Publications

January 2020
Case

Sunset Limited or Full Speed Ahead? Amtrak Talks to Congress

By: John D. Macomber

Richard Anderson took the helm of Amtrak in 2017 after leading a successful turnaround at Delta Airlines. Amtrak is a US state owned enterprise with about $3.5 bn in annual revenue (and a large operating loss) that is responsible for substantial segments of passenger... View Details

Keywords: Railroad; Passenger Transportation; Urbanization; Cities; U.S. Congress; Infrastructure; Transition; Transportation; Rail Transportation; Climate Change; Urban Scope; Strategic Planning; Business and Government Relations; Rail Industry; United States

December 2018
Case

First Utility Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

At the end of 2017 First Utility Ltd. was the largest of the middle-tier domestic energy suppliers in the United Kingdom, serving 808,000 of the country’s 27 million households with electricity and gas. In Q1 2017 First Utility captured 3% market share. The company had... View Details

Keywords: Rapid Growth Stage; Power/Energy; Energy Efficiency Standards; Energy; Competition; Diversification; Acquisition; Expansion; Growth Management; Energy Industry; United Kingdom

June 2024
Case

Growing Foodology into Latin America's Largest Platform for Virtual Restaurants

By: Jorge Tamayo, Rembrand Koning and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

This case delves into the expansion strategy of Foodology, a cloud kitchen startup based in Bogotá that operated across four Latin American countries (Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru). Co-founders Daniela Izquierdo and Juan Guillermo Azuero (both HBS, 2019) grappled... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Food; Digital Platforms; Product Launch; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Business Model; Business Startups; Profit; Marketing Strategy; Expansion; Diversification; Food and Beverage Industry; Latin America; South America; Colombia; Brazil; Mexico; Peru

2010
Working Paper

Performance Tradeoffs in Team Knowledge Sourcing

By: Bradley R. Staats, Melissa Valentine and Amy C. Edmondson

This research examines how teams organize knowledge sourcing (obtaining access to others' knowledge or expertise) and investigates the performance trade-offs involved in two approaches to knowledge sourcing in teams. One approach a team can take is to specialize, such... View Details

Keywords: Information Management; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Performance Efficiency; Performance Productivity; Quality; Groups and Teams; Information Technology Industry; India

Read Now

February 2007
Case

Behavioral Finance at JP Morgan

By: Malcolm P. Baker and Aldo Sesia

Following a successful model in Europe, JP Morgan has introduced a set of five U.S. retail mutual funds with an investment philosophy and marketing strategy grounded in behavioral finance. The asset management group believes that understanding investor biases like... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Investment Funds; Behavioral Finance; Competitive Advantage; Asset Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Customer Focus and Relationships; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; United States; Europe

03 Dec 2021
Blog Post

Physicians Off the Beaten Path

engineering and was required to spend equal amounts of time at a laboratory, in front of a computer and at the hospital. “Doctors,” this professor said, “won’t trust you if they know you are engineers.” I later came to know he was being... View Details

Web

Fast Facts - Health Care

Health Care Initiative Fast Facts Events 1,325 Alumni attended Health Care Initiative events in 2019 MBA Health Care Career Placement 2018 Biotech / Pharma Consulting Devices & Diagnostics Digital Health & Other Services Financial View Details

11 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Budgeting Kills Your Company

model," they write. Among the features of the approach they recommend, which is currently being used by organizations in a range of industries and countries, are the following: Goals based on longer-term external benchmarks instead... View Details

Keywords: by Loren Gary

March 2018
Case

Lufax: FinTech and the Transformation of Wealth Management in China

By: Christopher J. Malloy, Lauren H. Cohen and Anthony K. Woo

This case examines the rise and competitive positioning of Lufax, an online marketplace headquartered in Shanghai, China, and a pioneer in the origination and trading of financial assets. The company had grown at a remarkable rate, and was awarded “Trading Platform of... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Internet and the Web; Competitive Strategy; Situation or Environment; Product Positioning; Financial Services Industry; China

August 2019 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Paradigm Capital Value Fund

By: Luis M. Viceira and Elena Corsi

Karl Jan Erick Hummel had founded Paradigm Capital Value Fund in 2007 together with Columbia Business School Professor Bruce Greenwald, an expert in value investing and now chairman of the fund. The fund followed the principles of value investing to their target... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Investment Portfolio; Financial Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry

01 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 1

recrafting the cases from multiple industries to include one industry; (3) integrating the key characters of monomyth hero's journey; and (4) writing the case dialogue for the protagonist, Jim Barton, hero's journey. The result was our... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Jul 2022
Research & Ideas

Did Pandemic Stimulus Funds Spur the Rise of 'Meme Stocks'?

speculation. How to follow the ‘stimmy’ money There’s no direct way to track how stimulus funds went from American pockets into the market, so researchers looked at a wide range of signals, including surveys, US Census and Treasury data, social media posts, online... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

Web

Dillon House | About

in government. During World War I, Dillon served on the War Industries Board, which coordinated the purchase of war supplies. Dillon’s gift to Harvard Business School honored his son, C. Douglas Dillon (1909-2003), a US treasury... View Details

Web

Cash House | About

throughout his career with words reserved for the most special of individuals: pioneer, trailblazer, legendary, game-changer. After receiving his BS in Mathematics from Texas Christian University, followed by MS and PhD degrees in View Details

11 Apr 2024
Blog Post

Climate Stories: Water Series - Episode #17: Leni Peterson Redondo (HBS MS/MBA 2023), Founder & CEO of Celeste

believe, adding “Historically, people have prayed for rain from the sky when they have had no access to water and have begun to feel the effects of water scarcity.” Currently, Celeste is in its pre-seed stage. Leni has found four industry... View Details

November 2016 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Square, Inc. IPO

By: Ramana Nanda, Robert White and Lauren G. Pickle

In November 2015, Square, Inc. launched its initial public offering (IPO). The IPO had an offering price of $9 per share, lower than the $11 to $13 estimate that had been outlined in the preliminary prospectus and 42% below the $15.50 share price in its most recent... View Details

Keywords: Business Finance; Initial Public Offering; Equity; Capital Markets; Public Equity; Stocks; Venture Capital; Financial Services Industry; United States

June 2005 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Amazon.com's European Distribution Strategy

By: Janice Hammond and Claire Chiron

Describes how Amazon's distribution system evolved from the company's inception. In 2003, Amazon Europe must decide how to reconfigure its distribution network in light of expected growth, products proliferation, and geographical expansion in Europe. Examines how... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply and Industry; Distribution; Supply Chain; Risk and Uncertainty; Expansion; Web Services Industry