Publications

2010
Chapter

Deferred Acceptance Algorithms: History, Theory, Practice

By: Alvin E. Roth

The deferred acceptance algorithm proposed by Gale and Shapley (1962) has had a profound influence on market design, both directly, by being adapted into practical matching mechanisms, and indirectly, by raising new theoretical questions. Deferred acceptance algorithms... View Details

Keywords: Labor; Market Design; Marketplace Matching; Failure; Mathematical Methods

March 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Oscar de la Renta

By: Bharat N. Anand, Elizabeth Lea Carpenter and Samhita Patwardhan Jayanti

Over three decades, Oscar de la Renta (ODLR) had established itself as one of the premier luxury brands in America. Its mainstay business had always been producing and marketing high-priced, couture/ready-to-wear luxury goods. Now, in September 2003, it faced a series... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Borrowing and Debt; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Production; Family Ownership; Luxury; Competition; Diversification; Expansion; United States

2007
Working Paper

Accountability in Complex Organizations: World Bank Responses to Civil Society

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and Steve Herz

Civil society actors have been pushing for greater accountability of the World Bank for at least three decades. This paper outlines the range of accountability mechanisms currently in place at the World Bank along four basic levels: (1) staff, (2) project, (3) policy,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Business and Community Relations; Social Enterprise; Motivation and Incentives

Read Now

May 1997
Teaching Note

Managing Product Development: Matching Technology with Context, Instructor's Note

By: Marco Iansiti

This overview to Managing Product Development (MPD) both previews course material, cases, exercises, and lectures--and provides its conceptual and academic underpinnings. Additionally, this note links these materials to the activities students will be undertaking in... View Details

Keywords: Curriculum and Courses; Product Development; Knowledge Management; Performance; Projects; Management Practices and Processes; Opportunities; Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

Blog

The Chao Center: The Heart of HBS Executive Education

the classroom, organize small-group meetings, or simply take a break. By design, the building's architecture relates both to the traditional structures of the main HBS campus and also to the twenty-first century spirit of nearby Tata... View Details

04 Jun 2020
Book

It’s Not About You: Why Leaders Need to Look Outward

the employees’ understanding of the strategy—and the culture. We see so many organizations work so hard on strategy and then put it on a shelf, or they keep it in the minds of 10 people. It's a tragedy. So, we have a chapter on strategy.... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

June 2000 (Revised October 2017)
Case

IDEO

By: Stefan Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes IDEO, the world's leading product design firm, and its innovation culture and process. Emphasis is placed on the important role of prototyping and experimentation in general, and in the design of the very successful Palm V handheld computer in particular. A... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Innovation Strategy; Business or Company Management; Time Management; Product Design; Product Development; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Practice; Problems and Challenges; Creativity; Hardware

October 2014 (Revised December 2018)
Case

Jean-Claude Biver (A): The Reemergence of the Swiss Watch Industry

By: Ryan Raffaelli

In the early 1980s, the Swiss watch industry was near collapse after failing to adapt to Japanese competition from battery-powered quartz technology. In 1982, Jean-Claude Biver purchased Blancpain, a watch company that had been out of business since 1961 but had once... View Details

Keywords: Re-emergence; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Transformation; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Switzerland

April 2025
Background Note

Climate Change Adaptation with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

By: Michael W. Toffel and Nabig Chaudhry

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have emerged as powerful tools to address climate change. This note summarizes a wide range of the uses of AI/ML to drive climate change adaptation and resilience, the measures organizations and governments are... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Adaptation

January 2021
Article

Institutional-Political Scenarios for Anthropocene Society

By: Andrew J. Hoffman and P. Devereaux Jennings

Natural scientists have proposed that humankind has entered a new geologic epoch. Termed the “Anthropocene,” this new reality revolves around the central role of human activity in multiple Earth ecosystems. That challenge requires a rethinking of social science... View Details

Keywords: Institutional Change; Institutional Theory; Natural Environment; Society; Environmental Sustainability

Read Now

June 2023 (Revised October 2024)
Teaching Note

Clash of Two Giants Simulation Exercise Teaching Note

By: Feng Zhu

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 623-092. Many markets are organized around platforms that connect consumers with complimentary applications and services. These platforms are two-sided because both sides—consumers and those providing applications or services—need access... View Details

Keywords: Platform Strategy; Customer Acquisition; Technology Platform; Competitive Strategy; Network Effects; Digital Platforms; Management Skills

March 2018
Case

Summit Public Schools (A)

By: John J-H Kim and Aldo Sesia

Summit Public Schools was a very successful charter management organization with schools in California and Washington State. The students came from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, many from economically disadvantaged households. While nearly all of its students... View Details

Keywords: K-12; Online Learning; Virtual Learning; Blended Learning; Secondary Education; Middle School Education; Early Childhood Education; Learning; Business Model; Performance Improvement; Technology

Article

The Global Rise of Democracy: A Network Account

By: Magnus Thor Torfason and Paul Ingram

We examine the influence of an interstate network created by intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) on the global diffusion of democracy. We propose that IGOs facilitate this diffusion by transmitting information between their member states and by interpreting that... View Details

Keywords: International Relations; Networks; Society; Transformation; Power and Influence; Country; Globalization

Find at Harvard

Read Now

March 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Background Note

Service on the Internet: The Effect of Physical Service on Scalability

Develops a framework for exploring the idea of, how service affects the economics of Internet organizations. Development of the framework requires an understanding of the different forms service takes in organizations that conduct business through the Internet. These... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Service Industry

November 2000
Case

Clust.com: Dream More and Pay Less

Clust is a French group-buying Web site. Instead of marketing products to consumers, Clust is marketing aggregated consumer demands to manufacturers. Consequently, beyond the usual act of choosing among predefined alternatives, consumers are expected to bring up their... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Marketing

24 Apr 2019
HBS Seminar

Dimitris Papanikolaou, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

September 2016
Case

Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller

By: Dylan Minor and Jan Rivkin

The chief executive of Barry-Wehmiller, a large maker of industrial equipment, has resolved to run the company via “truly human leadership” in which “success is measured by the way we touch the lives of people.” With unusual people practices and a distinctive strategy,... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Values and Beliefs; Organizational Culture; Employees; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry