World War - Publications - Faculty & Research

08 Nov 2024
HBS Case

What Wartime Service Taught These Historic Leaders

Walt Disney’s time in Paris during the waning days of World War I helped shape him into a visionary entrepreneur who would ultimately build a beloved international brand. Dwight Eisenhower and Robert... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Entertainment & Recreation

01 Jun 2003
News

Leading the Charge

In the first days of military action in Iraq, with Americans unsure of what lay ahead, one commanding, symbolic image in this media–intensive war held sway: a U.S. Marine, ripping down a huge poster of Saddam Hussein in a town in southern... View Details

Keywords: National Security and International Affairs; Government

John F. Queeny

When base-chemical shipments stopped coming from Germany during World War I, Queeny kept his company afloat by transforming it into its own raw materials producer. By the time of his death, Monsanto had... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

02 Mar 2023
News

A Century of Birthday Candles

resident. “The View From 100” recounts how Duff was 6 years old at the beginning of the Great Depression and just finishing high school when the United States entered World War II. Most of the boys in her... View Details

Keywords: Educational Support Services; Educational Services

James S. Love

Beginning as a rayon producer, Love built the world’s largest textile mill by the mid-1950s. Love, the architect of the company’s growth, expanded the company to 22 plants by 1936 and bought six hosiery mills. After World View Details

Keywords: Fabric & Apparel

24 Sep 2019
Research & Ideas

Do National Security Secrets Hold Back National Innovation?

widespread secrecy is understandably difficult, since by their very nature, secret inventions are hard to find. Recently, a researcher at Harvard Business School found a way to study this issue—by examining patent applications the US government ordered secret during... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

John M. Franklin

Franklin served as the CEO for United States Lines both prior to and after World War II. Under his leadership, United States Lines grew from a small, breakeven $18 million operation to a $100 million+... View Details

Keywords: Transportation

Ward Melville

After mass-producing shoes for soldiers in World War I, Melville and an associate opened Thom McAn’s in New York as a low cost, high quality shoe retailer. The chain eventually encompassed over 1,200 stores.... View Details

Keywords: Retail

Web

Wartime Schools Collections | Baker Library

Wartime Schools Collections When the United States entered World War II, Harvard Business School (HBS) found its enrollment dropping as men were called to fight overseas. At the same time, the U.S. military... View Details

Elmer F. Pierson

Pierson founded the Vendo Company in 1937 after perfecting the development of the first truly workable vending system - a lid called “The Red Top.” Originally designed for Coca-Cola bottles, the new vending machines were quickly converted to handle a variety of... View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

Louis B. Neumiller

Under Neumiller's "home-town-boy" leadership style, Caterpillar's revenues grew from over $100 million in 1941 to $827 million in 1963, prospering through World War II and the global post-war boom.... View Details

Keywords: Construction & Real Estate

Paul G. Hoffman

Hoffman, the Studebaker company executive, is one of the few auto company presidents to have risen from the sales department. In the first nine-months of his tenure, sales totaled 30,194, which put the company fourth among the independent passenger car producers. By... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

Philip K. Wrigley

In addition to continuing the success of the chewing gum products, PK Wrigley greatly improved labor relations at the firm, instituting an “income insurance” plan, a gradual retirement program, and an extensive pension system. During View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

William L. Stewart

Assuming control of Union Oil from his father, William Stewart’s first task was to repair the company’s finances, which had suffered under his father’s huge waves of expansion. Stewart accomplished this without problems and guided Union to profitability, capitalizing... View Details

Keywords: Utilities & Energy

Josiah K. Lilly

Lilly, a trained pharmacist and the founder of the family drug manufacturer, set up the first scientific division in the company and focused on standards of manufacturing and scientific development. Among other products, the company assisted in the development of... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare

Olive Ann M. Beech

In 1932, Beech assisted her husband in forming the Beech Aircraft Corporation, and within a short time, the company prospered and dominated the market for privately-owned small, commercial planes. Beech Aircraft was also an important defense contractor during View Details