Publications

15 Nov 2016
News

Uncovering The Secrets of Mittelstand Success

corporations—is a clear focus on longevity and the future. As an example, Shih cites ARRI, the world’s largest manufacturer of professional motion picture equipment, which weathered a difficult transition from film to digital technology... View Details

April 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Case

eAccess, Ltd.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Masako Egawa and Ariko Ota

The managers of eAccess, Japan's third largest provider of digital subscriber line (DSL) service, must decide whether to enter the mobile communications business. Japan's mobile services are among the world's most expensive, and incumbent carriers' profits are high. To... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Diversification; Policy; Business Startups; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Communications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Japan

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January 2021
Case

mPharma (A)

By: Rembrand Koning, John D. Macomber, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Wale Lawal

mPharma pioneered electronic prescriptions in Ghana, and aimed to increase drug affordability and accessibility in Africa, but the company remained unprofitable. Following investor concerns about mPharma's business, CEO Gregory Rockson considered alternative business... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Acquisition; Health; Business Model; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Ghana

November 1998 (Revised February 1999)
Case

Microsoft Office: Finding the Suite Spot

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Steven Sinofsky

Describes a key decision-making process within Microsoft's Office products division. At a time when the PC software business has a great deal of uncertainty, Microsoft's management has to make a key decision regarding the future of software suites. A strengthening of... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Applications and Software; Strategic Planning; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Product Development; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk and Uncertainty; Goals and Objectives; Digital Platforms; Innovation and Management; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

01 Dec 2006
News

Faculty Books

dynamics and strategies used by firms that recognize the transformative power of these “invisible engines.” Shorter discussions of Internet-based software platforms offer glimpses into a future in which the way we buy, pay, watch, listen,... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

August 2011
Teaching Note

Exeter Group, Inc. (TN)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Penelope Rossano

Teaching Note for 409001. View Details

Keywords: Markets; Projects; Resource Allocation; Corporate Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Performance Capacity; Service Delivery; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

23 Nov 2021
News

Job Hunting Nightmare: 1,000 Plus Job Applications and Still No Offers

06 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 6

http://www.palgraveconnect.com/esm/doifinder/10.1057/9781137294678.0461 August 2013 Journal of Economics & Management Strategy Delegation in Multi-Establishment Firms: Evidence from I.T. Purchasing By: McElheran, Kristina Steffenson... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Jun 2012
News

Think Locally, Act Globally

Issue Focus: The Global Manager Mittal Issue Focus: The Global Manager Around the World They Call Him Mr. China Bringing Global Back Home In 1976, in India’s Punjab region, 18-year-old Sunil Bharti Mittal (OPM 27, 1999) borrowed a modest sum from his father and founded... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Telecommunications; Information

18 Apr 2016
News

Copy Success

(Xerox Corp.) (Xerox Corp.) Joe Wilson (MBA 1933) made Xerox a brand so recognizable its name is also an everyday verb. In the process Wilson, who passed away in 1971, turned around a dying company and left a legacy of leadership that continues to inspire Xerox... View Details

February 2007
Case

IBM Culture in Its Architecture

By: A. Eugene Kohn and Kerry Herman

In 1992, Lou Gerstner was the CEO of IBM during a period where the firm was losing money and a turnaround was desperately needed. In a bold decision, Gerstner chose to build a new headquarters in Armonk, NY that had strict limits on expandability. His idea was to use... View Details

Keywords: Design; Leadership; Job Design and Levels; Organizational Structure; Buildings and Facilities; Business Headquarters; Decisions; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology Industry; New York (state, US)

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17 Jun 2019
Blog Post

Why I Would Have Applied to the MS/MBA Biotechnology: Life Sciences Program

and drug development. These qualities straddle the science and business fields – for example, to instill a science-focused culture within an organization, or to craft a drug development strategy that maximizes the chances of a... View Details

01 Feb 1998
News

HBS Alumni Association Board of Directors: President's Report

of guidelines to help standardize the organization of these important events. Information Technology With a goal of developing a virtual alumni community, this committee is looking at practical ways in which View Details

18 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 18, 2007

opportunities by reconfiguring existing assets and competencies. We review the literature on dynamic capabilities and, using IBM as a case example, show how their strategy process permits them both to explore new markets and View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

10 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

The Hard Numbers on Social Investments

Traditional investment criteria such as proprietary technologies and experienced management teams are also important in social purpose investing. The most important finding was that if investors follow a disciplined View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

18 Aug 2015
News

Turning a Profit When Your Product is Free

May 2019 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Walmart's Workforce of the Future

By: William R. Kerr and Jordan Bach-Lombardo

Faced with intense competition from Amazon, Walmart began a transformation of its operations and workforce in 2015. The goal was to create an omnichannel retail experience for customers that seamlessly joined online and offline shopping. This case explores Walmart's... View Details

Keywords: Walmart; Managing The Future Of Work; Workforce; Automation; Ecommerce; Omnichannel Retail; Operations; Transformation; Employees; Training; Information Technology; Infrastructure; Disruption; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Information Infrastructure; Retail Industry

November 2006
Case

Tickle

By: William A. Sahlman and Dan Heath

Describes a set of decisions confronting the management team of a rapidly growing online psychological testing and social networking company. They can either sell the company to a large public company, raise another round of capital from a preeminent venture capital... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Internet and the Web; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Business Strategy; Corporate Finance

September 1999 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Charles Schwab Corporation (A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Nicole Tempest

A look at the industrial restructuring in the brokerage industry made possible by e-commerce. Focuses the student's attention on the decision alternatives facing Charles Schwab, one of the industry leaders in January 1998. In a word, the challenge is "Do they slash... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Internet and the Web; Price; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry