Publications

August 2021 (Revised November 2023)
Teaching Note

Coats: Supply Chain Challenges

By: Willy C. Shih

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 621-115.
Faced with continuing cost pressure, should Coats, the world's largest thread maker, relocate some of its make-to-stock manufacturing to an ultra-low-cost region while leaving make-to-order demand close to customers? View Details

Keywords: Inventory Management; Supply Chain; Inventory; Supply Chain Management; Operations; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia

October 2019
Supplement

Airbus vs. Boeing (J): New Plane Developments (2016)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes Airbus and Boeing developments in 2016, including Airbus' delivery of the first A320neo (new engine option) and Boeing’s work on the 737 MAX and 777X programs. It also notes Airbus’ restructuring in 2016. View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Air Transportation; Projects; Competition; Restructuring; Manufacturing Industry; Air Transportation Industry; United States; Europe

March 2012 (Revised September 2014)
Case

Clarks at a Crossroads (A)

By: John A. Davis and Suzanne Stroh

Clarks at a Crossroads (A) describes how this venerable British shoe company falls behind its competition and into financial trouble. The case ends with a pivotal vote by shareholders on whether to sell this family company. View Details

August 2011 (Revised August 2011)
Supplement

What Happened at Citigroup? (B)

By: Clayton Rose and Aldo Sesia

The (B) case provides information on actions taken by Citigroup management in 2009-2010 in the aftermath of the financial crisis and massive government intervention to save the bank. It is a supplement to the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

January 2003 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Planning in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda

In this case, four consultants discuss business planning issues that they are each having within their respective consulting firms. The case addresses how professional compensation, project staffing, hours worked, overhead costs, and billing rates impact profitability. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Strategic Planning; Profit; Consulting Industry

March 2000
Case

People's Light and Theatre Company, The

Describes in operational detail the activities involved in creating a collaborative and artistic product. Parallels to companies in dynamic industries emerge from the management philosophies and artistic methods of the case protagonist, Artistic Director Abigail Adams. View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Service Operations; Business Strategy; Theater Entertainment; Fine Arts Industry

March 1998 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Siebel Systems (A)

By: Michael J. Roberts, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Nicole Tempest

The case describes the early evolution of Siebel Systems, a sales force automation software company, focusing on issues surrounding Siebel's use of systems integrators as implementation partners and the relationship between implementation and the selling function. View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Software; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Sales; Information Technology Industry

July 1993 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Harlequin Romances-Poland (A)

By: John A. Quelch

Harlequin Enterprises, the world's leading publisher of series romances, has been particularly successful in Poland. The case explores some of the challenges/opportunities of doing business in Eastern Europe and the marketing mix elements necessary for success. View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Brands and Branding; Publishing Industry; Poland

18 Mar 2013
News

HBS Cases: LEGO

07 Sep 2020
News

Kominers’s Conundrums: A Puzzle That Spins Until It Sparks

09 Feb 2017

All Hail Partisan Politics

2024
Case

EPCorp: What Story Does the Data Tell?

By: Jacob M. Cook

In EPCorp: What Story Does the Data Tell?, the Quick Case begins with Shivani Bahl researching problems with her company's website so that she can begin to analyze which option would help EPCorp most: selling all its products on Amazon or improving its own data... View Details

Keywords: Distribution Channels; E-commerce; Analytics and Data Science; Decision Making

June 2022
Case

PFA Pensions: The Climate Plus Product

By: Daniel Green, Victoria Ivashina and Alys Ferragamo

The case explores whether alternative investments play a unique role in achieving low carbon dioxide emissions at the portfolio level. This case is set in April of 2020 and follows Kasper Ahrndt Lorenzen, Chief Investment Officer, and Peter Tind Larsen, Head of... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Carbon Footprint; Alternative Assets; Alternative Investment Vehicles; Pension Fund Investing; Private Equity; Renewable Energy; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Denmark

July 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Banking on Change: Aligning Culture and Compensation at Morgan Stanley

By: Malcolm S. Salter

This case study was prepared as part of a research project on Culture, Conduct, and Governance in Financial Firms. The objective of this project is to compare and contrast the efforts of U.S. and European banks to induce changes in organization culture in the aftermath... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Organizational Culture; Corporate Governance; Banks and Banking; United States; Europe