Publications

15 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Businesses Beware: The World Is Not Flat

Thomas Friedman, author of "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century", opines that a number of events ranging from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the rise of the Internet have flattened the competitive... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

August 2007 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Ken Durham and Unilever as a 'Multi-Local Multinational'

By: Geoffrey Jones and Stephanie Decker

Explores the opportunities and threats to Unilever's global business in 1978 based on the commercial and political challenges faced by three of its subsidiaries, Lever Brothers in the United States, Hindustan Lever in India, and United Africa Company in West Africa.... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Local Range; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Management Style; Competitive Strategy; Africa; India; United States

David Moss is the Paul Whiton Cherington Professor at Harvard Business School, where he teaches in the Business, Government, and the International Economy (BGIE) unit. He earned his B.A. from Cornell University and his Ph.D. from Yale. In 1992-1993, he served as a... View Details

Keywords: banking; credit card; federal government; financial services; health care; insurance industry; state government

Teaching Interest

Executive Education: Finance for Senior Executives

By: Malcolm P. Baker

Finance for Senior Executives provides the frameworks to strategically use financial resources and position your company for future success. By examining corporate finance from both internal and external perspectives, this HBS Executive Education View Details

14 Apr 2023
Blog Post

New MBA Course Asks Students: What’s More Important—Purpose or Profits?

Institute for the Study of Business in Global Society (BiGS). Over two days, 11 faculty members from across the School taught five new cases involving companies ranging from Microsoft to Sweden’s Northvolt... View Details

September 2017
Case

Tencent

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Tencent had undergone many transformations since it was founded in 1998 as a simple messaging service. In 2017, it was the largest online games provider in China with a wide range of game types, China’s largest social networking service provider with several of the... View Details

Keywords: Tencent; Tencent Holdings; WeChat; Social Networking; Social Networks; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Video Games; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Portals; Payments; Mobile Payments; O2O; Online-to-offline; E-commerce; Messaging; Subscription Model; Freemium; Mobile App Industry; Smartphone; PC; Monetization Strategy; Antitrust; Streaming; Cloud Computing; Artificial Intelligence; Big Data; Alibaba; Facebook; JD.com; Tesla; Bundling; Synergies; Digital Strategy; Imitation; Licensing; Agility; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Restructuring; Communication; Communication Technology; Blogs; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Industry Growth; Monopoly; Media; Distribution Channels; Product Development; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Opportunities; Social and Collaborative Networks; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Value Creation; Communications Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; Asia; China; Canton (province, China)

Program

Owner/President Management

months over three calendar years, the Owner/President Management (OPM) program is a transformative learning experience that will boost your leadership skills—and the value of your enterprise. Key Benefits Whether you seek a broader global... View Details

August 2022 (Revised February 2023)
Case

NewLab: Scaling an Innovation Engine

By: Tarun Khanna and George Gonzalez

Silicon Valley-veteran Shaun Stewart is the CEO of NewLab, a dynamic technology hub headquartered in the storied Brooklyn Navy Yard. Founded in 2016, NewLab fostered a community of entrepreneurs, corporate and government partners, and investors, all seeking to apply... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Social and Collaborative Networks; Global Range; Partners and Partnerships; Networks; Growth and Development Strategy; Opportunities; Brooklyn

Web

Publications - Faculty & Research

Conditioning." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 325-124, April 2025. 2025 Chapter Institutional Entrepreneurship and Climate Change By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist and Geoffrey Jones This chapter explores when and why private regulatory governance systems became the... View Details

July–August 2014
Article

Sustainability in the Boardroom: Lessons from Nike's Playbook

By: Lynn S. Paine

One surprising role of Nike's corporate responsibility committee is to provide support for innovation. More and more companies recognize the importance of corporate responsibility to their long-term success—and yet the matter gets short shrift in most boardrooms,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

Find at Harvard

2022
Chapter

A Compass for Decision Making

By: Lynn S. Paine

Book Abstract: The second edition of Responsible Leadership offers orienting knowledge on how to lead in a world of contested values—a world where leadership work extends beyond leaders and direct reports to a whole range of stakeholders inside and outside an... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Decision Making

November 2017
Case

The 'Wonder Drug' That Killed Babies

By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Tom Nicholas and Matthew Preble

In the early 1960s, a popular drug taken by patients worldwide for a range of maladies was found to cause severe birth defects and other health problems in babies born to mothers who had taken it during a certain stage of fetal development. As many as 10,000 children... View Details

Keywords: Regulation; Business and Government Relations; Business and Community Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Product Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business History; Health; Government Legislation; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Pharmaceutical Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States; United Kingdom; Australia; Germany; Europe

February 2015
Case

Beckman Coulter, 2011

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In early 2011, Danaher was contemplating the acquisition of Beckman Coulter. With $3.7 billion of revenues in 2010 and $431 million in operating profits, California-based Beckman Coulter was a global leader in blood cell count diagnostic systems and also supplied a... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Program

Senior Executive Leadership Program—India

Summary India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. To seize opportunities and sustain success under shifting global business conditions, companies need executives who are exceptional leaders—confident... View Details

May 2018 (Revised July 2018)
Case

EY China (A): Strengthening Presence in a Critical Market

By: Ashish Nanda, Das Narayandas and Lisa Rohrer

Soon after being named regional managing partner for Ernst & Young (EY) China in September 2009, Albert Ng reflects on the enormity of challenges facing EY China. Despite EY Global's commitment to the China practice, EY China’s growth agenda has been reversed, post... View Details

Keywords: Professional Services; International Management; Big Four; Strategy And Execution; Emerging Market; Strategy; Leadership; Global Range; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; Accounting Industry; China

14 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 14

Sweden compared with the United States. In particular, a later development of financial markets and a heavier tax burden for entrepreneurs have played a key role. Publisher's link: http://icc.oxfordjournals.org/content/22/1/153.full.pdf+html 2006 Boston Review Can... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2007
Working Paper

Digital Interactivity: Unanticipated Consequences for Markets, Marketing, and Consumers

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

The digital interactive transformation in marketing is not unfolding, as many thought it would, on the model of direct marketing. That model anticipated that digital media using rich profiling data would intrude marketing messaging more deeply and more precisely into... View Details

Keywords: Communication Intention and Meaning; Interactive Communication; Marketing Communications; Consumer Behavior; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet and the Web