Publications

August 2023
Case

WayCool: Reimagining the Food Supply Chain

By: Paul Gompers and Kairavi Dey

Founded in 2015, WayCool, is an Indian agri-tech start-up that built a B2B operation acquiring fruits and vegetables from product-specific agriculture companies and small-holding farmers. It sold them to business customers, such as local retail stores, restaurants, and... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Digital Transformation; Operations; Business Strategy; Supply Chain; Performance; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; Asia; South Asia

2012
Other Unpublished Work

Strategic responses to collective activism in the U.S. biomass sector

By: Shon R. Hiatt

Almost all companies face constraints and pressure from collective activists. Using tactics such as protests, boycotts, and lobbying, social movement organizations and collective actors can draw significant media attention to issues facing industries and organizations,... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Business and Community Relations; Social and Collaborative Networks; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Identity; Forest Products Industry; United States

March 2009
Case

Barbara Norris: Leading Change in the General Surgery Unit

By: Boris Groysberg, Nitin Nohria and Deborah Bell

Barbara Norris struggles to address the many problems facing her as a recently promoted nurse manager in the General Surgery Unit (GSU) at Eastern Massachusetts University Hospital (EMU). She has inherited a unit with the lowest employee satisfaction scores and highest... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Leading Change; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams; Motivation and Incentives; Satisfaction; Health Industry

22 Apr 2021
Blog Post

Launching the Women in Tech Initiative at HBS

This past year the HBS Tech Club launched a new group called the HBS Women in Tech Initiative. The mission of this group is to connect women who are interested in the tech industry and to empower women with the skills, confidence, and... View Details

2006
Book

Design-Inspired Innovation

By: James Utterback, Bengt–Arne Vedin, Eduardo Alvarez, Sten Ekman, Susan Walsh Sanderson, Bruce Tether and Roberto Verganti

When an innovation is inspired by design, it transcends technology and utility. The design delights the user, seamlessly integrating the physical object, a service, and its use into something whole. A design-inspired innovation is so simple that it becomes an extension... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Product Design; Product Development

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2019
Working Paper

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 15 The IBM PC

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

The IBM PC was the first digital computer platform that was open by as a matter of strategy, not necessity. The purpose of this chapter is to understand the IBM PC as a technical system and set of organization choices in light of the theory of how technology shapes... View Details

Keywords: IBM; Personal Computer; Digital Platforms; System; Strategy

SSRN

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June 1987 (Revised July 2004)
Case

Textile Corporation Building, The

By: William J. Poorvu

Describes the potential acquisition of a downtown office building in Boston through a sealed bid auction. The prospective buyer analyzes in detail all elements of the income and expense statements, calculates the effect of all improvements, and imputes a purchase price... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Property; Bids and Bidding; Auctions; Price; Asset Pricing; Real Estate Industry; Boston

January 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Responding to the Wii?

By: Andrei Hagiu and Hanna Halaburda

After years of gaming console industry leadership, how should Sony respond to the overwhelming success of competitor Nintendo's user-friendly Wii over Sony's high-tech PlayStation 3? It was August 2008 and Kazuo Hirai, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Two-Sided Platforms; Industry Structures; Competitive Strategy; Electronics Industry; Electronics Industry

September 2020
Case

Jan Swartz: Steering Princess Cruises Through the COVID-19 Crisis

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Norris

In the summer of 2020, Jan Swartz, President of Princess Cruises, was persevering to lead her company back from the depths of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Diamond Princess, one of Princess Cruises’ 18 ships was the site of one of the earliest large outbreaks of COVID-19... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; COVID-19; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Ship Transportation; Health Pandemics; Human Resources; Business Strategy; Gender; Personal Development and Career; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; United States

April 2008
Supplement

Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. (B)

By: Paul W. Marshall, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

In late November 2000, Chung Telecom Co., Ltd., the once-monopolized telecom operator owned by the Taiwanese government, was on its way to privatization. Mr. C.K. Mao, Chairman of the company, was headed the job only three months earlier, after its prior chairman... View Details

Keywords: State Ownership; Jobs and Positions; Monopoly; Privatization; Competition; Decisions; Motivation and Incentives; Labor and Management Relations; Resignation and Termination; Compensation and Benefits; Price; Status and Position; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Taiwan

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Career Coach

Christopher Canario

what opportunities might be out there, or just interested in learning more about the rapidly growing space economy, Chris is happy to get you up to speed on all things space. If you are already a space View Details

Program

Competing in the Age of AI—Virtual

industry or business model, you cannot afford to ignore this exciting, highly disruptive trend. In this live online program, you will delve into new AI-based business models and operational approaches while exploring the possibilities of... View Details

September 2022 (Revised November 2022)
Case

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act: Trade and Genocide in U.S.-China Relations

By: Jeremy Friedman and David Lane

On June 21, 2022, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) went into effect, requiring companies to prove that goods imported from the People’s Republic of China were not made with forced labor. The bill was a reaction to reports of products being made with... View Details

Program

General Management Program

organization, the program delivers the tools you need to capitalize on technological disruption and digital transformation and play a more strategic role in corporate success. This includes: Read More Considering global and industry... View Details

09 Jun 2024
Blog Post

The EC Formula: MBA Class of 2024 Looks Back

industries and functions. We asked members of the MBA Class of 2024 what EC course will help them succeed in their various sectors, why they pursued an MBA, what advice they would give to prospective MBA students in their fields, and... View Details

07 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 7, 2008

published in top peer-reviewed management, psychology, sociology, and industrial relations journals from 1990 to 2005. Our findings illuminate a continuum of open systems to closed systems phenomenological assumptions revealed in this... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

10 Jan 2018
Blog Post

EXPERTS SHARE 5 TIPS TO BECOME A BETTER MANAGER

How can you become a better manager? What are the steps you need to take to get there? Below, we've compiled five management tips from Harvard Business School faculty and industry leaders who are featured in the new HBX course Becoming a... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

03 Nov 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Adding Value Through Venture Capital in Latin America and the Caribbean

Keywords: by Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon, James Tighe & Susana Garcia-Robles; Financial Services

November 1996
Case

Del Webb Corporation (B), The

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Samanta Graff

On November 16, 1987, the Del Webb board appointed Phil Dion chairman and CEO. This case outlines the development and implementation of a strategy to focus exclusively on real estate development and to liquidate all other assets. Discusses the appointment of two new... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Management Succession; Strategic Planning; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Real Estate Industry