Publications

April 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Unilever's Response to the Future of Work

By: William R. Kerr, Emilie Billaud and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej

In February 2020, Nick Dalton, executive vice president HR business transformation at Unilever, reflected on the changing nature of work marked by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation. Launched in 2016, Unilever’s Future of Work... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Human Capital; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Structure; Transformation; Human Resources; Consumer Products Industry; Europe

May 2020 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Valuing Peloton

By: E. Scott Mayfield

Peloton Interactive, a well-known venture-capital-backed unicorn in the connected fitness space, recently had gone public with a market capitalization of over $8.0 billion. However, in the weeks following its public debut, Peloton’s stock price had fallen by over 25%.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Public Equity; Initial Public Offering; Disruptive Innovation; Business Strategy; Valuation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

28 Jul 2014
Blog Post

Mid-summer Update

I’m flying back from a mid-summer report out at Danaher’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The past three days were full of reflection and feedback, as well as some fun after-hour jaunts in the city. For some of the interns, it was a... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing

2013
Article

Boardroom Centrality and Firm Performance

By: David F. Larcker, Eric C. So and Charles C.Y. Wang

Firms with central or well-connected boards of directors earn superior risk-adjusted stock returns. Initiating a long position in the most central firms and a short position in the least central firms earns an average risk-adjusted return of 4.68% per year. Firms with... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Governing and Advisory Boards; Forecasting and Prediction; Performance

SSRN

Find at Harvard

May 2022
Article

Variance Analysis: New Insights from Health Care Applications

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Susanna Gallani

We use a health care application to illustrate how variance analysis can be used to benchmark costs across similar service delivery sites. Variances for personnel costs, typically the largest cost component in service organizations, are calculated for price, quantity,... View Details

Keywords: Variance Analysis; Benchmarking; Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing; Health Care; Activity Based Costing and Management; Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Service Industry

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

11 Mar 2013
News

What Does Kumbh Mela Mean to Harvard?

February 2023 (Revised May 2023)
Case

CalPERS Private Equity 2.0

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Alys Ferragamo

Yup Kim, the Head of Investments, Private Equity at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), reflected on the pension fund’s private equity strategy. In July of 2022, the fund was in the midst of a multi-year turnaround strategy with the goal to... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Retirement; Leadership; Strategy; Public Sector

24 Sep 2018
News

Want to Seem More Likable? Try This

02 Jun 2025
Video

HBS Alumni Career Video | Nicole Ledoux (MBA 2008)

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Allie (C)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: (C) HBS Case No. 9-408-056 Allie decides not to pursue a sexual harassment charge and instead remedies the situation by transferring to the marketing division in her company. She reflects on how powerless the situation made her feel and how it... View Details

Keywords: Emotions; Ethics; Working Conditions; Rank and Position; Power and Influence

8 AM – 5 PM EDT, 31 May 2018
Career Events

HBS Career Reboot Camp in Boston

Career Reboot Camp is coming to Boston! Led by Professor Tim Butler and facilitated by HBS career coaches, participants will work through exercises to reflect on their key career interests, what's important to them in work and life, and create a plan to move forward... View Details

8 AM – 5 PM EST, 17 Nov 2016
Career Events

Career Reboot Camp in New York City

Career Reboot Camp is coming to New York! Led by Professor Tim Butler and facilitated by HBS career coaches, participants will work through exercises to reflect on their key career interests, what's important to them in work and life, and create a plan to move forward... View Details

December 2012
Case

Chobani: Growing a Live and Active Culture

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Matthew Preble

Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of the Greek yogurt company Chobani, Inc., was reflecting on what explained his young company's meteoric rise. The company held over half of the U.S. Greek yogurt market, and nearly 20% of the total yogurt market. The company's innovative approach to... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Growth Strategy; Growth Management; Yogurt; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Culture; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Agribusiness; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Canada; Australia

October 2022 (Revised September 2023)
Supplement

SolarWinds Confronts SUNBURST (B)

By: Frank Nagle, George A. Riedel, William R. Kerr and David Lane

Supplements the (A) case, describing actions taken by SolarWinds as well as by regulatory agencies in the aftermath of the immediate crisis. The case also includes reflections by SolarWinds managers on the choices they made with respect to disclosure, media relations,... View Details

Keywords: Cyberattacks; Cybersecurity; Corporate Disclosure; Crisis Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Legal Liability; Governance Compliance; Business and Government Relations; Information Technology Industry; United States

30 Nov 2011
News

Yelp's IPO Will Test the Flaws in Its Business Model

March 2022
Article

When Less Is More: Consumers Prefer Brands that Donate More in Relative versus Absolute Terms

By: Elizabeth A. Keenan, Anne V. Wilson and Leslie K. John

When trying to make a good impression on consumers through charitable giving, is it better for brands to maximize the overall dollars they donate or how much they give in relative terms; for example, the proportion of profits? Across five studies we show that consumers... View Details

Keywords: Cause-related Marketing; Charitable Donations; Generosity; Altruism; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior