Publications

August 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Magrabi: Fulfilling the Vision for the Future

By: John Beshears, Alpana Thapar and Boris Tsimerinov

In 2018, Magrabi was the leading retailer of eyeglasses, sunglasses, and other optical products in the Middle East, and it was embarking on a major shift in strategy, transitioning from a brand focused on clinical expertise to a brand that combined technical excellence... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Transition; Luxury; Sales; Service Delivery; Strategy; Employees; Recruitment; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; Middle East

July 2007 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Turnaround at the Veterans Health Administration (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Brian R. Golden and Gary J. Young

Investigates the challenges that Dr. Kenneth W. Kizer confronted in seeking to create organizational change at the largest integrated health care system in North America, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Kizer was appointed as the Under Secretary of Health, to... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Transformation; Leadership; Consolidation; Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Health Industry; Public Administration Industry; North and Central America

01 Sep 2011
News

The Innovation Imperative

If you want to understand what’s driving Dean Nitin Nohria’s emphasis on innovation for the School, look no further than HBS professor Bill Kirby’s writings on the rise and decline of great universities. While Nohria spent his first several months in office talking to... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

04 Jun 2014
News

The Industries Apple Could Disrupt Next

Keywords: disruptive innovation; Apple

October 1993 (Revised February 1995)
Case

MCI Vision (A) (Condensed)

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Concerns the development, introduction, and first-year sales performance of Vision, a telecommunications service aimed at small- and medium-sized businesses. Introduced in 1990, Vision surpassed goals in that year, but was significantly below target in the first... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Goals and Objectives; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Product; Sales; Competitive Strategy; Valuation

30 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Market Makers Bid for Success

6 I got to work in my basement on starting FreeMarkets. The first thing we did was raise some money, and then we built some software. We found some pilot clients and started to develop market-making skills, a supplier database, rules for the market, and a call center... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Web Services; Technology

February 2013 (Revised December 2015)
Case

Groom Energy Solutions: Selling Efficiency

By: Michael W. Toffel, Kira R. Fabrizio and Stephanie van Sice

Groom Energy Solutions helps organizations reduce their energy use and costs through the implementation of energy efficiency measures, which create long-term financial and environmental benefits. With early success serving customers in the cold storage and industrial... View Details

Keywords: Groom Energy Solutions; Jon Guerster; Salem, MA; Energy Management; Energy Efficiency Paradox; Sustainability Management; Manufacturing; Cold Storage; Commercial Real Estate; Enterprise Smart Grid; Carbon Accounting; LED Lighting; Sustainability Research; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Entrepreneurship; Energy Entrepreneurship; Energy Services; Electricity; Startup; Expansion; Growth; Sustainability; Business Startups; Forecasting and Prediction; Energy Conservation; Revenue; Geographic Location; Human Resources; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Delivery; Strategic Planning; Science; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Society; Social Issues; Technology Adoption; Energy Industry; Green Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Utilities Industry; United States; Boston

23 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 23

licenses to operate in the country. In the face of these changes, the company has to figure out what its strategy should be to realize its vision of becoming a leading integrated financial services player... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

01 Mar 2014
News

The New Venture Competition's Digital Democracy

The annual alumni New Venture Competition (NVC) is giving the power to the people. As in past years, the HBS regional alumni clubs held local qualifying rounds, producing a dozen or more NVC finalists. But instead of traveling to Boston to make their case in front of a... View Details

Keywords: New Venture Competition

16 Jul 2019
News

The Making of a Movement

cancers.” Hundreds of millions of dollars later, there is no doubt that strategy has worked. Most important, those donations have had a tangible impact. “One hundred percent of the money funds rare cancer research and clinical trials at... View Details

Keywords: Greg Forbes Siegman; cancer

01 Dec 2017
News

Yoga Inc.

phenomenon it pretty much created. “From the foundation of yoga wear, we started a category that before us did not exist,” says Vivien Yeung (MBA 2001), Lululemon’s chief strategy officer. Understanding the public consumption ritual... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Halber

23 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 23, 2018

September 2018 Strategy Science Applying Random Coefficient Models to Strategy Research: Identifying and Exploring Firm Heterogeneous Effects By: Alcácer, Juan, Wilbur Chung, Ashton Hawk, and Gonçalo... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

December 2004 (Revised December 2005)
Case

Nectar: Making Loyalty Pay

By: John A. Deighton

Loyalty Management UK (LMUK) manages British supermarket chain Sainsbury's frequent-shopper card program, called Nectar. LMUK uses Sainsbury's sponsorship as the magnet to attract other retailers into a profitable, multisponsor loyalty network. Examines the economics... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Business or Company Management; Supply Chain Management; Marketing Strategy; Networks; Marketing Channels; Advertising Campaigns; Outcome or Result; Growth and Development; Retail Industry; Great Britain