Social Strategies - Publications - Faculty & Research

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Sustainability Resources for HBS MBAs

(Hart) Strategies for the Green Economy (Makower) Cradle to Cradle (McDonough and Braungart) Business and think-tank resources McKinsey Featured Insights / Climate Change Carbon Commentary Newsletter World Economic Forum Platforms... View Details

26 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 26, 2008

corporate managers use information provision to encourage subsidiaries' adoption of advanced management practices. Focusing on the distribution of expertise across subsidiaries, we propose that corporate managers elect an information provision View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Dec 2019
News

Alumni and Faculty Books for December 2019

Self-published The Speculator’s Mosaic is a speculative investment book that details the hard-earned wisdom accumulated during five decades of speculation and portfolio management. Culled from a lifetime of successes—and failures—the book offers a detailed suite of... View Details

01 Dec 2010
News

Making a Difference

Bridgespan Group — Jeff Bradach (PhDOB ’92) and Tom Tierney (MBA ’80) — pioneers in the application of data-driven strategy and consulting services to enhance the effectiveness of nonprofits and foundations. Founded a decade ago,... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; meta

21 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 21, 2015

Across three studies, we show that gift givers mis-predict appreciation for socially responsible gifts and that their mis-predictions depend on the nature of their relationship to the recipient. Drawing on research on affective... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 May 2020
Research & Ideas

What South Korea Teaches the World About Fighting COVID

distribution of face masks and the promotion of their use, are winning strategies in this battle. As other countries begin to reopen their economies, how can they apply these lessons to combat COVID-19? Proactive testing and tracing As... View Details

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung; Health

15 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

These VC Partners May Make Your Firm Less Innovative

a VC, it pays to do homework. Through social media and publicly available sources, there is more information than ever on what firms are investing in which companies, making the reputational risks for VCs investing in multiple competitors... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services; Banking

2008
Article

Market Leadership and Strategic Investments in Innovation: The Adoption of E-Business Capabilities

By: Kristina Steffenson McElheran

This study focuses on whether more-productive firms are more likely to adopt process innovations and why. The empirical context is the adoption of e-business practices among U.S. manufacturing plants in early 2000. Based on detailed data from the U.S. Census of... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Advantage; Technology Adoption; Manufacturing Industry; United States

Citation

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April 2025 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Adobe: GenAI Opportunity or Threat?

By: Sunil Gupta, Rajiv Lal and Allison Ciechanover

In December 2022, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen faced a pivotal strategic decision due to the rapid rise of generative AI image models from OpenAI, Midjourney, and StabilityAI. Adobe, a leader in digital media and marketing software with a 40-year legacy of innovation and... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Ethics; AI and Machine Learning; Trust; Business Strategy; Technology Industry; San Jose

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August 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Global Business School Network

By: Christopher Marquis and Rwitwika Bhattacharya

The mission of the Global Business School Network (GBSN) is to strengthen business education for the developing world. The organization was transitioning out of its startup phase and wants to shift its focus from capacity building activities driven by the organization... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategy; Business Education; Development Economics; Globalization; Global Strategy; Education Industry

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2024
Working Paper

“If You’re Not There… You’re Not There”: How Art Market Platforms Induce Status Anxiety to Coerce Participation

By: James Riley and Ezra Zuckerman Sivan

This paper, an 18-month ethnographic investigation of international art fairs (IAFs), shows how market platforms can have a coercive effect, inducing sellers (i.e., art galleries) to participate despite ambivalence over their value and anxiety over the process by which... View Details

Keywords: Market Participation; Status and Position; Competition; Demand and Consumers; Fine Arts Industry

Citation

February 2003 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Toys "R" Us (A)

By: Michael G. Rukstad, Dennis A. Yao and Cate Reavis

In 1992, Toys "R" Us, the pioneer of the "category killer" retail format, faced significant competitive threats from mass discounters and warehouse clubs and was losing market share. This case explores the dynamic sustainability of Toys "R" Us's retailing model, its... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Competition; Supply and Industry; Power and Influence; Retail Industry; United States

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14 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 14

LauHarvard Business School Case 212-026 ATR KimEng is a Philippino asset management business. It is making an important decision on its own strategy going forward: should it stay independent or be taken over by a large bank in the region.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

The Route of the Exhibition - The High Art of Photographic Advertising - Baker Library | Bloomberg Center

commercial images as art and offered a prestigious social milieu that brought together photographers, executives, art directors, and socialites. In New York, the mission of the Art Center, a federation of seven societies including the... View Details

01 Dec 2016
News

Alumni Books of 2016

Making Strategy Work Using the Balanced Scorecard by Sanjiv Anand (AMP 163, 2002) (Wiley) This is a hands-on guidebook for making strategy work with effective Balanced Scorecard design, deployment, and... View Details

17 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

Navigating Tradeoffs: How Purpose Becomes a Company's ‘Lighthouse in the Storm’

CEO Corie Barry, who says that making money is the company’s business imperative, not its purpose. Barry explains how the company manages to balance pursuing its mission of enriching people’s lives through technology while also focusing on its View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati

22 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 23

significant increase in the number of initiatives seeking to mobilize investor voice toward positive social impact. In this paper, I provide a framework outlining the role of investors as stewards of the commons. While companies are... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

1.13 Satisfactory Academic Progress | MBA

demonstrated mastery of these skills, full commitment to HBS coursework, as well as adherence to the social contract within the HBS community, as defined by the HBS Community Values and the MBA Honor Code . Academic Difficulty In the... View Details

16 Mar 2023
Blog Post

HySynergy and Crossbridge Energy

“chicken-and-egg” problem: Every energy producer needs off-takers (buyers) and the cooperative strategy between HySynergy and Crossbridge Energy reduces the first-mover risk in order to spur investment from both parties. Additionally, our... View Details

December 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

WayCool: Addressing Food Loss

By: Rajiv Lal and Kairavi Dey

Headquartered in Chennai, India, WayCool started by focusing on solving the growing challenge of food losses and low farmer incomes. Dasari and Jayaraman, surprised at the amount of fruits and vegetables lost in the agricultural supply chain, set up the company with... View Details