Publications

January 1991 (Revised March 1992)
Case

USA Today

By: Robert L. Simons

USA Today is a national newspaper struggling to achieve profitability. This case focuses on the use of management control systems to identify emerging opportunities and the formulation of new strategies. The interactive system used by top managers--the Friday... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Managerial Roles; Forecasting and Prediction; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Labor and Management Relations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Journalism and News Industry; United States

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May 2004 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Ultra: The Quest for Leadership (A)

By: Dwight B. Crane and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

Ultra is one of a small group of competing Brazilian petrochemical companies, each of which buys raw material and is a minority owner of Copene, a "cracking" company that provides ethylene and other materials. Because of an industry restructuring, an auction of shares... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Capital Budgeting; Investment; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Industry Structures; Cash Flow; Cost of Capital; Valuation; Bids and Bidding; Economy; Ownership Stake; Chemical Industry; Brazil

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03 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Lehman Brothers Plus Five: Have We Learned from Our Mistakes?

is yes. The safety of the financial system depends on financial institutions' risk exposure, their ability to absorb losses, their reliance on short-term wholesale funding, transparency, and understanding the interconnectedness between... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Banking; Financial Services; Construction; Real Estate

12 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 12, 2018

in how consumers learn to become expert in hedonic product categories. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54586 A Measure of Risk Appetite for the Macroeconomy By: Pflueger, Carolin E., Emil... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

17 May 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

You Probably Have a Bias for Making Bad Decisions. Here's Why.

a Motivated Bias? Experimental Evidence People are most at risk of making overly positive self-assessments when their assessment criteria are not clearly defined. What do you think of this research? Has bias crawled into your own decision... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

13 May 2013
Blog Post

Exploring in a Passion Safe Environment

landscape and ecosystem, and develop an understanding of various corporate structures / lifestyle including business “vocabulary”. They’ve taught me that it’s not okay to tell my classmates to, Drop and give me 50! when they use the wrong View Details

06 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 6, 2007

committee chair is attempting to understand the complexity of the portfolio and the risks that might be present. How should the risks of these sophisticated strategies be measured? And, in particular, what... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 2024
Article

Acceptance of Automated Vehicles Is Lower for Self than Others

By: Stuti Agarwal, Julian De Freitas, Anya Ragnhildstveit and Carey K. Morewedge

Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of death worldwide for people aged 2–59. Nearly all deaths are due to human error. Automated vehicles could reduce mortality risks, traffic congestion, and air pollution of human-driven vehicles. However, their adoption... View Details

Keywords: Transportation; Risk and Uncertainty; Technology Adoption; Prejudice and Bias

September 2011
Article

Global Capitalism at Risk: What Are You Doing About It?

By: Joseph L. Bower, Herman B. Leonard and Lynn S. Paine

Market capitalism, a system that has proven to be a remarkable engine of wealth creation, is poised for a breakdown. That sounds dire, and it is. Increasing income inequality, migration, weaknesses in the global financial system, environmental degradation, and... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Economic Systems; Globalization; Corporate Governance; Markets; Risk and Uncertainty

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May 2004 (Revised June 2004)
Case

SchmidtCo (A)

John Schmidt's project to convert the information system of his auto parts distribution business is in real trouble, putting his company at risk. He must decide what his decision problem is and set appropriate objectives as well as create a good set of alternatives... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Risk Management; Negotiation; Information Technology; Decision Making; Distribution Industry; Auto Industry

February 1996
Case

Active Coatings, Inc. (A): Challenges in Managing Product Development

Two entrepreneurs face a tough decision when confronted with disappointing test results from the medical application they have chosen to commercialize their innovative process technology. They must decide whether to redesign the technology's current lead-application or... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions; Product Development

January 1993 (Revised April 1995)
Case

Fog of Business, The

In the mid-1980s, the Holland Sweetener Co. (HSC) was facing the decision whether to enter the European and Canadian aspartame markets, following the ending of NutraSweet's patents there. A major question facing HSC was whether NutraSweet would respond to entry in an... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Patents; Competition; Market Entry and Exit; Food and Beverage Industry; Canada; United States; Europe

April 1991 (Revised June 1993)
Case

McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc. in 1990 (A)

Describes McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc.'s competitive position in 1990. McCaw is the largest cellular phone service company in the United States. It faces challenges of technological change and formulating strategy in an industry with a highly uncertain future.... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Communication Technology; Competition; Change Management; Investment; Telecommunications Industry; United States