Publications

October 1986 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Karen Leary (A)

By: Linda A. Hill

Describes the evolution of the working relationship of Karen Leary, a new manager of a Merrill Lynch retail branch, and Ted Chung, a new financial consultant in the branch. Leary has some concerns about her working relationship with Chung and with his performance.... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Employee Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Development and Career; Performance Evaluation; Diversity; Financial Services Industry

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, specializing in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. Her strategic and practical insights guide leaders worldwide through teaching, writing, and direct... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; advertising; airline; apparel; arts; automobiles; banking; beauty products; beverage; biotechnology; broadcasting; chemical; clothing; communications; computer; consulting; consumer products; e-commerce industry; education industry; electrical equipment; electronics; entertainment; fashion; fast food; federal government; financial services; food; food processing; grocery; health care; high technology; hotels ＆ motels; industrial goods; information; information technology industry; insurance industry; internet; legal services; management consulting; manufacturing; medical supplies; nonprofit industry; oil ＆ gas; petroleum; pharmaceuticals; professional services; publishing industry; real estate; recreation; restaurant; retail financial services; retailing; semiconductor; soft drink; software; sports; state government; telecommunications; textiles; tourism; toy; transportation; travel; utilities; wine

Person Page

Full Biography

By: Rohit Deshpande

Rohit Deshpandé is Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing at Harvard Business Schoolwhere he currently teaches in the Owner/President Management Program and in other executive education offerings. He has also taught global branding, international marketing, and... View Details

April 2017
Article

Financing Risk and Innovation

By: Ramana Nanda and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

We provide a model of investment into new ventures that demonstrates why some places, times, and industries should be associated with a greater degree of experimentation by investors. Investors respond to financing risk―a forecast of limited future funding―by modifying... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; Innovation and Invention

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February 2017
Case

Aston Martin: A Second Century of Performance and Luxury

By: Vish V. Krishnan, Karim R. Lakhani and Amram Migdal

Following the March 2016 launch of DB11, Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd.’s first new sports car platform in over a decade, this case discusses the future strategy of the famed British luxury auto manufacturer. Since its founding in 1902, Aston Martin has been characterized... View Details

01 Mar 2016
First Look

March 1, 2016

with subsidies alone, but the subsidies have been too small to solve the “last-mile problem,” and so most poor households remain unconnected to the water and sewer system. In nineteenth-century New York, subsidies also proved insufficient... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Debora L. Spar

Debora Spar is the Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and Senior Associate Dean for Business and Global Society. Her current research focuses on issues of gender and technology, and the interplay between... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; broadcasting; communications; entertainment; federal government; health care; information; internet; music; pharmaceuticals

February 2010 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Sheikh Mohammed and the Making of 'Dubai, Inc.'

By: Anthony Mayo, Nitin Nohria, Umaimah Mendhro and Johnathan Cromwell

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has converted Dubai from a sleepy little coastal village into a world-class city, famous for its ambition, drive, and economic promise. He is the founder, part-owner, and visionary behind companies such as Emirates Airlines, a... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Leadership Style; Emerging Markets; Personal Development and Career; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Dubai

September 2019 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Vispera: Visual Intelligence for Retail

By: Yael Grushka-Cockayne and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in 2019 as Aytul Ercil, co-founder and CEO of Vispera, computer vision technology provider for retail, is contemplating the company’s agenda trying to decide how to prioritize the impeding options. The case chronicles the founding of Vispera, the... View Details

Keywords: Computer Vision Technology; Visual Analysis; Retail; Information Technology; Business Model; Operations; Performance Efficiency; Competitive Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Global Strategy; Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Turkey

February 2003 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Interface's Evergreen Services Agreement

In an attempt to reduce its ecological footprint, Interface Americas, a leading manufacturer of commercial carpet tile, has launched the Evergreen Services Agreement (ESA)--a lease agreement that provides would-be carpet purchasers with comprehensive floor-covering... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Product; Environmental Sustainability; Innovation and Invention; Leasing; Consumer Products Industry; Houston

22 Nov 2010
News

Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution

30 Apr 2020
News

Five Key Insights on Leading Courageously During a Crisis

20 Apr 2012
News

The American Connection

24 Oct 2017
News

Cashing Out For Happiness

Eight Business Books to Challenge Your Thinking

We hope our readers are able to enjoy plenty of downtime this summer, as leisure and rest are an important part of preventing burnout and allowing ourselves time to develop new ideas.

We’ve rounded up recommendations for eight books that have held our... View Details

September 2023
Article

The Dynamics of Team Learning: Harmony and Rhythm in Teamwork Arrangements for Innovation

By: Jean-François Harvey, Johnathan R. Cromwell, Kevin J. Johnson and Amy C. Edmondson

Innovation teams must navigate inherent tensions between different learning activities to produce high levels of performance. Yet, we know little about how teams combine these activities—notably reflexive, experimental, vicarious, and contextual learning—most... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Learning; Performance Effectiveness; Collaborative Innovation and Invention

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February 1987 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Polysar Limited

By: Robert L. Simons

Canada's largest chemical company produces and markets butyl rubber in two divisions, each treated as a profit center. The new plant in the North American Division operates below capacity resulting in a significant volume variance and an operating loss. The European... View Details

Keywords: Loss; Profit; Financial Management; Volume; Performance Capacity; Financial Statements; For-Profit Firms; Market Participation; Chemical Industry; Rubber Industry; Canada

March 2011 (Revised March 2014)
Case

The IASB at a Crossroads: The Future of International Financial Reporting Standards (A)

By: Karthik Ramanna, Karol Misztal and Daniela Beyersdorfer

What are the major challenges to the continued growth of IFRS worldwide? Should countries be encouraged to pursue "full adoption" of IFRS or should each country determine its own IFRS "convergence" strategy? Given the limitations of governance and... View Details

Keywords: International Accounting; Emerging Markets; Financial Reporting; Global Strategy; Fair Value Accounting; Corporate Governance; Standards; Adoption; Growth and Development Strategy

November 2010 (Revised December 2012)
Case

ABB: 'In China, for China'

By: J. Gunnar Trumbull, Elena Corsi and Elisa Farri

ABB, a power and automation Swiss engineering company had to decide if they wanted to be even more integrated into the Chinese economy, ABB's biggest market, or if they should instead increase their presence in other emerging markets such as India and Brazil. View Details

Keywords: History; Multinational Firms and Management; Engineering; Problems and Challenges; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Industrial Products Industry; China; India; Brazil