Publications

March 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Supplement

Wendell Weeks at Corning Inc. (B): Valor Glass and the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: Ryan Raffaelli and Aldo Sesia

The (B) case offers a detailed account of Wendell Weeks’s innovation strategy at Corning, and how his approach played a critical role in the COVID-19 pandemic. It illustrates the company’s philosophy of making long-term investments in promising new technologies and... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Disruptive Innovation; Information Technology; Leadership; Health Pandemics; Technology Industry; United States; New York (city, NY)

February 2014
Case

The Fall of the 'Fabulous Fab'

By: Eugene F. Soltes and Nanette Byrnes

Fabrice Tourre, a mid-level trader at Goldman Sachs, seeks to understand how he was one of the only executives of any Wall Street firm held accountable in the aftermath of the financial crises. The case includes commentary from Tourre and jurors that found him guilty... View Details

Keywords: Management; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Financial Crisis; Finance; Financial Services Industry; United States

November 2007 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Excerpts from Interview with Jim Triandiflou, Founder of Ockham Technologies

By: Noam Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-CEO regarding building a board, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing system development work. The abridged version does not include the introduction and final sections of the full case... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Governing and Advisory Boards; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Conflict Management

December 2002 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Tesco Plc.

By: David E. Bell

Tesco, a supermarket chain, has been transformed from a third-rate retailer to a global leader in the past ten years. This case describes how that was accomplished. Interviews with Tesco employees explain the company's approach to understanding customers, motivating... View Details

Keywords: History; Motivation and Incentives; Leadership; Internet and the Web; Supply Chain Management; Global Strategy; Globalization; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Retail Industry

January 2001
Case

Merck Global Health Initiatives (A)

By: James E. Austin, Diana Barrett and James Weber

The case series focuses on Merck's drug donation program and then raises new issues facing management about what to do about HIV/AIDS in Africa given the company's development of a new therapy. Describes collaboration among many parties including the Gates Foundation,... View Details

Keywords: Programs; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Health Disorders; Health Care and Treatment; Private Sector; Public Sector; Alliances; Problems and Challenges; Pharmaceutical Industry; Botswana

January 2000
Case

Talbots - A Classic

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

This case traces why the $1 billion women's clothing retailer decided to attract younger customers, what went wrong, and the actions taken to recover. By the end of 1999, the company has reestablished itself and faces several growth opportunities and must decide on the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Crisis Management; Product Positioning; Problems and Challenges; Segmentation; Fashion Industry

March 1998 (Revised July 2000)
Case

InPart

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Michael J. Roberts and Jon Biotti

Stacey Lawson, HBS 1996, started a CAD parts representations database company to help designers and engineers with the design process. The company has completed its product and is starting to sell it. The case examines issues involving the organization of the sales... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Price; Salesforce Management

April 1992 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Apple Computer--1992

By: David B. Yoffie

In 1992, Apple received the only profitable standard other than IBM/Microsoft/Intel in the PC industry. The case examines Apple's dilemma of how to retain its profitability as the structure of the industry deteriorates. Apple's CEO poses the critical question: Can... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Industry Structures; Computer Industry

01 Aug 2012
News

ISO standards stamp approval

01 Dec 2011
News

Health-care changes signal much-needed shift

March 2018
Case

Lufax: FinTech and the Transformation of Wealth Management in China

By: Christopher J. Malloy, Lauren H. Cohen and Anthony K. Woo

This case examines the rise and competitive positioning of Lufax, an online marketplace headquartered in Shanghai, China, and a pioneer in the origination and trading of financial assets. The company had grown at a remarkable rate, and was awarded “Trading Platform of... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Internet and the Web; Competitive Strategy; Situation or Environment; Product Positioning; Financial Services Industry; China

February 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Taffi: Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia

By: Paul A. Gompers and Fares Khrais

Taffi was a tech-enabled fashion styling startup founded by Shahad Geoffrey in Saudi Arabia in 2020. Within three years of operating, Geoffrey had pivoted the business multiple times. In 2023, Geoffrey was attempting the business’s most ambitious pivot yet, shifting... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Disruption; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Fashion Industry; Technology Industry; Saudi Arabia; Arabian Peninsula

October 2018
Case

African Bank Investments Limited (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; Africa; South Africa