Publications

15 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

Want Your Employees to Plan Better for Retirement? Don't Do This

message I take away from this is that it’s natural to suggest this type of social norms intervention,” Beshears said. “It’s relatively soft touch; it’s suggestive but not coercive. And in a lot of situations, it works in the intended way.... View Details

Keywords: Re: John Beshears; Financial Services

01 Feb 2008
What Do You Think?

How Sustainable Is Sustainability in a For-Profit Organization?

history of these entities.... When it is monetized" (whether by competition or government) "the for-profit enterprise will select the lowest price alternative." But Allen Howlett expressed reservations about this approach, saying, "To do nothing... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

September 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Old Mutual

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Kirsty O'Neil-Massaro

Designed to explore the demutualization and listing overseas of one of Africa's largest financial institutions, Old Mutual, and the effects that these actions have on South Africa's domestic capital markets. Explores the particular difficulties that arise as a result... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Global Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Capital Markets; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business Education; Financial Strategy; Business or Company Management; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; South Africa

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02 Dec 2019
What Do You Think?

How Does a Company like Boeing Respond to Intense Competitive Pressure?

Hans-Peter Sebregondi, quoting from a Deloitte thought piece, wrote, “If your executive suite is like most discussion usually centers on the positive aspects of the company’s strategy and the need to rally around said strategy, with scant... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Air Transportation

December 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Migros

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman

In October 2005, Urs Riedener, head of marketing at Swiss retailer Migros, is contemplating the company's competitive position. Primarily a retailer for foods and near-foods products, the cooperative Migros, with close to 600 retail outlets in Switzerland (but only... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Corporate Governance; Corporate Strategy; Cooperative Ownership; Supply Chain Management; Product Marketing; Environmental Sustainability; Social Enterprise; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Switzerland

20 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 20

challenge to centuries-long traditions in design and construction that green building represents. The contributors consider the changes associated with green building through a sociological and organizational lens. They discuss shifts in professional expertise created... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

29 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

Diagnosing the ‘Flutie Effect’ on College Marketing

social whirl around a winning program. Chung was naturally attracted to the research because the Flutie game was the first American football game he'd ever watched. "I saw this game live on TV with my father when I was growing up in... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Education; Advertising; Sports

30 Sep 2019
Book

Book Excerpt: Why a Volume on Race, Work, and Leadership

Excerpt by Laura Morgan Roberts, Anthony J. Mayo, and Serenity Lee Blacks have been integral to the economic foundation of the United States since its inception, yet that foundation was forged on an institutionalized inequality, which continues to have debilitating... View Details

Keywords: Re: Liangzong Ma

01 Dec 2015
News

Giving Advice

(courtesy of Susan Wolf Ditkoff) The philanthropy economy is booming. Last year, America’s charitable giving totaled $358.38 billion, equaling 2.1 percent of GDP—a number last attained in prerecession 2004. With that growth have come a number of new options, including... View Details

17 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 17

Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/product/arcos-dorados-how-to-lead-and-from-where/an/114059-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 714-475 Social Strategy at Cisco Systems In April 2013, Jeanne... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 20

cost, but is also a function of the competitiveness of the upstream economy. Moreover, the presence of a gray market competitor may cause unintended social welfare consequences when domestic governments mandate the use of arm's length... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2021
Case

The Incentive for Legacy: Tsinghua University Education Foundation

By: Lauren Cohen, Hao Gao and Spencer C.N. Hagist

Vivian Yuan seeks to bolster the Tsinghua University Education Foundation's fundraising efforts and investment goals in a new era of Chinese higher education. Competing with elite members of China's C9 League of top universities, she must develop a set of incentives... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Marketing; Strategy; Negotiation; Organizations; Markets; Higher Education; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Motivation and Incentives; China

November 2015
Case

Wynton Marsalis & Jazz at Lincoln Center

By: Rohit Deshpandé

Under the leadership of artistic director Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) hosts performances and education events year-round for audiences in New York and across the United States. Despite the popularity of JALC's events, however, the U.S. audience for... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Management; Music Entertainment; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Growth and Development Strategy; Music Industry

2012
Working Paper

Conflict Policy and Advertising Agency-Client Relations: The Problem of Competing Clients Sharing a Common Agency

By: Alvin J. Silk

What restrictions should be placed on advertising agencies with respect to serving accounts or clients that are competitors of one another in order to avoid conflicts in interest? In recent decades, the advertising and marketing services industry has undergone a number... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Service Delivery; Competition; Conflict of Interests; Policy; Practice; Advertising Industry; United States

Read Now

October 2011
Supplement

An Interview with Jack Hughes, Founder and Chairman of TopCoder

By: David A. Garvin

TopCoder's crowdsourcing-based business model, in which software is developed through online tournaments, is presented. The case highlights how TopCoder has created a unique two-sided innovation platform consisting of a global community of over 225,0000 developers who... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Technological Innovation; Problems and Challenges; Motivation and Incentives; Competition; Online Technology; Information Technology Industry

February 2002 (Revised May 2002)
Background Note

That's a Wrap: The Dynamics of the Video Rental Industry

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

The history, current dynamics, and future trends of the $10 billion home video rental industry provides a platform to discuss revenue-sharing contracts between suppliers of home videocassettes and retailers. View Details

Keywords: Contracts; Motivation and Incentives; Supply Chain Management; Revenue; Financial Strategy; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

December 1999
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A1): "Dot-comming" the World: Philip Nenon on a Billion Dollar Bet

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner

A group at Sun Microsystems, Inc. proposed that a recent acquisition that made fault-tolerant computers for telecommunications was a major opportunity for Sun. If the board provided funding to expand the acquisition's portfolio of products and make them part of the... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Governing and Advisory Boards; Motivation and Incentives; Expansion; Technology Industry

October 1997
Case

Roslin Institute, The

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay

Dr. Ian Willmut and the Roslin Institute have developed a revolutionary new technology--cloning. Now they are faced with some tough choices concerning going forward. How should they balance commercialization opportunities with societal concerns? View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Independent Innovation and Invention; Social Issues; Commercialization; Biotechnology Industry

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November 2011 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Allied Electronics Corporation Ltd: Linking Compensation to Sustainability Metrics

Robert Venter, second-generation Chief Executive (CE) of family-owned Allied Electronics Corporation Ltd (Altron), considered the pros and cons of more clearly linking the firm's compensation system to sustainability performance. In June 2011, Altron, a conglomerate... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Environmental Sustainability