Publications

March 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Teaching Note

Ransomware Attack at Springhill Medical Center

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan (Jason) Ni

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 123-065. In July, 2019, Springhill Medical Center (“SMC”) in Mobile, Alabama fell prey to a malicious ransomware attack that crippled the hospital’s internal network systems and public-facing web page. While the hospital rushed to... View Details

19 Jan 2022
In Practice

7 Trends to Watch in 2022

even more importantly, NFTs have already proven that they can bootstrap communities of consumers and capture the public’s imagination in a way that cryptocurrency mostly hasn’t. The demand for NFTs is already driving innovation to make... View Details

Keywords: by HBS News

November 1997
Case

National Pork Producers Council

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay

Al Tank, CEO of the National Pork Products Council, is facing an environmental and structural crisis in the U.S. pork industry. Can he resolve the environmental and image problems of his industry in time? Can he receive the support of both his growers and the... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Situation or Environment; Crisis Management; Environmental Sustainability; Business and Community Relations; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Industry Structures; Reputation; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

08 Mar 2010
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Successful Negotiation

role of communication in multiparty bargaining. Can You Win Against A Non-negotiable Partner? HBS Cases: Negotiating with Wal-Mart What happens when you encounter a company with a great deal of power, like Wal-Mart, that is also the... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

September 2009
Module Note

Leading Teams Note

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer

This note, which describes the architecture and processes that characterize effective teams, begins by detailing the steps involved in designing a team, from diagnosing the complexity, interdependence, and objectives of the task to harnessing the key resources teams... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Experience and Expertise; Decision Choices and Conditions; Knowledge Sharing; Leadership; Business Processes; Groups and Teams

October 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Augusta National Golf Club Controversy, The (A)

By: Herman B. Leonard, Marc J. Epstein and Melissa Tritter

The prestigious Augusta National Golf Club's secret membership is widely believed to exclude women. When feminist advocate Martha Burk receives a mysterious list of "members," she must decide how best to use this information in her efforts to crack the glass ceiling.... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Attitudes; Decision Making; Problems and Challenges; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Gender; Non-Governmental Organizations; Communication Strategy; Sports Industry

November 1997 (Revised December 1999)
Case

Cinemex

By: James L. Heskett

The founders of Cinemex, the largest capitalized venture start-up in Mexican history, are debating several issues concerning the operations of their new chain of motion picture theatres in Mexico City. The first concerns whether some seats should be left unsold to... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Service Operations; Debates; Venture Capital; Customer Satisfaction; Advertising; Investment; Theater Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Mexico City

2003
Book

Business History Around the World

By: Franco Amatori and Geoffrey Jones

This book offers the first in-depth international survey of current research and debates in business history. It provides wide-ranging surveys of the literature in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Japan and the Chinese-speaking world, and examines... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Debates; Business History; Body of Literature; Surveys; Business and Government Relations; Research; China; Japan; Europe; Latin America; United States

April 2020
Case

Ment.io: Knowledge Analytics for Team Decision Making

By: Yael Grushka-Cockayne, Jeffrey T. Polzer, Susie L. Ma and Shlomi Pasternak

Ment.io was a software platform that used proprietary data analytics technology to help organizations make informed and transparent decisions based on team input. Ment was born out of founder Joab Rosenberg’s frustration that, while organizations collected ever... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Information Technology; Knowledge; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Management; Operations; Information Management; Product; Product Development; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Communications Industry; Communications Industry; Communications Industry; Communications Industry; Middle East; Israel

06 Jun 2009
Conference Presentation

Political and civil turmoil, planning, and new-venture survival in Colombia

By: Shon R. Hiatt and Wesley Sine

Keywords: Government and Politics; Civil Society or Community; Business Ventures; Planning; Colombia

August 2001 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Votia Empowerment AB (A)

The founder of a Swedish company specializing in e-democracy examines the economics of her business and the value proposition it delivers to customers, including municipalities, unions, and companies. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Communication; Entrepreneurship; Government and Politics; Sweden

15 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 15, 2008

Incompatible Assumptions: Barriers to Producing Multidisciplinary Knowledge in Communities of Scholarship Authors:Corinne Bendersky and Kathleen L. McGinn Abstract Co-locating knowledge workers from different disciplines may be a... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2008 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Maggie Lena Walker and the Independent Order of St. Luke

By: Anthony Mayo and Shandi Onise Smith

As America struggled to regain its balance in the aftermath of the American Civil War, Maggie Lena Walker did her best to actively effect change by finding solutions to the social and economic problems facing blacks and especially black women. Taking charge of the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Ethnicity; Race; Social Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Welfare; Business and Community Relations; Gender; Banks and Banking

23 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Minding the Muse: The Impact of Downsizing on Corporate Creativity

challenging assignments, adequate resources, supportive work groups, management that places a premium on creativity, and project leaders who understand the creative process and have strong communications skills. At the other end of the... View Details

Keywords: by Peter K. Jacobs

10 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: January 10

cross-sectional differences in communication patterns: relative to people in the line organization, staff members are more central in the corporate e-mail network and possess broader networks. However, much of this difference is... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2010
Article

Change for Change's Sake

By: Freek Vermeulen, Phanish Puranam and Ranjay Gulati

No one disputes that firms have to make organizational changes when the business environment demands them. But the idea that a firm might want change for its own sake often provokes skepticism. Why inflict all that pain if you don't have to? That is a dangerous... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Innovation and Invention; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Creativity; Power and Influence; Adaptation

October 2020 (Revised April 2022)
Case

When Institutions Fail: HIV/AIDS in the 1980s

By: Tom Nicholas and Christian Godwin

During the early 1980s, young gay men in urban centers such as San Francisco and New York City began contracting a mysterious illness that would come to be known as HIV/AIDS. A diagnosis meant almost certain death, with a less than 1% survival rate. Conflicting... View Details