Publications

Program

Competing in the Age of AI—Virtual

technology operations, marketing, supply chain and operations, talent management, and more, who want to move toward an AI-first digital business and operating model Government officials engaged in developing strategy and policy to address... View Details

March 2018
Teaching Note

ISRO: Explore Space or Exploit CubeSats?

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury

ISRO, India’s space agency, established to address domestic challenges with space technology, is one of the six largest space agencies in the world. Through its 59 missions, ISRO has launched numerous satellites for communication, disaster management, navigation,... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Decision Choices and Conditions; Operations; Management; Aerospace Industry; India

October 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Commercial Financial Services, Inc.: Securitization of Charged-off Credit Card Receivables

By: Kenneth A. Froot and Ivan G. Farman

Commercial Financial Services (CFS) is a company that buys charged-off credit card receivables, securitizes them, and then attempts to collect on the receivables. The case deals with how the firm makes money and the limits of securitization as an efficient financing... View Details

Keywords: Financing; Asset-back Finance; Financial Policy; Securitization; Credit; Financial Strategy; Business Strategy; Policy; Financial Services Industry

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December 2019 (Revised December 2022)
Case

TXU (A): Powering the Largest Leveraged Buyout in History

By: Trevor Fetter, Erik Snowberg and Rebecca M. Henderson

This case is designed to support a lively discussion about the relative merits of shareholder vs. stakeholder perspectives in the context of a company that provides a vital public service that has important environmental implications. The 2007 purchase of TXU, the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Transformation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Environmental Sustainability; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Energy Generation; Non-Renewable Energy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Utilities Industry; Energy Industry; Texas

Web

Employment Data

3% Entertainment / Media 3% Health Care 6% Investment Banking 5% Investment Management / Hedge Fund 6% Manufacturing 5% Nonprofit / Government 5% Other Financial Services 4% Private Equity 19% Retail 2%... View Details

July 2004 (Revised January 2007)
Case

H&R Block and "Everyday Financial Services"

By: Peter Tufano and Daniel Schneider

H&R Block, the U.S. market leader in tax preparation services, must decide whether to offer financial services to its low-income clients. H&R Block is facing increased competition from branded and nonbranded tax preparers, and the number of returns prepared by the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Income; Taxation; Product Development; Financial Services Industry; United States

06 Jun 2016
Blog Post

Meet the HBS Africa Business Club

The Africa Business Club (ABC) provides services and resources for African students, students who have worked in Africa, and any student with a professional or cultural interest in Africa. We also promote the engagement of the African... View Details

2023
Working Paper

The Politics of Philanthropy in China

By: Geoffrey Jones and Yuhai Wu

This working paper looks historically at business philanthropy in China. In the West, the literature has distinguished between entrepreneurial and customary philanthropy, while the phenomenon of spiritual philanthropy has been identified in many emerging markets. This... View Details

Keywords: China; Philanthropy; Ethics; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Moral Sensibility; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Economic Systems; Economic Sectors; China

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22 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

“Too Big To Fail”: Reining In Large Financial Firms

Here's a really scary thought. Now that the federal government has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into saving financial institutions deemed "too big to fail," hasn't it implicitly guaranteed similar largesse for all such... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Financial Services; Financial Services

December 2019 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Carroll Family Farms

By: Forest Reinhardt, Christian Godwin and James Weber

The Carroll Family, U.S. pig and grain farmers, needed to decide what to plant, whether to purchase land, emphasize pigs or grain, or other investments.

Seven family members across three generations owned and operated Carroll Family Farms (CFF). In... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Operations; Strategy; Family Business; Asset Management; Globalization; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States; Brazil; China

07 Nov 2014
News

Harvard Finds New Partner in City Hall's 'Urban Mechanics'

Michael E. Porter

Michael Porter is an economist, researcher, author, advisor, speaker and teacher. Throughout his career at Harvard Business School, he has brought economic theory and strategy concepts to bear on many of the most challenging problems facing corporations, economies... View Details

Keywords: service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry

2013
Working Paper

Overcoming Organizational Barriers to Waste Heat Recovery

By: Chonnikarn Fern Jira and Deishin Lee

Waste heat recovery is a proven technology for improving energy efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of energy-intensive manufacturing firms. However, evidence suggests that opportunities for recovering waste heat are untapped. By showing how the process... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Energy; Capital Budgeting; Waste Heat Recovery; Manufacturing; Energy Industry; Manufacturing Industry

21 Apr 2016
Working Paper Summaries

The Perils of Building Democracy in Africa

Keywords: by Benjamin Marx, Vincent Pons, and Tavneet Suri

David G. Fubini

David G. Fubini is a Senior Lecturer in the Organizational Behavior Unit and leader of the Leading Professional Services Firm and Mergers & Acquisitions Programs for Harvard Business School’s Executive Education. His MBA teaching has concentrated on teaching the... View Details

August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Amazon.com, 2021

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details

May 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Teaching Note

BrightStar Care: The Evolution of a Leadership Team

By: Boris Groysberg, Colleen Ammerman and Olivia Hull

Teaching Note for HBS No. 417-020. View Details

Keywords: Health Care Services; Entrepreneurs; Board Of Directors; Boards Of Directors; Health Care Industry; Growth Strategy; Organizational Change; Brand Positioning; Entrepreneurial Organizations; Entrepreneurial Management; Franchising; Family-owned Business; Home Health Care; Managing Growth; Management Styles; Organizational Development; Talent Management; Women Executives; Women And Leadership; Business Startups; Family Business; Small Business; Talent And Talent Management; Governing And Advisory Boards; Health Care And Treatment; Human Capital; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Business Or Company Management; Growth And Development Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, And Techniques; Management Skills; Management Style; Management Succession; Management Systems; Management Teams; Brands And Branding; Marketing Strategy; Strategy; Health Industry

February 1988 (Revised August 2000)
Background Note

Note on the U.S. Freight Transportation Industry

By: Janice H. Hammond and John E. P. Morrison

Describes the major modes of domestic freight transportation (motor carrier, rail, air, water, and pipelines). Examines the characteristics of the transportation service that each mode provides and discusses changes in the industry that have resulted from recent... View Details

Keywords: Change; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Industry Structures; Logistics; Service Operations; Transportation; United States