Publications

Research Summary

Do Vertical Mergers facilitate Collusion?

Joint work with Volker Nocke, University of Pennsylvania In this paper we investigate the impact of vertical mergers on upstream firms' ability to sustain collusion. We show in a number of models that the net effect of vertical integration is to facilitate... View Details

2015
Working Paper

The Business Model: Nature and Benefits

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and John Heilbron

This paper considers the nature of the business model and its strategic relevance to negotiations. We elaborate a substantive definition of the business model as decisions enforced by the authority of the firm; this definition enables the analysis of business models... View Details

Keywords: Business Models; Value Capture; Value-Based Business Strategy; Ambivalent Value; Business Model; Negotiation Deal

SSRN

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2013
Chapter

The Welfare State as an Investment Strategy: Denmark’s Flexicurity Policies

By: Arthur Daemmrich and Thomas Bredgaard

This chapter examines how the welfare state can serve as a national strategy to invest in economic competitiveness and sustainable national prosperity, as well as the significant challenges associated with operating an open economy in a period of increased labor... View Details

Keywords: Open Economy; Welfare; Competitive Advantage; Economic Growth; Human Capital; Government and Politics; Denmark

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January 2020 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Zara: An Integrated Store and Online Model (A)

By: Antonio Moreno

In 2010, amidst the growth of ecommerce and the emergence of new, purely online, fashion players, Zara launched its first online store, Zara.com. Since then, Zara’s online business had grown at a fast pace. By 2018, 12% of Inditex Group’s total sales came from the... View Details

Keywords: Stores; Integration; Operations; Business Model; Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry; Europe

February 2015 (Revised June 2017)
Case

Intrapreneurship at DaVita HealthCare Partners

By: Joseph B. Fuller, David J. Collis and Matthew G. Preble

Josh Golomb, president and general manager of DaVita Rx (Rx), was about to meet with Kent Thiry, CEO of Rx's corporate parent, DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. (DaVita), in August 2013. The two would discuss whether Golomb should lead a new DaVita venture, Paladina... View Details

Keywords: Intrapreneurship; Entrepreneurial Organizations; Startup Management; Startup; Strategic Positioning; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Business Startups; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; United States

September 2010 (Revised August 2011)
Background Note

A Chronology of Integrated Reporting

By: Robert G. Eccles and Michael P. Krzus

This technical note traces the development of integrated reporting through published materials, research, and the formation of various committees. Readers will gain an understanding of how the topics of nonfinancial information, sustainable development, corporate... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Disclosure; Product Development; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues

Nitin Nohria served as the tenth dean of Harvard Business School from 2010-2020. He previously served as co-chair of the Leadership Initiative, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Development, and Head of the Organizational Behavior unit.

As Dean, building on... View Details

December 2020
Case

Urban Company

By: Krishna G. Palepu

Urban Company is an India-based market platform that helps customers book home services and at home beauty services. The company differentiated itself by investing heavily in building customer trust. Rather than merely positioning itself as a lead generating... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Emerging Markets; Strategy; Service Delivery; Trust; Technology Industry; Service Industry; India

December 2023
Case

Raízen: Helping to Decarbonize the World?

By: Gunnar Trumbull, Pedro Levindo, Daniel Tong and Rafaella Mazza

Raízen, the world’s largest sugar and ethanol producer, strived to find ways to expand the second-generation ethanol (E2G) market, which it pioneered. The company planned to invest R$24 billion (around $4.6 billion) in 20 production plants, with a total capacity to... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Production; Expansion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Energy Industry; Brazil; Europe; North America; United States; Argentina; Paraguay

Rob Markey is a Senior Lecturer of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches Managing Service Operations in the MBA elective curriculum. The course focuses on how to effectively design,... View Details

2012
Book

The Oxford Handbook of Business and the Natural Environment

By: Pratima Bansal and Andrew J. Hoffman

Environmental issues now loom large on the social, political, and business agenda. Over the past four decades, "corporate environmentalism" has emerged and been constantly redefined, from regulatory compliance to more recent management conceptions such as pollution... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Business Strategy; Policy; Governance Compliance

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October 2010 (Revised October 2011)
Case

Polyface: The Farm of Many Faces

By: Deishin Lee and Stephanie van Sice

This case explores a method of value creation through exploiting synergies that exist in an environment where there is diversity. The context of the case is a farm where biodiversity is leveraged to create value. This is contrasted to industrial farming, which operates... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Product Development; Production; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Value Creation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

Deborah Winshel is a member of the Faculty of the Harvard Business School where she teaches Leadership and Corporate Accountability to first year MBAs and executives.

Most recently, Deborah was a Managing Director and Global Head of Social Impact at... View Details

March 2012 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Gary Hirshberg and Stonyfield Farm

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Nora N. Khan and Elizabeth W. Legris

Gary Hirshberg and Stonyfield Farm is the story of one entrepreneur's vision and journey to create a market-leading, environmentally responsible business founded on the principles of product quality, organizational alignment, and sustainability. A former environmental... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Values; Development Stage Enterprises; Innovation; Management By Objective; Experimentation; Emerging Technologies; Mission and Purpose; Management Style; Values and Beliefs; Social Issues; Organizational Culture; Environmental Sustainability; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention; Food and Beverage Industry; New Hampshire

08 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 8

of causes. System-level accidents occur when anomalies or errors in different parts of an interconnected system negatively reinforce one another, spiraling up out of control until they eventually drive the system outside of its View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2019
Working Paper

The Effect of Payment Choices on Online Retail: Evidence from the 2016 Indian Demonetization

By: Chaithanya Bandi, Antonio Moreno, Donald Ngwe and Zhiji Xu

The Indian banknote demonetization in 2016 was one of the most significant international events of that year. Overnight, 86% of Indian currency in circulation was declared invalid unless exchanged for new bills. The sudden and unexpected demonetization constituted a... View Details

Keywords: Cash On Delivery; Online Retail; Product Returns; Payment Methods; Digitization; Emerging Markets; Currency; Internet and the Web; Demand and Consumers; Retail Industry; India

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George Serafeim is the Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He co-leads a Lab, within Harvard's Digital, Data, Design Institute, that focuses on organizational transformation through major shifts, including those... View Details

Keywords: asset management; insurance industry; automobiles; industrial goods; fashion; food; green technology

September 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Icahn Enterprises: Ponzi Scheme or Sound Investment

By: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese and James Weber

Icahn Enterprises, a publicly traded limited partnership founded and operated by famed activist investor Carl Icahn, had earned above market returns for over a decade. Between 2018 and early 2023, it had a compound annual return of 31%. Icahn invested in undervalued... View Details

Keywords: Stock Shares; Investment Return; Business Model; Valuation; Financial Services Industry

November 2015 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Huaxia: Building a U.S.-Style Dairy in China

By: Tarun Khanna, Nancy Hua Dai and Juan Ma

In 2015, Charles Shao, chairman of Huaxia, considered the alternatives to ensure sustainable growth of Huaxia and rebuild the overall health of China's dairy industry. He came to China in 2004 and set up Huaxia dairy farm with the goal to build a world-class dairy farm... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Emerging Markets; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; China