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04 Nov 2015
News

M.B.A.s Get Lessons in Income Inequality

25 Jun 2011
News

It's Africa calling for mobile operators

October 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Customer-Centric Design with Artificial Intelligence: Commonwealth Bank

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Yael Grushka-Cockayne, Jin Hyun Paik and Steven Randazzo

As Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) CEO Matt Comyn delivered the full financial year results in August 2021 over videoconference, it took less than two minutes for him to make his first mention of the organization's Customer Engagement Engine (CEE), the AI-driven customer... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Customer-centricity; Banks and Banking; Customer Focus and Relationships; Technological Innovation; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance; AI and Machine Learning; Financial Services Industry; Australia

January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Rural Taobao: Alibaba's Expansion into Rural E-Commerce

By: Tarun Khanna, Ryan Allen, Adam Frost and Wesley Koo

Alibaba's Rural Taobao initiative had been launched in 2014 as a public service initiative to increase e-commerce adoption in China’s remote rural areas. In the first two iterations of the initiative, dubbed “1.0” and “2.0,” Alibaba had partnered with local businesses... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Growth; Ecommerce; Corporate Social Responsibility; Business And Government; Emerging Market; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Emerging Markets; Rural Scope; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Decision Making; E-commerce; China

October 2006 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Allianz AG: Becoming a European Company

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Alexis Chernak

Focuses on the decision made by leadership at Allianz AG, the German insurance and financial services company, to complete a cross-border merger with the Italian insurance and financial services company, RAS. Allianz, however, could not complete the cross-border merger... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Organization; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governing and Advisory Boards; Laws and Statutes; European Union; Germany; Italy

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04 Dec 2019
News

Prudential’s long position on skills: fostering careers while embracing automation

22 Nov 2012
News

Can entrepreneurship rescue the U.S.?

February 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Case

From Cradle to Heaven: Taikang Insurance Group

By: William C. Kirby, Shu Lin, John P. McHugh and Yuanzhuo Wang

Taikang Insurance Group was a leading Chinese insurance and financial services institution. It operated in the insurance, asset management, and health and senior care industries. Due to China’s underdeveloped social welfare state, Taikang saw an opportunity for the... View Details

Keywords: Health; Insurance; Strategy; Insurance Industry; China

October 2010 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein

By: Linda A. Hill and Dana Teppert

Sanford C. Bernstein, a premier sell-side research firm, is expanding globally and has recently opened an office in Hong Kong. Global Director of Research Robert van Brugge must consider how best to organize the firm's research department to enhance cross-sector and... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Talent and Talent Management; Globalized Firms and Management; Knowledge Sharing; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Research; Financial Services Industry; Hong Kong

Over the last decade, the green shoots of a new economic order have emerged as decentralized technologies challenge traditional financial systems. Decentralized finance (DeFi) holds the potential to transform international business (IB) by offering accessible... View Details

Asim I. Khwaja

Asim Ijaz Khwaja is the Director of the Center for International Development and the Sumitomo-Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development Professor of International Finance and Development at the Harvard Kennedy School, and co-founder of the View Details

July 1994 (Revised December 1994)
Case

CIGNA Corporation, Inc.: Managing and Institutionalizing Business Reengineering

Provides a longitudinal view of business reengineering at CIGNA Corp., a leading provider of insurance and related financial services throughout the United States and the world. CIGNA has been practicing business reengineering since 1989, completing over 20 projects.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Business Processes; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

May 1992 (Revised May 1993)
Supplement

Jan Carlzon: CEO at SAS (B)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Summarizes Carlzon's new focus externally on building alliances and acquiring travel service companies. Describes the financial problems resulting from the recession and the Gulf War crisis. Designed as an in-class handout to highlight the long-term management... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Financial Crisis; Problems and Challenges; Planning; Leadership; Alliances; Strategy; Air Transportation Industry

Ashish Nanda is Senior Lecturer and C. Roland Christensen Distinguished Management Educator at Harvard Business School. From 2018 to 2021, he was course head for the MBA Required Curriculum course in Strategy. Beginning in 2022, he is teaching an MBA Elective... View Details

18 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Are Banks the ‘Bad Guys’? Overdraft Fees Are Crushing Low-Income Customers

charging exorbitant fees on low-income checking accounts, the researchers say. They should “focus instead on lowering their costs,” Williams says. In addition, policymakers should take a closer look at which financial View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

October 2010
Supplement

Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged)

By: Linda A. Hill and Dana Teppert

Sanford C. Bernstein, a premier sell-side research firm, is expanding globally, and has recently opened an office in Hong Kong. Global Director of Research Robert van Brugge must consider how best to organize the firm's research department to enhance cross-sector and... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Problems and Challenges; Global Strategy; Perspective; Adaptation; Expansion; Organizational Culture; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Financial Services Industry; Hong Kong

October 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (A) (Abridged)

By: Linda A. Hill and Dana Teppert

Sanford C. Bernstein, a premier sell-side research firm, is expanding globally, and has recently opened an office in Hong Kong. Global Director of Research Robert van Brugge must consider how best to organize the firm's research department to enhance cross-sector and... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Expansion; Financial Services Industry; Hong Kong