Publications

October 2022
Case

Weapons of Self Destruction: Zak Pym Williams and the Cultivation of Mental Wellness

By: Lauren Cohen, Ronnie Stangler and Grace Headinger

Zak Pym Williams, mental health advocate, grappled with the question of how to create a proactive mental health family environment for his children. Having witnessed how mental health challenges such as addiction and depression had impacted the past four generations of... View Details

Keywords: Family; U.S.; Mental Health; Family Business; Entertainment; Values and Beliefs; Ethics; Leading Change; Family and Family Relationships; Well-being; Social Issues; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; California

01 Jun 2008
News

You Only Thought You Were Republican

Guide You’ll Ever Need (among other books), range from placing tort-reform initiatives on the California ballot to following the Parliament cigarette plane and its ad banner (“Parliament: the perfect recess”) over Long Island beaches with... View Details

Keywords: Andrew Tobias; national debt; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services; Government

January 2023 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Veeva Systems and the Transformation to a Public Benefit Corporation

By: Ranjay Gulati and Allison M. Ciechanover

Peter Gassner, the co-founder and CEO of Veeva Systems, steered the company through rapid scaling from its launch in 2007 to 2022. Year after year, the company had exceeded expectations, with its market capitalization reaching $50 billion at its peak. By 2022, the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Corporate Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; United States; California

February 2024
Case

FIGS: Scrubbing the Status Quo

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Nicole Tempest Keller

In October 2023, FIGS had revolutionized the medical scrubs industry with its fashionable and functional designs, but the venture was at a critical juncture. The digitally native vertical brand (DNVB) had gone public in a successful IPO in 2021 and reached $500 million... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Channels; Corporate Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles; Europe; Canada

Web

The Intersection of Public Relations and Photography | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

Public Relations and Corporate Imagery in American Big Business (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998), 224. 17 Bruce Barton, “The Public,” Printers’ Ink , December 12, 1935, 20. 18 The Chicago District office, for example,... View Details

March 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Applied Intuition: Powering Autonomy

By: Andy Wu, Rocio Wu and Matt Higgins

Applied Intuition, a leader in autonomous vehicle simulation software, has just closed on a $175 million round of Series D financing that values the four-year-old firm at $3.6 billion. With the immediate future secure, CEO Qasar Younis must now chart a strategic course... View Details

Keywords: Autonomous Vehicles; Software; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Valuation; Auto Industry; Technology Industry; California; Detroit

18 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

Warning: Scary Warning Labels Work!

Marketers can make a bottle of sugar water look like golden elixir. Can health advocates sour the taste for consumers? (SteveDF) San Francisco is in a three-year battle with the American Beverage Industry over whether soda companies can be forced to include consumer... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Advertising; Public Relations

February 2014 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Strava

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and Sid Misra

Strava is a new fast-growing social network for the avid cyclist and runner. The Strava case traces the entrepreneurial journey of two serial entrepreneurs who have been co-founders in a prior venture, and who have co-founded Strava 3 years ago. The protagonists must... View Details

29 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

The History and Influence of Andy Grove

Business School. Tedlow spent several years researching and interviewing Grove, to the point of inhabiting a small cubicle in Intel's Santa Clara, California headquarters. Although Grove participated with Tedlow, he did not review the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Computer

August 2021 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Data Science at the Warriors

By: Iavor I. Bojinov and Michael Parzen

The case explores the development and early growth of a data science team at the Golden State Warriors, an NBA team based in San Francisco. The case begins by explaining the initial rationale for investing in data science, then covers a debate on the appropriate team... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Analysis; Forecasting and Prediction; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Analytics and Data Science; Sports Industry; San Francisco; United States

07 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

Who Pays For Wildfire and Hurricane Damage? Everyone.

New Mexico homeowners might think their inland location buffers them from the financial toll of climate change, but they’re still paying for climate-related property damage occurring in coastal states. New research finds that homeowners in New Mexico and other states... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Insurance

June 2022 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Netflix's Culture: Binge or Cringe?

By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger, James Barnett and Stacy Straaberg

In May 2022, streaming entertainment company Netflix lost customers for the first time in more than 10 years. Once a first mover in the streaming landscape, Netflix was facing competition from Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, and others. A key component of... View Details

February 2013
Case

Diamond Foods, Inc.

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Tim Gray

The Diamonds Foods, Inc. case describes the major accounting blow up at the company in late 2011 that was triggered by a report by Off Wall Street, a prominent short selling research firm. Diamond Foods, a high flying growth company in 2011, grew from a walnut farmers'... View Details

January 2016
Case

Open Innovation at Fujitsu (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Jean-François Harvey

This case study examines the open innovation journey at Fujitsu, a global information and communication technology company. The case ends with the location decision between Tokyo, Japan, downtown San Francisco or Sunnyvale, California, regarding establishing a small... View Details

03 Feb 2012
HBS Seminar

Dr. Regina Dugan, Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

December 2022
Case

Mission Produce in 2022

By: Forest Reinhardt, Jose B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

Founded by CEO Steve Barnard in 1983, California-based Mission Produce was a leading supplier of Hass avocados with a global sourcing, marketing, and distribution network and $892 million in 2021 sales. Barnard had been influential in the global avocado trade’s... View Details

Keywords: Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; California; Peru; Guatemala; Colombia; Mexico; Chile

June 2014 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Molycorp: Financing the Production of Rare Earth Minerals (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

Molycorp, the western hemisphere's only producer of rare earth minerals, was in the middle of a $1 billion capital expenditure project in its effort to become a vertically integrated supplier of rare earth minerals, oxides, and metals. Yet it had just reported lower... View Details