Publications

October 1995 (Revised March 1996)
Case

Executive Shirt Company, Inc.

By: Janice H. Hammond and Sylvie Ryckebusch

The Executive Shirt Co. is contemplating a move into custom-made shirts. The company's general manager has charged two of his managers to come up with plans for incorporating production of custom shirts into the existing manufacturing process. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Production; Strategic Planning; Expansion; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

23 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Three-Dimensional Strategy: Winning the Multisided Platform

traditional resellers. Also, MSPs can be less capital intensive for start-ups. No wonder, then, that an increasing number of entrepreneurial ventures such as thredUP have been attracted to the MSP model. But in 2012 thredUP's management changed course—it abandoned its... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

February 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Local Motors: Designed by the Crowd, Built by the Customer

By: Michael I. Norton and Jeremy Dann

In the wake of the meltdown among U.S. auto manufacturers in 2009, Jay Rogers, CEO of Local Motors, has a new approach for the automotive industry: decide which models are produced through online design competitions, and then allow customers to "build their own cars"... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Product Design; Product Development; Creativity; Social and Collaborative Networks; Customization and Personalization; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

Article

The Growing Strategic Importance of End-of-Life Product Management

By: Michael W. Toffel

Requiring manufacturers to manage the their products when they become waste is an innovative form of regulation, one that has been adopted by countries in Asia, Europe, and North America on a variety of products that range from vehicles to appliances to batteries.... View Details

Keywords: Product; Environmental Sustainability; Cost Management; Wastes and Waste Processing; Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Manufacturing Industry; Asia; Europe; North and Central America

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23 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 23, 2007

service industry such as commercial banking. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=707485 Shahla Nawabi: Reconstructing Afghanistan Harvard Business School Case 807-023 Explores the strategies... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2005 (Revised December 2007)
Case

Motion Computing, Inc. -- 2004

By: William A. Sahlman and Caroline Perkins

Scott Eckert, the co-founder and CEO of Motion Computing, must decide whether to raise additional capital to support growth. Motion manufactures and distributes Tablet PCs. If the company opts to raise money, it must decide on the source and terms of the financing. View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

September 2009
Article

Labor Market Institutions and Global Strategic Adaptation: Evidence from Lincoln Electric

By: Jordan I. Siegel and Barbara Zepp Larson

Although one of the central questions in the global strategy field is how multinational firms successfully navigate multiple and often conflicting institutional environments, we know relatively little about the effect of conflicting labor market institutions on... View Details

Keywords: Institutions; Labor Market; Complementarity; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Labor Unions; Laws and Statutes; Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Manufacturing Industry

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Teaching Interest

Short Intensive Program (SIP): Agile at Scale: From OKR's and Agile to Execution Excellence

What do you want to get out of your remaining time at HBS, your career and life-plan to make an impact, starting from Day 1 post-HBS? By developing tools to drive your personal success and strategy at HBS, in this interactive immersion, we will dive into how the... View Details

April 2010
Case

Bill Nichol Negotiates with Walmart: Hard Bargains over Soft Goods (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

CEO Bill Nichol must somehow negotiate a surprise ultimatum from Walmart, his largest customer, about his largest and most profitable product line: “We're dropping it.” Among its hosiery products, the Kentucky Derby Hosiery Co. produces and sells a branded line of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Crisis Management; Negotiation Tactics; Conflict Management; Apparel and Accessories Industry; North America

December 1989 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Destin Brass Products Co.

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

A specialized manufacturer of brass valves, pumps, and flow controllers is troubled by competitive pricing in pumps and higher than expected margins for flow controllers. Managers suspect that cost accounting and cost allocations to products may be to blame. Two... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Activity Based Costing and Management; Five Forces Framework; Customer Value and Value Chain; Competition; Business Strategy; Design; Inflation and Deflation; Asset Pricing; Governance Controls; Manufacturing Industry

October 2003 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Dividend Policy at Linear Technology

By: Malcolm P. Baker and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

In 1992, Linear Technology, a designer and manufacturer of analog semiconductors, initiated a dividend. The firm increased its dividend by approximately $0.01 per share each year thereafter. In fiscal year 2002, Linear experienced its first significant drop in sales... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Investment Return; Financial Condition; Taxation; Initial Public Offering; Financial Management; Semiconductor Industry

August 1997 (Revised March 1999)
Case

VeriFone (1997)

By: Richard L. Nolan, Anne Donnellon and Donna B. Stoddard

VeriFone, a leading manufacturer of payment systems technology, was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in June 1997. The case describes the strategic challenges that VeriFone faces as it positions itself to compete in the Internet payment systems marketplace. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Internet; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Business Strategy; Information Technology Industry

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November 1997 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (A)

By: John A. Quelch

The president of a Jordanian pharmaceutical company is contemplating how to further penetrate the U.S. market, either through its own manufacturing and sales efforts, or as a supplier to a third party. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Globalized Markets and Industries; Emerging Markets; Expansion; Pharmaceutical Industry; Jordan; United States

2010
Book

Unilever'i Yenilemek: Dönüşüm ve Gelenek [Renewing Unilever: Transformation and Tradition]

By: Geoffrey Jones

Unilever's brands can now be found in one out of every two households in the world. This arresting and impressive fact shows the scope and scale of this unique global corporation. Geoffrey Jones, a leading business historian from the Harvard Business School, takes us... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business Growth and Maturation; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Globalization; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

January 1999 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Advanced Technologies, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Piper

The CEO of a semiconductor equipment manufacturer is assessing the financial forecasts and financing plan prepared by the chief financial officer. Continued rapid growth will create substantial financing pressures, especially if profitability fails to recover and/or if... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Earnings Management; Financial Condition; Financial Reporting; Risk and Uncertainty; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Outcome or Result; Growth and Development; Crisis Management; Profit; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

August 1965 (Revised December 1987)
Case

L.L. Bean, Inc.

Discusses the development and operations of a small manufacturing and mail order company doing $3 million sales. L.L. Bean operates in violation of most reasonable business principles, but it is profitable and growing. View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Operations; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Maine