Publications

Find at Harvard

January 1995 (Revised July 1996)
Background Note

Paving the Information Superhighway

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Geoffrey Bock and Janis Lee Gogan

Examines solutions to many of the information-sharing problems that limit growth of electronic commerce on the Internet. Serves as a basic primer for the use of electronic information exchange. While familiarizing the student with the basic tenets and terminology of... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Knowledge Sharing; Problems and Challenges; Retail Industry; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

June 1990 (Revised March 1991)
Case

Jonah Creighton (A)

By: Anne Donnellon and Joshua D. Margolis

How do you manage yourself and your interaction with others when you feel your personal values challenged? What should you be aware of as you proceed with sensitive, ethical issues? Jonah Creighton coordinates the company's fast-track training program, and when he... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Human Resources; Selection and Staffing; Problems and Challenges

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

August 1974 (Revised April 1983)
Case

Peter Olafson (A)

By: John J. Gabarro

Describes the problems facing a recent MBA graduate in his job as general manager of a cable television company owned by a parent corporation. Raises issues of corporate divisional relationships and the difficulties facing an inexperienced manager who seems to be... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Television Entertainment; Managerial Roles; Organizational Design; Problems and Challenges

Find at Harvard

Frances Frei is a Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School. Her research investigates how leaders accelerate performance and design for excellence in leadership, strategy, and operations. She regularly advises senior executives... View Details

Keywords: airline; banking; fast food; financial services; health care; hotels ＆ motels; management consulting; media; nonprofit industry; professional services; retail financial services; service industry; sports; telecommunications; tourism; travel

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

Winter 2019
Article

Economists (and Economics) in Tech Companies

By: Susan Athey and Michael Luca

As technology platforms have created new markets and new ways of acquiring information, economists have come to play an increasingly central role in tech companies—tackling problems such as platform design, strategy, pricing, and policy. Over the past five years,... View Details

Keywords: Technology Companies; Economists; Digital Platforms; Jobs and Positions; Competency and Skills; Technology Industry

Read Now

April 2005 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Information Technology at COSCO

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Guoqing Chen and David Lane

Describes the current status of IT applications at the second largest container shipping company in the world: China-based COSCO. Describes the challenges the company has faced in dealing with its development and shows a series of organizational and application... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Shipping Industry; China

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

June 2000 (Revised October 2017)
Case

IDEO

By: Stefan Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes IDEO, the world's leading product design firm, and its innovation culture and process. Emphasis is placed on the important role of prototyping and experimentation in general, and in the design of the very successful Palm V handheld computer in particular. A... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Innovation Strategy; Business or Company Management; Time Management; Product Design; Product Development; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Practice; Problems and Challenges; Creativity; Hardware

01 Jun 2022
Blog Post

Five Lessons From My First Year at HBS

environment. I’ve learned so much, I’ve been challenged and pushed outside of my comfort zone, and I’ve grown in ways that I could not have imagined. Here are 5 lessons I’ve... View Details

June 2011
Case

Leaders Who Make a Difference: Sam Palmisano's Smarter IBM: Day 1

By: Joseph L. Bower and Sonja Ellingson Hout

Sam Palmisano explains the moves he made to transform IBM into a faster-growing, more profitable company focused on IT solutions to the problems of companies, cities, and nations. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management; Information Technology Industry

December 2001
Case

Alibaba.com (B)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Fred Young

The challenges the largest Chinese electronic commerce company faces many challenges at the end of 2001. This case describes how it has completely reoriented its strategy in the past 12 months to become a B-to-B company. The key question is: Will it work and what... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Business Strategy; Internet and the Web; Problems and Challenges; Information Technology Industry; China; United States

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)

May 1997 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Teradyne: The Aurora Project

By: Joseph L. Bower

Three cases deal with the introduction of a new product to Teradyne's line of semiconductor test equipment. Teradyne: Managing Strategic Change provides historic and administrative background for the other two cases. This case deals with the problems facing the head of... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Business Startups; Customer Satisfaction; Product Launch; Product Development; Corporate Strategy; Semiconductor Industry