Publications

13 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

Science: The Unlikely Frontier for New Business Ideas

in the Boston area. [Image: Unsplash/ThisisEngineering RAEng] What does it take to launch a product in this market? Share your observations in the comments below. View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

July 2012 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Global Knowledge Management at Danone (A) (Abridged)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and David Lane

This case explores French consumer goods company Danone's novel approach to knowledge management. In 2007, Human Resource Chief (Executive Vice President) Franck Mougin assesses the company's knowledge-sharing tools and considers his options going forward. Through... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Employee Relationship Management; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Social and Collaborative Networks; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry; France

07 Jul 2009
Research Event

Business Summit: Historical Roots of Globalization

this breakout session, panelists shared insights, informed by history, of the convergence that globalization promotes. Each focused on convergence from a different reference point: institutional convergence (in financial systems), policy... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

2011
Teaching Note

Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes: Transforming the Management Control System in Time of Crisis (TN)

By: Ning Jia, F. Warren McFarlan and Xiaohui Li

Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co. is a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) that manufactures cast pipe products and steel products. The company had grown to become a dominant player in the ductile iron pipe industry, holding more than 40% domestic market share and nearly... View Details

Keywords: Control Systems; Cost Centers; Manufacturing; Profit Centers; China; Iron ＆ Steel; China

2011
Case

Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes: Transforming the Management Control System in Time of Crisis

By: Ning Jia, F. Warren McFarlan and Xiaohui Li

Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co. is a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) that manufactures cast pipe products and steel products. The company had grown to become a dominant player in the ductile iron pipe industry, holding more than 40% domestic market share and nearly... View Details

Keywords: Control Systems; Cost Centers; Manufacturing; Profit Centers; China

November 2023
Case

Gabon Special Economic Zone

By: John Macomber and Wale Lawal

Tropical rain forest covers about 80% of the West African nation of Gabon, part of the Congo Basin and the "lungs of the world." Gabon is one of the first nations to earn revenue from carbon sequestration...as long as the rain forest remains intact. There are... View Details

Keywords: Economic Development; Forestry; Wood; Carbon Credits; Supply Chain; Economic Growth; Developing Countries and Economies; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Government Administration; Business and Government Relations; Strategy; Forest Products Industry; Africa; Gabon

March 2025
Supplement

Wasabi Technologies (B)

By: Lou Shipley and Stacy Straaberg

Set in 2019, the “Wasabi Technologies (A)” case centers on Wasabi Technologies (Wasabi), a successful hot cloud storage company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founder and CEO David Friend is ready to scale the four-year-old venture rapidly. Wasabi had so far focused... View Details

Keywords: Information Management; Sales; Product Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Information Technology Industry; United States; Massachusetts; Boston

Article

What Managers Need to Know About Social Tools: Avoid the Common Pitfalls So That Your Organization Can Collaborate, Learn, and Innovate

By: Paul Leonardi and Tsedal Neeley

Workplaces have adopted internal social tools—think stand-alone technologies such as Slack, Yammer, and Chatter, or embedded applications such as Microsoft Teams and JIRA—at a staggering rate. In an ambitious study of 4,200 companies, conducted by the McKinsey Global... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Social Tools; Social and Collaborative Networks; Knowledge Sharing; Performance Improvement; Management

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December 2007 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Global Knowledge Management at Danone (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Bertrand Moingeon, Vincent Marie Dessain and Ane Damgaard Jensen

This case explores French consumer goods company Danone's novel approach to knowledge management. In 2007, Human Resource Chief (Executive Vice President) Franck Mougin assesses the company's knowledge-sharing tools and considers his options going forward. Through... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Employee Relationship Management; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Social and Collaborative Networks; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry; France

19 Aug 2021
Op-Ed

Don't Ignore Your Employees' Misery—TAKE Control

employees’ dismay. If nothing else, the pandemic has taught us that one-size-fits-all approaches can be extremely counterproductive. In fact, numerous surveys and news articles suggest that employees have been just as productive working... View Details

Keywords: by Hise O. Gibson and MaShon Wilson

August 2011
Supplement

InnoCentive.com (B)

By: Karim R. Lakhani and Eric Lonstein

InnoCentive.com enables clients to tap into internal and external solver networks to address various business issues. In 2008, InnoCentive introduced "InnoCentive@Work" (lC@W), which recognized clients' reluctance to share problems and solutions with an external... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Cost vs Benefits; Intellectual Property; Networks; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Product; Groups and Teams; Communication Technology

October 2017 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Eastern Bank: Innovating Through Eastern Labs

By: Karen Mills, Dennis Campbell and Aaron Mukerjee

Eastern Bank is a 200-year-old New England mutual bank with a community focus. Eastern specializes in small business lending, having made strategic investments to become the top SBA lender in New England in the midst of the Great Recession, when other banks were... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Technological Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Management

04 Oct 2019
HBS Seminar

Annabelle Fowler (Harvard University), Harvard University

December 2008 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Olam International

By: David E. Bell and Mary Shelman

In 20 years, Sunny Verghese had built Singapore-based Olam International from a small Nigerian export company into a $5 billion global leader in agricultural commodities with a core competence in Africa. Olam's growth had come by pursuing product and geographic... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Trade; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply Chain; Expansion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Africa; Singapore

April 1970 (Revised December 1983)
Case

Norton Co. (A)

Introduces the "Norton Plan" designed to halt Norton's declining share of the grinding wheel market. View Details

Keywords: Machinery and Machining; Competitive Strategy; Sales; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry