Publications

26 Jun 2009
Research Event

Business Summit: Business and the Environment

Governments, business, and consumers must act to address climate change. The actions must deal with resource supply issues and renewable energy, as well as with demand issues. Ultimately, these actions will... View Details

Keywords: Re: Forest L. Reinhardt; Energy; Utilities

23 Jan 2015
Research & Ideas

Oil Price Fallout: What Happens Next?

The last six years have proved just how fluid the international oil market is. And if recent support of the Keystone Pipeline by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Nebraska Supreme Court (which approved the pipeline's path through that state) are any indication,... View Details

Keywords: Re: Richard H.K. Vietor; Energy; Utilities

Forthcoming
Article

The Institutional Sources of Economic Transformation: Explaining Variation in Energy Transitions

By: Jared Finnegan, Phillip Lipscy, Jonas Meckling and Florence Metz

Why are some governments more effective in promoting economic change than others? We develop a theory of the institutional sources of economic transformation. Institutions can facilitate transformation through two central mechanisms: insulation and compensation.... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Business and Government Relations; Supply and Industry; Demand and Consumers; Transformation; Economic Systems; Climate Change

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November 2009 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Red Tomato: Keeping It Local

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Mary Louise Shelman and Laura Winig

This case describes the operating model and history of Red Tomato, a non-profit organization dedicated to branding and logistical support for locally grown produce farmers in the northeast U.S. The case highlights the challenges involved in making locally grown produce... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Trends; Food; Local Range; Consumer Behavior; Logistics; Supply Chain; Nonprofit Organizations; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Northeastern United States

07 Nov 2005
What Do You Think?

Is Less Becoming More?

Amazon stimulates sales by its listing of thousands of books that would otherwise be out of print, given their meager sales through traditional channels. Internet technology and supply chain efficiencies have made this possible. The... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Consumer Products

17 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 17, 2007

instead reflect more "top-down" interventions. We conclude with a discussion of some of the historical evidence on top-down interventions. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-061.pdf Alignment in Cross-Functional and Cross-Firm View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Apr 2016
First Look

April 26

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49804 Economic Transition and Private-Sector Labor Demand: Evidence from Urban China By: Iyer, Lakshmi, Xin Meng, Nancy Qian, and Xiaoxue Zhao Abstract—This paper studies the policy determinants of economic transition and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 1996 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Northco (A)

By: Ananth Raman and Bowon Kim

A small school-uniform manufacturer wrestles with seasonal demand. The company is saddled with excess inventory when it is bought by a leveraged buyout firm. Students are required to identify ways to analyze and solve the problem. View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Leveraged Buyouts; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

21 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Missing the Wave in Ship Transport

price increases drove an industry uptick as the market shifted from oil to coal. Demand for ships outstripped supply until 1981, when a global recession and the US coal miners' strike led to a collapse in... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Transportation

September 2008
Case

Harrington Collection: Sizing Up the Active-Wear Market

By: Richard S. Tedlow and Heather Beckham

In the wake of slumping sales and sagging profit margins, a leading manufacturer and retailer of high-end women's apparel, Harrington Collection, must evaluate an opportunity to expand into the high-growth active-wear market. Sara Huey, Vice President of Strategic... View Details

Keywords: Breakeven Analysis; Product Introduction; Expansion; Consumer Behavior; Supply and Industry; Product Launch; Apparel and Accessories Industry

20 Dec 2004
Research & Ideas

How an Order Views Your Company

in optimization of supply chains and logistics. I think that for all of us, the order cycle provided a wonderful window through which to observe the intricate details of revenue management, cross-functional coordination, and profitability... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston

24 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

These Coronavirus Heroes Show Us How Crisis Leadership Works

in Galway, Ireland. He has publicly committed to double production from 5,000 to 10,000 units per month, but that is just the start. Next come the challenges of getting supplies from all over the world, hiring and training new employees,... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Health

17 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Why E-commerce Didn’t Die With the Fall of Webvan

consumers. Webvan was perhaps unrealistically imagined to be such a channel. The difference between Dell and Proctor & Gamble is that Dell can supply all your computing needs, but Proctor & Gamble can never aspire to View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Consumer Products; Retail

08 Mar 2016
Research & Ideas

Solving an Economic Mystery Surrounding Argentina and Chile

between 1998 and 2002. Chile did better in this era of globalization, and boomed supplying copper to China. Chile produced one-tenth of the world’s copper, but once more was badly affected when Chinese and world View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

03 Dec 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Against the Grain

What should Jim do? The array of ethical choices forms the basis of discussion in the MBA required course Leadership and Corporate Accountability. Supply And Demand "Corruption can be defined as paying... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Food & Beverage

November 2006
Case

Organics: Coming Center Stage?

By: James E. Austin and Reed Martin

The organics movement has certainly come a long way. From hippie farming communes and a scattering of natural food stores in the 1960s, organics outgrew its origins as a counterculture curiosity of the 1970s to become the fastest growing segment of the food industry in... View Details

Keywords: Food; Supply and Industry; Consumer Behavior; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

March – April 2008
Article

Customer Preference Discontinuities: A Trigger for Radical Technological Change

By: Mary Tripsas

What factors cause a mature industry to re-enter a period of technological turbulence? This paper addresses this question by developing a model of technological evolution that incorporates both technological trajectories and a new concept: preference trajectories, ... View Details

Keywords: History; Technology; Transition; Consumer Behavior; Industry Structures; Product Development

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Read Now

September 2008 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Examining the Adoption of Drug-Eluting Stents

By: Elie Ofek

Marketers are often tasked with exploring the factors that impact the long-run adoption of a new product or technology. The new product under consideration here is the drug-eluting stent: a device which props open a clogged artery to the heart and then releases... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Consumer Behavior; Adoption; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry