Publications

04 Feb 2010
What Do You Think?

What’s the Best Way to Make Careful Decisions?

the nature of the problem, match solution techniques with problems, seek diversity in our feedback, and use technology where possible. Among other things, he argues, we ignore the subtle and ignored biases that our experiences impose on... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Article

Network Effects Aren't Enough

By: Andrei Hagiu and Simon Rothman

In many ways, online marketplaces are the perfect business model. Since they facilitate transactions between independent suppliers and customers rather than take possession of and responsibility for the products or services in question, they have inherently low cost... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Network Effects; Market Participation

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07 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017

Common Pitfalls So That Your Organization Can Collaborate, Learn, and Innovate By: Leonardi, Paul, and Tsedal Neeley Abstract—Workplaces have adopted internal social tools—think stand-alone technologies such as Slack, Yammer, and Chatter,... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

January 2018
Case

Scaling Swagbucks (A)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Matthew G. Preble

In early 2014, Chuck Davis (HBS '86) has joined Swagbucks as its first professional CEO to scale a successful and profitable brand promotion and consumer research business. Davis came into the job while serving as a venture partner at TCV, a growth stage VC firm,... View Details

Keywords: Loyalty Management; Scaling; Scale; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Leading Change; Growth Management; Religion; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Transition; Leadership; Technology Industry; Technology Industry

29 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

The History and Influence of Andy Grove

youth. Q: Grove was also a prolific writer on the art and science of business management, including the books Only the Paranoid Survive and High Output Management. How does he stack up as a thinker in this area? Why do you think someone with such a great engineering... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Computer

2022
Case

Can Salesforce Compete in the Carbon Accounting Market?

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

This case describes Salesforce's development of Sustainability Cloud, a suite of software tools built to help companies measure, track, and report carbon emissions and other sustainability metrics. The goal of this case is to provide students with a background and... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Accounting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Accountability; Applications and Software

21 Nov 2006
First Look

First Look: November 21, 2006

constrained domestically and those that are more technology intensive, exhibit a higher sensitivity of affiliate cash holdings to repatriation tax burdens. Download working paper: http://www.people.hbs.edu/ffoley/Cash.pdf Skill vs. Luck... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 9, 2019

business owners to understand their own cash flow and prospects. Now the fintech innovation cycle is at an inflection point—new streams of data have the power to illuminate the opaque nature of a small business’s finances. The playing field is wide open, with View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

May 1995 (Revised April 1998)
Case

AT&T Paradyne

By: Robert S. Kaplan

A company making data communication devices has adopted a Total Quality philosophy for working with suppliers, employees, and customers. The finance group finds its existing cost system has become obsolete because of a shift from manual to automatic production... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Product; Corporate Accountability; Activity Based Costing and Management; System; Performance Efficiency; Financial Reporting; Operations; Technology Industry; Technology Industry

January 2005 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Tata Consultancy Services

By: Rohit Deshpande and Seth Schulman

As CEO of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), S. "Ram" Ramadorai had grown the company into an emerging IT services powerhouse, with marquee clients such as General Electric, offices in 32 countries, and revenues of nearly $2 billion dollars. Now, he was about to steer... View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Labor; Competitive Strategy; Information Technology; Consulting Industry; India; United States

23 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 23, 2018

members of two Turkish business families. The existing management, while being highly entrepreneurial, had paid less attention to managing the company in a professional manner, leading to a highly leveraged balance sheet and a significant... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Feb 2002
News

It's academic. (Not!)

business administration (DBA) in accounting and control, marketing, policy and management, or technology and operations management. Another option is a joint program with Harvard University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences that... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

09 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Leadership Lessons of the Great Recession: Options for Economic Downturns

if an industry or company is suffering due to technological changes or market demands, that’s another story. If jobs are going away permanently, furloughs will only delay making layoffs or making other... View Details

Keywords: by Sandra Sucher & Susan Winterberg; Aerospace; Electronics

Web

Rare Disease Day – Small Numbers, Big Challenges… and Big Opportunities - Blog: Health Supplement

rare diseases. In a time when inclusive care and new technologies are at the forefront of the healthcare industry, the rare disease population cannot yet again be overlooked. About the author: Gabby Choi (MBA 2017) is a seasoned startup... View Details

08 Sep 2008
HBS Case

The Value of Environmental Activists

There are many methods, most financial, to measure the success of companies in meeting goals. But the question becomes a lot harder at Harvard Business School when MBAs are challenged to measure the efforts of environmental organizations like Greenpeace and the World... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

June 2010 (Revised September 2010)
Case

athenahealth: Innovating in Response to a Crisis in Healthcare

When Jonathan Bush and his partner, Todd Park, realized that their revolutionary approach to delivering clinical care was being stymied by the inefficiencies in the healthcare system and insurance red tape, they turned their proprietary technology, athenaNet, to a new... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Information Management; Innovation and Invention; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Health Industry; United States

September 2016 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20

By: Robert J. Dolan and Ayelet Israeli

In 1995, before people “googled” or “yelped,” Angela Hicks (HBS, 2000) was establishing her Angie’s List as a pioneer in the accumulation and dissemination of consumer rating information. Hicks focused on the home repair and maintenance market and, as she put it,... View Details