Publications

December 2011
Case

Bergerac Systems: The Challenge of Backward Integration

By: David A. Garvin and Sunru Yong

Bergerac Systems is a small, rapidly growing manufacturer of diagnostic instruments used in veterinary practices. The company introduced the OmniVue chemistry analyzer, which enables veterinarians to run a wide range of blood and blood chemistry tests on their animal... View Details

Keywords: Financial Analysis; Manufacturing Strategy; Strategy; Production; Supply Chain Management; Vertical Integration; Performance Capacity; Financial Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

June 2016
Teaching Note

N12 Technologies: Building an Organization and Building a Business

By: David A. Garvin

N12 Technologies was a startup founded in 2010 that employed nanotechnology to manufacture a patented material to improve the performance of carbon fiber composites, which were used in a wide variety of products, ranging from bicycles to automobiles to aircraft parts.... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Organizational Structure; Nanotechnology; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Management Systems; Commercialization; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Bicycle Industry; Transportation Industry; United States

Web

AASU50 - Alumni

MBA 1985 E. John Rice, Jr., MBA 1992 Rena Clark, MBA 1990 Dennis F. Hightower, MBA 1974 Quintin E. Primo, III, MBA 1979 Gregory A. White, MBA 1990 David A. Thomas Argelia... View Details

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About - Business History

today. Impact Stories Uncovering the roots of innovation Re: Maki Umemura [M]y time at Harvard ... immersed me in a vibrant, interdisciplinary, and intellectually stimulating community. Academic Excellence Re: Pierre-Yves Donzé I was particularly impressed View Details

August 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Case

MindTree: A Community of Communities

By: David A. Garvin and Rachna Tahilyani

MindTree is a mid-sized Indian IT services company known for its knowledge management practices, its collaborative communities, and its strong culture and values. The CEO has set a goal of becoming a $1 billion company by 2014; to reach that goal, employees must create... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Employee Relationship Management; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge Management; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Social and Collaborative Networks; Information Technology Industry; India

Web

C. Roland Christensen - Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning

business strategy. 15 AUG 1994 Teaching and the Case Method (3rd Ed) C.R. Christensen, L.B. Barnes & A. Hansen 01 JUL 1992 Education for Judgment: The Artistry of Discussion Leadership David Garvin, C.... View Details

Web

Advisory Board - Entrepreneurship

Strategic Management Journal and elsewhere. He has also authored, co-authored or supervised over 150 cases at Harvard Business School. He is the author of Do Lunch or Be Lunch: The Power of Predictability in Creating Your Future, published View Details

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Globalization - Faculty & Research

in The Historical Evolution of International Business: Growth Trajectory of an Academic Field of Study , edited by L. Nachum and A. Yaprak, 233–241. Palgrave Macmillan, 2025. Trade Within Multinational... View Details

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Strategy Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Sagar Goel, Orsolya Kovács-Ondrejkovic, and Raffaella Sadun. Tiona W. Zuzul : Included as one of the “Best 40 Under 40 Business Professors” by Poets & Quants in 2024. 2023 Bharat N. Anand : Winner of the 2023 Robert F. Greenhill Award for... View Details

Web

Winners & Runners-Up | New Venture Competition

online magazine and store to purchase full-size products. Palliative Care of America David Matly Michael Matly Business Track Runner-Up Palliative Care of America provides the best quality of life for seriously and terminally ill patients... View Details

1991
Book

Education for Judgment: The Artistry of Discussion Leadership

By: C. R. Christensen, David A. Garvin and A. Sweet

Keywords: Case Method Teaching; Discussion Leadership; Cases

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Web

Finance Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Schmidt, “Attracting Flows by Attracting Big Clients” ( Journal of Finance , October 2009). Mihir A. Desai : Winner of the Second Place 2007 Jensen Prize presented by Journal... View Details

October 2011
Supplement

An Interview with Jack Hughes, Founder and Chairman of TopCoder

By: David A. Garvin

TopCoder's crowdsourcing-based business model, in which software is developed through online tournaments, is presented. The case highlights how TopCoder has created a unique two-sided innovation platform consisting of a global community of over 225,0000 developers who... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Technological Innovation; Problems and Challenges; Motivation and Incentives; Competition; Online Technology; Information Technology Industry

November 1992
Case

PPG: Developing a Self-Directed Work Force (A)

By: David A. Garvin and Norman Klein

PPG has built a state-of-the-art glass plant in Berea, Kentucky. The plant is pursuing the goal of a "self-directed workforce." The case describes the progress to date and the unresolved issues faced by management. These include questions about shift rotation,... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Culture; Managerial Roles; Management Style

2010
Book

Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads

By: Srikant M. Datar, David A. Garvin and Patrick Cullen

"Business Schools Face Test of Faith." "Is It Time to Retrain B-Schools?" As these headlines make clear, business education is at a major crossroads. For decades, MBA graduates from top-tier schools set the standard for cutting-edge business knowledge and skills. Now... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges

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10 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 10

L. Bower Publication:Chap. 9 in Boardroom Realities: Building Leaders Across Your Board, edited by Jay A. Conger, 253-275. Jossey-Bass, 2009 Book link:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2008 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Mayhem on Madison (A)

By: A. Eugene Kohn and David Lane

In his first project, an aspiring property developer negotiates the development rights above a one-story bank branch in Manhattan's tony Carnegie Hill. Community resistance erupted immediately, spearheaded by celebrity and socialite residents. Facing rejection of his... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Development Economics; Business and Community Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Urban Development; Real Estate Industry; New York (city, NY)

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Events - Business History

Entrepreneurial History," co-organized by Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski. Oct 27 27 Oct 2025 Business History Seminar David Smith (Wilfrid Laurier University), "Reimagining the Mid-Century American... View Details

September 1993 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Serengeti Eyewear: Entrepreneurship Within Corning, Inc.

By: David A. Garvin and Jonathan West

An entrepreneurial division within Corning, Serengeti Eyewear, has grown rapidly in its brief 10-year history. Now it must decide whether to launch a new line of sunglasses and take on the industry leader. The company has prospered by developing and cultivating... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Management Style; Competitive Strategy; Customer Relationship Management; Employee Relationship Management; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Talent and Talent Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Manufacturing Industry