Publications

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February 2020 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Anomalie

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Thomas O. Jones

In early 2019, the founders of Anomalie, an online direct-to-consumer provider of bridal gowns, have just agreed to a $13.6 million Series A investment from a Silicon Valley VC. They are considering three major initiatives as they move forward. (1) To scale their very... View Details

Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Technology Industry

Web

Executive Education | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

two. These personal and professional connections have been invaluable." Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management Carolyn Miles President & CEO | Save the Children "You absolutely need to have that wider view, but the practical tools... View Details

18 Aug 2022
Op-Ed

Your Best Employees Are Burning Out: A Framework for Retaining Talent

repeatedly show that businesses respect and care about their most important assets: their employees. About the Authors Hise O. Gibson is a senior lecturer in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School. MaShon... View Details

Keywords: by Hise Gibson and MaShon Wilson

March 1999
Case

Hans Fritz at Novartis Thailand (A): The First Month

By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Dr. Hans Fritz is 37 years old when he arrives in Bangkok on March 1, 1998 to assume his position as general manager of Novartis Thailand. Novartis is the world's largest pharmaceutical company. He had lobbied to transition from a staff position to this line management... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Organizational Structure; Transition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Working Conditions; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Crisis Management; Decision Making; Pharmaceutical Industry; Thailand

February 2001 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Amazon.com (D)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Dickson Louie and William A. Sahlman

At the end of 1999, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos--just named Time Magazine's Man of the Year--ponders the next moves for his company. Having expanded into numerous categories in 1999, ranging from Z-shops to Auctions to E-cards as well as increasing the number... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Online Technology; Retail Industry

April 2012
Case

Renesas Electronics and the Automotive Microcontroller Supply Chain (A)

By: Willy Shih and Margaret Pierson

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan in March 2011 caused extensive damage to Renesas Electronics wafer fabrication facility, a critical link in the global automotive supply chain. Many OEMs sole-sourced customized microprocessors from the fab, so its... View Details

Keywords: Natural Disasters; Crisis Management; Supply Chain Management; Production; Strategy; Semiconductor Industry; Auto Industry; Japan

January 1998 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Acer America: Development of the Aspire

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Anthony St. George

Follows the development, national launch, and global rollout of the Aspire, Acer's first new product developed outside of Taiwan. Implementing a very promising new PC concept proves challenging to Mike Culver and his U.S. team, who are plagued by coordination problems... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Organizational Design; Supply Chain; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business Subsidiaries; Product Launch; Computer Industry; United States; Taiwan

October 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Integrated Packaging Corporation: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A)

By: Herman B. Leonard and Orson Watson

As a child, Al Fuller had seen his working-class, African-American neighborhood disintegrate as factory jobs moved away. He resolved to help inner-city communities do better when he grew up. Some years later, as an accomplished university graduate with several years... View Details

Keywords: Business and Community Relations; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Social Issues; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Strategy; Management Style; Pulp and Paper Industry; Manufacturing Industry

December 23, 2022
Article

What the World Cup Can Teach Business Leaders About Top Performers

By: Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt, Abhijit Naik and Harry Krueger

Our people are our greatest source of competitive advantage." This sentiment is often heralded in companies by everyone from middle managers to HR professionals to CEOs. It is a great sound bite. The problem: It is not true—at least, not entirely. View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Performance; Business; Leadership; Competitive Advantage; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management

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August 2020 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Nubank: Democratizing Financial Services

By: Michael Chu, Carla Larangeira and Pedro Levindo

Nubank, a wholly-digital solution created to disrupt Brazilian banking, with 6 million clients and a $4 billion valuation after five years, must decide whether to expand to Mexico. The company was founded in São Paulo in 2013 by Colombian-born David Vélez to seize what... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Financial Inclusion; Digital Banking; Credit Cards; Banks and Banking; Disruption; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; South America; Brazil; North America; Mexico

Web

About - Race, Gender & Equity

gender, work, and family limit both men’s and women’s ability to thrive personally and professionally. Her work is published in academic journals, such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, and Academy of... View Details

04 Apr 2011
HBS Case

Reinventing the National Geographic Society

TV, cable programming—but is still trying to figure out the best strategy for integrating them. Despite repeated structural changes, employees still operate in silos. In short, the National Geographic case is fertile learning ground for... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Publishing

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

inside The future of the restaurant industry is especially of concern to us. We collectively share 35 years of restaurant and food industry experience, navigating our way through as waitstaff and bartenders, as managers and senior leaders... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

June 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Mobil USM&R (A2)

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Second of a two-part case on the development and use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) at Mobil's US Marketing and Refining Division. This case describes the completed BSC, and how this was linked to the BSCs of the independent business units and the internal service... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Performance Evaluation; Management Teams; Management Practices and Processes; Executive Compensation; Motivation and Incentives; Corporate Strategy; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United States

07 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017

adding new settings to explore established core debates. The discipline of business history evolved around the corporate strategies and structures of developed economies. The growing literature on the business history of emerging markets... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

March 2005
Case

Vignette: Waiting for a CEO

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

A venture capitalist must decide how to respond to an e-mail from his long-time troubleshooter now installed as interim CEO at a struggling contract manufacturing exchange for the custom car business. The investors have been seeking a full-time CEO but have made little... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Business or Company Management; Investment; Business Ventures; Corporate Governance; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Financial Strategy