Publications

January 2017 (Revised May 2020)
Case

Sesame Workshop (A): Bringing Big Bird Back to Health

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ryan Raffaelli and Jonathan Cohen

Sesame Workshop was transforming in 2016. CEO Jeff Dunn had reorganized and shifted the iconic institution to respond to digital disruption and a consensus culture. This case examines his efforts to turn Sesame Workshop around. It notes Sesame's storied history and the... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Information Technology; Education; Media; Strategy; Education Industry

November 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Haier Hefei Electronics Co. (A)

By: Lynn Sharp Paine

The Haier Group, the first mainland Chinese company to make the Financial Times list of Asia's "most admired companies," attributes its success in large measure to the new value system it has sought to instill throughout the organization. However, when Haier takes over... View Details

Keywords: Public Ownership; Business and Government Relations; Organizational Culture; Transformation; Ethics; Labor and Management Relations; Business or Company Management; Contracts; Electronics Industry; China

July 2020
Supplement

Sesame Workshop (B): Celebrating 50 Years of Helping Kids Grow Smarter, Stronger, and Kinder

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

In 2019, Sesame Workshop celebrated its 50th anniversary while on a winning streak of social impact, innovation, and peak media and financial results. Over the past four years, CEO Jeff Dunn and his turnaround team exhibited values-driven leadership, instituted... View Details

Keywords: Social Impact; Children; Media; Television Entertainment; Education; Innovation and Invention; Change Management; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Education Industry; Education Industry

Web

The Railroads: The First Big Business - Railroads and the Transformation of Capitalism | Harvard Business School

Horses drew wagons along rails made of wood and later iron. In the 1820s, the English introduced the first successful steam locomotive engine. As routes were carved out, mining areas transformed into industrial centers and coastal sites... View Details

09 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 9, 2008

supplement: http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=208125 China's Financial Markets: 2007 Harvard Business School Note 208-147 Provides an overview of capital markets in mainland China in 2007,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2019
Case

Engaging the Nationwide Workforce

By: Ethan S. Bernstein, Jessica Gover and Sarah Mehta

Nationwide is “on your side,” but did employees feel that way? CAO Gale King and CEO Steve Rasmussen, starting in 2008, invested heavily in a human capital strategy centered around “engagement” at the Ohio-based Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Set in 2014, this... View Details

Web

Systems Integration - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

system as a whole. Delivering the right care at the right location in a multi-site care delivery system is a key element of a value-based health care system. To integrate care effectively, providers need to re-define the scope of services... View Details

March 2001 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, The

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Stacy McManus

In just seven days, the Ritz-Carlton transforms newly hired employees into "Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen." The case details a new hotel launch, focusing on the unique blend of leadership, quality processes, and values of self-respect and dignity,... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Service Operations; Performance Improvement; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Status and Position; Culture; Value Creation; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry

05 Jul 2022
What Do You Think?

Have We Seen the Peak of Just-in-Time Inventory Management?

Business School curriculum among those interested in studying business in 1908. I should know. I was invited to join the HBS faculty not to teach marketing, service management, or general management, among my later teaching assignments,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing; Shipping; Transportation

01 Dec 2023
News

Venturing Forth

“Right now the industry is going through a massive hangover after a complete rager,” says Jo Tango (MBA 1995), a senior lecturer at HBS and a venture capitalist who has exited from three unicorns. Like any View Details

Keywords: Janelle Nanos; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles

Research Summary

Current Research

Information Dissemination in Capital Markets

Seeking to bridge economic theory and the role of individuals, Professor Brochet researches the transmission of information in capital markets. He has investigated the effects of information... View Details

December 2021
Article

Trade Policy Uncertainty and Stock Returns

By: Marcelo Bianconi, Federico Esposito and Marco Sammon

A recent literature has documented large real effects of trade policy uncertainty (TPU) on trade, employment, and investment, but there is little evidence that investors are compensated for bearing such risk. To quantify the risk premium associated with TPU, we exploit... View Details

Keywords: Trade Policy; Uncertainty; Stock Returns; Risk Premium; Tariff Rates; Portfolio Analysis; Trade; Policy; Risk and Uncertainty; Stocks; Investment Return

SSRN

Read Now

01 Jun 2023
News

Curb Appeal

modernizing for the sake of modernizing, but modernizing for the sake of delivering better service to our customers.” Not screwing things up is pretty much her mandate. Tisch was sworn into office at a challenging time: The coronavirus... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; photography by Vance Jacobs; Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities; Government

June 2021
Case

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments): April 2021

By: Josh Lerner, Reza Satchu and Alys Ferragamo

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is one of the largest pools of investment capital in the world and follows a rigorous “Total Portfolio Framework” in its approach to investment management. In April of 2021, John Graham was just two months into his role... View Details

Keywords: Pension Funds; Investment Strategy; Capital Markets; Financial Strategy; Investment; Asset Management; Financial Institutions; Private Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Assets; Financial Markets; Financial Services Industry; Canada

February 2024 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Shore Capital Partners: The Next Ten Years

By: Boris Groysberg and Kerry Herman

Private equity firm Shore Capital Partners is at an inflection point, after 12 years of phenomenal growth and success. Now, as the partners consider options, should Shore remain micro-cap focused, or move into more mid-cap investments? Should Shore hold investments... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Financial Services Industry

09 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

When Benchmarks Don’t Work

strategies. The strategy map for a support unit typically includes a financial objective to improve its efficiency in supplying services to the enterprise. This objective is usually measured by the cost of... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan; Service

19 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

What Makes Employees Trust (vs. Second-Guess) AI?

about how an algorithm works—but following its advice based on trusting the people who designed and tested it—can lead to better decision-making and financial results for businesses, say researchers affiliated with the Laboratory for... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

August 2017 (Revised July 2019)
Case

GROW: Using Artificial Intelligence to Screen Human Intelligence

By: Ethan Bernstein, Paul McKinnon and Paul Yarabe

Over 10% of all 2017 university graduates in Japan used GROW, an artificial intelligence platform and mobile app developed by Tokyo-based people analytics startup IGS, to recruit for a job. This case puts participants in the shoes of IGS founder and CEO Masahiro... View Details

Keywords: Big Data; Artificial Intelligence; Talent and Talent Management; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Resources; Information Technology; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Japan