Publications

Earl Sasser is a Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School and has been a member of the faculty there since 1969. He received a B.A. in Mathematics from Duke University in 1965, an MBA from the University of North Carolina in 1967, and a Ph.D. in... View Details

August 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Northvolt: Making the World's Greenest Battery

By: Jurgen R. Weiss and Emilie Billaud

In 2021, the demand for lithium-ion batteries increased rapidly, particularly for electric vehicles. Anxious not to be reliant on Asian players, Europe was keen on developing its own home-grown capacity to control the value chain, maintain employment in Europe, and get... View Details

April 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Oriental Land Co., Ltd.—Tokyo Disney Resort

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Akiko Kanno

This case describes the history of Oriental Land Co. Ltd.’s (OLC's) Tokyo Disney Resort (TDR), its operations, the extent of vertical integration, and the challenges it faced in 2018 as OLC's chairman and CEO, Toshio Kagami, contemplated how best to deal with... View Details

Keywords: Strategy For Multi-business Firm; Business Models; Growth; Theme Parks; Disney; Disney Parks; Licensing; Royalties; Two-part Tariffs; Oriental Land Co.; Tokyo Disneyland; Tokyo DisneySea; Tokyo Disney Resort; Tokyo Disney; Growth Strategy; Hotels; Hotel Industry; Partnership; Development; Attractions; Rides; Urayasu; Kagami; Congestion; Pricing; Amusement Parks; Amusement Park Industry; Brand; Branding; History; OLC; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business History; Price; Retention; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Agreements and Arrangements; Contracts; Operations; Vertical Integration; Problems and Challenges; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Expansion; Rail Transportation; Transportation Networks; Accommodations Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Tourism Industry; Asia; Japan; Tokyo; United States

November 2000 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Airbus A3XX: Developing the World's Largest Commercial Jet (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Michael Kane

In July 2000, Airbus Industries' supervisory board is on the verge of approving a $13 billion investment for the development of a new super jumbo jet known as the A3XX that would seat from 550 to 1,000 passengers. Having secured approximately 20 orders for the new jet,... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Investment; Forecasting and Prediction; Capital Budgeting; Valuation; Government and Politics; Demand and Consumers; Product Development; Product Positioning; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry

September 2015
Case

Eco7: Launching a New Motor Oil

By: John Quelch and Sunru Yong

Aaron Jonnerson, vice president of marketing at the automotive division of Avellin, must make marketing mix decisions for the launch of Eco7, a new environmentally-friendly motor oil. The company's performance has been mediocre, shareholder pressure is increasing, and... View Details

Keywords: Distribution Channels; Environmental Sustainability; Product Launch; Transportation; Energy Sources; Auto Industry

Web

Historical Data & Sources - Business History

Ships and Sea Transport (London: George Routledge and Sons, Ltd., 1931), opp. p. 8, map. Distances Between Ports U.S. Navy, Hydrographic Office, Table of Distances Between Ports (Washington: GPO, 1942), opp. p. 4, map. Ford: Countries of... View Details

August 2004 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Fate of the Vasa, The

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Richard Mason

In 1628, the royal warship Vasa was launched. It was Sweden's most expensive naval vessel ever built, costing over 5% of GNP. On its maiden voyage, the ship sailed 1,400 yards in its own harbor, heeled over to the side, and then sank. One third of the 150 crew and... View Details

Keywords: History; Risk and Uncertainty; Technological Innovation; Ship Transportation; Product Design; Technology Adoption; Failure; Business and Government Relations; Product Development; Sweden

February 1992 (Revised September 2019)
Case

The House of Tata

By: James E. Austin and Ashish Nanda

The case traces the evolution of the Tata group, one of the largest and highly respected Indian business houses, from its 19th century founding and early growth in diverse industries, to its response to changes in government regulation in independent India, up to its... View Details

Keywords: Indian Economy; International Business; Government And Business; Government Regulation; Synergy; Conglomerates; Business Conglomerates; Developing Countries and Economies; Business and Government Relations; Business History; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry; India

Fast Answer

Patent terminology: Classification codes

H) as IPD. However, CPC has an additional Y section. Section A – Human Necessities Section B – Performing Operations; Transporting Section C – Chemistry; Metallurgy Section D – Textiles; Paper Section E... View Details

22 Feb 2022
News

New Urban Order

Currently an adjunct associate professor at NYU’s Stern School, where he teaches about commercializing carbon-reduction technologies in the course Disruption, Entrepreneurship, and Social Impact, Carty points to the significant potential of mass transit and the... View Details

17 Aug 2021
Research & Ideas

Can Autonomous Vehicles Drive with Common Sense?

Human error causes at least 90 percent of the 5.25 million accidents in the United States annually. Could driverless cars save lives? Yes, but it may take a long road to get there. “Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are never drunk or tired or inattentive,” says Harvard... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Auto

Web

Commodities, Currencies, and Balancing of the Trade Deficit - A Chronicle of the China Trade

Commodities, Currencies, and Balancing of the Trade Deficit Augustine Heard & Co.’s formation occurred during the First Opium War (1839–1842). The conflict broke out between the United Kingdom and China in part over the transport and sale... View Details

02 Aug 2022
Research & Ideas

6 Strategies for Building Socially Responsible—and Profitable—Companies

A dozen years ago, Harvard Business School Professor George Serafeim wondered why some companies operated with an eye toward the greater good, while most did not. Back then, he always got the same response: Corporate leaders thought social and environmental practices... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

20 Apr 2023
News

How Joe Hinrichs is Getting CSX Back on Track

Photo via LinkedIn In a recent Q&A with the Wall Street Journal, new CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs (MBA 1994) discussed the steps he's taken to address challenges at the rail company since becoming CEO in September. First up, the paper notes, was a listening tour. "The best-run... View Details

Keywords: Rail Transportation; Rail Transportation

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

slaughter the animals some of whose parts ended up in Unilever's pies and sausages. Unilever made its own packaging, and transported its products on its own trucks and barges. It owned the distribution chain that delivered its frozen... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

01 Jun 2023
News

Cultivating Prosperity in Afghanistan

saffron to wider markets and realized it represented a compelling value proposition. “Farmers could make more money, especially as it’s a very high-price crop, and because saffron is so light, it’s easy to transport by air. The margins... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

01 Oct 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Systemic Risk and the Refinancing Ratchet Effect

Keywords: by Amir E. Khandani, Andrew W. Lo & Robert C. Merton; Construction; Real Estate

September 2006 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Airbus vs. Boeing (A)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Erich Alexander Voigt and Jordan Mitchell

Looks at the development of the competitive actions between Airbus and Boeing from 1992 to 2006. Begins with the question of whether Airbus and Boeing should collaborate on the development of a VLCT (Very Large Commercial Transport) or whether Airbus should develop... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Competition; Cooperation; Air Transportation Industry