Publications

21 Mar 2022
News

AI Chip Startups Pull In Funding as They Navigate Supply Constraints

24 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Distance Still Matters in Business, Despite the Internet

Lalocracio Location has always been a vital resource in business. “Location, location, location,” as they say in real estate. But then along came the internet View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Transportation; Telecommunications; Shipping; Publishing; Technology

01 Oct 1998
News

A Career to Smile About

Colgate's North American business and in 1997 was promoted to her current post as executive vice president for CP's North American and European business. She played a big role... View Details

Keywords: Dun Gifford, Jr.

October 2013 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Myomo: Getting Sales in Motion

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Shikhar Ghosh and Matthew Preble

In late 2012, the management team of Myomo, a startup which had designed a unique myoelectric arm brace for patients with dysfunctional arms, was deciding which of the three sales models the company had tested to pursue as its sales strategy going forward. Each model... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Care and Treatment; Business Startups; Sales; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry

01 Mar 2014
News

Everything Old Is a New Opportunity

Stephen Johnston (photo by Gary Laufman) For a mobile-focused business entrepreneur, Stephen Johnston (MBA 2002) is more than a bit of a... View Details

Keywords: Robert S. Benchley; Health, Social Assistance; Personal Services

November 2008 (Revised March 2011)
Case

a-connect: In Search of Talent Partners (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Dilyana Karadzhova

a-connect was started in 2002 by three former McKinsey partners who wanted to develop an alternative business model consulting firm, which they have positioned as a high-end staffing company. The company has been very successful, growing to revenues of CHF 30 million... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Initial Public Offering; Selection and Staffing; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketplace Matching; Expansion; Consulting Industry

June 2014 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Focus Financial Partners and the U.S. RIA Industry in 2014

By: Luis Viceira and Emily A. Chien

In the Spring of 2014, Rudy Adolf, CEO and founder of Focus Financial, and the two other co-founders of the firm are considering alternative growth strategies to solidify Focus Financial's position as a leading aggregator of independent wealth management firms in the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Financial Services Industry

December 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

In 2003, Monsanto's patented "Roundup Ready" technology was used illegally on 70-80% of the soybean area in southern Brazil. Under pressure from U.S. soybean growers, who were paying to license the technology, the firm implemented an innovative delivery-based... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Patents; Lawfulness; Emerging Markets; Product Development; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Brazil

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

01 Jun 2012
News

Made in the USA

mechanical engineering courses at Northeastern University, and two years as a second lieutenant in the Army (“doing a major’s job”)—proved to be ideal credentials for Knott’s... View Details

Keywords: Blagg, Deborah; cheese; lobster fishing; Fishing, Hunting and Trapping; Agriculture; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management; Food Manufacturing; Manufacturing

29 May 2001
Research & Ideas

Race Does Matter in Mentoring

responsibility for a functional department within a business unit—for example, the director of marketing or a... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Thomas

January 2020 (Revised March 2020)
Case

LOLA: Do You Know What's in Your Tampon?

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Aldo Sesia

LOLA is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business launched in 2015. What started as a company to provide women with organic and transparent material-labeled tampons via a subscription model, had, by 2019 evolved to include additional menstrual and sexual wellness products.... View Details

Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Channels; Disruption; Business Model; Brands and Branding; Internet and the Web; Strategy; Retail Industry; United States; Canada

18 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

What Is an "Essential" Purchase for a Low-Income Family?

Do lower-income families need and deserve access to fewer things than everyone else? As a society, we seem to think so, revealing a "grim double standard," finds a... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

Web

Documenting the Wartime Effort | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

approximately 254,000 in 1940 to a wartime high of 340,000 in 1943. 26 Businesses around the country began to spend more on PR. For U.S. Steel,... View Details

October 2001 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Zipcar

By: Myra M. Hart and Wendy Carter

Provides a detailed description of the processes and tasks associated with creating a new venture in an emerging industry (subscription car-sharing for urban dwellers). Chronicles the entrepreneur's concept development, industry analysis, market research, identity... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Leadership Development; Venture Capital; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Plan; Budgets and Budgeting; Management Teams; Partners and Partnerships; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Auto Industry; Service Industry