Publications

22 Dec 2015
News

From blood diamonds to dirty gold: how to buy gold less tainted by mercury

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

The Presentation of Self in the Information Age

Keywords: by John A. Deighton; Advertising

Career Coach

Ashley McCray

Having worked in these industries, Ashley can provide insights into how these industries recruit, what the job experience will look like, and how they can help meet your personal criteria in a post-MBA... View Details

December 2017 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Tesla Motors (B): Merging with SolarCity

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2016, electric car manufacturer Tesla announced that it was making an offer to acquire solar panel manufacturer SolarCity in an all-stock offer worth $2.6 billion in Tesla stock. Tesla’s co-founder and CEO, Elon Musk, believed that the merger would generate... View Details

Keywords: M＆A; M＆A Valuation; Investing; Equities; Equity; Valuation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Auto Industry; Energy Industry; United States

Article

How Long Can a Company Thrive Doing Just One Thing?

By: Andy Wu and Scott Duke Kominers

The news that the chat app Slack was being sold to veteran customer relationship management company Salesforce for $27.7 billion raised a lot of eyebrows. Why sell after a year of explosive growth? The deal, however, epitomizes a question facing so-called best-of-breed... View Details

Keywords: Best-of-breed Companies; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy

Find at Harvard

Read Now

December 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Wyndham International: Fostering High-Touch with High-Tech

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Gabriele Piccoli

Examines a hotel chain's attempt to use information technology to achieve market dominance and build customer loyalty during a period of global industry decline. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Competitive Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Accommodations Industry

May–June 2023
Article

Unmasking Behaviors During the Pandemic with Video Analytics

By: Shunyuan Zhang, Kaiquan Xu and Kannan Srinivasan

In 2020, as the novel coronavirus spread globally, face masks were recommended in public settings to protect against and slow down viral transmission. People complied to varying extents, and their reactions may have been driven by a variety of psychological factors.... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Social Influence; Social Norms; Health Pandemics; Behavior

Find at Harvard

October 2015
Article

How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Companies

By: Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann

The evolution of products into intelligent, connected devices is revolutionizing business. In a November 2014 article, "How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition," Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter and PTC president and CEO James... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Operations; Business Strategy

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

15 Sep 2011
News

The Dark Side of High Achievement

February 22, 2023
Article

How to Seed Organic Marketing in a Video-First World

By: Ayelet Israeli, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Matt Higgins

Early direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies relied on plentiful capital and low-cost digital marketing to power growth. But as this sector has matured, capital is more constrained, social media is more cluttered, and customer acquisition costs are rising. DTC companies... View Details

Register to Read

September 2011
Case

Vibco Industrial Vibrators

By: Das Narayandas, Kerry Herman and Matthew Preble

Karl Wadensten, president of Vibco Vibrators, was deciding whether to grow his small company through a marketing push for one of two technologies that he believed could launch his company to the next level of sales, or if he should continue to grow his company through... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Customer Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Marketing; Product Launch; Customization and Personalization; Expansion; Manufacturing Industry

August 2015 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Turnaround at Norsk Gjenvinning (A)

By: George Serafeim

Erik Osmundsen, CEO of Norsk Gjenvinning (NG), had initiated a program to strenghten corporate governance, eliminate corruption and improve compliance, and as a result the company had experienced a turnover of almost half of its top 70 line managers and strained... View Details

March 2017 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Walmart: Navigating a Changing Retail Landscape

By: Michael E. Porter and Jorge Ramirez-Vallejo

As the largest company, by revenue, in the world, Walmart has been a lightning rod for criticism. However, in an attempt to stay ahead of traditional and digital retailers, and keep customers satisfied with evolving demands, the company is strengthening its competitive... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; Strategy; Department Stores; Sustainability; Social Responsibility Of Business; Value Creation; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Retail Industry

August 2020 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Nubank: Democratizing Financial Services

By: Michael Chu, Carla Larangeira and Pedro Levindo

Nubank, a wholly-digital solution created to disrupt Brazilian banking, with 6 million clients and a $4 billion valuation after five years, must decide whether to expand to Mexico. The company was founded in São Paulo in 2013 by Colombian-born David Vélez to seize what... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Financial Inclusion; Digital Banking; Credit Cards; Banks and Banking; Disruption; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; South America; Brazil; North America; Mexico

January 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Background Note

Power Dynamics in Organizations

By: Linda A. Hill

Designed to introduce the concepts of power and power dynamics to students in the MBA second-year elective course Power and Influence. Defines "power" and "influence," and explores the role of power dynamics in managerial work and in the life of organizations. Combats... View Details

Keywords: Power and Influence; Organizations; Conflict and Resolution

October 2021
Case

Luke Fuszard

By: Leslie Perlow and Matthew Preble

Luke Fuszard (MBA 2010) shares the personal details of his life leading up to the moment when he was unexpectedly fired from his job in early 2021. View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Wisconsin

Profile

Donna Khalife

What are you most looking forward to in your career? I am most looking forward to spending my days working in a job that doesn't feel like work at all. I think every person can achieve their full potential View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media; Entrepreneurship

05 Aug 2016
Video

Learn New Skills. Learn About Yourself.

November 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Mellody Hobson at Ariel Investments

By: Francesca Gino and Lakshmi Ramarajan

In 2018, Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Investments, the largest minority-owned investment firm in the United States, was considering how best to divide her time and use her position and personal characteristics to push for positive change at her firm and in... View Details

Keywords: Female Protagonist; African-American Protagonist; Investment Management; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Work-Life Balance; Financial Services Industry; Chicago