Publications

September 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Supplement

BT Plc: The Broadband Revolution (B)

By: Michael L. Tushman, David Kiron and Adam M. Kleinbaum

In early 2003, CEO Ben Verwaayen and Chief Broadband Officer Alison Ritchie of BT Plc. are trying to transform the former British Telecom from a stodgy telephone company into a 21st century broadband company. Their efforts to focus the firm on broadband issues within... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Innovation and Invention; Management Teams; Problems and Challenges; Telecommunications Industry; United Kingdom

October 2011
Case

Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service

By: Robert Simons and Michael Mahoney

In January 2010, U.S. luxury goods retailer Raleigh & Rosse is being sued by its employees for encouraging "off the clock" hours. At the center of the class action lawsuit is the famous Raleigh & Rosse performance measurement system previously thought to be the core of... View Details

Keywords: Control Systems; Performance Measurement; Goal Setting; Compensation; Incentives; Motivation; Sales Compensation; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Growth Management; Lawsuits and Litigation; Organizational Culture; Management Systems; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Retail Industry; United States

January–February 2018
Article

More than a Paycheck: How to Create Good Blue-Collar Jobs in the Knowledge Economy

By: Dennis Campbell, John Case and Bill Fotsch

Fifty years ago a good blue-collar job was with a large manufacturer such as General Motors or Goodyear. Often unionized, it paid well, offered benefits, and was secure. But manufacturing employment has steadily declined, from about 25% of the U.S. labor force in 1970... View Details

Keywords: Jobs and Positions; Employee Ownership; Profit Sharing; Organizational Culture

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17 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Why Quiet Quitters Need More Than Money to Re-Engage

employers and employees as ones of material benefits.” After all, it’s not all about making money, says DeLong, a Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice at HBS. What employees really crave, the paper argues, is meaning. “You... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Web

PhD Programs - Doctoral

program has four areas of study: Accounting and Management , Marketing , Strategy , and Technology and Operations Management . All areas of study involve roughly two years of coursework culminating in a... View Details

14 Nov 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Process and Performance

Keywords: by Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim; Accounting

June 29, 2022
Other Article

Strategic Complexity? Using Experiments to Understand and Overcome Obfuscation

By: Michael Luca, Ginger Zhe Jin and Daniel Martin

Credit card companies must decide what product features to disclose to consumers, such as payment schedules, penalties, and fees--and also whether to present them clearly or bury them in the fine print. Firms face similar choices in settings ranging from privacy... View Details

Keywords: Obfuscation; Credit Cards; Strategic Incentives; Complexity; Agreements and Arrangements; Customers; Consumer Behavior; Financial Services Industry

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07 Aug 2012
Working Paper Summaries

When Supply-Chain Disruptions Matter

Keywords: by William Schmidt & Ananth Raman

November 2020 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Zipline: The World's Largest Drone Delivery Network

By: Tarun Khanna and George Gonzalez

Zipline established the world's largest logistics network in Rwanda and Ghana by delivering medical supplies to hospitals via automated drones. The company is now looking to expand in the U.S. and partnered with Walmart to expand into home delivery. Zipline must... View Details

Keywords: Drones; Business Startups; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; Africa

March 2004 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Samsung Electronics Company: Global Marketing Operations

By: John A. Quelch

Samsung's global marketing director is assessing how to build the global brand reputation of the company further and upgrade the company's worldwide brand image. To show how to build a global brand. View Details

Keywords: Global Range; Globalized Firms and Management; Brands and Branding; Reputation

February 2014 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Red Star Furniture Group Co. Ltd.

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Pedro Nueno

Founded in 1986, Red Star had become the leading department store in China for furniture and home equipment products (bathroom, lamps, textiles complements, etc.). The business model of Red Star was to provide adequate space for vendors (that rented the space) in good... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship In Emerging Markets; Growth Strategy And Execution; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; China

February 2018 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Blue Haven Initiative: The PEGAfrica Investment

By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Amram Migdal

This case examines Blue Haven Initiative (BHI), an impact investing fund and family office, and one of its investments, PEGAfrica (PEG). BHI founder Liesel Pritzker Simmons’ motivations for using her family wealth to start a family office focused on impact investing,... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Family Office; Development; International Development; International Development Investing; Development Fund; Sustainability; Solar Energy; Solar; Pay As You Go; PAYG; MFI; Social Venture; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Economics; Development Economics; Energy; Energy Conservation; Energy Sources; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Assets; Asset Pricing; Capital; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Venture Capital; Cash; Cash Flow; Currency; Currency Exchange Rate; Equity; Private Equity; Financial Instruments; Debt Securities; Stock Shares; Financing and Loans; Microfinance; International Finance; Investment; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Price; Geography; Geographic Location; Emerging Markets; Ownership; Ownership Stake; Private Ownership; Social Enterprise; Value; Valuation; Value Creation; Energy Industry; Financial Services Industry; Green Technology Industry; Africa; United States

April 2011 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.: Driving Change Through Internal Communication

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind

Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), confronted in 2003 with an urgent need to change how it operated externally, adopted a highly innovative approach to communicating internally. This case, set in 2010, presents an overview of the new, more interactive model of employee... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Interpersonal Communication; Employee Relationship Management; Innovation and Management; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy; India

February 2011 (Revised July 2013)
Case

A123 Systems: Power. Safety. Life.

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

A123 Systems, the largest manufacturer of lithium ion batteries in North America, is producing and selling batteries for electric vehicles in China and electric buses in Europe and America. It just opened two plants in Michigan, partially funded by a grant from... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Diversification; Machinery and Machining; Renewable Energy; Transportation; Management Skills; Corporate Finance; Auto Industry; Battery Industry

20 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Getting the Marketing Mix Right

retaliation happens and that companies worry about that," Steenburgh says. "But nobody benefits when both companies are retaliating. One effort just offsets the other." Measuring the different... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Program

The Women's Leadership Forum

Summary While today's companies are making a concerted effort to grow leaders from within, many are missing a crucial opportunity by not fully utilizing the talents of executive women. In this women's leadership program, you will join an... View Details

March 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Foreign Exchange Hedging Strategies at General Motors

By: Mihir A. Desai and Mark Veblen

How should a multinational firm manage foreign exchange exposures? Examines transactional, translational, and competitive exposures. Describes General Motors' corporate hedging policies, its risk management structure, and how accounting rules impact hedging decisions.... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Currency Exchange Rate; Investment; Financial Markets; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Argentina; Japan; Canada; United States

April 2010
Case

METRO Cash & Carry in China, 2010

By: Tarun Khanna and David Lane

International wholesaler METRO Cash & Carry in 2010 had little choice but to expand swiftly in Asia to facilitate growth beyond its increasingly mature markets in Western Europe. China was of particular note to MCC, but the company had broken even there only in 2008... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Strategy; Strategic Planning; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Retail Industry; China

November 2017
Teaching Note

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-455. On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales.... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Technology; Hardware; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Search Technology; Software; Web; Web Sites; Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul