Publications

02 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Have Marketers Ignored America’s Man-of-Action Hero?

their leisure and consumption. Most recently this idea was popularized by Susan Faludi in her book Stiffed as well as by Robert Bly in Iron John. When you enter the everyday... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

John D. Macomber

John Macomber is a Senior Lecturer in the Finance unit at Harvard Business School. His professional background includes leadership of real estate, construction, and information technology businesses. At HBS, Mr. Macomber's work focuses on climate adaptation and the... View Details

Keywords: building materials; construction; energy; green technology; infrastructure industry; real estate; transportation; utilities; waste management; insurance industry

18 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Penn State Lesson: Today’s Cover-Up was Yesterday’s Opportunity

Sandusky did to young boys for the next 14 years. Ironically, had Penn State turned Sandusky over to legal authorities in 1998, the public would have viewed its actions as protecting the victims, thereby enhancing the University's... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Education

30 May 2019
What Do You Think?

Is There a Distinctive West Coast Style of Management?

mentality that made and created Silicon Valley. Hate it or admire it—it’s a place where its accomplishments equaled its hubris.” This suggests another ingredient that may have been important in tempering the impulses of young... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Education

06 Mar 2013
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Women MBAs at Harvard Business School

School: 1962-2012," the case delves into the experiences of alumnae and alumni over the past 50 years, both inside and outside the classroom, as Dean Nitin Nohria considers what HBS might be like 10 years from now, when his young... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education

25 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

10 Reasons Customers Might Resist Windows 8

Software giant Microsoft is launching the Windows 8 version of its operating system this week, and suffice it to say that it's radically different from Windows 7. The familiar Start button and menu are gone, for example, replaced by a... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Computer; Consumer Products

10 Dec 2007
HBS Case

One Laptop per Child

great gadget" and improve the educational possibilities for children in impoverished environments? Tech-savvy people as well as the socially conscious have been intrigued by the idea of "one laptop per child" since it made... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Computer

30 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Market Makers Bid for Success

happened in natural gas in the late 1980s and early 1990s. And, there's always money to be saved in industrial sourcing. If management really focuses on purchasing and puts effort into it, you can always save money by creating more... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Web Services; Technology

20 Jun 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Fame, Faith, and Social Activism: Business Lessons from Bono

realized that no one had ever told this story as a business story." In the bigger picture, U2's journey reflects our own moment here in the early 21st century, Koehn says, pointing to a growing spiritual hunger among young people, the... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Entertainment & Recreation

August 2019 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Dirk Nowitzki: Changing the Game

By: Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt and Evan M.S. Hecht

NBA Superstar Dirk Nowitzki was unsure whether the 2018–2019 season would be his last as an NBA player. He had not faced such uncertainty since 1998, when he had navigated a difficult decision regarding the timing of his move to the NBA. He also did not know what he... View Details

Keywords: Career Decisions; Career Journey; ＂Sports Organizations,; Mentoring; Retirement; Sports; Performance; Training; Personal Development and Career; Sports Industry; United States

24 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Five Questions for Debora L. Spar

In the long run, even the most fundamental innovations have a way of being influenced by government, says Harvard Business School professor Debora Spar. That's why business leaders need political skills, too. Silverthorne: In Next: The... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2021 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Henry Ford: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case traces the rise of Henry Ford from a small farm in Michigan to the controlling shareholder of the Ford Motor Company. The case describes how Ford, as young man, acquired engineering skills and the risks he took as he built and marketed one of the first... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Entrepreneurship; Personal Characteristics; Business Startups; Management; Success; Values and Beliefs; Technological Innovation; Personal Development and Career; Auto Industry; United States; Michigan

December 2017
Case

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Sarah Mehta

It is July 2017, and Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, the director general of the Nigeria-based International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), is making progress toward two of his primary strategic objectives for the nonprofit research Institute: 1) to scale the impact... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Technologies; Youth Unemployment; Innovation In Nonprofits; Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Cash Flow; Labor; Employment; Commercialization; Problems and Challenges; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Africa; Nigeria