Publications

September 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Case

RailTex, Inc. (A)

By: Norman A. Berg and James Weber

By 1992, RailTex, Inc., had acquired and was operating 23 geographically separate short-line railroads (feeder lines for larger railroads) in Mexico, Canada, and primarily in the United States. Founded in 1977 with $500,000 of capital as a railcar leasing company, the... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Divisions; Cost Management; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Systems; Product Marketing; Logistics; Risk and Uncertainty; Valuation

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01 Feb 2002
News

Replicating Toyota's Success

Spear focused on the company's approach to solving problems and noticed the conscious way Toyota's managers involve employees in this process, even to the point of leaving a production line at suboptimal... View Details

Keywords: Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers; Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers; Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers; Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers

13 Oct 2003
Research & Ideas

How to Pick Managers for Disruptive Growth

little experience competing for resources and bucking inappropriate processes within a stable, efficiency-oriented operating culture. In order to be confident that managers have View Details

Keywords: by Michael Raynor

December 2022
Case

The Magic of Marks & Spencer Food

By: David E. Bell, Natalie Kindred and Damien McLoughlin

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Food; Consumer Behavior; Product Development; Competition; Price; Inflation and Deflation; Trends; Growth and Development; Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United Kingdom

06 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

How Small Wins Unleash Creativity

All good managers understand the importance of making sure that every member of a team feels personally motivated and necessary throughout the workday, lest their work should stagnate and suffer. But what's... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

05 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 5, 2008

clear differences in investor protections and financial development around the world today (La Porta et al., 1998, 1999 and passim). This paper examines the persistence of the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 23

technology, three core principles have emerged that work together to ensure that complementary, interconnected products coexist and compete. These core principles are particularly important when applied to... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May–June 2023
Article

The High Cost of Neglecting Low-Wage Workers: Six Mistakes That Companies Make—and How They Can Do Better

By: Joseph Fuller and Manjari Raman

Many companies blame outside factors for the trouble they’ve been having in finding and retaining frontline workers: the pandemic, the government’s stimulus checks, the intrinsic nature of low-wage work. The authors argue that in fact the real problem lies in six big... View Details

Keywords: Retention; Recruitment; Human Capital; Personal Development and Career; Compensation and Benefits; Performance Productivity

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March 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Oscar de la Renta

By: Bharat N. Anand, Elizabeth Lea Carpenter and Samhita Patwardhan Jayanti

Over three decades, Oscar de la Renta (ODLR) had established itself as one of the premier luxury brands in America. Its mainstay business had always been producing and marketing high-priced, couture/ready-to-wear luxury goods. Now, in September 2003, it faced a series... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Borrowing and Debt; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Production; Family Ownership; Luxury; Competition; Diversification; Expansion; United States

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Throwing Your Opponent: Strategies for the Internet Age

the dynamic introduced by companies like Netscape that have helped build the information infrastructure of the Internet age. Yoffie and Cusumano point out, for example, that one of Netscape's pioneering achievements was reducing the... View Details

Keywords: by Daniel Penrice

05 Jun 2015
Blog Post

The HBS Investment

HBS is an experience. HBS is an investment. HBS is two years to have fun, meet new people, and learn from some of the greatest teachers in the world. All of these hold a piece of truth. But only a piece. While the topline narrative is... View Details

08 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Negotiate “Yes” Across Cultural Boundaries

environmental groups. Had Stone taken into account the history of strained relationships between Honduras and the U.S. government and multinationals, as well as the fragile status of the presidency in this... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius

January 1994
Article

Foreign Multinationals in British Manufacturing, 1850-1962

By: G. Jones and Frances Bostock

This article draws on a new database to describe the dimensions and characteristics of 685 foreign companies which established British manufacturing subsidiaries between 1850 and 1962. The numbers of foreign companies grew from the 1890s, expanded rapidly in the... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Business Subsidiaries; Expansion; Chemicals; Metals and Minerals; Food; Mergers and Acquisitions; Market Entry and Exit; Research and Development; Trade; Investment; Production; United Kingdom; United States; Scotland; Wales

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November 2001 (Revised October 2004)
Case

IBM Network Technology (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman and Robert C Wood

An unconventional manager within IBM leads the creation of a business unit with multibillion-dollar potential, winning over customers and nudging the organization to make the changes needed to achieve dramatic growth. This case provides an example of how organizational... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Change Management; Management Practices and Processes; Business Plan; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Success; Technology Industry

30 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 30

collective operational capabilities that underpin new product and process development in the U.S. industrial sector. As a result, America has... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2024
Case

Tonik

By: Andy Wu, Maliha Malek Quadir and Aticus Peterson

This case study examines Tonik, the first digital bank in the Philippines, as it navigates the challenges of scaling its lending operations and achieving profitability in an evolving fintech landscape. It explores Tonik's journey from its launch in 2018 to early 2024,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Profit; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Product; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Technology Industry; Philippines