Publications

November 2002 (Revised March 2006)
Case

ApproTEC Kenya: Technologies to Fight Poverty and Create Wealth

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

ApproTEC markets a range of technologies to improve the income of subsistence farmers and other small-scale entrepreneurs in East Africa. Having achieved considerable success in its first eight years, the two founders/entrepreneurs are seeking ways to scale the impact... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Development Economics; Poverty; Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth and Development Strategy; Kenya; Africa

January 2002
Case

Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS on World AIDS Day 2001, The

Explores the motivation for businesses to be concerned with the global AIDS epidemic. The formation of the council serves as an example of how business leaders are building a network of companies to develop an effective business response to AIDS-both through workforce... View Details

Keywords: Health; Social Issues; Global Strategy; Business and Community Relations; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Health Industry

04 Oct 2007
What Do You Think?

Has Managerial Capitalism Peaked?

that "firm performance and top management compensation are inversely related." And this may not have taken into account the large severance payments made to those being asked to leave their leadership jobs because of mediocre... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

May 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Camposol

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

With $289 million in 2015 revenues, Camposol is a Peruvian grower, exporter, and marketer of fruits and vegetables, with a focus on the high-growth, high-margin blueberry category. Camposol aspires to become Peru’s first multinational branded produce company. It... View Details

10 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 10

Marketing the Beauty Secrets of Japanese Geisha This case considers the creation and early growth of California-based TATCHA, a Japanese-themed luxury beauty brand. It explores how Vicky Tsai developed the concept, assembled financial and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Jun 1998
News

New Releases

retail sales will pass through a franchise chain; fully 96 percent of the American population has eaten at a McDonald's. Considering the astonishingly rapid growth of chains in recent years, it is not surprising that a comprehensive... View Details

01 Mar 2014
News

Building Capacity in the Social Sector

"It's nice to seed growth like this. All I've really done is to start the plant." — Ferdinand Thun (MBA 1960) Looking back over the two-decade history of the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative (SEI), former director Laura Moon says "alumni... View Details

Keywords: SEI; Educational Services

06 Jan 2003
What Do You Think?

China: The Next Big Market Opportunity or the Next Big Bubble?

terms." On the other hand, those without patience should beware as well. As Herb Smith, who lives and teaches in China, puts it, "... invaders will do well to be forewarned to bring their lunch and plan to stay awhile." The most-often mentioned barrier... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Jun 2009
News

Inside the Partnership

Two Great Men of Goldman Sachs In his book The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs (Penguin Press, 2008), Charles D. Ellis (MBA ’63) explores the growth of Wall Street’s most celebrated firm, from its humble origins in 1869 as a... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

22 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 22

require a grand organizational makeover or buy-in from the CEO. All it takes is collaboration between you and your team-working together and making small, doable changes. What started as an experiment with a six-person team at The Boston Consulting Group-one of the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 7

commissions hurt sales. If managers must retain a cap, they should set it as high as possible to avoid reducing reps' incentives. Although overly complicated compensation systems have their downsides, research has found that a system... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

Effects of Cultural Ethnicity, Firm Size, and Firm Age on Senior Executives' Trust in Their Overseas Business Partners: Evidence from China

By: Crystal Jiang, Roy Y.J. Chua, Masaaki Kotabe and Janet Murray

We investigate trust relationships between senior business executives and their overseas partners. Drawing on the similarity-attraction paradigm, social-categorization theory, and the distinction between cognition- and affect-based trust, we argue that executives trust... View Details

Keywords: Ethnicity; Culture; Management Teams; Cognition and Thinking; Networks; Globalized Firms and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Business Growth and Maturation; Size; Trust; China

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HBS - Financials | From the Chief Financial Officer

Consolidated Balance Sheet Supplemental Financial Information From the Chief Financial Officer After a year and a half of disruption caused by the global pandemic, fiscal 2022 was a year of renewal and growth for Harvard Business School.... View Details

2024
Case

EPCorp: Convincing the C-Suite

By: Jacob M. Cook

In EPCorp: Convincing the C-Suite, Shivani Bahl is attempting to sell EPCorp's CEO, Debbie Sullivan, on her ideas for not only a new website upgrade but also a more expansive vision on how data and Generative AI can be used to grow the company. Debbie is understandably... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; E-commerce; Growth and Development Strategy

May 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Zoom Video Communications vs. Microsoft Teams

By: Andy Wu

In June 2021, Zoom executives prepared for competition in the post-pandemic world. Zoom‘s breakthrough success in the previous year put the company in a position to set up many new opportunities going forward. At the same time, its success attracted competitors like... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Competition; Growth and Development Strategy

February 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Supplement

Ant Financial (C)

By: Feng Zhu, Ying Zhang, Krishna G. Palepu and Anthony K. Woo

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Global Strategy; Finance; Opportunities

April 2016 (Revised February 2018)
Teaching Note

Riot Games: Can Culture Survive Growth?

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Norris

This teaching note gives instructors a guide for a discussion of Riot Games, a fast growing videogames firm with a strong, player-centric culture. It also offers references to research on culture that will allow students to decide whether or not Riot Games’ culture... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Video Game Industry

November 1999 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Russell Reynolds Associates, 1999

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Rakesh Khurana

The president and CEO of Russell Reynolds examined the company's expansion strategy, especially in emerging markets. He evalulates how quickly the company should open new offices abroad and in which countries. View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; Expansion; Consulting Industry

January 2023 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Peloton Interactive (A)

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Lynn S. Paine and David Lane

Early in February 2022, the board of Peloton Interactive faced some knotty challenges. Immense pandemic demand for its stationary exercise bicycles and treadmills had prompted the firm to scale up production rapidly. But as gyms reopened and the virulence of the virus... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Growth Management; Investment Activism; Leadership; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Sports Industry; United States