Publications

August 1997 (Revised September 2004)
Case

South Africa: Getting in GEAR

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

In 1997, Thabo Mbeki is contemplating South Africa's performance since the end of Apartheid in 1994. The economy has done fairly well, but the government's macroeconomic strategy calls for higher growth and employment creation. The case describes the country's history,... View Details

Keywords: History; Strategy; Development Economics; Social Issues; Macroeconomics; South Africa

March 2014 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Red Bull (A)

By: Eric Van den Steen and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Despite facing giants like Coke, Pepsi, and Budweiser—with obvious potential sources of competitive advantage—Red Bull had established itself as the U.S. market leader in energy drinks. By 2008, however, Red Bull's dominance was challenged as Monster drinks surpassed... View Details

Keywords: Judo Strategy; Judo Economics; Sustainable Competitive Advantage; Imitation; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Market Entry and Exit; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

June 2003 (Revised October 2004)
Case

StorageNetworks: Restarting a Public Company (A)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Todd H Thedinga

Peter Bell, founder and CEO of StorageNetworks, faces the problem of "restarting" a public company by changing its business model from being a storage-services provider to being a storage software developer. The task seems challenging, but surely doable, with $200... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Diversification; Change Management; Cash; Entrepreneurship; Problems and Challenges; Corporate Finance; Information Technology Industry

November 2013 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Infection Control at Massachusetts General Hospital

By: Robert S. Huckman and Nikolaos Trichakis

The case explores the challenges facing Massachusetts General Hospital concerning the adoption of a new infection control policy, which promises to improve operational performance, patient safety, and profitability. The new policy requires coordination between... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Integration; Health Care and Treatment; Policy; Health Industry; Boston

March 1996 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Freeport Indonesia

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

In 1996, PT Freeport Indonesia, the mining subsidiary of Freeport McMoRan, had just completed an expansion of its copper and gold mine in the western half of New Guinea. The mine, which had dealt with numerous environmental and sociocultural problems over the past... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Mining; Environmental Sustainability; Business Strategy; Expansion; Social Issues; Mining Industry; Indonesia

19 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 19

markets, such as the one for patents, generally create profit opportunities for intermediaries. We begin with an overview of the problems that arise in patent markets, and how traditional institutions like... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Feb 2019
Book

Green Businesses Are Incredibly Difficult to Make Profitable. Try It Anyway

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Green Technology; Energy

11 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 11, 2007

commonality in the bioprocessing aspects of both approaches, the regulatory approvals, product development paths, and market-access timelines were dramatically different--almost diametrically opposed. Analyzes Biocon's strategic... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Jacqueline Ng Lane

Jackie Lane is an Assistant Professor in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School and a co-Principal Investigator of the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH) at the Digital Data Design Institute (D^3) at Harvard. She... View Details

2016
Chapter

Deriving an Optimally Deceptive Policy in Two-Player Iterated Games

By: Elisabeth Paulson and Christopher Griffin

We formulate the problem of determining an optimally deceptive strategy in a repeated game framework. We assume that two players are engaged in repeated play. During an initial time period, Player 1 may deceptively train his opponent to expect a specific strategy. The... View Details

Keywords: Deception; Strategy; Game Theory

27 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 27

U.S. business cycles lead over medium-term fluctuations in Mexico; and (3) why Mexican consumption is not less volatile than output. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-029.pdf Publications Marginality View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Jul 2014
Report

International Tax Reform

Recent merger transactions highlight long-simmering problems in the U.S. corporate tax, particularly with respect to its international provisions. Desai's comments outline briefly the origins of these transactions, the range of... View Details

June 2009 (Revised April 2017)
Case

Christian Dior: A New Look for Haute Couture

By: Geoffrey Jones and Veronique Pouillard

The case describes the foundation of Christian Dior, the leading Parisian fashion house, in 1946 and its subsequent globalization strategy. After explaining the historical origins of France's preeminence in upscale fashion, the case explores the challenges to this... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Innovation Strategy; Luxury; Fashion Industry; France; New York (city, NY)

October 1990 (Revised August 1991)
Case

Peanut Butter Fantasies

By: Amar Bhide and Myra M. Hart

Addresses the interrelated challenges of marketing and finance faced by a small, struggling packaged foods company. View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Finance; Business or Company Management; Marketing; Distribution; Problems and Challenges; Food and Beverage Industry

25 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

Incubators Take Notice: Your Entrepreneurs Are Networking with the Wrong People

they already knew from a roster of names and photos. Researchers randomly assigned participants to teams and work stations in a large open space and View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

November 2001 (Revised December 2002)
Case

Tracking Stocks at Genzyme (A)

By: Malcolm S. Salter

Genzyme, a tracking stock pioneer, has used its innovative capital structure as a way to frame and grow its R&D-intensive business. Facing the question of how best to integrate a new acquisition into its tracking stock structure, Genzyme's top management is forced to... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Value Creation; Motivation and Incentives; Conflict of Interests; Stocks; Capital Structure; Research and Development; Corporate Governance; Biotechnology Industry

June 2001 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Tradeoffs: Juggling Careers in Professional Services Firms with Private Life

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda, Scot Landry and Scott M O'Neil

Balancing professional and private lives continues to challenge single and committed partners alike. Professionals are expected to work long hours. It is simply part of the ethos of professional service firms. This case focuses on the lives of three couples connected... View Details

Keywords: Work-Life Balance; Family and Family Relationships; Problems and Challenges; Service Industry