Publications

July 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Acelerex

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In early 2019, Randell Johnson, Founder and Chief Executive of Acelerex, was reflecting on the company’s first year of rapid growth and the challenges of scaling the business that lay ahead. Acelerex was riding the waves of change taking place in electrical power grids... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Energy Sources; Growth Management; Expansion; Global Strategy; Cash Flow; Energy Industry; Web Services Industry; Consulting Industry

March 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

State Street Corporation

By: William E. Fruhan

To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color. State Street Corp. reports a 13% gain in EPS in 2008 amidst a global financial crisis. The stock price declines 59% on the day of the earnings report. This one day decline was exceeded in the... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Crisis; Financial Liquidity; Financial Markets; Crisis Management; Financial Services Industry

Web

Planned Giving - Alumni

help in crafting language that reflects your wishes and makes a lasting difference at HBS. Who should an executor or an attorney representing an estate in probate contact? Please contact the Trust Administration team within Harvard’s Alumni and Development View Details

01 Sep 2023
News

Elevator Pitch: Standard of Care

Illustration by Drue Wagner Mike H. M. Teodorescu (DBA 2018) CEO, SurgiBox Dan Brown (DBA 2019) CFO Concept: Founded in the wake of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, SurgiBox’s lead product is a portable operating room that fits into a backpack and runs on a rechargeable... View Details

Keywords: entrepreneurship; healthcare; surgery; Ukraine; Ambulatory Health Care Services; Health, Social Assistance

Web

Team - Case Method Project

working in historical interpretation and education with the National Park Service to Case Method Institute. She received her B.A. in History and B.A. in International Relations from University of California, Davis. While completing her... View Details

February 2025
Article

Improving Customer Compatibility with Tradeoff Transparency

By: Ryan W. Buell and MoonSoo Choi

Through a large-scale field experiment with 393,036 customers considering opening a credit card account with a nationwide retail bank, we investigate how providing transparency into an offering’s tradeoffs affects subsequent rates of customer acquisition and long-run... View Details

Keywords: Transparency; Customer Selection; Customer Compatibility; Retention; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Banking Industry; Australia

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16 Jun 2021
HBS Case

Cruising in Crisis: How Carnival Is Riding Out the COVID-19 Storm

reported infections. By mid-March, Carnival, the largest cruise line in the world, suspended operations across the globe. Yet it took weeks to get its 260,000 guests and 80,000 employees who were floating at sea back to their homes in more than 130 countries. The... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Travel

09 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

It’s Time to Reset Decision-Making in Your Organization

says. Porter provides the example of a company focused on high-end features and service that is tempted during a recession to cut back in response to a customer’s price concerns. This is the wrong move, he says. By cutting back on what... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

22 Sep 2023
News

Skydeck Voices: The Most Important Person I Met at HBS

Photo provided by Harvard University Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Who was the most important person you met at HBS? And why? This is Dan Morrell, host of Skydeck, and when my colleagues set up on Spangler Lawn during Spring Reunions... View Details

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

productive. Sincere, informed acknowledgement of these efforts can go a long way. Recognize outstanding accomplishments during meetings or some other way. For example, gifts and services are appreciated by people more than ever before.... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

07 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

Supervisor of Sandwiches? More Companies Inflate Titles to Avoid Extra Pay

economic spectrum are creating faux management jobs, pointing to wage cases filed by workers at tech and financial services giants. The team found a five-fold increase in manager titles like “directors of first impressions” (aka... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

01 Dec 2023
News

Drop Everything, Read This

The Bookshelf Rick Rubin is one of the greatest music producers of all time. His book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, is about the creative process and is based on his experiences with era-defining musicians. He encourages the reader to be open to clues and... View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

Web

Indoor Spaces | About

Room The Donaldson Room, located within the Emeriti Faculty Center of Cumnock Hall, was named to honor the service of Professor Gordon Donaldson. Frist Faculty Commons The Frist Faculty Commons, located in Baker Library | Bloomberg... View Details

January–February 2014
Article

Building a Game-Changing Talent Strategy

By: Douglas A. Ready, Linda A. Hill and Robert J. Thomas

When most of the world's financial services giants were stumbling and retrenching in the aftermath of the 2008 recession, the asset management firm BlackRock was busy charting a course for growth. Its revenues, profits, and stock price all performed consistently... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Success; Business Strategy; Financial Crisis; Financial Services Industry

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Web

Data - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

performance of more than 150 nations across 46 clusters of goods and services export activity. This powerful approach reveals emerging patterns and strengths in a nation's competitive trade position. The analysis can be tailored to focus... View Details

27 Jul 2012
News

How to Be Effective in the Global Economy and the Boardroom: CFOs Offer Lessons Learned on the Journey

Benson P. Shapiro

Benson P. Shapiro is a well-known authority on marketing strategy and sales management with particular interests in pricing, product line planning, and marketing organization. He is also the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing Emeritus at the Harvard Business... View Details

29 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Are You Paying a Tip--or a Bribe?

about and weighs the past and future. In some places, tips are provided not so much to reward good service but to encourage good service in the future—a perception that brings the tip closer to the purpose... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

December 1980 (Revised February 1998)
Case

McDonald's Corp. (Condensed)

By: W. Earl Sasser and David C. Rikert

Describes the operating system of McDonald's, the world's most successful fast food chain. The case does not have a decision focus; it is designed for use with Burger King Corp. Students are asked to compare the operating systems of these two fast food hamburger... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Competition; Food and Beverage Industry