Publications

November 1991 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Motorola, Inc.: Bandit Pager Project (Abridged)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright

Describes the development of a fully automated production line for manufacturing radio pagers. The company regarded the project as highly successful; it becomes clear in the case, however, that there were some shortcomings as well. Some marketing issues were not... View Details

Keywords: Time Management; Marketing; Product Development; Production; Success; Projects; Technology; Telecommunications Industry

24 Feb 2021
Blog Post

My HBS Student Loan Story: Les Williams (MBA 2005)

their student loans. Still, taking-on student debt to finance an MBA is a significant commitment, and we recognize that personal circumstances influence how each student approaches that commitment. To better understand how HBS graduates View Details

05 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

How New BofA Executives Learn its ’Deep Smarts’

Editor's note: How does an organization hold on to its wealth of accumulated knowledge when the knowledge-holders depart? It's a very real dilemma made even more critical as Baby Boomers begin their mass exit into retirement. The new book Critical Knowledge Transfer:... View Details

Keywords: Re: Dorothy A. Leonard; Banking

July 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Activision: The 'Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer' Project

By: Alan D. MacCormack, Enrico D"Angelo and Kerry Herman

Mike Ward, the producer in charge of developing the Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer game for Activision, must decide whether to launch the game in time for the 2002 Christmas season. Complicating his decision are the lukewarm response from consumers to TV test spots of the... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Product Development; Customer Satisfaction; Projects; Business or Company Management; Product Launch; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Industry Structures; Innovation Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

January 2017 (Revised March 2017)
Case

IBM Transforming, 2012–2016: Ginni Rometty Steers Watson

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

To transform IBM for the next technology wave, Ginni Rometty, who became CEO in 2012, led divestment of declining businesses, made acquisitions in digital innovation and cloud computing, formed partnerships with former competitors such as Apple and tech startups, and... View Details

Keywords: Digital; Technological Change; Artificial Intelligence; Data; IBM; Watson; Internet Of Things; Innovation and Invention; Management; Sales; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Transformation; AI and Machine Learning

June 2000 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Must Zee TV

By: Bharat N. Anand and Tarun Khanna

Explores issues related to (1) the vertical boundaries of the firm in an emerging-economy context, especially the effects of lack of intellectual property rights and lack of contract enforcement on both industry structure and boundaries of the firm; and (2) the extent... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Developing Countries and Economies; Copyright; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

December 2003 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Globalizing the Cost of Capital and Capital Budgeting at AES

By: Mihir A. Desai and Douglas Kurt Schillinger

With electricity generating businesses around the world, AES Corp. is seeking a methodology for calculating the cost of capital for its various businesses and potential projects. In the past, AES used the same cost of capital for all of its capital budgeting, but the... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Risk Management; Globalized Firms and Management; Cost of Capital; Valuation; Emerging Markets; Foreign Direct Investment; Capital Budgeting; Energy Industry; South America

May 2001
Case

The Mexican Debt Crisis of 1982

By: Huw Pill

Describes Mexico's development strategy based on international borrowing and its culmination in the debt crisis of 1982. Discusses Mexico's approach to overcoming the crisis. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Financial Crisis; Growth and Development Strategy; Mexico

Find at Harvard

Web

Curriculum - Case Method Project

of the Democratic Party; political career of Martin Van Buren; bank chartering system; Panic of 1837; Democrats vs. Whigs; free banking Property, Suffrage, and the "Right of Revolution" in Rhode Island, 1842 This case explores the View Details

18 Apr 2005
Lessons from the Classroom

NFL Players Touch Down at HBS

make a smooth transition to life after sports; historically they've had a hard time," said former player Stacey Robinson, now a player development executive with the National Football League Players Association. Another key advantage... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Sports

14 Nov 2011
Research & Ideas

Creating a Global Business Code

discussing doing something empirical to test this notion of an ethical gap," Deshpandé says. The team developed 62 questions based on the principles in their newly created codex, and then pilot-tested their survey with volunteers... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

December 2005 (Revised March 2010)
Case

William Levitt, Levittown and the Creation of American Suburbia

By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Mark Benson

Demand for low-cost housing after World War II far exceeded supply. Was this a profitable new market? New York developer William Levitt had to decide. During World War II, Levitt was eager to build basic housing for the working class—otherwise, Levitt & Sons would have... View Details

Keywords: Demographics; Construction; Business History; Housing; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Business and Government Relations; Construction Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States; New York (state, US)

06 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas: June 6, 2017

importance; the development of capabilities; and competition. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52725 forthcoming Management Science Strategy and the Strategist: How It Matters... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Gome Electronics: Evolving the Business Model

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Gao Wang, Fei Li, Tracy Manty and Waishun Lo

After 20 years of expansion, Gome Electronics has become China's largest consumer electronics retailer. It has opened stores in almost every province in China, acquired some of its competitors, and went public in Hong Kong. However, it has begun to experience a... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Distribution Channels; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology; Industry Growth; Marketing Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Product; Electronics Industry; Retail Industry; China

March 19, 2015
Article

Dealing with the Unique Work-Life Challenges of Family Businesses

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

Maintaining a work-life balance in family businesses can be challenging. The extremes of being "all in" or "all out" are unproductive. The article highlights the importance of setting boundaries, separating family time from work time, using effective communication,... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Work-Life Balance

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October 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Citizens Bank

By: Rajiv Lal and Arar Han

In November 2004, Larry Fish, chairman of Citizens Bank, is wondering about the challenges posed by the latest and largest acquisition in the history of the bank. Fish has always believed that the success of Citizens thus far was facilitated by the credo he introduced... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Change Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Leading Change; Performance Effectiveness; Banking Industry

January 2010 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Knight the King: The Founding of Nike

By: Noam Wasserman and Kyle Anderson

It had taken Phil Knight 16 long years to build Nike into the number one athletic-shoe company in the country. When Knight had first conceived of the company for an MBA class project, Adidas had had more than 80% market share, but Knight's marketing approach had... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Initial Public Offering; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Apparel and Accessories Industry

March 2007 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Will RacingThePlanet Ltd. Reach the Finish Line?

Mary Gadams, founder and CEO of RacingThePlanet is facing one of the many logistical crises that her young Hong Kong-based venture faces as it stages its popular 4Deserts(tm) adventure marathon series in Atacama Chile, Gobi Desert Mongolia, Sahara Desert Egypt, and... View Details

Keywords: Global Range; Business or Company Management; Logistics; Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Hong Kong; Egypt; Mongolia; Chile; Antarctica