Publications

April 2019
Teaching Note

The a2 Milk Company

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) became the most valuable company listed on the New Zealand stock exchange in 2018 by capitalizing on a biochemical discovery related to the protein composition of cow's milk. Because many people find the A1 protein difficult to digest, and... View Details

Robert Simons is a Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School. For over 35 years, Simons has taught accounting, management control, and strategy execution courses in both the Harvard MBA and Executive Education Programs. For 2024/25, he is teaching a... View Details

January 2016
Case

Haiti Hope: Innovating the Mango Value Chain

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Jean-François Harvey

This case study examines a market-based approach to economic development through the eyes of NGO TechnoServe's project manager, implementing a US$9.5 million five-year public-private partnership between Coca-Cola, IDB, and USAID. The case ends at the beginning of the... View Details

June 2014 (Revised March 2017)
Teaching Note

Agero: Enhancing Capabilities for Customers

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This is the teaching note for Agero: Enhancing Capabilities for Customers (HBS No. 113-001) View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Execution; Organization Structure; Diagnostic Control Systems; Interactive Control Systems; Performance Goals; Performance Measurement; Strategy; Organizational Design; Performance Evaluation; Customer Focus and Relationships

Teaching Interest

Competing in the Age of Digital Platforms—(Executive Education)

By: David B. Yoffie

Summary

Without exception, the most valuable companies in the world today are platforms. Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and many other firms have built their fortunes by facilitating innovation across global ecosystems or... View Details

Keywords: Platforms; Technology; Strategy; Digital Business; Social Networks; Self-driving Cars; Mobile Gaming; Esports; Financial Services; Online Retail; Ride-sharing; Search; Auctions; United States; Asia; China; Europe

October 2020 (Revised February 2025)
Technical Note

Reinvention

By: Ryan Raffaelli

This note is designed to introduce students to the fundamental concepts of leading innovation in established organizations. Reinvention is a process whereby organizations respond to changes in the environment that threaten their core business model, technologies,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation And Strategy; Leadership And Change Management; Organizational Ambidexterity; Exploration And Exploitation; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Leading Change; Technology Adoption; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation

January 2018
Case

Tomer Zvulun and The Atlanta Opera: At Crossroads (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman and Kerry Herman

In 2017, Tomer Zvulun, the CEO and artistic director of The Atlanta Opera, was considering next steps. Zvulun had adapted quickly to the new, dual role of chief executive and artistic director, although there had been a steep learning curve. As he gained traction, the... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Explore/Exploit; Ambidexterity; Zvulun; Opera; Strategy; Talent; Talent Management; Non-profit; Leadership Transition; Organizational Behavior; Leadership; Innovation and Invention; Talent and Talent Management; Arts; Strategic Planning; Fine Arts Industry

01 Jun 2024
News

Firm Foundation

Courtesy Tracy Britt Cool Courtesy Tracy Britt Cool Tracy Britt Cool (MBA 2009) has been playing the long game as long as she can remember. The former Berkshire Hathaway executive grew up in a family business: Her father was a third-generation farmer in Manhattan,... View Details

Keywords: Janelle Nanos; private equity; Warren Buffett; career path; investment strategy; family business; Finance

October 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

McDonald's Board of Directors (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

In October 2019, the McDonald’s Corporation board of directors, chaired by Enrique Hernandez, Jr., gathered to learn the results of their outside counsel’s investigation into the conduct of the CEO. On the surface, the iconic fast-food chain was thriving as growing... View Details

December 2017
Supplement

CEO Succession at Cisco: Video Supplement

By: Boris Groysberg and J. Yo-Jud Cheng

Excerpts of videotaped class visits and an interview with former Cisco CEO John Chambers about Cisco’s CEO succession planning process. Topics include Chambers’ reflections on the process; the roles of the incumbent CEO, board of directors, executive search, and the... View Details

Keywords: CEO Succession; CEO Turnover; Top Management Teams; Board Of Directors; Organizational Change; Strategic Human Resource Management; Strategy; High Technology; Management Succession; Managerial Roles; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Change

Marco Iansiti, David Sarnoff Professor of Business Administration,is a codirector of the Laboratory for Information Science at Harvard and of the Digital Initiative at HBS.

Prof. Iansiti's research examines the digital transformation of companies and... View Details

Keywords: automotive; computer; e-commerce industry; electronics; fiber optics; high technology; information; information technology industry; internet; semiconductor; software; telecommunications; venture capital industry

November 2009
Case

Finance Myopia in a Systems Business

By: J. Bruce Harreld

This short case describes the tensions that often arise between finance executives attempting to curtail unproductive activities and strategy executives trying to optimize overall firm performance. View Details

Keywords: Finance; Managerial Roles; Performance Improvement; Performance Productivity; Conflict and Resolution; Strategy; Competition

15 Nov 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Connecting Goals and Go-To-Market Initiatives

In some respects, developing strategy is the easy part. Executing that strategy in alignment with strategic priorities is where real mastery of management takes place. We asked... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

15 Nov 2010
News

Connecting Goals and Go-To-Market Initiatives

16 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: ‘The Strategist’

executives in Harvard's Entrepreneur, Owner, President (EOP) program. During that time, she realized that many of her students hadn't spent much time thinking about their own companies' strategies. In this excerpt, Montgomery describes a... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia A. Montgomery

August 2015 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Apple Pay

By: Sunil Gupta, Shelle Santana and Margaret L. Rodriguez

On September 9, 2014, in front of a packed audience in Cupertino, CA, Tim Cook, the chief executive officer of Apple, announced the much anticipated launch of Apple Pay. "Our vision is to replace this [wallet] and we are going to start with payments." Cook then invited... View Details

June 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Domestic Auto Parts

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Describes a meeting of an executive team to discuss strategy for a company turnaround. The exercise is to construct a strategy map and Balanced Scorecard to capture the new strategy. View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Strategy; Business Strategy