Publications

SSRN

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01 Sep 2023
News

Global Outposts Expand HBS’s Intellectual Footprint

Since taking over as CEO of Tata Steel in 2013, T. V. Narendran had sought to transform India’s oldest steel manufacturing firm to ready it for a rapidly evolving business world. He instilled financial discipline, acquired new businesses, and launched digital... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Rural Taobao: Alibaba's Expansion into Rural E-Commerce

By: Tarun Khanna, Ryan Allen, Adam Frost and Wesley Koo

Alibaba's Rural Taobao initiative had been launched in 2014 as a public service initiative to increase e-commerce adoption in China’s remote rural areas. In the first two iterations of the initiative, dubbed “1.0” and “2.0,” Alibaba had partnered with local businesses... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Growth; Ecommerce; Corporate Social Responsibility; Business And Government; Emerging Market; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Emerging Markets; Rural Scope; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Decision Making; E-commerce; China

16 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

How the Coronavirus Is Already Rewriting the Future of Business

to the challenge. Think of it as a new strategic initiative facing huge execution challenges. These require senior management to get the best information they can about barriers to execution, and it requires trust and commitment. That... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

08 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 8

valuable information. Companies need to invest as much in learning from their start-ups as they do in making and overseeing deals. Publisher's link: http://hbr.org/2013/10/corporate-venturing/ar/1 August 2013 Harvard Business Review The Strategy That Will Fix View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 May 2023
News

India's New Money Managers

will happen when she puts her money in a product, she is capable of making an informed choice. If she doesn't understand a product, she will not put money in." And that's what LXME strives to do: inform... View Details

Keywords: Maureen Harmon

July 2009 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Pfizer: Letter from the Chairman (A)

By: Robert L. Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case explores maximizing shareholder value as a goal in executive decision making. Over a period of nine years, three different Pfizer CEOs make critical decisions intended to increase shareholder value. But the results are disappointing. To allow students to... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Annual Reports; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value Creation; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

June 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Sony

By: Stefan Thomke, Atsushi Osanai and Akiko Kanno

Sony used to be synonymous with "innovation" and "cool products." The case reveals how the company lost its edge and describes the leadership initiatives to restore its former glory. In 2012, Kazuo (Kaz) Hirai becomes CEO and successfully transforms Sony, including a... View Details

Keywords: Customer Experience; Product Differentiation; Transformation; Leadership Style; Technology Adoption; Leading Change; Electronics Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Video Game Industry; Japan

11 Apr 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 11

calculations—are powerful. Even though algorithms often outperform human judgment, people resist allowing a numerical formula to make decisions for them (Dawes, 1979). Nevertheless, people increasingly depend on algorithms to inform their... View Details

09 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Where Will You Be in 30 Years: Behind the Scenes of the 5 Big Life Decisions Documentary

increments, slowly evolving as technology changed. Alums who returned for reunion, or who could be visited in person or via Zoom, would sit down to reflect on their past five years, each interview building a life story. Key Themes Over 30... View Details

November 2023
Case

Copilot(s): Generative AI at Microsoft and GitHub

By: Frank Nagle, Shane Greenstein, Maria P. Roche, Nataliya Langburd Wright and Sarah Mehta

This case tells the story of Microsoft’s 2018 acquisition of GitHub and the subsequent launch of GitHub Copilot, a tool that uses generative artificial intelligence to suggest snippets of code to software developers in real time. Set in late 2021, when Copilot was... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Product Launch; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States; California

March 2020 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Michelin: Building a Digital Service Platform

By: Sunil Gupta and Christian Godwin

Michelin, a tire company with over a century of experience, attempts to develop a digital service platform for its fleet and dealer customers. The case focuses on the challenges of bringing a large, well-established company into the digital age. Concerned about the... View Details

Keywords: Change; Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Making; Leading Change; Growth and Development; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Auto Industry; Travel Industry; Transportation Industry; United States; France

2019
Article

Can Big Data Improve Firm Decision Quality? The Role of Data Quality and Data Diagnosticity

By: Maryam Ghasemaghaei and Goran Calic

Anecdotal evidence suggests that, despite the large variety of data, the huge volume of generated data, and the fast velocity of obtaining data (i.e., big data), quality of big data is far from perfect. Therefore, many firms defer collecting and integrating big data as... View Details

Keywords: Big Data; Analytics and Data Science; Decisions; Quality

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Web

Your Social Entrepreneurship checklist | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

School providing legal assistance to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Cyberlaw Clinic: A Harvard Law clinic program offering pro-bono legal services to individuals, small start- ups, non-profit groups and government entities regarding cutting-edge issues of the... View Details

Web

Career Re-Entry & Flexible Work - Alumni

The more people who know, the greater your chances of finding fresh leads, insights, and ideas. Conduct informational interviews Return to your roots and remember to conduct interviews that may not (or probably will not) lead to a job,... View Details

March 2024 (Revised June 2025)
Teaching Note

CoPilot(s): Generative AI at Microsoft and GitHub

By: Frank Nagle and Maria P. Roche

This teaching note is the companion to case N9-624-010 CoPilot(s): Generative AI at Microsoft and GitHub, which takes place in late 2021. The case briefly describes the history of both GitHub and Microsoft with a particular focus on open source software (OSS)—software... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Product Launch; Open Source Distribution; Product Development; Commercialization; Competition; Resource Allocation; Technology Industry

March 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Facebook Fake News in the Post-Truth World

By: John R. Wells and Carole A. Winkler

In January 2017, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, was surrounded by controversy. The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States in November 2016 had triggered a national storm of protests, and many attributed Trump’s victory to... View Details