Publications

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Program

Designing and Executing Corporate Revitalization

Summary Given today's turbulent environment, business leaders are seeking a new path to success for their companies. But while many firms talk about transforming themselves around current trends such as... View Details

09 Jan 2006
What Do You Think?

Should More Transparency Extend to Education for Management?

students. Manohar Kamath put it this way: "We need to extend transparency. If grades do not predict work performance, then there is a problem in the design of management education." Michael Robbins wrote, "We need schools... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Education

August 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Commonwealth Fusion Systems: Born at Scale

By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Jim Matheson, Kyle Myers, Gunnar Trumbull and Richard Vietor

This case study chronicles the journey of Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) on its ambitious mission to commercialize fusion energy and become the world’s leading provider of fusion power plants. Emerging from a “special arrangement” with MIT's Plasma Science and... View Details

Keywords: Nuclear Energy; Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurial Finance; Energy Generation; Commercialization; Science-Based Business; Technological Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Energy Industry

June 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Kit Hinrichs at Pentagram (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

This case focuses on Kit Hinrichs, a 65-year-old partner at Pentagram, a privately owned multidisciplinary design firm. One of the world's most prestigious design firms, Pentagram was founded by five designers from different disciplines in London in the 1970s. By 2008,... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Business Offices; Customer Relationship Management; Design; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Groups and Teams; Creativity; Service Industry; San Francisco

Find at Harvard

August 1997
Case

Orbital Sciences Corporation: ORBCOMM

By: Das Narayandas and John A. Quelch

In late 1993, Orbital Communications Corp. (OCC), a subsidiary of Orbital Sciences Corp., is developing a global two-way wireless data communications system, called "ORBCOMM," based on a 26-satellite constellation in low earth orbit. Service is scheduled to begin in... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Business Model; Business Startups; Price; Global Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Partners and Partnerships; Salesforce Management; Telecommunications Industry

Program

Competing in the Age of Digital Platforms

a competitive advantage Understand the core fundamentals of how to launch and maintain a platform business that outperforms digital and conventional competitors in the United... View Details

February 2003 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Bombardier: Canada versus Brazil at the WTO

By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Laura Alfaro and Brett Laschinger

In less than a decade, Bombardier had grown from a medium-size Canadian company to a highly profitable global player largely on the strength of the introduction of a new generation of regional jet and successfully marketing its product to airlines around the world.... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Global Strategy; Five Forces Framework; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Business and Government Relations; Situation or Environment; Competition; Air Transportation Industry; Canada; Brazil

2025
Working Paper

The Impact of Input Inaccuracy on Leveraging AI Tools: Evidence from Algorithmic Labor Scheduling

By: Caleb Kwon, Antonio Moreno and Ananth Raman

Are the inputs used by your AI tool correct and up to date? In this paper, we show that the answer to this question: (i) is frequently a “no” in real business contexts, and (ii) has significant implications on the performance of AI tools. In the context of algorithmic... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Employees; Performance Effectiveness

SSRN

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December 2015 (Revised February 2017)
Case

BRF

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

In 2015, BRF's new leadership team is transforming several aspects of the Brazilian protein giant, which had grown sluggish after the 2011 merger that created it. Underlying their reforms are the common goals of reducing bureaucracy, streamlining decision making, and,... View Details

Research Summary

Islamic Financing Practices

By: Samuel L. Hayes

Samuel L. Hayes III is examining (with faculty of Harvard University's Law School and Center for Middle Eastern Studies) Islamic banking and investment practices. Because the Koran prohibits the payment of fixed interest and guarantees on funds invested either with... View Details

Article

B Corps: Can It Remake Capitalism in Japan?

By: Geoffrey Jones

This article examines the B Corporation movement that originated in the United States in 2006. The founders sought to create a new type of company whose governance structure mandated them to consider financial, social and environmental performance. A certification... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Responsibility; Sustainability; B Corporations; Stakeholder Capitalism; Governance; Organizational Structure; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Japan

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09 Apr 2024
Book

Why Work Rituals Bring Teams Together and Create More Meaning

gather with your spouse and kids to enjoy pizza and a movie on Friday nights. These routines are actually rituals—and though we may not think much about them, they can play a meaningful role in our personal... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Web

Named Fellowship Funds - Alumni

and Ellen Berk in honor of Michael's 25th Reunion. Michael and Ellen Berk are longtime supporters of HBS. Michael is a managing director at TA Associates, a global private... View Details

16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

company. In December 2020, Bastian announced that Delta would become a charter member of the newly formed OneTen corporate coalition, a group of business leaders from more than... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

January 1987 (Revised May 1989)
Case

Merck-Banyu

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Merck acquired control of Banyu in 1983. This was the first acquisition by outsiders of a major publicly traded Japanese company. This case is focused on valuing strategic investments in an environment of global competition. The case is complex because of the... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Investment; Globalization; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Industry Structures; Negotiation Deal; Public Ownership; Competition; Valuation; Japan