Publications

December 2022
Case

Taylor Farms: Adding Value to Fresh Produce

By: José B. Alvarez, Forest L. Reinhardt, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Pedro Levindo

In October 2022, Bruce Taylor (HBS MBA, 1981), Chairman and CEO of Taylor Farms, the leading producer of salads and healthy fresh foods in the United States, wondered whether this was the right time for Taylor Farms to venture into the Controlled Environment... View Details

Keywords: Technology Adoption; Cost vs Benefits; Logistics; Environmental Sustainability; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

William C. Kirby is T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies at Harvard University and Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He is a Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor. He serves as Chairman of the Harvard... View Details

Keywords: education industry; education industry

October 2012
Teaching Plan

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: Venture Philanthropy Funding for Biotech (TP)

By: Robert F. Higgins

This is the teaching note related to HBS case 808005. In 2001, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated acquired the San Diego-based biotech company, Aurora Biosciences. The combination of Vertex's and Aurora's technologies would improve the flow of novel drug candidates... View Details

Keywords: Venture Philanthropy; Biotechnology; Funding Philanthropy Venture; Cystic Fibrosis; Foundations; Pharmaceuticals; Mergers and Acquisitions; For-Profit Firms; Venture Capital; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Science-Based Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; San Diego

March 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Technical Note

Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent: The Three Kingdoms of the Chinese Internet

By: Feng Zhu and Aaron Smith

This note provides an overview of the Chinese Internet by describing its leading three companies: Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (BAT). While BAT had previously focused their respective businesses on distinct sectors of the online economy—Baidu for search, Alibaba for... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Internet; Information Technology Industry; China

07 Oct 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

How Companies Can Make Up with (Very) Unhappy Customers

Switch Habits Juul vaping products have become a cigarette alternative for adult smokers and a growing concern among parents of teens. What the company did initially to head off concerns. Cost-cutting Leads to Turbulence in the Airline View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail; Air Transportation

August 2007 (Revised December 2007)
Case

Microsoft in China and India, 1993-2007

By: Tarun Khanna and Prithwiraj Choudhury

Relates to Microsoft's expansion in China and India in the period 1993-2007 and the strategic issues faced by multinationals in emerging markets. View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Multinational Firms and Management; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Emerging Markets; Information Technology Industry; China; India

August 2009
Case

Bank of America Sports Sponsorship

By: Stephen A. Greyser and John L. Teopaco

A major sports sponsor must decide on new, renewal, or withdrawal from significant relations with teams/leagues/events, using a distinctive approach to assessment. View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Partners and Partnerships; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Performance Evaluation; Financing and Loans; Marketing Strategy; Sports Industry

October 2021 (Revised October 2022)
Case

The Opioid Settlement and Controversy Over CEO Pay at AmerisourceBergen

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

In 2020, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, a Fortune 50 company in the drug distribution industry, agreed to settle thousands of lawsuits filed nationwide against the company for its opioid distribution practices that critics alleged had contributed to the nationwide... View Details

December 2004 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Managing Diversity at Spencer Owens & Co.

By: Robin J. Ely and Ingrid Vargas

Spencer Owens & Co, a disguised consulting firm, focuses on domestic and international economic development. As an extension of the firm's commitment to social justice, 20 years ago, Spencer Owens management introduced an affirmative action hiring and promotion... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Selection and Staffing; Development Economics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Employees; Diversity; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Consulting Industry

June 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

What Went Wrong with Boeing's 737 Max?

By: William W. George and Amram Migdal

This case describes the development of the Boeing 737 Max airplane model and the events leading up to two tragic plane crashes, in which a total of 346 people died: the crash of Lion Air flight 610 on October 29, 2018, in Indonesia, and the crash of Ethiopian Airlines... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Communication Intention and Meaning; Communication Strategy; Forms of Communication; Announcements; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Judgments; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Globalization; Global Strategy; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Governance Controls; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Leadership; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Skills; Management Style; Management Systems; Risk Management; Time Management; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Digital Platforms; Supply and Industry; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Industry Structures; Operations; Product Development; Organizations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Outcome or Result; Failure; Success; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Strategy; Transportation; Air Transportation; Aerospace Industry; Aerospace Industry; Africa; Ethiopia; Asia; Indonesia; North and Central America; United States; Seattle; Chicago

March 2016
Article

An Analysis of Firms' Self-reported Anticorruption Efforts

By: Paul M. Healy and George Serafeim

We use Transparency International's ratings of self-reported anticorruption efforts for 480 corporations to analyze factors underlying the ratings. Our tests examine whether these forms of disclosure reflect firms' real efforts to combat corruption or are cheap talk.... View Details

Keywords: Corruption; Corporate Performance; Growth; Disclosure; Disclosure Strategy; Sustainability; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Disclosure; Performance; Sales

Article

Open to Negotiation: Phenomenological Assumptions and Knowledge Dissemination

By: Corinne Bendersky and Kathleen L. McGinn

Phenomenological assumptions-assumptions about the fundamental qualities of the phenomenon being studied and how it relates to the environment in which it occurs-affect the dissemination of knowledge from subfields to the broader field of study. Micro-process research... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Knowledge Dissemination; Research; Organizations; Negotiation; Information Publishing

Find at Harvard

March 1980 (Revised September 1982)
Case

Parker Brothers (B)

Describes the recall program designed by Parker Brothers following the death of two children, which may have been related to a new product. View Details

Keywords: Safety; Risk Management; Product; Consumer Products Industry

September 2005 (Revised July 2006)
Case

Kingsford Charcoal

By: Das Narayandas and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Since the 1980s, Kingsford had continued to enjoy steady, moderate growth of 1% to 3% in revenues each year. During most of this time, the charcoal category as a whole grew as well. However, the summer of 2000 represented the first softening in the category in several... View Details

Keywords: Price; Marketing Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Advertising; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; United States

August 1986 (Revised May 1989)
Case

Timken Co.

Describes the efforts of the Timken Co., a major international producer of bearings and steel, to develop an effective employee communication program. The case examines the intense international competitive atmosphere, the recent record of job losses in related... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Communication Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

January 15, 2021
Article

Social Media Companies Should Self-Regulate. Now

By: Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer and David B. Yoffie

We argue that social media firms should ramp up self-regulation of content in 2021. This argument is based on research on numerous industries where firms and/or industry associations devised self-regulatory strategies that successfully limited or forestalled more... View Details

Keywords: Self-regulation; Internet and the Web; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Social Media

Read Now

2016
Article

Integrated Care from the Patient's Perspective and its Relationship to Medical Group Attributes.

By: Michaela Kerrissey, Jonathan Clark, Ashley-Kay Fryer, Wei Jiang, Maryaline Catillon, Patricia Ramsay, Stephen Shortell, Lawrence Casalino, Mark Friedberg and Sara J. Singer

Integrating care for patients with multiple chronic conditions is essential to improving quality. Yet little is known about care integration from the patient’s perspective and how it relates to medical group characteristics. We created a nationally representative... View Details

Keywords: Care Coordination; Integrated Care; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Quality; Perspective; Health Industry

Find at Harvard

2008
Working Paper

Open to Negotiation: Phenomenological Assumptions and Knowledge Dissemination

By: Corinne Bendersky and Kathleen L. McGinn

Phenomenological assumptions-assumptions about the fundamental qualities of the phenomenon being studied and how it relates to the environment in which it occurs-affect the dissemination of knowledge from subfields to the broader field of study. Micro-process research... View Details

Keywords: Citations; Knowledge Dissemination; Negotiation; Research

Read Now

February 2008 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Weber Shandwick: The Client Relationship Leader Program

By: Robert G. Eccles and Kerry Herman

In 2002 Weber Shandwick, a leading global public relations agency, instituted a Client Relationship Leader (CRL) Program for its top 32 global accounts. The purpose of the program is to ensure that all of the firm's resources across geographies, practice areas, and... View Details

Keywords: Blogs; Competency and Skills; Customer Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competitive Advantage; Public Relations Industry