Publications

March 2017
Case

Cantel Medical

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Cantel Medical Corporation provided infection prevention and control products and services for patients, caregivers, and other healthcare providers. In 2016, Cantel generated sales of $665 million and net profits of $60 million, double the levels of five years earlier.... View Details

Keywords: Cantel; Charles Diker; Furniture Industry; Matrix Organization; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Chemicals; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Business History; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Problems and Challenges; Research and Development; Opportunities; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Information Technology; Biotechnology Industry; Chemical Industry; Health Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; New Jersey

22 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Bringing ‘Lean’ Principles to Service Industries

"waterfall" method in which each step of the process is completed in turn by a separate worker. By sharing mistakes across the process, the customer and project team members benefit individually and collectively from increased... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Computer

February 2011
Case

oDesk: Changing How the World Works

By: Boris Groysberg, David A. Thomas and Jennifer M. Tydlaska

It is 2010, and Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk, is contemplating the next steps for his organization. Founded in 2004 in California, oDesk operates an online marketplace which matches Employers with Contractors. oDesk provides fact-based information on Contractors, including... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Consulting Industry

Web

Rigorous research, rooted in practice | About

Rigorous research, rooted in practice The most pressing challenges and interesting opportunities facing the world today cannot be addressed without business playing a significant role. Harvard Business School faculty conduct research on... View Details

July 2011 (Revised April 2012)
Case

The Clorox Company: Leveraging Green for Growth

By: Elie Ofek and Lauren Barley

The Clorox Company needs to decide on the marketing strategy going forward for its three sustainable brands, Brita, Burt's Bees and Green Works. These brands had fared differently over the past 3 years and each presents multiple courses of action heading into 2011.... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Managerial Roles; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Sales; Opportunities; Corporate Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Chemical Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

27 Apr 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Putting Integrity into Finance: A Purely Positive Approach

Keywords: by Werner Erhard & Michael C. Jensen

January 2015 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Nasty Gals Do It Better

By: David Collis, Diane Chang, Matthew Shaffer and Ashley Hartman

In 2006, Sophia Amoruso started Nasty Gal, an eBay boutique selling vintage clothes. With a strong sense of style and personality, Amoruso poured herself into building the brand and developing relationships with her customers—typically the slightly edgy 18–24 year old.... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth; Brand Management; Online Retail; Clothing; Apparel; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Management; Marketing Strategy; Strategic Planning; Social Media; E-commerce; Digital Marketing; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

25 Jun 2012
Research & Ideas

Collaborating Across Cultures

doubt that the confluence of diverse cultures can create opportunities for innovation—think of the Crusades and the Renaissance, or of Japan... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Web

Nonprofit Board Service - Alumni

Albert H. Gordon Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus Matching and Search Resources and Programs Sites and Sources to Find Opportunities and Organizations That Meet Your Interests BoardStrong... View Details

Web

Independent Projects | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Eligibility & Criteria Awards How to Apply Past Projects Independent Projects in social enterprise complement the classroom-based courses by providing second-year MBA students the opportunity to apply their skills to the real-world... View Details

15 Sep 2010
Working Paper Summaries

From Bench to Board: Gender Differences in University Scientists’ Participation in Commercial Science

Keywords: by Waverly W. Ding, Fiona Murray & Toby E. Stuart; Biotechnology

March 2016 (Revised February 2023)
Teaching Note

Advertising Experiments at RestaurantGrades

By: Michael Luca, Weijia Dai and Hyunjin Kim

Advertising Experiments at RestaurantGrades is an exercise in which students are asked to analyze and make a recommendation on the basis of simulated experimental data. The setting is a hypothetical restaurant review company called RestaurantGrades (RG), which shows... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Marketing; Digital Marketing; Analysis; Performance Effectiveness

October 2014
Supplement

Quiet Logistics (B)

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This two-part case focuses on how to identify and manage strategic uncertainties in an innovative, entrepreneurial start-up company. In the (A) case, students learn about Quiet Logistics, an e-commerce fulfillment company working with high-end apparel retailers such as... View Details

Web

Impact - Health Care

Impact Making a Difference in Health Care Harvard Business School Influencing the Industry With global health care spending greater than $8.5 trillion, there is no shortage of opportunities to make an impact... View Details

16 Nov 2023
News

Dean Datar Meets with Alumni in Boston

Starting last fall and continuing through this coming year, Dean Srikant Datar is traveling to meet with alumni around the world. On November 8, more than 170 alumni and guests gathered in Klarman Hall to hear the dean discuss how the School is addressing today’s... View Details

01 Mar 2024
News

Case Study: Testing the Waters

Illustration by Christina Spano Endurance training was nothing new to Lauren Picasso (MBA 2014), who’d raced through her younger years as a cross-country runner and swimmer. In 2017, when she was director of marketing at Jet.com and... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

13 Nov 2012
First Look

First Look: November 13

have the chance to be cruel or kind to someone entirely different-to pay it forward? In five experiments, participants received greedy, equal, or generous divisions of money or labor from an anonymous person, and then divided additional... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

31 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

It’s Not All About Pay: College Grads Want Jobs That ‘Change the World’

Businesses seeking highly educated talent would do well to appeal to college graduates’ desire to “change the world.” And in doing so, they might change the world a little, too—by offering jobs that come with the unintended effect of... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

December 2017 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Armarium: Luxury Fashion Brands for Rent

By: Jill Avery, David Fubini, Natasha Dossa and Devon Stewart

Armarium, a two-sided online platform that offered consumers the opportunity to rent the most coveted, current season high fashion clothing and accessories from the top global luxury brands, had emerged from its first sales season with two distinct customer segments:... View Details