Baer

Describes the actions that Jerry Yang took to manage the aftermath of the Shi Tao incident following the 2007 Congressional hearing. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Policy; Government Legislation; Crisis Management; Business and Government Relations; Internet; Information Technology Industry; China; United States

03 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 3, 2018

link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54665 forthcoming R&D Management An Exploratory Study of Product Development in Emerging Economies: Evidence from Medical Device Testing in India By: Gupta, Budhaditya, and Stefan... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

November – December 2008
Article

Chief Risk Officers at Crunch Time: Compliance Champions or Business Partners?

By: Anette Mikes

Risk management departments in financial institutions have been undergoing major transformations. New regulatory requirements have raised the bar on compliance, and expanded the remit of risk management significantly. The compliance imperative requires banks to... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Corporate Governance; Governance Compliance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Managerial Roles; Risk Management; Partners and Partnerships

Find at Harvard

12 May 2021
Book

The Hard Truth About Being a CEO

they get there." Not only do CEOs struggle to learn how to run a company from a lonely role at the top, but they often quickly find that the network of coworkers they relied on for years are no longer faithful allies. “They don’t realize that leaders have a different... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

December 1, 2021
Article

Do You Know How Your Teams Get Work Done?

By: Rohan Narayana Murty, Rajath B. Das, Scott Duke Kominers, Arjun Narayan, Suraj Srinivasan, Tarun Khanna and Kartik Hosanagar

In a research study at four Fortune 500 companies, when managers were asked about their teams’ work, on average they either did not know or could not remember 60% of the work their teams do. This is a major problem because it can lead to unrealistic digital... View Details

Keywords: Leading Teams; Work Recall Gap; Machine Learning; Algorithms; Groups and Teams; Management; Technological Innovation

Find at Harvard

Read Now

12 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Operations and the Competitive Edge

Obstacles facing companies in today's hyper-competitive global markets are seemingly more complex than ever, to the point that managers must rethink many of the basic principles of good operations management, says Robert Hayes. In a new... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

04 Oct 2010
Research & Ideas

Introverts: The Best Leaders for Proactive Employees

listen to or act upon them. An introverted leader, on the other hand, is more likely to listen to and process the ideas of an eager team. But if an introverted leader is managing a bunch of passive followers, then a staff meeting may... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

Research Summary

Overview

Downstream businesses that utilize global suppliers frequently use auditing programs to monitor their suppliers’ working conditions and are often deployed to address reputational concerns associated with procuring from unregulated suppliers. Despite their widespread... View Details

Keywords: Audit Quality; Remote Work; Outsourcing; Econometric Analysis; Switching Costs; Service Operations; Performance Effectiveness; Retail Industry; Service Industry

2014
Working Paper

Friends with Close Ties: Asset or Liability? Evidence from the Investment Decisions of Mutual Funds in China

By: Xinzi Gao, T.J. Wong, Lijun Xia and Gwen Yu

When fund managers have close ties to their investees, it can facilitate efficient information sharing but can also increase the possibility of favoritism. Using the investment choices of mutual funds in China, we test whether funds with close ties to their investees... View Details

Keywords: Social Ties; Conflict of Interests; Asset Management; Investment Portfolio; Networks; Financial Services Industry; China

April 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Case

China (C): Energy and the Environment

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Describes energy and environmental policy in China during the period 1980-1993. China has implemented ambitious plans for electrification and the substitution of fossil fuels (mostly coal) for biomass. The environmental consequences of these changes, at the local and... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Environmental Sustainability; Policy; Pollutants; Climate Change; Business and Government Relations; Globalization; Energy Industry; China

2018
Article

Overcoming Barriers to Time-Saving: Reminders of Future Busyness Encourage Consumers to Buy Time

By: A. V. Whillans, Elizabeth W. Dunn and Michael I. Norton

Spending money on time-saving purchases improves happiness. Yet, people often fail to spend their money in this way. Because most people believe that the future will be less busy than the present, they may underweight the value of these purchases. We examine the impact... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Choice; Sharing Economy; Opportunity Cost; Time-as Money; Well-being; Time Management; Happiness; Perception; Behavior

February 2022 (Revised May 2022)
Case

Buddy Valastro: Cake Boss

By: Boris Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht and Katherine Connolly Baden

Buddy Valastro, celebrity baker and business owner, inherited his father’s bakery—Carlo’s Bake Shop of Hoboken, New Jersey—at the age of seventeen. He had willed the shop to survive and gone on to fame through his television show, “Cake Boss”—the name most people now... View Details

May 2017 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Webasto Roof Systems Americas: Leadership Through Change (A)

By: Francesca Gino and Paul Green

Webasto Roof Systems, Americas, the North American subsidiary of Germany-based Webasto Group, limped into 2014 in poor financial and operational shape. The company's early optimism emerging from the financial downturn had proven naive, and now, five years later, the... View Details

Keywords: Culture Change; Change Management; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; North and Central America

October 2003 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Shared Decision Making

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, Karen Sepucha and Laura Feldman

The Foundation for Informed Medical Decision-Making has created an interactive videodisc system that provides patients with customized support regarding medical treatment or screening decisions when they face a choice between two equally effective courses of action.... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Borrowing and Debt; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Product Marketing; Distribution Channels; Production; Partners and Partnerships; Research and Development; Information Technology

Program

Ascending the Peak: Finding the Leader Within—Virtual

Management Excellence. Learn More Key Benefits Ascending the Peak: Finding the Leader Within—Virtual is for mid-career professionals ready to advance their organization—and career—with greater purpose and focus. By concentrating on eight... View Details

July 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Supplement

Zensar: The Future of Vision Communities (B)

By: David A. Garvin and Rachna Tahilyani

Zensar is a rapidly growing, mid-sized Indian IT services company with a collaborative management philosophy and innovative HR policies. One of its practices, Vision Communities, is an inclusive forum for innovation and strategy formulation. As the company grows,... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Leadership Style; Employee Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Information Technology; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Business or Company Management; Expansion; Information Technology Industry; India