Publications

February 2019
Technical Note

Can Multiunit Organizations Remain Agile as They Grow?

By: Tatiana Sandino

This note discusses how multiunit organizations incorporate flexibility into their management control systems, some by authorizing all or a select number of their dispersed units to make input and process decisions, some by investing in data-analytic technologies to... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Flexibility; Management Systems; Business Units; Decision Making

2025
Working Paper

With a Little Help from My Family: Informal Startup Financing

By: Brian K. Baik, Johan Ludvig S. Karlsen and Katja Kisseleva

Using Norwegian administrative data, we identify family equity investments in startups and examine their effects on investor returns and firm behavior. Informal investors earn lower returns than external individuals, and the firms they back are less likely to secure... View Details

Keywords: Early Stage Finance; Informal Investment; Household Finance; Risk Taking; Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurship; Personal Finance; Family and Family Relationships; Business Startups; Investment; Norway

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February 2015 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream

By: William R. Kerr, Jim Sharpe and James Weber

Neil Kashyap and Neil Lombardo (HBS '08) acquired Winnan Metal, Inc., a metal fabrication shop, after raising a search fund and an 11 month search to fulfill their dreams of becoming business owners. Two weeks after they took control of the company, Winnan's largest... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurial Management; Turnarounds; Bank Loan; Crisis Management; Financial Analysis; Search Funds; Acquisitions; Financial Capital Needed; Management; Operations Management; Sales; Entrepreneurship; Decision Making; Change Management; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Indiana

March 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Emeritus: Achieving Impact, Providing Access (A)

By: Ashish Nanda and Zack Kurtovich

In June 2019, Emeritus cofounders Ashwin Damera (HBS MBA 2005) and Chaitanya Kalipatnapu were thrilled with the rapid growth of Emeritus. Damera and Kalipatnapu believed that Emeritus, established in July 2015 to offer online executive education, was only in the early... View Details

Keywords: Education Technology; Professional Service Firm; Startup; Digital Strategy; Global Business; Global Firm; Platform Business; Business Startups; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Executive Education; Strategy; Education Industry; India

October 2016 (Revised February 2019)
Case

PTC: A Transformation to IoT

By: Rajiv Lal and Sarah McAra

In the 2010s, PTC, a leading provider of software for discrete manufacturers, faced maturing markets and changing customer needs as smart, connected products took hold—the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). PTC saw a first mover advantage in entering the IoT space... View Details

Keywords: Internet Of Things; IoT; Smart; Connected Products; Business Organization; Transformation; Customer Relationship Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Marketing; Product Development; Service Operations; Strategy; Competition; Technology Industry

Web

The Hunger Relief System | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

and ultimately to end hunger. Robert Zeaske Job Title CEO, Second Harvest Heartland Location St. Paul, MN, USA Topics Business for Social Impact More Impact Stories A Pathway to Pursue Aspirations Mizuho... View Details

November 2004 (Revised September 2007)
Case

The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards

By: Amy C. Edmondson, John A. Davis, Corey B. Hajim and Kelly Mulderry

Describes a small, luxury retail chain's operational sophistication achieved through the use of technology and "high-touch" customer service. A family-run business, Mitchells has built its success with a customer service strategy known internally as "hugging." The term... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Customer Relationship Management; Knowledge Management; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Expansion; Information Technology; Retail Industry

Web

Introducing One-Step Photography - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

New Medium Medium of Artistic Expression A NOBLE PROTOTYPE OF INDUSTRY Harvard Business School and Polaroid Innovation View Details

07 Oct 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Specific Knowledge and Divisional Performance Measurement

Keywords: by Michael C. Jensen & William H. Meckling

04 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Shackleton: An Entrepreneur of Survival

a new business case called Leadership in Crisis: Ernest Shackleton and the Epic Voyage of the Endurance. Shackleton, who died in 1922 at the age View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

2015
Working Paper

The Value of Corporate Citizenship: Protection

By: Dylan Minor

We explore the notion that corporate citizenship, as obtained through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), is used by managers to protect firm value, helping their firm better withstand negative business shocks. We formally explore two parallel mechanisms for such... View Details

Keywords: Value; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Finance

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises

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01 Mar 2010
News

Lords of Strategy

insistence on more data and deeper analysis than had been the McKinsey norm. In the 1970s, he began touting the importance of strategic management for every kind View Details

October 2011 (Revised March 2015)
Case

SKS and the AP Microfinance Crisis

By: Shawn Cole and Yannick Saleman

SKS, India's leading microfinance firm, is challenged when politicians declaim microfinance as exploitation of the poor and severely restrict business practices. View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Government Administration; Policy; Capital Markets; Crisis Management; Poverty; Financial Services Industry; India

August 1991 (Revised March 1993)
Case

Champion International Corp.: Timber, Trade, and the Northern Spotted Owl

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Champion's forest products division owns timberlands, sawmills, and plywood mills in the Pacific Northwest. The listing of the northern spotted owl as an endangered species, and restrictions on exports of logs from state-owned lands, have disrupted the stumpage, log... View Details

Keywords: Science-Based Business; Natural Environment; Product Marketing; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Strategy; Trade; Decisions; Management Teams; Forest Products Industry; North and Central America

2011
Book

What to Ask the Person in the Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming a More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential

By: Robert Steven Kaplan

Successful leaders know that leadership is less often about having all the answers-and more often about asking the right questions. The challenge lies in being able to step back, reflect, and ask the key questions that are critical to your performance and your... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Organizational Development; Reaching Your Potential; Career Planning; Management Styles; Interpersonal Communication; Leadership; Performance Effectiveness; Personal Development and Career

Find at Harvard

15 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular Articles of 2021

surprisingly, the 10 most-read articles on Harvard Business School Working Knowledge reflected the mood swings of another challenging, complex year for managers View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

28 Oct 2024
Blog Post

It Takes a Village: Global Field Courses at Harvard Business School

may be dizzying for anyone, but for Mitkevicius it’s all part of the job. Mitkevicius is part of the Harvard Business School team that organizes View Details

April 2023
Case

Twitter: The Freedom to Speak Freely and Be Heard

By: Randolph B. Cohen, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Mel Martin

In April 2022, serial entrepreneur Elon Musk announced that he would be interested in purchasing the social media site Twitter for $44 billion. With more than 100 million twitter followers, Musk had historically leveraged the site to engage with the customers of his... View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Acquisition; Social Media; Power and Influence; Technology Industry; Communications Industry; Public Relations Industry; United States