Publications

Dennis “DJ” DiDonna has dedicated his career to commercializing social science research to create organizations which positively impact the world.

He is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School where he teaches the... View Details

February 1990 (Revised March 1990)
Case

Quantum Semiconductor, Inc.

By: Janice H. Hammond and Roy D. Shapiro

Quantum is faced with a difficult ethical dilemma--industry studies provide evidence that chemicals used in semiconductor manufacturing may cause women working in fabrication cleanrooms to suffer a higher likelihood of spontaneous abortions. The possibility of other... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Prejudice and Bias; Law; Equality and Inequality; Cost; Production; Ethics; Health; Gender; Semiconductor Industry

February 2008 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Sealed Air China

By: Regina Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Tracy Yuen Manty

With a 10-year history of doing business in China, Sealed Air was now betting on the country to help propel its growth as a global company. The company identified China as one of the initial investments in the company's Global Manufacturing Strategy that aimed to... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Multinational Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Production; Manufacturing Industry; Shanghai

January 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

ZappRx

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

In October 2015, ZappRx founder Zoe Barry is deciding between two business models for her health technology start-up. Her product, a software application that aims to expedite the prescription fulfillment process for patients with rare diseases, has attracted interest... View Details

Keywords: Speciality Drugs; Hub Services; Pivot; Speciality Prescriptions; Health Care and Treatment; Customization and Personalization; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Pharmaceutical Industry; Massachusetts

October 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Boeing 737 Industrial Footprint: The Wichita Decision

By: Willy Shih and Margaret Pierson

The case examines the circumstances leading up to the Boeing Company's decision to spin-off its Wichita Division. This case is intended to be taught with two other notes: "On the Use of Capital Efficiency Metrics," HBS No. 612-034, "Modularity in Design and... View Details

Keywords: Teaching; Capital; Standards; Design; Production; Air Transportation Industry

July–August 2016
Article

Minimum Advertised Pricing: Patterns of Violation in Competitive Retail Markets

By: Ayelet Israeli, Eric Anderson and Anne Coughlan

Manufacturers in many industries frequently use vertical price policies, such as minimum advertised price (MAP), to influence prices set by downstream retailers. Although manufacturers expect retail partners to comply with MAP policies, violations of MAP are common in... View Details

Keywords: Pricing Policies; Pricing; Channel Management; Legal Aspects Of Business; Price; Governance Compliance; Marketing Channels; Retail Industry

April 1988 (Revised November 1990)
Supplement

Precista Tools AG (B)

The family holds a meeting to talk about the future of the business. Designed to be used with Precista Tools AG (A) and (C) in a one class period. View Details

Keywords: Family Business

Article

Why Leadership Training Fails—and What to Do about It

By: Michael Beer, Magnus Finnström and Derek Schrader

U.S. corporations spend enormous amounts of money—some $456 billion globally in 2015 alone—on employee training and education, but they aren't getting a good return on their investment. People soon revert to old ways of doing things, and company performance doesn't... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership Development; Organizational Design; Employees; Business Processes; United States

Register to Read

30 Jan 2018
Blog Post

HBS Global Opportunity Fellowship: Making a Difference in Africa

manufacturing client with a senior corporate relationship manager. We drove through a dusty, potholed two-lane road and it took us the better part of the afternoon to make the visit in the hot sun, passing... View Details

April 1995
Supplement

Montague Corporation (B)

By: Norman A. Berg

Presents David Montague's evaluation of the progress so far and the basic problems that he believes prevent him from achieving higher sales. Designed as a class handout after discussion of the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Measurement and Metrics; Problems and Challenges; Bicycle Industry

March 1998 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Haier Group, The (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Robert J. Crawford

Zhang Ruimin, founder and CEO of China's Haier Group, must decide whether to acquire Red Star Electric Appliance Co., an insolvent local manufacturer of washing machines. Although Haier, slated to become one of China's first global brand names, has successfully turned... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business or Company Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Success; Consumer Products Industry; China

04 Mar 2013
Working Paper Summaries

The Dirty Laundry of Employee Award Programs: Evidence from the Field

Keywords: by Timothy Gubler, Ian Larkin & Lamar Pierce; Service

March 2013
Case

Singapore Metals Limited

By: John T. Gourville

Singapore Metals Limited (SML) has declining sales but has developed a new product (curled metal pile driver pads) that, in field tests, delivers customer benefits that are many times SML's manufacturing costs. Jonathan Lee and Alex Tan of SML's Engineered Products... View Details

Keywords: Metals and Minerals; Marketing Strategy; Price; Business Strategy; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Singapore

November 2001 (Revised October 2004)
Case

IBM Network Technology (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman and Robert C Wood

An unconventional manager within IBM leads the creation of a business unit with multibillion-dollar potential, winning over customers and nudging the organization to make the changes needed to achieve dramatic growth. This case provides an example of how organizational... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Change Management; Management Practices and Processes; Business Plan; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Success; Technology Industry

25 Apr 2013
News

The business strategy in plausible deniability

24 Mar 2021
News

Intel Puts Marker Down to Grab Chip Leadership Again: Willy Shih

September 1995 (Revised December 1997)
Case

Philip Morris: Marlboro Friday (A)

By: Alvin J. Silk and Bruce Isaacson

On April 2, 1993 Philip Morris USA launched an elaborate integrated program of consumer and retail promotions of unspecified duration that effectively slashed the retail price of its flagship brand, Marlboro, by 20% in the U.S. market. This program represented a major... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Price; Marketing Strategy; Market Participation; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; United States

November 2000 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Activity-Based Management at W.S. Industries (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Sanjay Pothen

W.S. Industries undertakes the design and implementation of an activity based costing (ABC) system, and the ABC information empowers workers to make process improvement decisions. Workers' incentive pay is tied to cost savings from process improvements. View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Evaluation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Knowledge Management; Energy Industry; India