Publications

April 1995
Case

Montague Corporation (A)

By: Norman A. Berg and James Weber

The Montague Corp. is a small company started in 1987 and owned by David Montague, age 31, and his father. The company designs, manufactures in Taiwan, and sells through distributors worldwide a high-quality "bicycle that folds." The company offices are located in... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Financial Strategy; Financial Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Globalized Firms and Management; Family Business; Bicycle Industry; Taiwan; Cambridge

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February 1990 (Revised July 1992)
Case

Whistler Corp. (A)

By: Gary P. Pisano

Describes the circumstances surrounding Whistler Corp.'s decision whether or not to continue manufacturing operations in the United States. The company had been experiencing severe problems in its domestic manufacturing operations and was thus unable to compete with... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Production; Problems and Challenges; Competitive Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

April 2005 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Exel PLC--Supply Chain Management at Haus Mart

By: Zeynep Ton and Steven C. Wheelwright

Exel plc is a global third-party logistics provider, serving clients such as Home Depot, Dell, Unilever, and Marks & Spencer. Describes the range of activities Exel performs for its clients and the capabilities the company has developed. Exel traditionally focused on... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Supply Chain Management; Logistics

10 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

The Legacy of Boaty McBoatface: Beware of Customers Who Vote

social media, responses are immediate.” Also, votes allow companies to perform consumer research cheaply, generating new ideas for products or flavors, or testing consumer preference for options it might be considering. “Firms can essentially View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Advertising

08 Jan 2014
What Do You Think?

Do Productivity Increases Contribute to Social Inequality?

agreed: "The main reason for the rising inequality is that Free Trade has encouraged/required manufacturing to be offshored and outsourced If we replaced the Free Trade policies with a Balanced Trade policy, using (import licences)... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

28 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: The Good Struggle: Responsible Leadership in an Unforgiving World

and revisable. Next Right Steps Leaders rely on evolving commitments for three practical reasons. First, they can. Knowledge-based organizations are more flexible than traditional manufacturing firms with dedicated factories, and firms that sell products today can rely... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph L. Badaracco

05 Mar 2001
What Do You Think?

Fine Coupling: Can Human Resource Management Learn from Supply Chain Management?

Productivity will improve as the alternation of job assignments eliminates the 'indispensable' worker." Connie Luthy says, "I have practiced 'Just-In-Time' hiring ... in the pharmaceutical industry.... I have advised my client companies to View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

31 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 31, 2009

and Sugata Roychowdhury Abstract We examine the accrual choices of outsourcing firms with links to U.S. congressional candidates during the 2004 elections, when corporate outsourcing was a major campaign... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Oct 2012
First Look

First Look: October 23

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1571921 Diasporas and Outsourcing: Evidence from oDesk and India Authors:Ejaz Ghani, William R. Kerr, and Christopher Stanton Abstract This study examines the role of the Indian diaspora in the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 18, 2017
Editorial

Why We Must Embrace, Not Fear, the Technology That Is Revolutionising Education and Jobs

By: Peter Tufano

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Technology Adoption; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Change

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March 10, 2025
Article

How Gen AI Could Change the Value of Expertise

By: Joseph Fuller, Matt Sigelman and Michael Fenlon

In the near future, gen AI is likely to affect some 50 million jobs, automating away elements of some jobs and augmenting workers’ abilities in others. The extent of those changes will compel companies to reshape their organizational structures and rethink their talent... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Organizational Structure; Talent and Talent Management; Personal Development and Career

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April 2002 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Cisco Systems and its Community Fellowship Program (A)

By: Diana Barrett and Sheila McCarthy

Focuses on the introduction, implementation, and initial evaluation of Cisco Systems Community Fellowship Program. This program provided Cisco employees affected by the layoff the option of working with a nonprofit organization for one year. Instead of a severance... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Compensation and Benefits; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Web Services Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

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09 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

These Employers Pay Higher Salaries than Necessary

buyer. Now translate the same situation from a brick-and-mortar bazaar to an online peer-to-peer marketplace such as Upwork, which allows businesses to outsource work to freelancers, frequently overseas. “Workers on the market have lots... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Employment; Technology; Computer

21 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: December 21

http://www.isc.hbs.edu/pdf/Vietnam_Competitiveness_Report_2010_Eng.pdf Working PapersInside the Learning Curve: Customer-, Domain-, and Technology-Specific Learning in Outsourced Radiological Services Authors:Jonathan R. Clark, Robert... View Details

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

28 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Responsible Leadership in an Unforgiving World

brands, forever on the lookout for new opportunities; home life has become an act of managing supply chains, outsourcing housecleaning, childcare, and even grocery shopping to others; and churches market themselves like fast food... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

11 May 2020
Op-Ed

Immigration Policies Threaten American Competitiveness

being recruited by Moderna and Inovio (or J&J and GlaxoSmithKline) as it would have to a software code tester working at an outsourcing company. “While we may temporarily close borders as we fight COVID-19, business must articulate... View Details

Keywords: by William R. Kerr

April 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Offshoring at Global Information Systems, Inc.

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

This case explores the topic of offshoring high-tech jobs several perspectives. The issues presented include determining the stock price consequences of offshoring, examining the economic consequences of the offshore job to both the transferring and receiving... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Stocks; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Personal Development and Career; Competition