Publications

26 Sep 2023
Book

Digital Strategy: A Handbook for Managing a Moving Target

characterized the industrial age (Birkinshaw, 2018). Second, we define what digital strategy is and explain how it matters to competition. Third, we highlight a few themes from this book’s chapters that illustrate how digital strategy is... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Information Technology; Technology

November 2000 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Pokemon: Gotta Catch 'Em All

Pokemon, the colloquial name given to a collection of 150 fantastic, animal-inspired creatures with organic powers and the capacity to evolve, are the stars of video games, trading card games, and TV cartoons. Conceived in Japan in 1996, Pokemon quickly became that... View Details

Keywords: Age; Entertainment; Ethics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Brands and Branding; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; United States

25 Jan 2021
Book

In a Nutshell, Why American Capitalism Succeeded

business in the United States. The book introduces readers to innovative business leaders, like Francis Cabot Lowell, who helped bring textile manufacturing, and the Industrial Revolution, to New England; Lydia Pinkham, who pioneered... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing

04 Sep 2007
Research & Ideas

Jumpstarting Innovation: Using Disruption to Your Advantage

Mature companies understand that to compete today they need to innovate. But finding sources of innovation while still paying attention to the current business can be a struggle. The good news, says Harvard Business School professor Lynda... View Details

Keywords: by Lynda M. Applegate

29 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 29

Publications August 2013 Harvard Business Review Press The Good Struggle: Responsible Leadership in an Unforgiving World By: Badaracco, Joseph L., Jr. Abstract—The question of how to lead successfully and responsibly is crucially... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

As AI Upends Recruiting, Job Seekers Need a Waze App for Careers

Artificial intelligence is changing the nature of work on a scale some predict will be as transformative as the Industrial Revolution. It’s also exposing the yawning gaps in a fractured US employment system that many companies and workers... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology; Technology

March 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Bank of America-Merrill Lynch

By: Guhan Subramanian and Nithyasri Sharma

In September 2008, as Lehman Brothers struggled to survive, John Thain, CEO of Merrill Lynch, realized that his bank was also on the brink of failure. Throughout the weekend of September 13–14, 2008, Thain successfully negotiated a deal with Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Crisis; Financing and Loans; Negotiation Deal; Business and Government Relations; Banking Industry; United States

September 2009 (Revised April 2011)
Supplement

Integrated Project Delivery at Autodesk, Inc. (C)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Faaiza Rashid

Describes Autodesk's engagement in Integrated Project Delivery—a new model of risk management, inter-firm teamwork, and multi-objective (aesthetic, cost, and sustainability) optimization in building projects. In 2008, Autodesk, Inc. the world's largest design software... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Groups and Teams; Goals and Objectives; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Integration; Construction Industry

December 2001 (Revised June 2002)
Case

Compensation at Level 3 Communications

Level 3's unique compensation plan rewarded managers for the firm's performance only if the firm's stock price movement exceeded that of the market. This design was intended to maximize shareholder value by tying manager's performance more closely to that of the firm,... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Telecommunications Industry

August 1988 (Revised July 1990)
Case

Optical Distortion, Inc. (C): The 1988 Reintroduction

In 1988, Optical Distortion, Inc. was ready to reintroduce its only product, contact lenses for chickens. Tests had shown that the lenses significantly reduced bird aggression and feed costs, leading to potentially huge cost savings for egg producers. In the years... View Details

Keywords: Animal-Based Agribusiness; Ethics; Sales; Innovation and Invention; Product Marketing; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

05 Dec 2022
What Do You Think?

How Would Jack Welch’s Leadership Style Fare in Today’s World?

process heavily influenced in previous years by resident scholar Peter Drucker. GE ran a business school. Managers both taught and learned just as their CEO did. But in Gelles’ opinion, the school and the company turned out some real duds. Welch fancied himself a View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Industrial Products; Industrial Products; Industrial Products; Industrial Products

19 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

The History of Beauty

products like lip and eye cosmetics, although less so for foundation, because it is more expensive and needs to be a good match with skin tone. Achieving sustainable success in the beauty industry is another... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics

02 Mar 2007
What Do You Think?

What Is the Government’s Role in US Health Care?

various free market mechanisms for addressing these issues. Where to start? Paul Jackson suggests that "The only thing the government should be involved with is controlling the drug, insurance, and medical industry advertising spending... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Health

30 Nov 2009
Research & Ideas

Tracks of My Tears: Reconstructing Digital Music

or even whether to sell their products via those channels at all if online retailers impose certain bundling policies. I thought the music industry would be an ideal research setting because it is a sector strongly associated with bundled... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Music

April 2008
Case

Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton (2004)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Marcelo Pancotto

Dr. Bradford Shingleton has developed some of the highest quality eye surgery techniques in the industry. He involves his nurses and technicians in creating a surgical service that is constantly improving. The case has many details about how Dr. Shingleton works with... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Independent Innovation and Invention; Service Operations; Performance Productivity; Practice; Problems and Challenges; Health Industry; Boston

October 2022
Supplement

The SAH Group: The Time is Right, Spreadsheet Supplement

By: Juan Alcacer and Alpana Thapar

In January 2021, Jalila Mezni, CEO of the SAH Group, was preparing to present the company’s future growth plans to its board of directors. The Tunisian company was a leading producer and distributor of personal care and packaged hygiene products. In 2019, it expanded... View Details

Keywords: Growth Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Investment Decisions; Growth Management; Vertical Integration; Distribution; Competition; Strategy; Supply Chain; Presentations; Market Entry and Exit; Product Positioning; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Tunisia

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet

isn’t necessary when looking for the right top executive; industry expertise often counts more. Many of these leaders have previous public-company management experience, and they deliver outsized returns for themselves and the PE-backed... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

18 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 18, 2007

modularized. Instead these areas should be located in transaction-free zones so that the costs of transacting do not overburden the system. The boundaries of transaction-free zones constitute breakpoints where firms and industries may... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2021
Case

Unshrinking the Pie: Desirée Stolar's Negotiation Saga (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

When Desirée (“Des”) Stolar’s wool sweater shrank two sizes, the Harvard Business School student worked with classmates to develop a solution that both fixed her problem and launched Unshrinkit, a successful consumer goods company with a widely-available product for... View Details

Keywords: Bargaining; Startups; Negotiation; Contracts; Negotiation Tactics; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Strategy; Consumer Products Industry