Publications

Profile

Melcolm Ruffin

Growing up on the west side of Chicago, Melcolm Ruffin was immersed in three things: "a loving family that nurtured me," an emphasis on education, and a passion for basketball. "I loved sports and was a big basketball junkie," Melcolm says. "I... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment/Media

08 Sep 2008
HBS Case

The Value of Environmental Activists

There are many methods, most financial, to measure the success of companies in meeting goals. But the question becomes a lot harder at Harvard Business School when MBAs are challenged to measure the efforts of environmental organizations like Greenpeace and the World... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

January 2016 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Blackstone at Age 30

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Amram Migdal

Since its IPO in 2007 and following the global financial crisis, Blackstone largely outpaced its alternative investment firm peers in assets under management, new business launches, profitability, and market capitalization. Under the leadership of Stephen A.... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Asset Management; Private Equity; Financial Services Industry; New York (city, NY)

August 2015 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Shonda Rhimes' ShondaLand

By: Anita Elberse and Henry McGee

In January 2015, superstar television creator Shonda Rhimes, whose production company ShondaLand dominates American television's most competitive and lucrative night with three shows in primetime on network ABC's Thursday night, is plotting the future. One challenge... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Television; Broadcasting; Creative Industries; Television Industry; Product Portfolio Management; Superstar; Talent Management; Television Entertainment; Media; Creativity; Marketing; Talent and Talent Management; Personal Development and Career; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

01 May 2019
What Do You Think?

What Should the Leadership of YouTube Do?

as a flat planet, bogus cures for cancer, and conspiracy theories such as United States government involvement in the 9/11 attacks. Employee suggestions regarding ways of dealing with questionable material... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Entertainment & Recreation; Media & Broadcasting

November 2019
Case

Gillette: Cutting Prices to Regain Share

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

After losing market share to low-priced competitors such as Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club for several years, Gillette decided to fight back by launching new products and increasing advertising. When these efforts failed to stem the losses, Gillette decided to cut the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Business Strategy; Competition; Price; Public Equity; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Profile

Emily Schlichting

At age 19, in the spring of 2009, Emily Schlichting was diagnosed with Behcet's, a rare autoimmune disease that introduced her "to the realities of U.S. health care firsthand." Although the disease has proven manageable, her treatments led her into the belly... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare/Biotech; Nonprofit/Government/Education

19 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

Why Isn't Business Research More Relevant to Business Practitioners?

presented their research on occupational safety to managers at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, “both they and we learned a lot.” And let’s not forget small companies; some 90 percent of businesses in the United View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education

October 1999 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Steinway & Sons: Buying a Legend (A)

By: John T. Gourville and Joseph B. Lassiter III

It is 1995 and Steinway & Sons has just been purchased by two young entrepreneurs. For 140 years, Steinway has held the reputation for making the finest quality grand pianos in the world. The past 25 years have proven to be a challenge, however. First, the company has... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Crisis Management; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Quality; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Japan; New York (state, US)

02 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 2

New Line of Inquiry By: Moss, David, Anant Thaker, and Howard Rudnick Abstract—The substantial increase in inequality in the United States over the past three decades has provoked considerable debate, with... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

August 2005 (Revised December 2005)
Case

Coach Knight: The Will to Win

By: Scott A. Snook, Leslie A. Perlow and Brian DeLacey

Successful college basketball coach Bob Knight was fired from his long-time role as basketball coach at Indiana University and hired in the same role at Texas Tech. Considers these events in the context of his long career and provides a context for discussing various... View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Selection and Staffing; Leadership Style; Situation or Environment; Power and Influence; Sports; Indiana; Texas

01 Sep 2003
News

Stan O’Neal

O’Neal Photo courtesy Merrill Lynch & Co., INC. While Merrill Lynch CEO E. Stanley O’Neal admits the public perception of CEOs, business, and financial markets may be low in the current climate, he loves what he does. “I often pinch myself when I wake up in the... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young; Finance

08 Nov 2013
HBS Seminar

Laura Diaz Anadon, Harvard Kennedy School

November 2023
Case

Copilot(s): Generative AI at Microsoft and GitHub

By: Frank Nagle, Shane Greenstein, Maria P. Roche, Nataliya Langburd Wright and Sarah Mehta

This case tells the story of Microsoft’s 2018 acquisition of GitHub and the subsequent launch of GitHub Copilot, a tool that uses generative artificial intelligence to suggest snippets of code to software developers in real time. Set in late 2021, when Copilot was... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Product Launch; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; California

Portrait Project

Wyatt Smith

My father kneeled in chicken manure and drew a black streak with a pencil he'd taken from the wall of the poultry house. "See this line? It represents how much your mother and I work to pay our debts and provide for this family." "And these," he... View Details

November 2022 (Revised June 2023)
Case

UGG Steps into the Metaverse

By: Shunyuan Zhang, Sharon Joseph, Sunil Gupta and Julia Kelley

In the fall of 2022, boot maker UGG and its parent company, Deckers, were working to position the brand in the nascent but fast growing metaverse. The metaverse, the online realm that individual users could navigate as digital avatars, was becoming more commercialized,... View Details

Keywords: Metaverse; Digital Marketing; Innovation and Invention; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Internet and the Web; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

September 2020
Case

Uber at a Crossroads (2017)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes the history of Uber, its business model—including the ways it differed from that of the traditional taxi industry—and its competition with Lyft. The case is set in 2017, a year in which Uber was plagued by even more scandals than usual, though its... View Details

March 1998 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Hamptonshire Express

By: V. G. Narayanan and Ananth Raman

Presents a series of problems that face a newspaper publisher, including inventory level, effort level, subsidy for unsold inventory, and commission for sales. Each problem is accompanied by one or more spreadsheets. Students must make various operational decisions. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Channels; Motivation and Incentives; Performance; Operations; Problems and Challenges; Decision Making; Sales; Demand and Consumers; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; United States

April 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Levels: The Remote, Asynchronous, Deep Work Management System

By: Joseph B. Fuller and George Gonzalez

Levels is a highly innovative startup in the health care space. They intend to revolutionize health by linking behavior—eating, exercise, sleeping, etc.—to changes in metabolism. They believe metabolic health can be managed through careful monitoring of changes in... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Business Startups; Organizational Culture; Management Style; Technology Industry; United States