Publications

December 1999
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A): An Enterprise of Change

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner

In 1999, Sun Microsystems, Inc., was claiming a leadership position in the burgeoning world of e-commerce and networking computers. Its goal: "to dot-com the world." What was it about Sun's culture that made it so conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship? And how... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Leading Change; Innovation Leadership; Information Infrastructure; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Strategy; Experience and Expertise; Technology Industry; Computer Industry

October 2019 (Revised November 2019)
Case

C16 Biosciences: Lab-Grown Palm Oil

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

Synthetic biology start-up C16 Biosciences wants to solve a big problem: replace palm oil, a major contributor to deforestation and climate change, with a lab-grown substitute. CEO Shara Ticku has ambitious plans to supply her lab-grown palm oil to food manufacturers,... View Details

Keywords: Science-Based Business; Environmental Sustainability; Social Entrepreneurship; Product Development; Product Positioning; Venture Capital; Strategy; Decision Making; Food and Beverage Industry; Consumer Products Industry

September 1992
Case

Vintage Directions, Inc.

By: Howard H. Stevenson

Focuses on the problem of determining whether to continue with a start-up after the first market test. The company has seen product success but is far from break-even and needs additional financing. Focuses on opportunity analysis and the use of market data to assess... View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Product Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Forecasting and Prediction; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Business or Company Management

October 2020 (Revised November 2023)
Case

COVID-19 Testing at Everlywell

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

In March 2020, as COVID-19 spreads rapidly across the U.S., Everlywell founder Julia Cheek considers how to respond as a small start-up specializing in at-home lab testing. After making dramatic budget cuts, she decides to pivot the organization to address the... View Details

24 Jul 2013
Op-Ed

Detroit Files for Bankruptcy: HBS Faculty Weigh In

fruitful strategies for cities to pursue? The following seem politically palatable, though their actual impact on a city's finances would depend on how these strategies were implemented: Many cities have... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber, Robert C. Pozen, Eric D. Werker & Benjamin Kennedy; Auto

October 2003 (Revised August 2005)
Case

American Legacy: Beyond the Truth Campaign

By: Youngme E. Moon and Kerry Herman

The hard-hitting "Truth" campaign has been one of the most successful antismoking initiatives in history. The focus of the "Truth" campaign is to dissuade teenagers from smoking. The sponsor of the campaign, the American Legacy Foundation, is now trying to decide... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Communication Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Brands and Branding; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

07 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 7

with executives at a multinational corporation and in an executive program at Harvard Business School. Our results suggest that a "novel-based" approach holds considerable promise for use at undergraduate, graduate, and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Market Dynamics and Moral Dilemmas: Novo Nordisk’s Weight-Loss Drugs

By: Joseph L. Badaracco, Tom Quinn and John Schultz

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk was owned by a charitable foundation, and since its founding in the 1920s had focused on producing insulin to treat diabetes. In 2017, however, it released Ozempic, a diabetes treatment with the revolutionary side effect of... View Details

16 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

Marketing Wine to the World

Michael Roberto: My parents are Italian immigrants, and my family back in Tuscany and the Campania region of Italy continue to make their own wine. Therefore, I've always had an interest in the wine-making process. A few years ago, when teaching the View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation; Food & Beverage

September 2011
Case

Driving Profitable Growth at US Auto Parts

USAP faces extraordinary opportunities to change the way that automobiles are serviced in the US by selling parts at fair prices though online channels. View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Disruptive Innovation; Business Model; Internet and the Web; Business Strategy; Internet and the Web; Machinery and Machining; Cost Management; Auto Industry; Retail Industry; United States

15 Feb 2017
Op-Ed

What Africa Can Teach the United States About Funding Infrastructure Projects

transit are all coordinated to reinforce each other. The city is growing quickly and efficiently. This comprehensive plan is consistent with Rwanda’s strategy to attract international capital by offering transparency and responsiveness in... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Construction

22 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 22, 2007

resulting currency position tends to rise in value when equity markets fall. This strategy works well for investment horizons of one month to one year. In the past 15 years the risk-minimizing demand for the dollar appears to have... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 1986 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Horizon Group

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a situation confronting the co-founder of a company planning to produce software for microcomputers. The company has just completed raising money from some wealthy investors by forming an R&D Limited Partnership. Development of the program (an... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Venture Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Business Plan; Outcome or Result; Research and Development; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Information Technology Industry

05 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Porsche’s Risky Roll on an SUV

with the VW Touareg and was partially manufactured in VW's Bratislava, Slovakia plant. Then, as if that were not enough, Wiedeking shocked the investment world once again by purchasing roughly a 20 percent stake in VW, which led to major View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Auto; Manufacturing

June 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Case

ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships): the Merck/Gates Initiative in Botswana

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

By June 2004, ACHAP, a three-way partnership of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Merck, and the Botswana government, had committed nearly $60 million of the $100 million toward various AIDS education, prevention, and treatment programs. It was time to evaluate... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Social Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Evaluation; Business and Government Relations; Partners and Partnerships; Health Industry

Find at Harvard

10 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 10, 2018

developing fresh capabilities for organizations. Based on a study of all the programs offered by the business schools, consultancies, corporate universities, and online education providers, we analyze the advantages, and the constraints,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2025
Teaching Note

ZEISS: Commercializing Science

By: Maria P. Roche

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 725-359. View Details

July 2024
Case

ZEISS: Commercializing Science

By: Maria P. Roche, Carlota Moniz and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Karl Lamprecht, President and CEO of the ZEISS AG Group, mused on how far ZEISS had come in 175 years of being a pioneer in optics, and how the course he had charted since taking the helm of the company could keep it on track. In his role, he oversaw the four core... View Details