Publications

June 1991 (Revised February 1999)
Case

Willow Creek Community Church (A)

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger

Describes the historic evolution and current positioning of a Christian church which focuses on the attraction of "unchurched" individuals. Describes the church's strategic service vision and its current growth and leadership problems. View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Strategic Planning; Social Enterprise; Marketing Strategy; Growth Management; Religion; Service Industry

May 2000 (Revised December 2018)
Case

SMA: Micro-Electronic Products Division (A)

By: Michael Beer and Michael Tushman

The Micro-Electronic Products Division of SMA has financial and organizational problems. Conflict and lack of coordination exist between functional groups. Employees do not have a sense of direction and morale is low. The cause of these problems is found in a change in... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Conflict and Resolution; Business Strategy

February 2007
Article

Strategic Bidder Behavior in Sponsored Search Auctions

By: Benjamin Edelman and Michael Ostrovsky

We examine sponsored search auctions run by Overture (now part of Yahoo!) and Google and present evidence of strategic bidder behavior in these auctions. Between June 15, 2002, and June 14, 2003, we estimate that Overture's revenue from sponsored search might have been... View Details

Keywords: Auctions; Strategy; Behavior; Revenue; Performance Efficiency; Bids and Bidding; Search Technology

Read Now

19 Mar 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

8 Ways To Be An Environmentally Conscious Manager

iPhoto In an interview about his recent book Profits and Sustainability, which portrays the iconoclastic entrepreneurs who built green startups in the 19th century, Harvard Business School historian Geoffrey Jones notes that being a business-environmentalist can be... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Energy

May 2022
Supplement

Thinking Outside the Wine Box (B): Mekanism and the Franz for Life Campaign

By: Tomomichi Amano, Elie Ofek, Mengjie Cheng and Amy Klopfenstein

This case reveals the events that took place after the conclusion of the case “Thinking Outside the Wine Box (A): Mekanism and the Franz for Life Campaign.” After reviewing Mekanism’s pitches for the Franz for Life 2.0 campaign, TWG executives felt that the proposed... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Digital Marketing; Social Marketing; Marketing Communications; Product Positioning; Advertising; Communication Strategy; Advertising Campaigns; Social Media; Food and Beverage Industry; Advertising Industry; United States

10 Dec 2013
First Look

First Look: December 10

capabilities across markets: no learning, local learning, and global learning. Three equilibrium strategies arise: accommodate, marginalize, and collocate. We identify how these strategies emerge depending... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

2023 Symposium - Race, Gender & Equity

Organizational Behavior (LEAD). Rae Johnson Rae Johnson, PhD, RSMT is a scholar/activist whose research centers on the intersections between embodiment and social justice. Chair of the Somatic Studies doctoral program at Pacifica Graduate... View Details

November 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Balancing Impact: Modeling the Future at British International Investment

By: Shawn Cole and Jonah Zahnd

In 2022, British International Investment (BII), the £8.1 billion development finance arm of the British government, implemented a new impact measurement system called the Impact Score to align its financial and impact objectives systematically. The tool was designed... View Details

Keywords: Investment Portfolio; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Alignment; United Kingdom

January 2006
Article

Conflicts of Interest and the Case of Auditor Independence: Moral Seduction and Strategic Issue Cycling.

By: Don A. Moore, Philip E. Tetlock, Lloyd Tanlu and Max H. Bazerman

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Accounting Audits; Moral Sensibility; Strategy

29 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

The Next Marketing Challenge: Selling to ’Simplifiers’

their stuff embarrasses them. Their Range Rovers no longer tell the world that they are sophisticated town and country socialites. There are simply too many of them on the road to offer much social status. Worse, they now signal the... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Retail; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation

January – February 2008
Article

The Dangers of Wishful Thinking

By: Richard S. Tedlow and David Ruben

Too many U.S. businesses (including tires, super-markets, and information technology) have been infected with the disease of denial. The answer? In Lincoln's words, “We must disenthrall ourselves.” View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Success; Behavior; Cognition and Thinking

30 Aug 2016
First Look

August 30, 2016

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51552 forthcoming Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization Competition and Social Identity in the Workplace: Evidence from a Chinese Textile Firm By: Kato, Takao, and Pian Shu... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Web

Innovation & the War Effort - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

Clubs Faculty & Research Business & Environment Business History Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning Entrepreneurship Faculty & Research Global Healthcare HBS Working Knowledge Institute for Strategy & Competitiveness Leadership... View Details

09 Oct 2012
First Look

First Look: October 9

social and business goals, the company had articulated a stakeholder-centric model that benefited consumers through high-quality, fashionable, and affordable eyewear: the global community by donating, through sustainable channels, one... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Oct 1999
News

Culture Clash: Exploring Cross Cultural Conflicts in Business

one of the first firms in Thailand to develop its own written code of ethics. The company's philosophy is rooted in the Buddhist concept of fairness and also stresses product quality, the value of the individual, and concern for social... View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

November 2009 (Revised July 2011)
Case

International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A)

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

This case explores company strategy, business-government relations, and collective action challenges associated with international and domestic lobbying regarding regulation of the chemical industry. In the fall of 2006, a five-year legislative process for a major new... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Legislation; Business and Government Relations; Power and Influence; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Chemical Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Europe

31 Oct 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 31, 2017

1990s, these two historical trends met, as the concept of sustainable development spread to large conventional corporations, and visionary green firms scaled or were acquired by conventional big businesses. The concept of sustainability became View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Dec 2017
News

2017 in Finance: Helping Consumers Improve Their Financial Life

done on mobile devices, and social media services like WeChat are leading the way. The big question is, how are the banks going to respond? In China, where banks are less regulated, they are starting to branch into the mobile finance... View Details

Keywords: Omer Ismail (MBA 2007), chief commercial officer, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, the firm’s digital consumer financial services business; Finance

July 2007
Case

Kroger Union Negotiations 2005

By: Dennis A. Yao and Mary L. Shelman

A stylized version of the negotiations between Kroger Company and its local unions during 2005. Management faces a sequence of individual negotiations with local unions in addition to meeting the new competitive challenges presented by Wal-Mart's expansion in the... View Details

Keywords: Labor and Management Relations; Labor Unions; Reputation; Wages; Management; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Style; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry