Publications

05 May 2015
News

The Massive LGBT Shift In The Workplace

15 Mar 2016
First Look

March 15, 2016

forthcoming Boston: Harvard Business Review Press The Three Box Solution: A Strategy for Leading Innovation By: Govindarajan, Vijay Abstract—How to Innovate and Execute. Leaders already know that innovation calls for a different set of... View Details

Fit to Compete

Is Silence Killing Your Strategy? In his thirty years of working in corporations, Harvard Business School professor Michael Beer has witnessed firsthand how organizational silence derails strategic objectives. When employees can't speak truth to power, senior... View Details

05 Oct 2018
News

Barnes & Noble said to be looking for a buyer

May 2014
Case

Groupon, Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Blythe J. McGarvie and James Weber

Internet coupon site "Groupon" grew revenues rapidly and went public, but struggled to impress investors or operate profitably. Did it have a sustainable business model? Groupon sold coupons called Groupons which purchasers used to acquire goods or services at... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Entrepreneurship; Financial Management; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Web Services Industry; United States

March 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Patagonia: 'Earth Is Now Our Only Shareholder'

By: Brian Trelstad, Nien-hê Hsieh, Michael Norris and Susan Pinckney

In September 2022, Yvon Chouinard, the iconoclastic founder of outdoor apparel company Patagonia, announced a new ownership model for his company. Chouinard and his family had held complete control of the company's voting and non-voting stock since its founding 50... View Details

Web

Leadership - Faculty & Research

organizations that can innovate time and again to address the challenges we face as a global community. Article Professionalism, Fiduciary Duty, and Health-Related Business Leadership By: Joshua D. Margolis... View Details

01 Oct 2019
News

Leaked transcripts of Mark Zuckerberg's remarks hint at unrest inside Facebook

August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Amazon.com, 2021

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Internet; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Price; Applications and Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

25 Apr 2022
News

What Other CEOs Can Learn from Elon Musk’s Aggressive, Unorthodox Twitter Takeover

2013
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Junko Yoda and Her Collaboration to Address Sex Trafficking in Asia

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Juliane Calingo Schwetz and Patricia Bissett Higgins

n 2011, Junko Yoda with Pam McCambridge launched CLinked, a venture aimed to reduce human trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation. Since incorporation, they launched several different pilot programs in partnership with local non-governmental... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Crime and Corruption; Gender; Social Issues; Business and Community Relations; Leadership; Change Management; Public Administration Industry; Indonesia; Asia

04 Jun 2021
News

The Pandemic Has Changed America Forever, and It’s Fantastic, Says Kevin O’Leary

09 May 2014
News

American dynamism dimmed

Web

Private Capital Project

Private equity has become an integral part of the financial landscape, gaining increasing relevance over time. Today, the global private equity sector has surpassed $4.5 trillion. Harvard Business School's broader missions are... View Details

21 Apr 2008
Research & Ideas

The New Math of Customer Relationships

been reminded of it in various ways. First, of course, there are those organizations known to us that use the ideas for a range of purposes, all the way from guiding their marketing and service efforts to providing a cornerstone for their... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

23 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

Bringing the Environment Down to Earth

Treating environmental issues as business problems sounds straightforward, but it's not easy. The following assumptions, all of which are common in business thinking, make it difficult to reframe the issues.... View Details

Keywords: by Forest Reinhardt

July 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Mary Kay Inc.: Enriching Women's Lives while Embracing Change

By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Julia Kelley

In December 2020, Mary Kay Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Sheryl Adkins-Green considered several strategic dilemmas. Founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash, Mary Kay was a direct sales company whose Independent Beauty Consultants purchased its beauty and cosmetics products at... View Details