Publications

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October 2006 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Linux vs. Windows

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jordan Mitchell

As of 2006, Microsoft is finding that its dominant position in client and server operating systems is under attack from Linux. While Linux has only 3% of the worldwide installed base of PC operating systems, it had captured 20% of the server market by the end of 2005... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Open Source Distribution; Competitive Strategy; Applications and Software; Value; Technology Industry

January 2021
Article

Turbulence, Firm Decentralization and Growth in Bad Times

By: Philippe Aghion, Nicholas Bloom, Brian Lucking, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

What is the optimal form of firm organization during “bad times”? We present a model of delegation within the firm to show that the effect is ambiguous. The greater turbulence following macro shocks may benefit decentralized firms because the value of local information... View Details

Keywords: Decentralization; Growth; Turbulence; Great Recession; Organizational Design; System Shocks; Economic Growth; Performance

Find at Harvard

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Nien-hê Hsieh is the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration in the General Management Unit at Harvard Business School. His research and teaching aims at helping business leaders and organizations determine and deliver on their responsibilities. He... View Details

April 1999 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Motive Communications

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Marco Iansiti, Myra M. Hart, William W Chan and Find Findsen

The founders of Motive Communications, Inc., a recent start-up dedicated to reinventing the support chain involved in the delivery of information technology support services, put in place a development process hinged on extensive customer feedback. As part of this, a... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Relationship Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Information Technology Industry

01 Dec 2015
First Look

December 1, 2015

will have an important future impact on our understanding of consumer psychology. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50106 forthcoming Management Science Experimental Evidence of Pooling Outcomes Under View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Careers - Alumni

Drive: Embracing Entrepreneurship with Kait Stephens (MBA 2020) Kait Stephens (MBA 2020) came to HBS with the goal of becoming a founder and left having launched Brij, a platform... Lifelong Learning: Career Management As you navigate... View Details

January 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

General Scanning, Inc. (B)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Sean McClenaghan and Charles Tillen

After meeting with a mediator, Montagu and Davis decided their goals were not in accordance, and Davis left General Scanning. Montagu and Brosens wrote three-year objectives for the company and proceeded to search for a new professional manager. Chuck Winston took on... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Restructuring; Change; Business or Company Management; Ownership Stake; Strategic Planning; Hardware

2015
Other Teaching and Training Material

Entrepreneurship Reading: Launching Global Ventures

By: William R. Kerr

Core Curriculum in Entrepreneurship is a series of Readings that cover fundamental course material in Entrepreneurship. Readings include Interactive Illustrations which help students master complex concepts quickly.
Global ventures are those that weave... View Details

March 1974 (Revised June 1995)
Case

First National City Bank Operating Group (B)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Growth in demands on the bank's "back office" required a totally new approach to management. New stress on systems orientation, objectives, measurement, process design and control has resulted in lower costs, fewer people, and higher quality. Also resulted in fear,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transition; Banks and Banking; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Production; Outcome or Result; Banking Industry

May 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Airbnb During the Pandemic: Stakeholder Capitalism Faces a Critical Test

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Allison Ciechanover

As the COVID pandemic spread in early 2020, global travel ground to a halt. For Airbnb, the San Francisco-based platform for renting accommodations, the impact was both swift and severe as revenues plummeted more than 70% over the prior year. Responding to the sudden... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Leadership; Digital Platforms; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Value Creation; Decision Making; Goals and Objectives; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Travel Industry; Tourism Industry; Service Industry; United States

Article

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Financial Regulation for the Twenty-First Century

By: Leonard J. Kennedy, Patricia A. McCoy and Ethan S. Bernstein

After existing regulatory systems failed to prevent the recent financial crisis, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a sweeping reform designed to alleviate the crisis and prevent its recurrence. Out of this Act, the Consumer... View Details

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William Sahlman is a Baker Foundation Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Mr. Sahlman received an A.B. degree in Economics from Princeton University (1972), an M.B.A. from Harvard University (1975), and a Ph.D. in Business... View Details

05 Mar 2019
News

Trump doomed their American dreams — leaving businesses in the lurch

31 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Why the Largest Minority Group Faces the Most Hate—and How to Push Back

systemic racism, the findings could inform policy approaches that prevent discrimination. Tabellini wrote the paper with Mina Cikara, associate professor of psychology at Harvard University, and Vasiliki... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Rapid Response: Inside the Retailing Revolution

advances in information technology, a revolution has been taking place in retailing during the past two decades, and nowhere more so than in the apparel and textile sectors. The first to chronicle these changes and their implications in... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Manufacturing; Retail

31 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

Improving Fairness in Flight Delays

Assistant Professor Douglas Fearing doesn't have the magic bullet to make this painful part of air travel a thing of the past. But his research on evaluating and improving the performance of complex systems such as air traffic control... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Entertainment & Recreation; Air Transportation

February 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Coordinating Patient Care

External cost pressures are motivating the adoption of case management (CM) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), but several of the organization's key professional groups are working against it. President and CEO David Dolins must decide whether CM is... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Boston

January 1994 (Revised February 2001)
Case

PepsiCo's Restaurants

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

In 1992 PepsiCo is considering two opportunities to expand its restaurant business, Carts of Colorado, a $7 million manufacturer and merchandiser of mobile food carts, and California Pizza Kitchen, a $60 million chain in the casual dining segment. The discussion... View Details

Keywords: Management Systems; Organizational Structure; Opportunities; Business Strategy; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry