Publications

December 2000
Case

Friona Industries, L.P.

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

As the food industry becomes more sophisticated, and as genomics and other factors provide for quality control from the producers to the consumers in the food chain, the beef industry has been one of the last commodity systems to organize the vertical systems to... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Food; Management Systems; Supply and Industry; Performance Consistency; Quality; Partners and Partnerships; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

2022
Working Paper

Gender Inequality and the Direction of Ideas: Evidence from the Weinstein Scandal and #MeToo

By: Hong Luo and Laurina Zhang

How do the Harvey Weinstein scandal and #MeToo affect women’s likelihood of working in male-dominated domains and the types of ideas developed in Hollywood? To discern these events’ impact, we exploit the variation in whether a producer previously collaborated with... View Details

Keywords: Gender Inequality; Gender Segregation; Social Movement; Direction Of Innovation; Creative Industries; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Social Issues; Creativity; Film Entertainment

Read Now

January 2017
Case

Danaher Corporation, 2007–2017

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

On July 2, 2016, Danaher Corporation completed the spinoff of Fortive Corporation. The previous day, Danaher’s stock price had reached an all-time high. In 2015, Danaher had decided to split off its test and measurement, fuel and fleet management, and automation... View Details

December 2017 (Revised January 2018)
Case

NatureSweet

By: Jose Alvarez, Forest Reinhardt and Natalie Kindred

This case describes the business model and workplace philosophy of NatureSweet, a privately owned, vertically integrated greenhouse grower and marketer of fresh tomatoes with sales across the United States and $329 million in 2016 revenues. CEO Bryant Ambelang treated... View Details

September 2016 (Revised August 2018)
Supplement

United Airlines: More Out-and-Back Flying?: Case Supplement #1

By: Ryan W. Buell, Willy C. Shih and Michael W. Toffel

This spreadsheet supplement accompanies 617-010 United Airlines: More Out-and-Back Flying? and is intended to provide students with an opportunity to apply analysis concepts with real operational data. View Details

Keywords: Service; Service Excellence; Service Management; Operating Systems; Operational Complexity; Operational Disruptions; Operational Efficiency; Operational Focus; Air Transportation; Operations; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Air Transportation Industry; United States

June 1993
Case

General Dynamics and Computer Sciences Corporation: Outsourcing the IS Function (A) and (B) (Abridged)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Katherine N. Seger

Describes the largest information systems outsourcing agreement in the industry from the perspectives of both companies involved in the deal. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Transition; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Contracts; Agreements and Arrangements; Business Strategy; Information Technology

July 2005 (Revised September 2016)
Case

24 Hour Fitness (A): The Rise, 1983–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2004, Mark S. Mastrov, CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, reflected on how far his company had come in just over 20 years. From humble beginnings in 1983 in San Leandro, California, 24 Hour Fitness had grown to become the largest privately-owned health-club chain in... View Details

Keywords: 24 Hour Fitness; Mark Mastrov; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Sales Force Compensation; Incentive Systems; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Private Equity; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Operations; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Capital Structure; Performance; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Health Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

August 2018
Case

Garanti Payment Systems: Digital Transformation Strategy (A)

By: Shelle M. Santana and Esel Çekin

Işıl Akdemir Evlioğlu, executive vice president of marketing at Garanti Payment Systems (GPS), a subsidiary of Garanti Bank, is grappling with three questions. First, should GPS create its own mobile app for credit card customers or leverage the bank’s already... View Details

May 2024
Case

SofMedica Group: Managing Growth

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

SofMedica Group had expanded from its origins as a medical equipment distributor in Romania to a holding company with four business lines operating in six countries. This expansion had been driven by SofMedica’s mission: to make cutting edge medical technology... View Details

September 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Bank of America (A)

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes how Bank of America is creating a system for product and service innovation in its retail banking business. Emphasis is placed on the role of experimentation in some two-dozen real-life "laboratories" that serve as fully operating banking branches and as... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Problems and Challenges; Innovation and Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Failure; Banks and Banking; Learning; Banking Industry

November 2006 (Revised November 2007)
Case

EFJ, Inc.

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Ajay Vinze and Mara Vatz

Michael Jalbert plans to transform EFJI, a land mobile radio manufacturer, into a leading radio systems and solutions provider. Taking advantage of new industry standards and the country's increased focus on public safety agencies and homeland security, Jalbert says... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Strategy; Expansion

February 1988 (Revised February 1991)
Case

Baxter Healthcare Corp.: ASAP Express

A continuation of the ASAP story described in American Hospital Supply Corp.: The ASAP System (A). As the industry and information technology have evolved, ASAP and systems like it have moved from strategic advantage to competitive necessity. Poses the issues of... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Competitive Advantage; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

30 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

Where Could More Regulation Help Small Businesses? Online Lending.

Our regulatory system has also been an unnecessary albatross on the growth of fintech players and on banks who try to partner with them. No single federal regulator has authority to oversee business lending. Instead, there is a spaghetti... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills and Brayden McCarthy; Financial Services

June 2017
Teaching Note

Google to Alphabet: Two Job Opportunities

By: Robert Simons and Jennifer Packard

This is the teaching note for "Google to Alphabet: Two Job Opportunities" HBS No.116-046 The case describes two job postings for positions at Google. The first job posting is for a Software Engineer in the Google Maps unit and the second job posting is for an Account... View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Span Of Control; Span Of Accountability; Span Of Support; Management Control Systems; Entrepreneurial Gap; Motivation; Job Design; Strategy; Information Technology; Organizational Design; Jobs and Positions; Technology Industry

June 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

What Went Wrong with Boeing's 737 Max?

By: William W. George and Amram Migdal

This case describes the development of the Boeing 737 Max airplane model and the events leading up to two tragic plane crashes, in which a total of 346 people died: the crash of Lion Air flight 610 on October 29, 2018, in Indonesia, and the crash of Ethiopian Airlines... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Communication Intention and Meaning; Communication Strategy; Forms of Communication; Announcements; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Judgments; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Globalization; Global Strategy; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Governance Controls; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Leadership; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Skills; Management Style; Management Systems; Risk Management; Time Management; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Digital Platforms; Supply and Industry; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Industry Structures; Operations; Product Development; Organizations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Outcome or Result; Failure; Success; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Strategy; Transportation; Air Transportation; Aerospace Industry; Aerospace Industry; Africa; Ethiopia; Asia; Indonesia; North and Central America; United States; Seattle; Chicago

September 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Background Note

Automobile Retailing in the U.S.

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

In the mid-1990s, the U.S. automobile retailing industry is on the brink of profound change. This case traces the drivers of change, the history of the industry, and potential distribution systems of the future. View Details

Keywords: History; Distribution; Change; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; United States

November 2016
Supplement

United Airlines Operations

By: Ryan W. Buell, Willy C. Shih and Michael W. Toffel

This video is a collection of clips that highlight aspects of United Airlines' operations View Details

Keywords: Service; Service Delivery; Service Management; Service Operations; Service Quality; Operating Systems; Operational Complexity; Operational Disruptions; Operational Effectiveness; Operational Efficiency; Air Transportation; Operations; Air Transportation Industry

November 1999
Case

Reshaping Apple Computer's Destiny 1992 (Abridged)

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Tara Donovan

Examines John Sculley's management approach toward transforming Apple Computer during the personal computer industry crisis in 1992. Focuses on Sculley's management style, his creation of a new management team, and his efforts to create a professional management system... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Crisis Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Style; Management Systems; Management Teams; Computer Industry; California

June 2001
Case

Competitive Dynamics in Home Video Games (E): The Rise of 3DO and 32-bit Gaming

Describes the launch of the innovative home video game company, 3DO, which had developed a groundbreaking system featuring 32-bit processing and CD-ROM software. Examines the competitive dynamics in the home video game industry from 1970 into the new millennium. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Competition; Product Launch; Video Game Industry