Publications

01 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

Crowdfunding a Poor Investment?

donations to organizations such as World Wildlife Fund and Save the Children fit in. Those contributing money are driven first and foremost by an affinity with the idea, rather than by any individual reward... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

28 Oct 2001
What Do You Think?

What Can We Expect in the Other War?

things that talented managers seek: exciting work, personal development, a balanced lifestyle, a great company, and recognition and rewards for individual contributions. It is a war led by top management,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Christina M. Wallace

A self-described “human Venn diagram” Christina Wallace has crafted a career at the intersection of business, technology, and the arts. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: arts; venture capital industry; consumer products; service industry; internet

07 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

XTV: Xerox’s Attempted Recovery From “Fumbling the Future”

businesses. In reorganizing to capitalize on its technology, Xerox created a new entity in 1989, headed by Robert Adams, that effectively established a third phase for managing spin-offs. Adams had created a... View Details

Keywords: by Henry Chesbrough

January 2014 (Revised May 2014)
Case

Tech Mahindra and the Acquisition of Satyam Computers (A)

By: Srikant M. Datar, Anjali Raina and Namrata Arora

Set in 2008, the case details Tech Mahindra, an information technology (IT) company within the Mahindra Group, an Indian multi-industry company with a diverse stable of businesses including automotives, farm equipment, and financial services, and its decision to... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Corporate Governance; Computer Industry; India

George Serafeim is the Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He co-leads a Lab, within Harvard's Digital, Data, Design Institute, and serves on the faculty steering commitee of Harvard University's Salata Institute. He... View Details

Keywords: asset management; asset management; asset management; asset management; asset management; asset management; asset management

06 May 2020
News

How microeconomics can help devise evidence-based policy responses to COVID-19

03 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

Everyone Knows Innovation is Essential to Business Success—Except Board Directors

Spencer Stuart, directed by Julie Hembrock Daum; and independent researcher and management consultant Deborah Bell. The team worked for over a year before that to identify board members from more than 60... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

14 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Blockbuster! Why Star Power Works

Disney Company expects to lose up to $190 million on its summer fiasco The Lone Ranger, another star vehicle featuring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. Welcome to the risky strategy of "blockbusters," practiced increasingly by... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Entertainment & Recreation

January 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Finova Group, Inc. (A), The

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Perry Fagan

Finova Group, a $14 billion commercial finance company, filed for Chapter 11 in early March 2001, in what was one of the largest U.S. bankruptcy filings of all time and the largest corporate bond default since the Great Depression. While in Chapter 11, Finova became... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Startups; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Debt Securities; Price; Crisis Management; Bids and Bidding; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; United States

December 2018 (Revised June 2021)
Supplement

Bulb 2017: Launch

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

On August 21, 2015, Amit Gudka and Hayden Wood, co-founders of Bulb Ltd. (Bulb) launched a new business to supply energy to the United Kingdom’s 27 million residential homes with a promise of 100% renewable electricity at affordable prices. By the end of March 2017,... View Details

12 Dec 2018
News

Lesson Plan

adopted community, talking to everyone who came into Caravia Fresh Foods, the specialty grocery and deli owned by Ryan Cognetti—maker of that fateful chicken sandwich—and his family. Having served on multiple political campaigns, she... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photographed by Chris Sorensen

06 Feb 2006
What Do You Think?

Should CEOs of Public Companies Offer Earnings Guidance?

one of the three most important issues facing managers and directors in 2006. He commented that, "Activist shareholders, led by hedge funds which today have aggregate assets of more than one trillion... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Financial Services

16 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Historical Perspective: Levitt Shaped the Debate

international, and global markets are critical points to be considered by today's modern manager, Abdelal said. According to the Tedlow and Abdelal paper, "The real reason to read Levitt is not to find out what is true about global... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

March 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Arck Systems

By: Ian Larkin

The Arck Systems series of cases describes the dilemmas faced by a senior sales manager in determining a sales compensation plan at an enterprise software company. The existing compensation plan is aggressive and highly rewards "star" performers. The cases track a... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Performance Effectiveness; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Software; Information Technology Industry

2010
Working Paper

Conceptual Foundations of the Balanced Scorecard

By: Robert S. Kaplan

David Norton and I introduced the Balanced Scorecard in a 1992 Harvard Business Review article (Kaplan & Norton, 1992). The article was based on a multi-company research project to study performance measurement in companies whose intangible assets played a central role... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Performance Improvement; Strategy