Publications

Web

Online Entrepreneurship & Innovation Courses | HBS Online

business leaders. You May Also Be Interested In Leadership & Management Business Essentials Strategy Finance & Accounting Business in Society Marketing 94% improved knowledge to grow or start a business (Entrepreneurship Essentials), 87% acquired new skills that were... View Details

October 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture

By: Frances X. Frei, Robin J. Ely and Laura Winig

On July 17, 2009, Zappos.com, a privately held online retailer of shoes, clothing, and other soft line retail categories, learned that Amazon.com, a $19 billion multinational online retailer, had won its board of directors' approval to offer to merge the two companies.... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Internet and the Web; Valuation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

Web

Online Management Course | HBS Online

process and evaluate potential drivers and pitfalls. Utilize a range of managerial levers to improve individual and group decision-making. Highlights Evaluate the Process, Not the Outcome The Bay of Pigs Case Talk of the Town Case Three C's of Effective View Details

March 2022 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Aldrich Capital Partners

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

By July 2016, the Aldrich Capital Partners team had spent over two years trying to raise their inaugural growth-equity fund. They had pitched to over 140 investors, but none had committed. Managing Partners Mirza Baig and Raz Zia each had extensive experience in the... View Details

Keywords: Growth Equity; Investment Evaluation; Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Investment; Strategy; Decision Making; United States

October 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Loris

By: Shunyuan Zhang, Das Narayandas, Stacy Straaberg and David Lane

In December 2022, Loris’s executive team considered their go-to-market strategy. Loris was an artificial intelligence (AI) software startup for the customer service industry with two products on the market: 1) Agent Assist which provided customer service agents (CSAs)... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Marketing Strategy; Sales; Technology Industry; United States

2019
Working Paper

The Wisdom of Crowds in Operations: Forecasting Using Prediction Markets

By: Achal Bassamboo, Ruomeng Cui and Antonio Moreno

Prediction is an important activity in various business processes, but it becomes difficult when historical information is not available, such as forecasting demand of a new product. One approach that can be applied in such situations is to crowdsource opinions from... View Details

Keywords: Wisdom Of Crowds; Demand Forecasting; Price Forecasting; Forecasting and Prediction; Social and Collaborative Networks; Size; Performance

SSRN

09 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

War in Ukraine: Soaring Gas Prices and the Return of Stagflation?

makes its way onto world markets, and supply and demand determine price. At the moment, there is not a supply shock that’s causing a spike in prices. Rather, higher prices are caused by fears of a supply shock connected to these events.... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Energy

September 2018
Case

Hunley, Inc.: Casting for Growth

By: John A. Quelch and James T. Kindley

Hunley, Inc. manufactures rods for the niche sport of fly fishing. It specializes in freshwater rods that are perceived as "middle-market" products, targeted at "avid" fly fishers. In the face of declining revenue and a decreasing price per unit sold, the company's... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Sports; Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels

06 Jul 2016
What Do You Think?

How Do We Pay for the Costs of Globalization?

magic.’ Sorry, but it hasn’t.” They advanced possible responses with much more reliance on carrots than sticks. David Wittenberg, for example, said that, “Punishing companies for making economically rational View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett; Manufacturing

01 Oct 2014
What Do You Think?

Is Too Much Focus a Problem?

rarely ask is, "What else could it be?" It's a question designed to disrupt focus. Max Bazerman, in his new book, The Power of Noticing, concludes that excessive focus, among other things, is one of the reasons leaders fail to notice important facts relevant... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

10 Dec 2014
Research & Ideas

Minimum Wage Debate Is Really About Social Values

me hopeful. Q: How do people make decisions about these big economic questions? A: Economists have a very good way of thinking carefully—scientifically, you might say—about the mechanical effects of an... View Details

Keywords: by April White; Retail; Manufacturing

May 1988 (Revised June 2023)
Case

National Cranberry Cooperative, 1996

By: Roy D. Shapiro

Describes the continuous flow process used to process cranberries into juice and/or sauce. Requires student to analyze process flows to determine where the bottlenecks are and to decide how, and whether, to expand capacity. Original version written by J.G. Miller and... View Details

Keywords: Logistics; Performance Capacity; Performance Improvement; Supply Chain; Mathematical Methods; Cost vs Benefits; Production

October 2014 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Caesars Entertainment

By: Janice H. Hammond and Aldo Sesia

This case describes the introduction of a regression analysis model for forecasting guest arrivals to Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company will use the forecast to staff the front desk in the hotel. The staff is unionized and the company has little... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting; Staffing; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Hotel Industry; Decision Making; Forecasting and Prediction; Human Resources; Selection and Staffing; Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Operations; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Accommodations Industry; Travel Industry; Tourism Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Las Vegas