Publications

October 2008 (Revised August 2010)
Background Note

Understanding the Credit Crisis of 2007 to 2008

By: Arthur I Segel and Ben Creo

This note details the background of the credit crisis, discusses potential causes of it, and considers its ramifications. The exhibits contain a variety of pertinent data regarding the rise of securitization, debt levels, and typical aspects of financial crises. A new... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Financial Instruments; Financial Management; Financial Markets

June 2006 (Revised August 2006)
Module Note

The Virtual Entrepreneurial Team Exercise (VETE); Note to Instructors

By: Daniel J. Isenberg

Describes the virtual entrepreneurial team exercise, a role-play simulation involving teams of five students from several international business schools around the world. Provides a detailed set of instructions to faculty from non-HBS business schools. The teams... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Entrepreneurship; Globalization

February 2005
Case

Mahindra & Mahindra: Creating Scorpio

By: Tarun Khanna, Rajiv Lal and Merlina Manocaran

Details the emergence of a private sector automobile manufacturer in India that has created globally competitive and cheap versions of an SUV commonly available worldwide. Asks us to think about the parent corporation's next steps in leveraging this success. In... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Global Range; Multinational Firms and Management; Emerging Markets; Commercialization; Expansion; Auto Industry; India

January 1978 (Revised February 1983)
Case

Polaroid-Kodak (B1)

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes additional events in battle between Polaroid and Kodak outlined in Polaroid-Kodak. Includes the competitive actions taken by the companies such as the introduction of customer rebates and bonus plans with dealers. Details the new products of each company and... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Product; Competitive Strategy; Electronics Industry

February 1974 (Revised August 1985)
Case

Bougainville Copper Ltd. (B)

Provides details of the mining agreement between Bougainville Copper and the government of Papua New Guinea; some historical, cultural, social, political, and economic information on Papua New Guinea; and historical and financial information on Bougainville Copper.... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Preparation; Agreements and Arrangements; Mining; Business and Government Relations; Mining Industry; Oceania

September 2006
Supplement

Brainard, Bennis & Farrell (B)

By: Joseph L. Bower

Brainard, Bennis and Farrel is a short case designed to explore the challenge of establishing appropriate compensation from a general management/CEO perspective. Brainard (B) is a one-page handout that is designed to show how an already difficult problem is made more... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Compensation and Benefits; Executive Compensation; Relationships; Strategy

January 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Staples: A Year in the Life of a Start-Up

By: Myra M. Hart

The case provides information on the development of the office superstore concept, building partnerships, creating the business plan, and recruiting a management team. Focuses on the detailed level of decision making required to transform an idea into a viable... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Recruitment; Management Teams; Integration; Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Business Plan; Decision Making

15 Jun 2011
News

Quiet China giant embodies technology aspirations

April 2002
Case

Contingent Workforce Planning at Motorola, Inc.

Details the rationale for and design of a unique organizational response by Motorola to the challenges of contingent staffing at its semiconductor facility in Austin, Texas. The new outsourcing strategy is built on principles of supply chain management and business... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Semiconductor Industry; Texas

18 Feb 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Urbanization with Chinese Characteristics? China’s Gamble for Modernization

Keywords: by Kristen Looney and Meg Rithmire; Public Administration; Real Estate

23 Nov 2015
Book

The Historian Who Came in from the Cold

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

January 2015
Supplement

Chorus and Telecom: Building the Boards. An Interview with Sarah Naudé and Matt Stanley

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2011, Telecom, the largest telecom provider in New Zealand, was being divided into two publicly traded companies. In connection with this split, Sarah Naudé and Matt Stanley worked with the chairman of Telecom, Wayne Boyd, to create two new boards of directors for... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Women's Empowerment; Governance; Leadership; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Structure; Decision Making; Human Resources; Diversity; Telecommunications Industry; New Zealand

October 1989 (Revised May 1996)
Case

Xerox Corp.: Leadership Through Quality (A)

By: Todd D. Jick and Leonard A. Schlesinger

Describes the "Leadership Through Quality" effort undertaken by Xerox in the 1980s. Includes the history of Xerox in the 1970s and its need to make major changes in quality by the 1980s. Most of the remainder of the case details the step-by-step process by which Xerox... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Quality; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Service Industry; Electronics Industry

February 2003 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Interface's Evergreen Services Agreement

In an attempt to reduce its ecological footprint, Interface Americas, a leading manufacturer of commercial carpet tile, has launched the Evergreen Services Agreement (ESA)--a lease agreement that provides would-be carpet purchasers with comprehensive floor-covering... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Product; Environmental Sustainability; Innovation and Invention; Leasing; Consumer Products Industry; Houston

Web

Publications - Faculty & Research

treatment... View Details Keywords: Measurement and Metrics ; Mathematical Methods ; Analytics and Data Science ; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry ; India Citation Read Now Related Cole, Shawn, Tomoko Harigaya, Grady Killeen, and... View Details

December 2023
Article

What Can Stockouts Tell Us About Inflation? Evidence from Online Micro Data

By: Alberto Cavallo and Oleksiy Kryvtsov

We use a detailed micro dataset on product availability and stockouts to construct a direct high-frequency measure of consumer product shortages during the 2020-2022 pandemic. We document a widespread multi-fold rise in stockouts in nearly all sectors early in the... View Details

Keywords: Prices; Stockouts; Inventories; Supply Disruptions; COVID-19 Pandemic; Supply Chain; Product; Demand and Consumers

Read Now

March 2006
Course Overview Note

International Finance: A Course Overview Note

By: Mihir A. Desai

Describes the International Finance course at Harvard Business School, which argues that the forces of globalization have fundamentally changed the scope and activities of firms, thereby altering the practice of finance within these firms. As a consequence of an... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Business Ventures; Integration; Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Risk Management; Competitive Advantage; Motivation and Incentives; International Finance; Capital Markets