Publications

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November 1991 (Revised June 1997)
Case

Micom Caribe (A)

By: David M. Upton and Joshua D. Margolis

Describes the Puerto Rican manufacturing plant of a transnational company. The award-winning plant has dramatically improved the quality of flexibility of its operations, by taking a radical approach to manufacturing. The methods center on the use of specific... View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Multinational Firms and Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Product Launch; Production; Performance Improvement; Quality; Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

October 1989
Case

Exxon Corp.: Trouble at Valdez

Discusses the events leading to and repercussions following the 11 million gallon oil spill in Prince William Sound off the Alaskan coast. This was the largest spill in U.S. history. Examines the response to the spill by Exxon management, government agencies, and... View Details

Keywords: Natural Environment; Crisis Management; Energy Sources; Shipping Industry; Energy Industry; Alaska

February 2016 (Revised May 2016)
Case

Astroscale, Space Debris, and Earth's Orbital Commons

By: Matthew Weinzierl, Angela Acocella and Mayuka Yamazaki

An engineer and technology entrepreneur, Nobu Okada, had turned a mid-life crisis into a bold—some would say quixotic—quest to prevent a tragedy of the commons at the global scale. Namely, Okada believed the accumulation of debris in near-Earth orbital space posed a... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Global Range; Entrepreneurship; Crisis Management; Wastes and Waste Processing; Economics; Aerospace Industry

August 2006 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Natura: Global Beauty Made in Brazil

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

Explores the globalization strategies of Natura, Brazil's largest cosmetics company. Founded in 1969, Natura grew using a direct selling model. Led by its three founders, the firm made distinctive use of Brazil's diversity and became characterized by high ethical and... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Brazil

12 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 12, 2019

Reorientation in New Ventures By: McDonald, Rory, and Cheng Gao Abstract—New ventures often experience deviations from their plans that oblige them to reorient in pursuit of better fit between their evolving products and their target... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

33 more are planned to launch this year. Like Mercadona, a Spanish supermarket chain that Ton profiled in a case last year, QuikTrip systematically makes operating decisions that are good for employees, customers, and profits, she says.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

November 2020 (Revised September 2021)
Case

HP Instant Ink: (Self) Disrupting the Consumer Printing Market

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg and George Gonzalez

Seeking to disrupt the consumer printing market (before being disrupted by others), and in response to customer pain points, in 2013 HP Inc. launched an ink replenishment service called Instant Ink, where customers pay a monthly subscription fee based on the number of... View Details

Keywords: Printing; Ink; Subscription Model; Customers; Information Infrastructure; Service Delivery; Business Model; Disruption; Growth and Development Strategy

October 26, 2022
Article

Climate Risk Is Growing. Is Your Company Prepared?

By: John D. Macomber

Most people don’t have a strategy for how to handle the worsening perils of flooding, wildfires and extreme heat. They should adopt a four-step process for protecting their property, whether it be a home or a business. First, they should prioritize how important... View Details

Keywords: Climate Risk; Climate Change; Risk Management; Crisis Management; Insurance

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29 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 29

intensity, we allow the incumbent to consider changes in its business model. We consider four alternative business models—two pure models (subscription-based and ad-sponsored) and two mixed models that are hybrids of the two pure models. We show that the optimal View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 2004 (Revised June 2004)
Case

Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal

By: Thomas J. DeLong and David L. Ager

Anne Ewers, general director of Utah Opera, is awaiting the decision of the members of the board of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera about whether to merge Utah's top two arts organizations. If the vote favors the merger, Ewers will be asked to assume the helm of the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Change Management; Organizational Culture; Human Resources; Management; Fine Arts Industry; Music Industry; Utah

November 2024
Case

FedEx Cyberattack (A): Navigating the NotPetya Storm

By: Hise Gibson, Frank Nagle, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

In 2017, FedEx’s European division — acquired the year before for $5 billion — was hit by a devastating cyberattack that destroyed thousands of computers and business systems across several countries. Corporate Chief Information Officer Rob Carter put the company’s... View Details

Keywords: Cybersecurity; Crisis Management; Disruption; Planning; Transportation Industry; United States; Europe

June 2025
Article

What Board-level Control Mechanisms Changed in Banks Following the 2008 Financial Crisis? A Descriptive Study

By: Shelly Li, Shivram Rajgopal, Suraj Srinivasan and Yu Ting Forester Wong

Following the 2008 financial crisis, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) identified major shortcomings in bank board governance, contributing to systemic risk management failures. This study adapts a management control framework and empirically examines... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Management Control; Governing and Advisory Boards; Governance Controls; Risk Management; Change Management; Banks and Banking; Financial Crisis

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June 2009
Case

Manchester Products: A Brand Transition Challenge

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

In January of 2005, Manchester Products Inc., a longtime leader in office furniture that only recently entered into the home furniture market, acquired Paul Logan's Furniture Division (PLFD). The acquisition of PLFD made Manchester an instant market leader in household... View Details

Keywords: Acquisitions; Consumer Marketing; Brand Equity; Branding; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

20 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Blind Spots: We’re Not as Ethical as We Think

interest to remain, the leaders are responsible for the boundedly unethical actions that follow. Q: How do you become aware of your blind spots? A: By looking at the data. If you firmly believe that you want to give women and minorities... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2021
White Paper

The Future of Boston's Workforce: The Path Forward from COVID-19

By: Will Dorsey Eden, Joseph B. Fuller and Rachel Lipson

In response to the unprecedented disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic on Greater Boston’s economy and workforce, the Boston Foundation, Skillworks, and the Project on Workforce at Harvard partnered to convene workforce leaders from across the region to address how might... View Details

Keywords: COVID; COVID-19; Workforce; Pandemic; Labor Market; Health Pandemics; Labor; Employment; Organizations; Cooperation; Strategic Planning; Boston

07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

noticeably lacking at Enron. These processes include: Liberating evaluation processes by adding qualitative judgment to whatever standard quantitative measures of performance that business plans may require Designing and implementing... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

June 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

What Went Wrong with Boeing's 737 Max?

By: William W. George and Amram Migdal

This case describes the development of the Boeing 737 Max airplane model and the events leading up to two tragic plane crashes, in which a total of 346 people died: the crash of Lion Air flight 610 on October 29, 2018, in Indonesia, and the crash of Ethiopian Airlines... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Communication Intention and Meaning; Communication Strategy; Forms of Communication; Announcements; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Judgments; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Globalization; Global Strategy; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Governance Controls; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Leadership; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Skills; Management Style; Management Systems; Risk Management; Time Management; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Digital Platforms; Supply and Industry; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Industry Structures; Operations; Product Development; Organizations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Outcome or Result; Failure; Success; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Strategy; Transportation; Air Transportation; Aerospace Industry; Air Transportation Industry; Africa; Ethiopia; Asia; Indonesia; North and Central America; United States; Seattle; Chicago

04 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Predictions, Prophets, and Restarting Your Business

hard decisions about returning to the market. Here’s a common prediction: Social distancing forces people to do more buying online and communicating through social media, thus accelerating a permanent, big shift after the crisis to more... View Details

Keywords: by Frank V. Cespedes

April 2005 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Ilene Lang and the Catalyst Search (A)

By: Myra M. Hart and Laura L. Nash

Catalyst, the nonprofit organization dedicated to championing women in professional ranks, is searching for a new president--only the third in its 42-year history. Ilene Lang, a corporate executive and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in high-tech... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Nonprofit Organizations; Work-Life Balance; Job Search; Gender; Service Industry