Publications

January 2025
Teaching Note

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel and Stacy Straaberg

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 124-007. The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of... View Details

09 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 9, 2015

the closer one gets to the customer in responses from sales and service personnel. This article outlines the issues and explains why withholding information about strategy for competitive reasons often results in greater risk for the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2014
Case

CleanSpritz

By: John A. Quelch and Alisa Zalosh

Sales of CleanSpritz all-purpose cleaning spray have been steadily declining for the past five years, and management believes the decline correlates to a growing environmental concern among U.S. consumers. CleanSpritz's management is considering several options to... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Competition; Marketing Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Improvement; Environmental Sustainability; Product Launch; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry

24 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 24, 2006

paper, we examine the impact of the AIDS epidemic on African nations through 2002 using the male circumcision rate to identify plausibly exogenous variation in HIV prevalence. Medical researchers have found significant evidence that male circumcision can reduce the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet

the operations expertise that PE firms bring to bear. CEO selection may soon become even more critical for PE funds, which have been grappling with inflation and rising interest rates that dampened fundraising, investments, and exits last... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

November 2023
Supplement

'Care in Every Drop': Ayala Corporation and Manila Water (B)

By: Debora L. Spar, Paul Healy, Tricia Peralta and Julia Comeau

Since 1834, eight generations of the Ayala family have used their conglomerate to fund nation-building projects in the Philippines, including investments in tramcars, telecommunications, hospitals, and schools. In 1997, Ayala’s subsidiary, Manila Water, took control of... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Economic Growth; Social Entrepreneurship; Climate Change; Natural Resources; Crisis Management; Failure; Privatization; Social Issues; Urban Development; Adaptation; Infrastructure; Utilities Industry; Philippines

27 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Asian and American Leadership Styles: How Are They Unique?

cultural norms, [as] in Japan. Empowering leadership is relatively new, and stresses delegation of responsibility to subordinates. American companies that operate with largely autonomous divisions employ this style of leadership. A few... View Details

Keywords: by D. Quinn Mills

24 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

What’s Government’s Role in Regulating Home Purchase Financing?

Freddie Mac, with about 50 percent of all mortgage credit going through these firms. They were able to take extraordinary risks with their implicit government backing and failed spectacularly in September 2008 just before Lehman went... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services

March 1996 (Revised February 1999)
Case

Vistakon: 1 Day Acuvue Disposable Contact Lenses

By: Alvin J. Silk, Bruce Issacson and Marie Bell

Vistakon, an independent and entrepreneurial subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, pioneered the production and marketing of disposable contact lenses with the 1987 launch of Acuvue, the first disposable extended-wear lens--a soft contact lens that patients wear for a... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Business Subsidiaries; Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Price; Risk Management; Marketing; Product Positioning; Production; Performance Effectiveness; Consumer Products Industry; United States

29 Nov 2022
Research & Ideas

How Much More Would Holiday Shoppers Pay to Wear Something Rare?

companies, however, struggle to find the optimal balance. While Farronato’s research shows that producing fewer items allows retailers to charge more for them, if companies produce too few, they also risk losing out on additional sales.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

09 Jan 2012
Research & Ideas

Location, Location, Location: The Strategy of Place

them." Alcácer advises companies to consider sending an advance team to live in a target locale to research the market and business models before expanding. Another problem with following competitors: an increasing risk that those... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

March 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Bets on Clean Hydrogen

By: Gunnar Trumbull, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), an engineering manufacturer headquartered in Japan, was aiming to scale up its hydrogen production and establish a global hydrogen supply chain. The initiative was in line with Japan's energy strategy, as the country seeks to transition... View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Demand and Consumers; Competition; Growth and Development Strategy; Infrastructure; Supply Chain; Manufacturing Industry; Energy Industry

29 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 29, 2007

companies, hoping to empower black workers. In 1999, it had purchased a 5% stake in LeisureNet, a white-owned and -run South African company that operated health clubs globally and was seeking a BEE partner. Surve hoped to eventually... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2008 (Revised March 2008)
Teaching Note

LinkedIn (TN) (A) and (B)

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

In the summer of 2005, LinkedIn, a two-year-old start-up, was choosing between two options to monetize its 5 million business people network. Members could contact each other through trusted intermediaries on the network to offer or seek jobs, consulting engagements,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet and the Web; Financing and Loans; Revenue; Design; Service Operations