Publications

March 1974 (Revised June 1996)
Case

First National City Bank Operating Group (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Growth in the banking field has produced new demands on the "back office." Traditional management practices in check processing and paper handling operations have resulted in ten years of cost increases and quality loss. New manager of the operating group faces an... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transition; Banks and Banking; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Production; Banking Industry

February 2013 (Revised May 2013)
Case

Juan Valdez: Innovation in Caffeination

By: Michael I. Norton and Jeremy Dann

Corporate entrepreneurs attempt to revive Colombia's famous Juan Valdez brand in the age of Starbucks, with café chain and packaged coffee ventures. In the 1970s and 80s, the iconic "Juan Valdez" ingredient brand was the most recognized in the world of coffee. The... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Branding; Global Business; Sales; Marketing; Retailing; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention

December 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Mid Ocean Limited: Trading Catastrophe Index Options

By: Kenneth A. Froot and Markus Mullarkey

An insurance industry executive must evaluate the potential of a set of newly-offered catastrophe insurance derivatives. The background addresses the roles of traditional reinsurance and securitization efforts in providing risk transfer and risk financing in the "cat"... View Details

Keywords: Commodity Market; Derivatives; Insurance; Capital Markets; Natural Disasters; Risk Management; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Insurance Industry; Bermuda

23 Oct 2013
News

Three Things that Actually Motivate Employees

28 Nov 2017
Video

Blavatnik Fellow Creates Virtual Brain Biopsy Software

25 Jan 2008
Panel Discussion

Corporate Global Citizenship in the 21st Century

By: Michael E. Porter

As the global agenda is increasingly shaped outside the traditional framework of nation states, corporations not only have licence to operate in the global system, but also a civic duty to contribute to its sustainable health. How should corporations exercise their... View Details

Keywords: World Economic Forum; Society

03 Oct 2013
News

How to Design a Bundled Payment Around Value

October 2010 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.

By: Sunil Gupta and Kerry Herman

In September 2010, faced with increasing threat from social game companies such as Zynga, Ben Feder, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive Software. Inc., had to decide the long-term strategy of his video-game company. As a publisher of traditional video games for Xbox 360,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Leadership Style; Marketing; Competitive Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

18 Nov 2009
Working Paper Summaries

India Transformed? Insights from the Firm Level 1988-2005

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro & Anusha Chari

19 Nov 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The Search for Benchmarks: When Do Crowds Provide Wisdom?

Keywords: by Charles M.C. Lee, Paul Ma & Charles C.Y. Wang

December 1992 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Porsche AG

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Describes the financial management of the research and development departments of an automobile manufacturer and technology supplier. Existing cost systems measure accurately the costs incurred by department and by project. But little formal information is provided... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Cost Accounting; Research and Development; Machinery and Machining; Auto Industry; Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

17 Jun 2011
News

How case studies from India are being taught at Harvard Business School

Article

Innovations in Retail Operations: Thirty Years of Lessons from Production and Operations Management

By: Marshall Fisher and Ananth Raman

We review papers published in Production and Operations Management (POM) during its thirty-year history that deal with retail operations issues with an empirical approach. The papers span a range of issues, from traditional ones like forecasting and inventory... View Details

Keywords: RFID; Innovation and Invention; Technology Adoption; Operations; E-commerce; Strategy; Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

17 Dec 2017
News

Indie bookstores’ surprising revival based on giving customers ‘an experience’

April 2005
Case

Merrill Lynch in 2003: Sunny Skies Ahead?

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and David Kiron

Merrill Lynch (ML) is at a crossroads. Stan O'Neal became its CEO and implemented a radical cost-cutting program. In addition, the company dot-com continues to recover from the fallout from the Enron and dot-com scandals. What are the future prospects for ML? Can the... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Condition; Investment; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; United States

December 2001
Case

Qwest Communications International Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Christopher Hackett

Describes the evolution of Qwest from a small fiber-optic construction firm in 1996 to a global telecommunications giant in 2001. Focuses on Qwest's pivotal acquisition of "Baby Bell" US West, a regional Bell operating company many times Qwest's size. Discusses the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Asset Pricing; Business History; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Organizational Culture; Partners and Partnerships; Vertical Integration; Telecommunications Industry