Publications

December 2012 (Revised March 2015)
Case

AmTran Technology Ltd.

By: Willy Shih, Jyun-Cheng Wang and Karen E. Robinson

As an original design manufacturer (ODM) of television sets and leading supplier to Vizio, a market leader in the U.S. for LCD flat panel TVs, AmTran Technology Ltd. uses what founder Alpha Wu describes as a "WE" model in which western companies perform sales,... View Details

24 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

Charting the US-China Trade War: What Does 'Made in Vietnam' Mean?

say Ebehi Iyoha and Jaya Wen, assistant professors at Harvard Business School. By one broad measure of products, about 16 percent of US exports from Vietnam—or $15.5 billion—were estimated to be rerouted... View Details

Keywords: by Ana Elena Azpúrua; Manufacturing; Shipping

23 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 23, 2008

so the happiness gains that they experience, whilst not permanent, can still be relatively long-lasting. Finally we study a cross section of nations in 2005 from the World Gallup Poll and find that the past 45 years of economic View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 1999 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Credit Suisse (A) (Abridged)

By: W. Earl Sasser and William E. Fulmer

Credit Suisse is looking for ways to differentiate itself from current and likely competitors. After two years of restructuring, the bank's leadership wants profitable growth. It has decided to emphasize customer service. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Competitive Advantage; Customer Satisfaction; Banks and Banking; Growth and Development Strategy; Banking Industry; Retail Industry

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September 1993
Case

Manufacturing at ALZA: The Right Prescription? (A)

By: Dorothy A. Leonard

ALZA, a company specializing in drug delivery systems such as transdermal patches, considers manufacturing its own products. Until now, the company has conducted research and development on its patented system but has then licensed the technology to client-partner... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Technological Innovation; Innovation and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Production; Research and Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

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December 1980 (Revised December 1984)
Case

Hudepohl Brewing Co.

By: Malcolm S. Salter

Presents the problem of how an established regional brewer can survive the onslaught of national breweries, some of which are being cross-subsidized by diversified parent companies. Requires detailed analysis of what operations are profitable and unprofitable for... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Profit; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Industry Growth; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Competition; Diversification

28 Nov 2016
Blog Post

Why We Recruit: Wayfair

for?While we’ve always hired HBS alums, this is only our second year with a formal MBA campus recruiting program. We decided to launch the program based on our increased hiring needs to support the rapid growth of our View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

February 2024
Case

Continuity & Change at Boston Consulting Group

By: David G. Fubini, Suraj Srinivasan and David Lane

As the new CEO of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) since autumn 2021, Christoph Schweizer had big shoes to fill—his predecessor, Rich Lesser, had tripled the partnership’s total revenues and created digital initiatives that contributed 40+% of 2021 revenues, more than... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Change Management; Talent and Talent Management; Governance; AI and Machine Learning; Environmental Sustainability; Leading Change; Risk Management; Organizational Culture; Partners and Partnerships; Revenue; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Succession; Consulting Industry

November 1987 (Revised June 1988)
Case

ServiceMaster Industries, Inc.

By: James L. Heskett

The CEO of ServiceMaster Industries has convened an internal task force to come up with ideas for reorganizing the company to accommodate unusually fast growth. In developing both alternatives and criteria for appraising them, the task force has to keep in mind the... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture

01 Jan 2011
News

Robert Kraft, MBA 1965

to be an extremely risky decision made by a sports fanatic, but in time it proved to be a winning business move. The decision to buy the Patriots fits a pattern that Kraft developed at a young age. He is a man who believes that anything... View Details

November 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Asea Brown Boveri (Condensed)

By: Robert L. Simons

The merger of Asea AB and BBC Brown Boveri required a restructuring of operations and a change in organizational cultures. Competitive success also necessitated the benefits of scale while remaining "local" for political and customer-responsiveness reasons. The case... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Restructuring; Cost vs Benefits; Competitive Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development; Performance Effectiveness; Consumer Products Industry

17 Jul 2006
Lessons from the Classroom

Developing a Strategy for Digital Convergence

Following the dot-com bust at the turn of the century, the technology business went through a gloomy period, 2001-2002, when innovation dried up, MBAs looked for careers in finance, and investors put their... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Computer; Education

May 2018
Supplement

Abe on Womenomics, part 2: Women as Leaders – Policies & Exemplars: Excerpt from Opening Address to the World Assembly of Women, Tokyo, August 28, 2015

By: Boris Groysberg

This video supplement is a lightly edited excerpt from a 2015 speech by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in which he describes Womenomics--policies and aspirations to promote greater economic participation by Japan's women, thereby promoting economic growth, greater... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Gender; Employment; Business and Government Relations; Growth and Development; Working Conditions; Japan

19 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 19

surrounding growth of a nonprofit institution and the United Kingdom's socialized health care system. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/315012-PDF-ENG Harvard View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Jun 2007
News

A Roadmap for Moms

nationally) who face the challenges and rewards of returning to work: Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work (Warner Business Books, 2007). Rabin discussed their... View Details

Keywords: Lewis I. Rice; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

November 2012
Case

CSIRO: The Light Metals Flagship Decision

By: Willy Shih, Margaret P. Pierson and Dawn Lau

This case explores the challenge of investing in basic research as a public good. CSIRO was Australia's leading science and research agency, and it was chartered to enhance national prosperity through R&D. Its Flagships program was designed to align research interests... View Details