Publications

February 2008 (Revised September 2010)
Case

LeapFrog Enterprises

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Elizabeth Collins

Explores the success factors leading to the company's rise to the number three ranking in the aggressively competitive toy industry. LeapFrog has made the strategic decision to expand beyond the toy industry and enter the educational technology and services industry.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry; Education Industry

October 1998 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Boston Beer Company: Light Beer Decision

By: Linda A. Cyr, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Michael J. Roberts

Boston Beer's current light-beer offering, Boston Lightship, has not been successful, and a student team is charged with investigating the problem and recommending a strategy. Highlights issues around branding, target customer selection, and cannibalization, and... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Brands and Branding; Customers; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry; Boston

17 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 17

volatility, whereas shadow banks tend to hold relatively liquid assets. Publisher's link: http://www.people.hbs.edu/shanson/banks_20150305_FINAL.pdf March 2015 Production and Operations Management Managing... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Mapping Your Board’s Effectiveness

performance management system into corporate governance processes. The Balanced Scorecard strategy map portrays, on a single page, a company's strategy. It includes the financial outcomes expected; performance with targeted customers and... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan

24 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

We Need a Miracle. New Nuclear Might Provide it.

for hundreds of years, according to the latest scientific understanding. The US, EU, and Japan are watching while the smoke swirls. They are rich enough to keep their CO2 emissions relatively flat, but China's CO2 emissions are soaring to drive economic View Details

Keywords: by Joseph Lassiter; Energy; Utilities

16 Aug 2024
In Practice

Election 2024: What's at Stake for Business and the Workplace?

partisanship will continue to cloud economic judgment around the 2024 election. For managers and finance professionals, these insights highlight two important aspects of operating a business today: In a polarized political environment,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

03 Dec 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Against the Grain

Solutions Because of his background in political economy, Ramanna sees corruption as a problem of the commons. Beyond Jim's experience in "Against the Grain," Ramanna points to Russia as an example of a business environment where View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Food & Beverage

February 2025
Supplement

Intenseye: Powering Workplace Health and Safety with AI (B)

By: Michael W. Toffel, Shane Greenstein and Sadika El Hariri

Intenseye used its $25 million series A funds to refine and expand its digital safety platform while refining its target markets and ideal customer profile. As the company implemented new approaches to create value for its clients, such as developing an AI-powered... View Details

September 2023 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Going Mobile-First? The Digital Transformation of Davivienda Bank in Colombia

By: Jorge Tamayo and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2017, this case describes the digital transformation strategy of Davivienda—a leading player in Colombia’s commercial banking and one of the companies belonging to Grupo Bolívar, a major Colombian financial conglomerate. The case also describes the pioneer role... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Information Technology; Digital Strategy; Digital Transformation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Banking Industry; Latin America; Central America; South America; Colombia

12 Aug 2008
Op-Ed

Google-Yahoo Ad Deal is Bad for Online Advertising

bids. The API is an automated method for efficient computer-to-computer communications—letting an advertiser use software to manage its account automatically. The AdWords API provides a function whereby an advertiser can retrieve its ads,... View Details

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman; Advertising; Publishing

February 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

TikTok in 2020: Super App or Supernova?

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Dan Maher and Dan O'Brien

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was launched in 2012 around a simple idea – helping users entertain themselves on their smartphones while on the Beijing Subway. In less than a decade, it had become one of the world’s most valuable private companies, with investors... View Details

01 Nov 2016
First Look

First Look - November 1, 2016

Tencent to Scandinavian digital trailblazer Schibsted, from The New York Times to The Economist, and from talent management to the future of education. Synthesizing what these stories have in common, and drawing on the latest research in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 1992 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Asea Brown Boveri: The ABACUS System

By: Robert L. Simons

Describes the computer-based information system (ABACUS) used to monitor and control business operations in a complex, global company. Describes the technical attributes of the database system, financial reporting requirements, target setting and profit calculations on... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Profit; Business Growth and Maturation; Analytics and Data Science; Design; Accounting Audits; Growth and Development; Globalized Firms and Management; Complexity; Technology Industry

January 2013
Case

Austal, Ltd. (A)

By: Willy C. Shih, Margaret Pierson and Dawn H. Lau

Austal, Ltd. was an Australian builder of high-speed passenger ferries. It had translated that expertise into a foothold in the defense market on the US Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program with an Alabama assembly facility. In January 2009 it had just completed... View Details

21 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

The Geography of Corporate Giving

Academy of Management Review, HBS professor Christopher Marquis and coauthors Gerald Davis and Mary Ann Glynn develop a framework for understanding an important aspect of this issue: how social and governmental forces in local communities... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

19 Jan 2022
In Practice

7 Trends to Watch in 2022

their experiences engaging with the health care system. But we are still learning what “good” looks like and we still have a long way to go in understanding which tools work, how well, and for whom. I believe that expansive growth in... View Details

Keywords: by HBS News

January 2023
Case

Natura: Weathering the Pandemic at Brazil's Cosmetic Giant

By: Brian Trelstad, Pedro Levindo and Carla Larangeira

Brazil's Natura, a multi-brand cosmetics group, has taken several measures to safeguard the livelihoods of its thousands of employees and millions of sales representatives during the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. The company has also made strides in its efforts... View Details

21 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 21

stronger. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-051.pdf Quality Management and Job Quality: How the ISO 9001 Standard for Quality Management Systems Affects Employees and Employers (revised)... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2024
Case

Mission Veterinary Partners

By: Boris Groysberg, Zeeshan Ali and Annelena Lobb

After five successful years, Mission Veterinary Partners (MVP) had to decide on the best way to scale. MVP owned 300 animal hospitals and competed with other consolidators to buy more small veterinary practices. MVP had to distinguish itself as the buyer of choice but... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Retention; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy