Publications

January 2015 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Nasty Gals Do It Better

By: David Collis, Diane Chang, Matthew Shaffer and Ashley Hartman

In 2006, Sophia Amoruso started Nasty Gal, an eBay boutique selling vintage clothes. With a strong sense of style and personality, Amoruso poured herself into building the brand and developing relationships with her customers—typically the slightly edgy 18–24 year old.... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth; Brand Management; Online Retail; Clothing; Apparel; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Management; Marketing Strategy; Strategic Planning; Social Media; E-commerce; Digital Marketing; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

17 Nov 2022
News

Planning the Future for Harlem’s Beloved Sylvia’s Restaurant

July 2008 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Enterprise Risk Management at Hydro One (A)

By: Anette Mikes

An early adopter of Enterprise Risk Management, energy giant Hydro One anticipated new threats and opportunities in an industry that faced climate change and carbon legislation, the deregulation of electricity markets, and the greater adoption of renewable... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Knowledge Sharing; Managerial Roles; Risk Management; Strategic Planning; Situation or Environment; Environmental Sustainability; Renewable Energy; Energy Industry

December 2011 (Revised March 2013)
Background Note

The Business Development Manager

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Sarah Dillard, Katharine Nevins and Puja Ramani

Describes the role of business development (BD) managers in technology companies, detailing: 1) BD managers' key responsibilities at each step in the process of creating a partnership agreement; 2) how the nature of the BD function evolves as a technology startup... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Partnerships; High Technology Products; Information Technology; Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships; Management Skills; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry

29 Jul 2021
News

Virus Surge Upends Plans for Getting Workers Back to Offices

October 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Managing a 401(k) Fund

By: Richard S. Ruback and Kathleen Luchs

Focuses on an individual's decision to participate in his firm's 401(k) plan and how to invest his contributions. Plan participants have a choice of 10 mutual funds with different investment strategies. Includes data from Morningstar on the composition and performance... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Investment; Saving; Asset Management; Financial Management; Decision Making; Personal Finance; Financial Services Industry

September 2018
Case

The Financial Management of Harvard Business School

By: C. Fritz Foley and F. Katelynn Boland

In the spring of 2018, the Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Financial Planning at Harvard Business School considers potential refinements to the School's financial management practices. He faced questions about whether the metrics that had been used to evaluate... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit; Financial Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Education Industry; United States

May 2017 (Revised June 2017)
Case

ATH Technologies (A): Making the Numbers

By: Robert Simons and Jennifer Packard

An exercise that takes students through five stages of growth in an entrepreneurial start-up in the medical devices industry: 1) founding, 2) growth, 3) push to profitability, 4) refocusing process, and 5) takeover by new management. At each stage, students must... View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Balancing Innovation And Control; Performance Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Profit; Geographic Location; Governance Controls; Innovation and Invention; Management Succession; Performance Evaluation; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

24 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

Managing Alignment as a Process

corporate synergies should be defined at the top and realized in the business units. Just as the CFO coordinates the budgeting process, a senior executive should coordinate the alignment process—a responsibility for the Office of Strategy... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Retail

27 Jun 2016
News

Ulf Mark Schneider Has Plans to Make Nestlé Healthy

Nestlé’s growth plans: Health products, including medical foods for patients with conditions such as Alzheimers’ and gastrointestinal problems, have become an increasing focus for Nestlé in recent years,... View Details

June 2001
Background Note

Information Technology Management from 1960-2000

By: Richard L. Nolan

Covers the history of IT management from 1960 to the present. Applies the Stages Theory as a basis to trace the evolution of the three dominant IT designs (mainframes, microcomputers, networks) and how companies used and managed IT in each era. View Details

Keywords: Management; Information Technology; Industry Growth

Article

The Perils of Proactive Churn Prevention Using Plan Recommendations: Evidence from a Field Experiment

By: Eva Ascarza, Raghuram Iyengar and Martin Schleicher

Facing the issue of increasing customer churn, many service firms have begun recommending pricing plans to their customers. One reason behind this type of retention campaign is that customers who subscribe to a plan suitable for them should be less likely to churn... View Details

Keywords: Churn/retention; Field Experiment; Pricing; Tariff/plan Choice; Targeting; Customer Relationship Management; Price; Performance Effectiveness

Find at Harvard

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May 1993 (Revised May 1994)
Case

Managing for Integrity: Three Vignettes

By: Lynn S. Paine

Three situations are described. A branch manager for a retail brokerage firm must decide whether to change the branch's cash management techniques to increase interest earnings. An auto mechanic must decide whether to oversell parts and repairs to meet sales and... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Ethics; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Financial Management; Sales; Organizational Change and Adaptation

October 2017
Case

The Transformation of Microsoft

By: C. Fritz Foley, E. Scott Mayfield and F. Katelynn Boland

In early 2015, Amy Hood, CFO of Microsoft, and the rest of the senior leadership team faced a set of fundamental choices. The firm had opportunities to serve customers in ways that would be associated with higher growth but lower margin. Some of these opportunities... View Details

Keywords: Growth; Corporate Finance; Valuation; Growth Management; Communication Strategy; Transformation; Information Technology Industry; Computer Industry; United States

01 Dec 2000
News

Opening Doors: Inside the World of Museum Management

advertising savvy are but two of the myriad skills that are required of today's museum manager. Traditionally, museums have been run by academics who worked their way through the curatorial ranks, but more and more museum trustees are... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young; museums; marketing; management; nonprofits; education; facilities; Internet; Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions; Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions; Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions; Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions

February 2014
Teaching Note

Leadership in Law: Amy Schulman at DLA Piper

By: Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

This teaching note provides a discussion plan and rich conceptual background for the "Leadership in Law: Amy Schulman at DLA Piper" case. Topics covered include definitions of success, lifespan career development, team leadership, managing professional service firms,... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firm; Team Leadership; Women And Leadership; Career Planning; Law; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Service Industry

March 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Case

Terrapin Laboratory

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Joseph B. Fuller

Describes the formation and rapid growth of a drug testing company. The company needs to decide whether to enter the painkiller testing market, in addition to growing its drug treatment center business. The associated teaching materials provide students the opportunity... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth; Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurship; Growth Strategy; Market Entry; Venture Capital; Growth Management; Expansion; Financing and Loans; Health Care and Treatment; Health Testing and Trials; Business Startups; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry

Web

Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business | HBS Online

Introduction to Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB) Our Most Comprehensive Offering 5 pre-set courses + 2 electives + a capstone project. Choose from the New Leader or... View Details

December 2019
Supplement

Mãe Terra and Unilever (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Mariana Cal

Unilever is making strides to integrate the operations of Mãe Terra—one of Brazil's leading brands for packaged organic foods—into its own structures, after acquiring the company in 2017. Mãe Terra’s CEO, Alexandre Borges, must decide whether to implement his original... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Sustainability; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil; Latin America