Publications

March 11, 2020
Editorial

A Bolder Vision for Business Schools

By: P. Tufano

Business schools teach to a model that dates back to the 1950s. Given the growing demands on business to take a lead in confronting societal challenges, business schools need to update how they train business leaders and how they compete, argues Oxford’s Saïd School... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools; Business And Society; Business Education; Leadership Development; Business and Stakeholder Relations

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04 Feb 2022
Blog Post

Learning from the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence as a Harvard MS/MBA Student

planning and operations roles at Blue Apron, Peloton, and Burrow. Ash is also an investment partner at The MBA Fund, an early-stage fund that backs student and alumni founders from Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Pennsylvania. I... View Details

June 2005 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Amazon.com's European Distribution Strategy

By: Janice Hammond and Claire Chiron

Describes how Amazon's distribution system evolved from the company's inception. In 2003, Amazon Europe must decide how to reconfigure its distribution network in light of expected growth, products proliferation, and geographical expansion in Europe. Examines how... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply and Industry; Distribution; Supply Chain; Risk and Uncertainty; Expansion; Web Services Industry

March 1, 2021
Article

Transitioning to Clean Energy Transportation Services: Life-cycle Cost Analysis for Vehicle Fleets

By: Stephen Comello, Gunther Glenk and Stefan Reichelstein

Comprehensive global decarbonization requires that transportation services cease to rely on fossil fuels for power generation. This paper develops a generic, time-driven life-cycle cost model for mobility services to address two closely related questions central to the... View Details

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March 2010 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Dassault Systemes

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Dassault Systèmes, a leader in product lifecycle management software, has enjoyed a very profitable business model in 3D engineering design. In the past, it has successfully managed market disruptions and opportunities through acquisition and organic innovations. Its... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Product Marketing; Technology Industry

August 2008 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Finland's S Group: Competing with a Cooperative Approach to Retail

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Tarun Khanna, Samuli Skurnik and Jordan Mitchell

The case looks at the two dominant Finnish retailers: S Group and Kesko. S Group is a customer-owned cooperative, which has a unique holding structure whereby 1.7 million residents (or 70 percent of Finnish households) own 22 regional cooperatives. In turn, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Cooperative Ownership; Public Ownership; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; Finland

Anita Elberse is the Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Professor Elberse develops and teaches an MBA course covering the "Businesses of Entertainment, Media, and Sports," which ranks among the most sought-after... View Details

Keywords: advertising; arts; broadcasting; communications; consumer products; e-commerce industry; electronics; entertainment; fashion; home video games; information; marketing industry; motion pictures; music; publishing industry; sports; telecommunications; video games

September 2023 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Forecasting Climate Risks: Aviva’s Climate Calculus

By: Mark Egan and Peter Tufano

In late 2021, Ben Carr, Director of Analytics and Capital Modeling at Aviva Plc (Aviva)—a leading insurer with core operations in the UK, Ireland and Canada,—was preparing for an upcoming presentation before the company's board which included its CEO, Amanda Blanc,... View Details

Keywords: Climate Risk; Climate Finance; Forecasting; Insurance; Risk Measurement; Climate Change; Risk Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Insurance Industry; United States

October 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Case

The University of Notre Dame Endowment

By: Andre F. Perold and Paul Michael Buser

The Endowment Model of Investing, which was based on creating high risk-adjusted performance through diversification, a long time horizon, top-notch outside managers, and illiquid investments, had served Notre Dame and other large universities well over the past... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Higher Education; Asset Management; Private Equity; Financial Liquidity; Investment; Risk Management; Performance Evaluation; Education Industry; Financial Services Industry

2000
Article

The Consequences of Customization on the Use of Management Accounting Systems

By: J. Bouwens and Margaret A. Abernethy

The understanding of the antecedent conditions influencing the design of management accounting systems (MASs) is very limited. In recent years, significant research attention has been devoted to understanding how different strategic priorities influence these systems.... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Management Systems; Accounting; Customization and Personalization

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As the covid pandemic spread in early 2020, global travel ground to a halt. For Airbnb, the San Francisco-based platform for renting accommodations, the impact was both swift and severe as revenues plummeted more than 70% over the prior year. Responding to the... View Details

January 2019 (Revised February 2024)
Teaching Note

Hubble Contact Lenses: Data Driven Direct-to-Consumer Marketing

By: Ayelet Israeli

Teaching Note for HBS No. 519-011. As its Series A extension round approaches, the founders of Hubble, a subscription-based, social-media fueled, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand of contact lenses, are reflecting on the marketing strategies that have taken them to a... View Details

October 2017 (Revised September 2018)
Supplement

Jumia Nigeria: from Retail to Marketplace (B)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Namrata Arora

This follow up case study explores the ramifications of Jumia's decision to move from a retail-led to a markplace business model for its e-commerce platform. The case visits the company's successes as well as its many failures when adopting this vendor-led strategy. ... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Marketplace; Inventory; Funding; Business Ecosystems; Business Ecosystem; Competition; Business Model; Globalization; Emerging Markets; Expansion; Logistics; Retail Industry; India; Nigeria; Africa

07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

"reserve requirement" to back up supply commitments. Enron had a major advantage over competitors as a middleman between producers and consumers because it operated one of the nation's largest natural gas pipeline networks.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

September 2012 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Philips-Visicu

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Natalie Kindred and Sara M. McKinley

Would the advent of global payment models and ACOs create sufficient demand for a telemedicine offering covering the care continuum, from hospitals to the home? This was the decision facing Royal Philips Electronics (Philips), the Netherlands-based producer of... View Details

01 Dec 2015
Research & Ideas

What to Do When Your Organization Has Dueling Missions

paradox the result of an in-depth comparative analysis of two of the organizations in their sample. The two WISEs appeared to be extremely similar: Both operated in the recycling industry with similar work-training missions, and both had... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

May 2001 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Submarino.com (A)

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Meredith Collura and Luiz Felipe Monteiro

Enables a thorough analysis of Submarino.com, a B2C e-commerce company with a presence in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Spain, and Portugal. Examines the company's global operations as well as its organizational design and operating and management capabilities. Considers... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Globalized Firms and Management; Operations; Organizational Design; Strategy; Internet; Retail Industry; Portugal; Spain; Mexico; Argentina; Brazil

November 1988 (Revised November 1996)
Case

Roy Rogers Restaurants

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

Roy Rogers Restaurants is a subsidiary of Marriott Corp. which sells franchises to own and operate standardized fast food restaurants. Many franchise owners operate more than one restaurant. One of these, presently operating 16 restaurants and committed to develop 30... View Details

Keywords: Franchise Ownership; Business Model; Cost Management; Quality; Transformation; Food and Beverage Industry