Publications

November 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Hormel Foods

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

In 2019, CEO Jim Snee is weighing how to shape the image of Hormel Foods, one of the largest U.S. meat and food companies, at a time when the industry faces unprecedented scrutiny. Based in the small town of Austin, Minnesota, the nearly 130-year-old firm is best known... View Details

Keywords: Brand Portfolio Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product; Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Risk Management; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; China

July 2019
Case

Instabeat—One More Lap?

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Nicole Tempest Keller and Alpana Thapar

This case follows Lebanese entrepreneur, Hind Hobeika, an engineer and competitive swimmer who spends seven years trying to launch a wearable heartrate monitor and motion sensor to help swimmers track their performance while swimming. While the Beirut-based... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Manufacturing; Prototyping; Female Protagonist; Business Startups; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Design; Organizational Culture; United States; Lebanon

June 2013 (Revised June 2016)
Case

Ensina!

By: John J-H Kim, Alejandra Meraz Velasco and Christine An

In 2011, a group of passionate social entrepreneurs in Rio de Janeiro, with the support and encouragement of several prominent philanthropists and members of government, launch Ensina!, seizing Brazil's unprecedented economic growth and national commitment to... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Teaching; Business and Government Relations; Education Industry; Brazil

September 2008 (Revised August 2009)
Case

VMware, Inc., 2008

By: David B. Yoffie, Andrei Hagiu and Michael Slind

Paul Maritz took the helm of VMware in July 2008, just as the company confronted a radically new competitive environment. Since its founding in 1998, VMware had been the leading provider of virtualization software. Now it faced the kind of threat that every software... View Details

Keywords: History; Digital Platforms; Competition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Applications and Software; Business Strategy

The last two decades have witnessed an extraordinary growth of new models of managing and organizing the innovation process that emphasizes users over producers. Large parts of the knowledge economy now routinely rely on users, communities, and open innovation... View Details

Web

Howard E. Cox | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

organization was limited. He wanted instead to “build small organizations into larger ones,” so after finishing his service in government, he decided to pursue a career in venture capital. Howard joined Greylock, a private venture capital firm View Details

13 Nov 2017
Blog Post

5 Worries I Had about Applying to HBS

would be difficult to learn business concepts through the case method I like intellectual discussions but I was skeptical about the potential for real learning through the case method. All I had done up till my MBA were class lectures. I couldn’t have been more wrong.... View Details

25 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

What CEOs Do, and How They Can Do it Better

on the board, ownership, whether the company was based in another country, and if so, the general level of governance in that country. Again they found a clear correlation: in companies with stronger governance, CEOs spent more time with... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

01 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The ‘Luxury Prime’: How Luxury Changes People

executives on Wall Street. According to Chua, their research found that "people who were made to think about luxury prior to a decision-making task have a higher tendency to endorse self-interested decisions that might potentially... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

28 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Making the Decision to Franchise (or not)

markets. In the third part of their study, they investigated how 53 chains that don't franchise manage operations across multiple markets. They found evidence that chains serving more diverse markets decentralize their operations by... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

26 Mar 2018
Research & Ideas

To Motivate Employees, Give an Unexpected Bonus (or Penalty)

perceptions in a real-world scenario involving an anonymous Chinese company that operates in printing processes. The company, which Cai found while she was home in China on winter break, runs a tournament-style reward scheme for... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing

08 Mar 2016
First Look

March 8, 2016

existing solutions, proceeds to dissemination of founding stories that can shift with a change in logics, and culminates in rejection of the labels that audiences try to apply to their activities and products. By contrast, unsuccessful... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Aug 2018
What Do You Think?

What Should Harley-Davidson’s Management Do?

other companies are coming in our direction, including Harley competitors.” On a visit to a huge motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, a reporter found that many Harley owners sided with the president and were highly critical of... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Auto

Web

Schwartz Common & Pavilion | About

has provided HBS with philanthropic support to expand its collection of contemporary art. The Schwartz Collection is prominently displayed throughout campus, bringing an artistic energy that helps make the HBS experience truly unique. These gifts inspired the View Details

02 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Not All M&As Are Alike—and That Matters

appeals to a great many managers. What I have found by studying the record is that acquisitions come in several distinct flavors, and that each type presents managers with a different set of challenges. The recommendation here is simple.... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph L. Bower

12 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Pay Workers More So They Steal Less

at Urbana-Champaign. “Our study suggests that an increase in wages will decrease theft, but won't fully pay off” With this research, Sandino and Chen contribute to a growing body of knowledge about how wages affect employee behavior and social norms in the workplace.... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Retail

12 Apr 2022
Blog Post

The Many Languages of Medicine to Impact Care Delivery

clinicians and scientists. Learning a new language takes time, and I’ve found immersive learning to be the most effective strategy in achieving such a feat. Consequently, a full-time business school program felt like the appropriate next... View Details

August 2020
Case

This Old House of Worship: St. Anthony Shrine (A)

By: Ryan Raffaelli

This multimedia case asks students to consider how leaders of non-profit organizations manage difficult financial, operational, and cultural turnarounds. Since its founding in 1947, St. Anthony Shrine had been a central partner in serving the Downtown Boston community.... View Details

Keywords: Leadership And Change Management; Turnarounds; Non-profit Management; Leadership; Change Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Management; Religion; Mission and Purpose; Transformation; Organizational Culture; United States

September 2016
Case

Hotel Vertu: Financing the Venture in the Boutique Hotel Industry

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Michael J. Roberts

Two recent MBA graduates are considering a business opportunity in the boutique hotel industry. Having found a seemingly attractive property in Savannah, Georgia, Yvonne D'Arcy and Elisabeth Whiting face questions about financing, deal structure, and unequal power... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Accommodations Industry