Publications

October 6, 2020
Article

Test Your Board's Readiness for the Post-COVID Era

By: Lynn S. Paine

Research suggests that well-run boards take the process of self-evaluation quite seriously, often using a combination of director surveys and personal interviews to assess the functioning and effectiveness of the board, its committees, and its individual members. As... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Governing and Advisory Boards; Performance Evaluation

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

January 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Background Note

Evaluating an Action Plan

By: Linda A. Hill

Managers report that action planning to resolve interpersonal and organizational challenges is far more demanding than diagnosing them. Although there are many frameworks for evaluating their diagnoses, there are few for evaluating their action plans. Reviews the major... View Details

Keywords: Planning

Research suggests that well-run boards take the process of self-evaluation quite seriously, often using a combination of director surveys and personal interviews to assess the functioning and effectiveness of the board, its committees, and its individual members.... View Details

March 1993
Background Note

Note on Information Technology and Strategy

By: Richard L. Nolan and Katherine Seger

Provides a context for the evolution of information technology in business organizations, explains the emergence of information as an important resource to be managed, and provides a framework for assessing the strategic potential of information in the firm. View Details

Keywords: Information; Information Management; Information Technology; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; Adoption; Body of Literature; Archives; Annual Reports; Information Technology Industry

03 Oct 2019
News

Driven

28 Apr 2020
News

“I believe that climate change is potentially a catastrophic risk to our entire economy” Harvard Professor

April 2001 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Mark Pitts

Describes Peoplestreet, an Internet business being developed at Cambridge Incubator. Peoplestreet is attempting to hire a VP of business development and has identified a candidate, Mark Pitts. Asks students to assess which interview techniques seemed most effective in... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Internet and the Web; Job Interviews; Massachusetts

14 Feb 2003
Other Presentation

New Jersey Life Sciences Super-Cluster Initiative

By: Michael E. Porter

The study assessed the current competitive position of the Life Science super-cluster in New Jersey; identified its key strengths and weaknesses, challenges and opportunities; and developed an action agenda that is being used as a blueprint to improve the cluster's... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Growth and Development; United States

Read Now

March 2008 (Revised June 2012)
Background Note

ADR Choices

By: Michael Wheeler, James Sebenius and Marjorie Aaron

Six different business disputes, all in the shadow of pending litigation, are described. Students are asked to recommend the appropriate method of dispute resolution (mediation, arbitration, mini-trial, etc.) for each one, depending on the circumstances, especially to... View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Managerial Roles; Negotiation; Agreements and Arrangements; Conflict Management

April 2007 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Corrections Corporation of America

This case illustrates a comprehensive valuation of a publicly traded firm specializing in building and managing prisons. Students must assess the firm's strategy and risks, evaluate key financial reports, derive forecasts of future performance, and use these forecasts... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Buildings and Facilities; For-Profit Firms; Crime and Corruption; Forecasting and Prediction; Risk Management; Valuation; Construction Industry; Public Administration Industry; Service Industry

01 Dec 2010
News

Google bids for Groupon

December 2017 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Amazon Buys Whole Foods

By: José B. Alvarez, David Lane and Joni Coughlin

The June 2017 news that e-commerce giant Amazon was paying $13.7 billion for organic supermarket chain Whole Foods precipitated a broad sell-off in the shares of grocery retailers and suppliers. Behind the precipitous declines lay recognition that Amazon’s bold move... View Details

Keywords: Amazon; Whole Foods; Grocery; Grocery Delivery; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Business Models; Food Value Chain; Agribusiness; Mergers and Acquisitions; Operations; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

18 Nov 2003
Other Presentation

The U.S. Homebuilding Industry and The Competitive Position of Large Builders

By: Michael E. Porter

Strategy presentation at the Centex Investor Conference, New York. Topics include: The structure of the homebuilding industry, the competitive advantages of large homebuilders, market assessment of homebuilding versus other industries and the role of investors in... View Details

Keywords: Industry Analysis; Five Forces; Strategy; Five Forces Framework; United States

Read Now

July 2012
Case

Performance Management at Vitality Health Enterprises, Inc.

By: John Bingham and Michael Beer

Vitality Health Enterprises, a medium-sized firm that manufactures health and personal care products, has experienced six straight quarters of strong revenue growth. James Hoffman, the new Senior Vice President of Human Resources, fears that the chain of success is... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Talent and Talent Management; Health Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

August 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Pinnacle Ventures

By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind

Describes a prospective "venture debt" loan to a new venture from the perspective of Patrick Lee, a principal at Pinnacle Ventures. Forces students to grapple with the nature of financial risk in the start-up firm and assess the prospective risks and returns to a... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Venture Capital; Investment Return; Business Startups; Financial Services Industry

2010
Simulation

Change Management Simulation: Power and Influence

By: Linda A. Hill and William Q. Judge

In this single-player simulation, students play one of two roles at a sunglass manufacturing firm and face the challenges associated with implementing an organization-wide environmental sustainability initiative. The initiative seeks to change raw material inputs in... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Power and Influence; Problems and Challenges; Environmental Sustainability; Production; Wastes and Waste Processing; Adoption

21 Aug 2019
News

What to watch for now that CEOs have rewritten the purpose of the corporation

2024
Working Paper

Using LLMs for Market Research

By: James Brand, Ayelet Israeli and Donald Ngwe

Large language models (LLMs) have rapidly gained popularity as labor-augmenting tools for programming, writing, and many other processes that benefit from quick text generation. In this paper we explore the uses and benefits of LLMs for researchers and practitioners... View Details

Keywords: Large Language Model; Research; AI and Machine Learning; Analysis; Customers; Consumer Behavior; Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry