Publications

22 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 22, 2008

work, we look at the gold standard era (1880-1914) as a "natural experiment" to test whether adoption of a rule-based monetary framework such as the gold standard increased policy credibility. On the basis of the largest possible dataset covering almost sixty... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2023 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Recycle & Re-Match: The Future of Soccer Turfs

By: George Serafeim, Lena Duchene and Carlota Moniz

By August 2023, Re-Match, an artificial turf waste-to-value company, had operations in Denmark and the Netherlands and had recycled over 160,000 tons of waste and plastic fiber. With recent capital injection from the VC firm Verdane and a dual revenue business model,... View Details

December 2006 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Prosper Marketplace, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind

Describes a set of financial and strategic decisions confronting the founding management team of a new online financial services company. Prosper Marketplace is an internet-based market for individuals to borrow money from other individuals who wish to invest in such... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Financial Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Management Teams; Financial Services Industry

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26 Sep 2024
HBS Case

If a Car Can Drive Itself, Can It Make Life-or-Death Decisions?

John Stuart Mill, philosophers have wrestled with the age-old questions autonomous vehicles are now raising—in new and urgent ways—for businesses and their leaders. “And by genuine ethical decisions, I mean... View Details

Keywords: by Tom Quinn; Auto; Technology

August 1984 (Revised June 1986)
Case

Cray Research, Inc.

By: Francis Aguilar

Cray Research faces several management problems as a result of rapid growth and the need for continued growth. Issues to be discussed include 1) whether Cray should be a marketing or a technology company; 2) new and powerful competition; 3) products to offer as Cray... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Change Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Growth Management; Product Marketing

October 2009
Case

Digital Chocolate

By: Linda A. Hill and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Trip Hawkins founded Digital Chocolate in Silicon Valley in 2003 to develop outstanding games for mobile devices. By 2008, the company had expanded its operations into four countries, and Digital Chocolate was one of the top developers of soloplayer games for standard... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Innovation and Management; Leading Change; Product Development; Groups and Teams; Creativity; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry

May 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Supplement

Global Knowledge Management at Danone (C)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Ruth Dittrich and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The (C) case provides an update on the B-case decision and describes the introduction of Dan 2.0, an internal social virtual network for the purpose of knowledge sharing in a company that was only used to face-to-face networking. View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Knowledge Sharing; Information Infrastructure; Opportunities; Problems and Challenges; Networks; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Knowledge Management; Management Practices and Processes

September 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

GolfLogix: Measuring the Game of Golf

By: John T. Gourville and Professor Jerry N. Conover

GolfLogix has developed a small, GPS-based device to help golfers track their play. They must decide how best to distribute these devices: 1) sell them directly to golfers through traditional retail channels; 2) sell them to courses, which would then provide them to... View Details

Keywords: Distribution Channels; Product Launch; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention; Measurement and Metrics

2024
Working Paper

Catalysts for Climate Solutions: Corporate Responses to Venture Capital Financing of Climate-tech Startups

By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Simon Xu

We study whether incumbent firms increase their product focus on climate solutions in response to venture capital (VC) financing of climate-tech startups. Using large language models to measure a firm's focus on climate solutions, we find that incumbents in similar... View Details

Keywords: Climate Finance; Climate Change; Technological Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Environmental Sustainability; Business Startups

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January 2008
Article

Where Will We Find Tomorrow's Leaders?

By: Linda A. Hill

Unless we challenge long-held assumptions about how business leaders are supposed to act and where they're supposed to come from, many people who could become effective global leaders will remain invisible, warns Harvard Business School professor Hill. Instead of... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Globalization; Innovation Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Situation or Environment; Personal Characteristics

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November 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Creativity under the Gun at Litmus Corporation

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Yana Litovsky

Teaches students to diagnose the circumstances under which time pressure can facilitate or hinder creativity. A team's creative "genius", Miles Grady, who previously conceptualized a revolutionary material for an important new product, must now significantly change... View Details

Keywords: Situation or Environment; Creativity; Innovation and Management; Problems and Challenges

02 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Retail Reaches a Tipping Point—Which Stores Will Survive?

In this three-part series, we start with an overview of why retail experts Rajiv Lal, José B. Alvarez, and Dan Greenberg believe retail is at an inflection point. In Part Two, coming next week, they identify effective strategies for... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

January 2020
Case

The June Oven

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Christian Godwin

The June Oven was a smart oven which was capable of identifying food and cooking it accordingly. This type of smart oven represented the next step in the long history of oven and stove development. Due to the widespread use of traditional ovens, the market for the June... View Details

29 Feb 2016
HBS Case

Bigbelly's Big Bet on the Digital Trash Can

Q: When is a trash can not a trash can? A: When it’s a Wi-Fi hotspot, air-purity monitor, and advertising billboard—all in one. Bigbelly solar-powered trash cans have been street corner fixtures in Philadelphia, Boston, New York, View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy

November 2022
Supplement

Arcos Dorados’ Quest for the Digitalization of Last-Mile Delivery in Colombia (B)

By: Jorge Tamayo, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Mariana Cal

In 2020, Francisco Staton, president of Arcos Dorados’ Caribbean Division, and Héctor Orozco, Managing Director of Arcos Dorados Colombia, were looking into Arcos Dorados’ options to consolidate its food delivery service in Colombia. This time the matter at hand hinged... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Global Strategy; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Tactics; Logistics; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Performance Improvement; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Latin America; South America; Colombia