Publications

November 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Can Florida Orange Growers Survive Globalization?

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

Florida Citrus Department has to deal with increasing competition from Brazil. What position should the industry take on its existing tariff? Who benefits? Who loses? View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Trade; Price; Globalized Markets and Industries; Goods and Commodities; Competition; Competitive Strategy

05 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Radical Change, Entrepreneurial Opportunity

computer, making it a fundamentally different product category. Q: So, if companies want to think more consciously about mental models, how can they use them strategically? A: The use of rhetoric can be key in trying to establish a dominant imagery of products in an... View Details

Keywords: by Michael J. Roberts; Technology

19 Jun 2012
First Look

First Look: June 19

The alleged benefits of flattening flow primarily from pushing decisions downward to enhance customer and market responsiveness and to improve accountability and morale. Has flattening delivered on its promise to push decisions downward?... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 Mar 2007
Research & Ideas

Learning from Failed Political Leadership

transpire, the media instantaneously supplies a convenient explanation, even as the players conceal the real facts. When the true story emerges the originals are never corrected, particularly on television. One consequence is that our... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

28 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 28, 2015

by the interaction of partner firms that does not necessarily accrue to any of them. The extent of "ambivalent value" is unclear, but its persistence, despite changing structural market features, promises to help sustain... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

November 2018 (Revised June 2019)
Case

The Rise of Populism and Italy's Electoral 'Tsunami'

By: Rawi Abdelal, Dante Roscini and Elena Corsi

Italy’s March 2018 elections led to a populist government that included the right-wing League and the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement. To respect their electoral promises, the two parties came up with a budget plan that provided for a public deficit at 2.4%, a... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Economies; Unemployment; Extremism; Political Elections; Immigration; Poverty; Social Issues; Government and Politics; Financial Condition; Financial Markets; Italy

February 2013
Case

18 Months in a Startup: Zaggora.com

By: Tom Nicholas

The founders of Zaggora reflected back on a tumultuous year-and-a-half in which they had generated, from just $40,000 in personal savings, a multi-million dollar sportswear enterprise selling Hotpants to women. These were hotpants not of the 1960s hipster variety, but... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Growth Management; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention; Corporate Finance; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

May 2004 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Prudential Securities

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and Amanda Cowen

Prudential Insurance Co. attempted to diversify into financial services by building an investment banking franchise. Prudential's initial foray into the industry was its acquisition of The Bache Group in 1982. In 2000, the company decided to exit investment banking.... View Details

Keywords: Investment Banking; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Diversification; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry

01 Jun 2021
What Do You Think?

Are Employers Ready for a Flood of 'New' Talent Seeking Work?

unfreezing a labor market that saw jobs going unfilled even as people were looking for work? Has it created a pool of “new” talent—that is, prospective employees with work experience seeking new career opportunities? The female labor... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

25 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

Incubators Take Notice: Your Entrepreneurs Are Networking with the Wrong People

engineering Koning’s research might be sobering to the cities and institutions that invest in startup-focused events and programs in the hopes of stirring innovation and prosperity. Even if a fledgling community emerges from the... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

11 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 11

firms identified by Google and Yahoo Finance, as well as product market competitors gleaned from 10-K disclosures, turned in consistently worse performances. We contextualize these results in a simple model that predicts when information... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2023
Case

The Rise and Fall of FTX

By: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese, Joseph Pacelli and Max Hancock

In November 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried's multi-billion-dollar crypto exchange, FTX, collapsed, wiping out investors and throwing the crypto industry into disarray. As FTX's founder and CEO, Bankman-Fried developed a reputation for his unerring business sense and... View Details

Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Crime and Corruption; Financial Statements; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Failure; Restructuring; United States; Hong Kong; Bahamas

13 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 13

the predictions of the neoclassical model; and (3) public debt flows are negatively correlated with growth only if government debt is financed by another sovereign and not by private lenders. Our results show that the failure to consider... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 14

surveys at one office of the firm. They discovered four keys to building a help-friendly organization that leaders of other organizations could learn and apply to similar effect. Publisher's link: http://hbr.org/2014/01/ideos-culture-of-helping/ar/1 January 2014... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 1998 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Merrill Lynch's Acquisition of Mercury Asset Management

By: Andre F. Perold, Imran Ahmed and Randolph B Altschuler

In the Spring of 1998, Merrill Lynch faced an array of challenges and opportunities related to its global asset management business. The firm had recently completed its $5.3 billion cash acquisition of U.K.-based Mercury Asset Management, a transaction that made it one... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Asset Management; Currency; Financial Strategy; Global Strategy; Brands and Branding; Distribution; Production; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Retirement; Japan; Europe; United Kingdom

Find at Harvard

22 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles, Papers of the Decade

HBS Working Knowledge readers want it all, judging by our all-time most popular articles. Here you'll find stories on everything from maintaining a professional image to writing a business plan, from how to market on social media to why... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

October 1999 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Weight Watchers Mexico

By: David J. Arnold, Myra M. Hart and Susan Harmeling

Weight Watchers must decide how to react to the Mexican financial crisis. Options include exiting, reducing investment, or continuing previous operations. View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Restructuring; Volatility; Economy; Investment; Marketing; Problems and Challenges; Mexico