Publications

September 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

GoodGuide

By: George Serafeim, Robert G. Eccles and Tiffany A. Clay

GoodGuide, a high-technology start-up company, founded by University of California Professor at Berkley Dara O'Rourke is at a critical junction. The venture capital funded company has yet to find the business model to monetize a very promising product that provides... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Venture Capital; Goods and Commodities; Business Model; Information Technology; Knowledge; Education Industry; California

March 1979 (Revised December 1982)
Case

Allied Chemical Corp. (B)

By: George C. Lodge and Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Describes Allied's cooperative approach to government relations and the approach of some of the regulatory agencies Allied deals with. Based mainly on quotes from Allied and government officials. Asks the student to evaluate Allied's government relations--in general... View Details

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Cooperation; Chemical Industry

October 2019
Supplement

Airbus vs. Boeing (L): Discontinuing the A380 (February 2019)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes Airbus’ February 2019 announcement that it was ending production of the A380, with the last delivery scheduled for 2021. The announcement followed an order cancellation by Emirates, a major customer of the A380. The A380 had faced significant... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Air Transportation; Projects; Competition; Air Transportation Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Europe

2002
Case

3M Corporation

By: Vijay Govindarajan and Julie Lang

3M's strategy was rooted in innovation. 3M's 30 Percent Rule, where 30 percent of revenues must come from products introduced in the last four years, clarifies and drives its innovation mentality. Selected policies and philosophies helped to institutionalize a... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Entrepreneurship

February 2021
Background Note

Jobs to Be Done: A Toolbox

By: Derek C. M. van Bever, Bob Moesta, Iuliana Mogosanu, Shaye Roseman and Katie Zandbergen

The Jobs to Be Done methodology is both a theory and a practical approach for understanding customer behavior and why people make the choices they make. Many practitioners, whether they work for startups or incumbent businesses, find Jobs to Be Done useful because it... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Decision Choices and Conditions; Knowledge Acquisition; Attitudes; Perception; Theory; Behavior; Customer Relationship Management

Program

High Potentials Leadership Program

cons of diverse leadership styles and strategies, you will expand your ability to build productive teams, champion change, lead in a crisis, and create a culture of high... View Details

21 Jan 2012
News

The Future Of Advertising

June 1994 (Revised June 1995)
Case

Chandler Home Products: European Rationalization

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Chandler, a large U.S. consumer products firm, is rationalizing its European operations. Tony Pesci, protagonist, is deciding which plants to close for maximum efficiency. The manufacturing/marketing relationship is strained as efficiency is being weighed against... View Details

Keywords: Debates; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Labor; Contracts; Operations; Performance Efficiency; Relationships; Consumer Products Industry; United States

2014
Teaching Note

Bluestar's Acquisition of Adisseo (B) (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Donghong Li and Lei Li

This case describes the post-M&A integration of Adisseo of France in 2006 by Bluestar Group, the largest subsidiary of ChemChina (a Fortune 500 company) until 2013. Adisseo was mainly engaged in production of methionine, a feed additive, while China had no methionine... View Details

Keywords: Internationalization; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Postmerger Integration; Strategy; China; France; Chemicals; China; France

Research Summary

Managing the Operating Role of Customers

By: Frances X. Frei

Customers in operating roles introduce considerable variability into the production environment including differences in the demands they impose on the environment and the unpredictability of those demands. When customers are the source of production variability, the... View Details

Web

Live from Klarman Hall - Alumni

evolving occupational demands varies widely among firms and countries, exerting substantial influence on productivity growth at both micro and macro levels. As we navigate... View Details

19 Mar 2013
News

Will a Kinder, Gentler CEO Be More Effective?

Video

Lillete Dubey

Lillete Dubey, Director of India-based Primetime Theatre Company, describes the financial challenges her group has faced while relating the importance she places on compensating actors and technicians fairly to maintain high production quality. View Details

26 Nov 2018
HBS Seminar

Emily Truelove, MIT Sloan School of Management

Career Coach

Madhav Datt

Madhav is a startup founder and tech product manager. He worked as Product Manager at Google where he launched and scaled B2B AI View Details

December 2014 (Revised August 2015)
Case

Muñoz Group: Sustaining Global Vertical Integration Through Innovation

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Annelena Lobb

Muñoz Group, which supplied supermarket chains and food distribution chains around the world with fruit, flowers, juice and ice cream, was at a strategic crossroads in 2014. CEO Alvaro Muñoz had to choose the best way to achieve profit goals and provide his company... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Supply Chain; Retail; Agribusiness Industry; Globalized Firms and Management; Supply Chain Management; Competitive Advantage; Vertical Integration; Profit; Innovation and Invention; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; North and Central America

September 2006
Article

Dynamic Scoring: A Back-of-the-Envelope Guide

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl and N. Gregory Mankiw

This paper uses the neoclassical growth model to examine the extent to which a tax cut pays for itself through higher economic growth. The model yields simple expressions for the steady-state feedback effect of a tax cut. The feedback is surprisingly large: for... View Details

Keywords: Revenue Estimation; Taxation; Economic Growth

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September 1993 (Revised June 2009)
Case

Mary Kay Cosmetics: Asian Market Entry (A)

By: John A. Quelch

In February 1993, Curran Dandurand, senior vice president of Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc.'s global marketing group, was reflecting on the company's international operations. Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc. products had been sold outside the United States for over 15 years, but by... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Sales; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Asia

Winter 2013
Article

How to Identify the Best Customers for Your Business

By: Frank V. Cespedes, James P. Dougherty and Ben S. Skinner III

How can businesses achieve profitable growth so that their costs don’t grow faster than sales? This article focuses on scaling a venture’s sales process and provides a methodology for identifying core customers and some implications for governance criteria and... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Growth Management; Sales

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