Publications

Program

Creating Brand Value

Expand your brand's profitably Develop an effective brand portfolio strategy Manage brand risk Leverage a brand as a significant corporate asset Determine the value of a brand Invest in brands View Details

16 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 16, 2008

individuals in MBA and Executive MBA programs. Our third study developed survey measures of the six implicit voice theories identified in the prior two studies in a new sample of 265 adults with diverse work... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Nov 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Sir Alex Ferguson--Managing Manchester United

of the world of soccer—or, to my knowledge, in sports as a whole—who comes even close to such a lengthy tenure, let alone the number of titles and trophies he has accumulated," says Elberse, who recently authored a business case on... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Sports; Entertainment & Recreation

08 Nov 2024
Op-Ed

How Private Investors Can Help Solve Africa's Climate Crisis

Africa and attended an alumni event focused on climate adaptation and urban economic development. This is what we learned: Adaptation finance is real. People we talked to from organizations like the Global... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Green Technology; Energy

Program

Senior Executive Leadership Program—India

take your leadership skills and your career to the next level. You will become a stronger leader who can design competitive strategies in a global context, promote continuous innovation, View Details

February 2018
Supplement

Qualtrics (C)

By: Doug J. Chung and James M. Lattin

Qualtrics was an online survey research platform and since the beginning, the company had relied entirely on an inside sales model—sales done remotely without face-to-face contact with clients. The low-cost inside sales model, along with an emphasis on a strong sales... View Details

Keywords: Inside Sales Model; Sales; Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation

10 May 2017
Research & Ideas

Amazon Web Services Changed the Way VCs Fund Startups

space and development tools in the cloud and scale up as needed rather than purchasing their own expensive hardware and software. By comparing... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Banking; Financial Services; Information Technology

December 2022
Case

To Feed the Planet: Juan Luciano at ADM

By: Joshua D. Margolis, David E. Bell, Damien McLoughlin, Stacy Straaberg and James Weber

In December 2022, Juan Luciano, Chairman and CEO of agribusiness and nutrition giant ADM, considered the next phase of the historic company’s future. Beginning in 2011 when he joined as COO and moving into his tenure as CEO in 2015, Luciano led a transformation of ADM... View Details

October 2021 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Chia Network: Reimagining Programmable Money

By: William A. Sahlman and George Gonzalez

Chia Network developed a novel blockchain platform that was more eco-friendly, decentralized, and scalable than Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other blockchains. Now, company leadership must decide how to scale the startup and prioritize various partnerships, use cases, and... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

November 1999 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.

By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Pre-Paid Legal Services' business model reveals two key issues--managing the sales force and sales growth and managing claims. Students analyze the economics of the business and consider how to measure firm performance, how to evaluate and reward the sales force, and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Salesforce Management; Marketing Strategy; Accrual Accounting; Business Cycles; Forecasting and Prediction; Insurance; Business Growth and Maturation; Insurance Industry

February 2024
Case

Tabby: Winning Consumers' Digital Wallets

By: Eva Ascarza and Fares Khrais

Hosam Arab (MBA 2009), cofounder and CEO of Tabby, a Saudi-based fintech startup, raised its Series D funding round in October 2023, four years after its inception, valuing it as a regional unicorn. Tabby's core product, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service, allowed... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Risk Management; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Financial Services Industry; Technology Industry; Saudi Arabia

June 2007 (Revised April 2016)
Case

Octone Records

By: Anita Elberse and Elie Ofek

In February 2007, Octone Records founders James Diener, Ben Berkman, and David Boxenbaum had been highly successful with the first two bands they had signed, Maroon 5 and Flyleaf. Known for its grassroots marketing campaigns, Octone operated through a unique... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Joint Ventures; Investment Return; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Development; Outcome or Result; Creativity; Music Industry

May 1994 (Revised July 1995)
Case

Taco Bell--1994

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger

Taco Bell CEO, John Martin, boldly proclaims a growth goal of 200,000 points of access by the year 2000 (the company had approximately 3,600 in 1991). To realize such growth, Martin embraces a philosophy of continual change. The implications for Taco Bell are dramatic... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Food; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Human Resources; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Goals and Objectives; Change Management; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Communication; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

March 2021
Case

Dasra: From Strategic Philanthropy to Field Building

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Tanya Bijlani

Dasra, a pioneer in the Indian Strategic Philanthropy space founded by a husband and wife team, had grown and evolved with the fast changing philanthropy scene in India. By 2017 it had managed to raise nearly $100 million of new capital for NGOs and Nonprofits in... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy; Impact Investing; Corporate Social Responsibility; Social Sector; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Entrepreneurship; Strategy; India

December 2008 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Proteus Biomedical: Making Pigs Fly

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Lauren Barley and Ginger Graham

Proteus is a healthcare start-up that has developed technology to embed electronics for computing and sensing in existing medical devices and drugs. The technology could potentially change the basis of competition in the pharmaceutical industry. The company is... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Rights; Negotiation Deal; Business Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

November 1989 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Automation Consulting Services

By: Robert Simons and Hilary Weston

Illustrates the management control challenges that are associated with rapid growth and geographic expansion. Situated at an offsite Executive Committee Retreat. The three founding partners of a specialized consulting firm are grappling with several difficult questions... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Governance Controls; Policy; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Expansion; Consulting Industry

April 2011 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.: Driving Change Through Internal Communication

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind

Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), confronted in 2003 with an urgent need to change how it operated externally, adopted a highly innovative approach to communicating internally. This case, set in 2010, presents an overview of the new, more interactive model of employee... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Interpersonal Communication; Employee Relationship Management; Innovation and Management; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy; India

September 2020
Case

Disrupting Justice at RightNow: Persevere, Pivot or Perish

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Amir Reza Rezvani

The case examines the focus of an early stage company, and how an unexpected external incidence can threaten or void the business model. It encompasses issues such as defining and pivoting a business model, organizational requirements for a pivot, investor relations,... View Details

Keywords: Legal Aspects Of Business; Startup; Teams; Pivot; Financing; Entrepreneurship; Law; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Legal Services Industry; Germany

March 2001 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Wilkerson Company

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The president of Wilkerson, faced with declining profits, is struggling to understand why the company is encountering severe price competition on one product line while able to raise prices without competitive response on another product line. The controller proposes... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Competition; Profit; Product; Consumer Products Industry