Publications

June 1985
Case

Lex Service PLC (B): The Gate Array Project--First Year of Operations

With Christopher Handscomb, Deepak Mahadevan, Lars Schor, Marcus Sieberer, and Suraj Srinivasan. McKinsey and Company, June 25, 2020.
View Details

26 Jan 2021

College Programs Series: Operating Companies and the Value of an MBA

Have you ever wondered what an MBA could do to help you accomplish your personal and professional goals? Join us to hear more about why an MBA degree can be of value to students interested in working in operating companies prior to their... View Details

August 2019 (Revised July 2024)
Module Note

Demystifying the Family Enterprise: Module 2 - The Operating Company

By: Christina R. Wing, Madeline Keulen and Vicki Morton

10 Jan 2019
Interview

Can Miguel McKelvey Build the ‘Culture Operating System’ at WeWork?

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

September 2012 (Revised March 2013)
Teaching Note

Ultimate Fighting Championship: License to Operate (A) & (B) (TN)

By: George Serafeim

The case describes the challenges that Ultimate Fighting Championship faced as a result of regulatory opposition and loss of the license to operate. The genesis of the business idea, the subsequent growth, and the fall of the UFC are described. The case concludes with... View Details

Keywords: Governance Compliance; Ethics; Judgments; Investment; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

2009
Article

Acquisitions and the Evolution of Operational Performance across the Firm

By: Santiago Mingo

December 2012
Supplement

Home Essentials: Building a Global Service Business with Local Operations (CW)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and William R. Kerr

1995
Chapter

Interest Allocation Rules, Financing Patterns, and the Operations of US Multinationals

By: Kenneth A. Froot and James R. Hines Jr.

Keywords: Corporation Taxation; Interest Deductibility; Cost of Capital; Taxation; Financing and Loans; Corporate Finance

Research Summary

2. Acquisitions of Industrial Units and the Evolution of Operational Performance across the Firm

Abstract: Manufacturing firms frequently expand their production capacity through the acquisition of industrial units. How are the existing units in the acquirer company affected by the acquisition of another facility? I argue that two important... View Details

August 1995
Case

Travelex: "The World's Largest Operator of Passenger Terminal Bureaux de Change"

By: Richard F. Meyer

Keywords: Tourism Industry

February 2013
Teaching Note

Home Essentials: Building a Global Service Business with Local Operations (TN)

By: William R. Kerr

January 2002 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Postgirot Bank and Provment AB: Managing the Cost of IT Operations

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Nancy Bartlett

Describes a specific approach for measuring the efficiency of the groups of computers inside an organization and suggests ways this tool may be used to reduce the company's computing investment while maintaining service. It is a software-enabled industrial engineering... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Investment; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Style; Information Technology; Applications and Software

Educators

2018
Chapter

Behavioral Empirics and Field Experiments

By: Maria Ibanez and Bradley R. Staats

As the study of behavioral operations has continued to grow, an increasing number of researchers are turning to the field (e.g., conducting observational studies or natural or field experiments) to push deeper in order to find the answers to relevant behavioral... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Operations; Empirical Operations; Empirical Operations Management; Field Experiments; Behavior; Operations; Management; Research

Read Now

August 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals: Decision Making in Clinical Trial Design and Operations

By: Satish Tadikonda and Amanda McEwen

The success or failure of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals (Dicerna) as an emerging pharmaceutical company would likely hinge on its lead drug candidate Nedosiran and the company’s ability to see it successfully through clinical development. Ralf Rosskamp, Chief Medical... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Health Testing and Trials; Product Development; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Pharmaceutical Industry

Educators

February 2008
Article

Does Focus Improve Operational Performance? Lessons from the Management of Clinical Trials

By: Robert S. Huckman and Darren Zinner

Keywords: Performance; Operations; Learning; Management; Health

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May 2021
Supplement

Hello Alfred: Come Home Happy — Operating the Business Model Exercise, Instructor Version

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Christopher Payton

On a mission to "automate the on-demand economy," Harvard Business School classmates Marcela Sapone and Jessica Beck launched Hello Alfred in 2013 to provide subscribers with an "Alfred" to complete various chores for a monthly fee. In early 2016, the company has built... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Service Operations; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Service Industry; New York (city, NY); Boston

1979
Other Unpublished Work

Fox Studios: Operating a Small Business - HBS Analysis and Decision Case

By: J. Ronald Fox and Frank S. Leonard

Keywords: Media; Business Ventures; Operations; Decision Making; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

April 2004
Article

The Impact of Operational Failures on Hospital Nurses and Their Patients

By: A. L. Tucker

Keywords: Operations; Failure; Health