Publications

March 2008 (Revised June 2008)
Case

The Broad Institute: Applying the Power of Genomics to Medicine

By: Vicki L. Sato and Rachel Gordon

In June 2003, Harvard University and MIT announced an unprecedented partnership to create a biomedical institute, The Broad Institute. The culture of the Broad centered on science, and those involved considered it to be at the edge of the scientific frontier. In just... View Details

Keywords: Education; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Partners and Partnerships; Research and Development; Genetics

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Breaking the Code of Change

returns in excess of the cost of capital. When Dunlap took over the leadership of the company, he immediately announced and implemented a reduction of 11,000 people at both the management and working levels. He fired many members of the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer & Nitin Nohria

30 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

Commuting Hurts Productivity and Your Best Talent Suffers Most

and Blue Cross Blue Shield are in no hurry to resume in-person work, for instance, and Dell Technologies says 60 percent of its employees will continue to work remotely. Twitter also announced in May 2020 that its workers can choose to... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

13 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

Are Companies Actually Greener—or Are They All Talk?

Most companies now account for social good in their financial reports in some way, but with regulation scattershot and evolving, it’s complicated for investors to assess so-called ESG reports. The disclosures, known as Environmental, Social, and Governance reports,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

20 Aug 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Hedge Fund Investor Activism and Takeovers

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood & Michael Schor; Banking

January 2000 (Revised April 2000)
Case

StarMedia: Launching a Latin American Revolution

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jon K Rust

By the fall of 1999, StarMedia had sprinted to a sizable lead in the race to acquire Latin American Internet users. Its pan-regional, horizontal portal was the first to target Spanish- and Portuguese-language speakers on the Internet, registering 1.2 billion page views... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; History; Risk Management; Business Cycles; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Infrastructure; Media; Emerging Markets; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Web; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

24 Apr 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Courage: The Defining Characteristic of Great Leaders

Polman immediately wheeled into action, convincing KHC to drop its bid two days later. Then he announced seven bold moves to enhance shareholder value without compromising the company’s ambitious long-term plans. In comparison, Kraft CEO... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Auto; Food & Beverage

09 Jan 2020
Book

Rethinking Business Strategy in the Age of AI

announcement at the Google I/O conference in front of seven thousand attendees, with more than one million people viewing on live streaming. Google’s strategic focus, Pichai said, was shifting from mobile to “AI first.” The View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

25 Aug 2014
HBS Case

Starbucks Reinvented

singer of U2, to announce a partnership to channel proceeds from holiday beverage sales to the Global Fund in support of AIDS relief programs in Africa. The New Orleans conference was a turning point for Starbucks; in the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage

26 Aug 2014
First Look

First Look: August 26

Real Rates By: Hanson, Samuel G., and Jeremy C. Stein Abstract—Changes in monetary policy have surprisingly strong effects on forward real rates in the distant future. A 100 basis point increase in the two-year nominal yield on an FOMC View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Mar 2023
In Practice

What Does the Failure of Silicon Valley Bank Say About the State of Finance?

single day, leaving the bank with a $1 billion negative balance, according to a regulatory filing by the company. While financial regulators have announced that the US will guarantee all deposits at SVB, its collapse has spooked customers... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Banking

08 Oct 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The Federal Reserve’s Abandonment of Its 1923 Principles

Keywords: by Julio J. Rotemberg; Banking; Legal Services

February 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Electric Car Wars, 2018

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

Electric cars had long been championed by environmentalists as a superior solution to the internal combustion engine (ICE), but, despite large government incentives and strong pioneering efforts by a few automakers over the years, electric and hybrid cars and light... View Details

October 8, 2012
Column

Henkel's Culture Shift

By: Robert Simons

This case descriibes a CEO-led organizational transformation driven by stretch goals, performance measurement, and accountability. When Kasper Rorsted became CEO of Henkel, a Germany-based producer of personal care, laundry, and adhesives products, in 2008, he was... View Details

Keywords: Strategy Execution; Culture; New CEO; Change; Performance Measures; Accountability; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Corporate Accountability; Leading Change; Competitive Strategy; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Consumer Products Industry; Germany

21 Feb 2018
Research & Ideas

When a Competitor Abandons the Market, Should You Advance or Retreat?

SolStock In late 2016 drug maker Eli Lilly announced it would stop research on the Alzheimer's drug solanezumab after results proved disappointing over three trials. For competitors such as Biogen, Merck, and Roche, this decision... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Pharmaceutical; Health

January 2019
Case

Understanding the Brand Equity of Nestlé Crunch Bar: A Market Research Case

By: Jill Avery and Gerald Zaltman

In early 2018, Nestlé announced the sale of its U.S. candy-making division and a select collection of 20 of its confectionery brands, including the Nestlé Crunch Bar, to Ferrero SpA for $2.8 billion. Under the terms of the Nestlé acquisition, each of the purchased... View Details

Keywords: Brand Equity; Marketing; Market Research; Qualitative Research; Marketing Communication; Customer Satisfaction; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; North America; Italy

July 2013 (Revised August 2017)
Case

TaKaDu

By: Elie Ofek and Matthew Preble

In December 2012, Amir Peleg, founder and CEO of TaKaDu, reflected on how to position his young firm for the next fiscal year and beyond. The small Israeli startup had developed an innovative software system that used patented algorithms and statistical analysis to... View Details