Publications

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April 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Robert Wessman and Actavis' "Winning Formula"

Robert Wessman took over Actavis in 1999 when it was a failing 90-person domestic generic pharmaceutical maker in Iceland. Within 7 years he had brought Actavis to number 5 worldwide, with 11,000 people, active in 40 countries, global manufacturing, and $1.6 billion.... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Success; Transformation; Business Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Iceland

March 2013
Teaching Plan

Corruption at Siemens (TP) (A), (B), (C) and (D)

By: Paul Healy

This teaching plan is designed to be used in conjunction with the case Corruption at Siemens (A), HBS No. 108033 [and its related B and C cases] to help faculty deepen students' comprehension of business issues and to energize classroom discussion. View Details

Keywords: Corruption; Management; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Germany

Web

Course Overview - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

defining the appropriate portfolio of businesses - creating a distinctive strategy for each business, and an effective planning process Creating an effective relationship with... View Details

August 2003
Case

BRAC and Aarong Commercial Brands, The

By: John A. Quelch

BRAC is the world's largest NGO and has recently initiated a number of successful profit-making commercial enterprises, ranging from dairy processing to vegetable exports, as well as a university. Explores the tensions and benefits of a major nonprofit entering the... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Commercialization; For-Profit Firms; Non-Governmental Organizations

October 2021 (Revised October 2022)
Case

The Opioid Settlement and Controversy Over CEO Pay at AmerisourceBergen

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

In 2020, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, a Fortune 50 company in the drug distribution industry, agreed to settle thousands of lawsuits filed nationwide against the company for its opioid distribution practices that critics alleged had contributed to the nationwide... View Details

21 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

How Europe Wrote the Rules of Global Finance

The United States has been both credited and criticized for its powerful role in promoting global financial liberalization—the flow of capital across country borders. But research by Harvard View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

April 2010
Case

The Credit Crisis of 2008: An Overview

By: V.G. Narayanan, Fabrizio Ferri and Lisa Brem

This case examines the causes and consequences of the credit crisis of 2008 from a national and global perspective and explores the actions taken and proposed by the U.S. and European governments. View Details

Keywords: Credit; Financial Crisis; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Globalized Economies and Regions; Global Strategy; Mortgages; Performance Effectiveness; Financial Services Industry; United States

February 2016 (Revised August 2017)
Case

Battle Over a Bank: Defining the Limits of Federal Power Under a New Constitution

By: David Moss and Marc Campasano

In late February, 1791, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton submitted a report to President Washington defending his recent proposal for a national bank, which he hoped would bolster the American economy and assist the federal government in managing its finances.... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Central Banking; Laws and Statutes; Government and Politics; History; Public Administration Industry; United States

2016
Working Paper

The Impact of Patent Wars on Firm Strategy: Evidence from the Global Smartphone Market

By: Feng Zhu

Strategy scholars have documented in various empirical settings that firms seek and leverage stronger institutions to mitigate hazards and gain competitive advantage. In this paper, we argue that such “institution-seeking” behavior may not be confined to the pursuit of... View Details

Keywords: Patent Wars; Patent Litigation; Intellectual Property (IP) Enforcement; Institutions; Smartphone; Patent Thicket; Digital Platforms; Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business Strategy; Telecommunications Industry

11 Jul 2017
First Look

First Look at New Ideas and Research, July 11

July–August 2017 Harvard Business Review Managing Climate Change: Lessons from the U.S. Navy By: Reinhardt, Forest, and Michael W. Toffel Abstract—The U.S. Navy operates on the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Ericsson: Leading in Times of Change

By: Das Narayandas, Vincent Marie Dessain, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Anders Sjoman

After its dramatic corporate turnaround, the Swedish telecom infrastructure company Ericsson hires a new CEO to bring the former Swedish flagship company back on track. Puts students in the shoes of Carl-Henric Svanberg, an industry outsider and CEO of locks group Assy... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Profit; Leading Change; Goals and Objectives; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Sweden

Web

Introduction - Georges F. Doriot : Educating Leaders, Building Companies, Baker Library, Harvard Business School

venture capital is inextricably linked to Georges F. Doriot, an educator and a founder of the industry. During his 40-year tenure at Harvard Business School, the charismatic... View Details

June 1991
Background Note

Corporate Advantage: Identifying and Exploiting Resources

By: David J. Collis

Describes the economic theory that was behind the view that resources are central to the creation of value in multibusiness corporations and identifies tests that resources must pass to become part of a firm's "distinctive competence". Describes how those resources can... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Business or Company Management; Resource Allocation; Competitive Strategy; Theory; Value Creation

01 Mar 2018
News

Realizing The Potential Of One Harvard

the program. A PRIMO fellow last summer, Castro, a psychology major at Harvard College, was born in Dallas and raised in Central Mexico. Paired with Assistant Professor Susanna Gallani, a member of the... View Details

Web

Starting a For Profit Social Enterprise at HBS | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

2018) was fulfilling her summer internship at NPR, her manager recommended that she read an HBS case study about how the Sesame Workshop CEO, Jeff Dunn... An Emerging Entrepreneur Patricio Bichara 2015 Patricio “Pato” Bichara (MBA 2015)... View Details

January 2002 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Finland and Nokia: Creating the World's Most Competitive Economy

By: Michael E. Porter and Orjan Solvell

Finland, with a special language and culture, has developed as a country in between the west (the Nordic region and Europe) and the east (especially its neighbor Russia). In the 1980s, a process started of moving out of an investment-driven economy into an... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Economic Growth; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Clusters; Business and Government Relations; Competitive Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; Finland

January 1997
Background Note

Buy Low, Sell High: Creating and Extracting Customer Value by Enhancing Organizational Performance

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Provides an integrated framework for creating customer value and managing the firm profitably. Focuses on the use of product/service line management and effective customer service to achieve customer satisfaction and high profitability. View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Framework; Performance Efficiency; Sales; Business Strategy; Customer Satisfaction; Profit; Product Marketing; Business or Company Management

August 2021 (Revised November 2023)
Supplement

Coats: Supply Chain Challenges

By: Willy C. Shih

Coats, the largest thread maker in the world, transformed its business to digital colour measurement so that it could respond better to customer demand in the garment industry for rapid product cycles and more fragmented colour choices. Its embrace of digital colour... View Details

Keywords: Inventory Management; Supply Chain; Inventory; Supply Chain Management; Operations; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia