Publications

27 Sep 2019
Blog Post

Learning the Language of Product at Duolingo

With over 300 million users, the company has created the most downloaded education app in the history of the App Store all for free. At Duolingo, I joined the team responsible for creating and managing the core Duolingo lesson experience.... View Details

Keywords: Technology

10 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 10

examines the evolution of corporate environmentalism in the West German chemical industry between the 1950s and the 1980s. It focuses on two companies, Bayer and Henkel, that have been identified as "green giants," and traces the evolution of their... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Dec 2017
News

Diagnosing DC’s Dysfunction

constituents rather than donors; and opening up competition as early as the 2018 election cycle to centrist, solutions-oriented independent candidates, among other recommendations. “We citizens bear the ultimate View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Government

August 2013 (Revised January 2016)
Case

Sustainability at Siemens

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Amy C. Edmondson, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Emer Moloney

Describes sustainability efforts at Siemens since arrival of Chief Sustainability Officer, Barbara Kux, in 2008. Asks students to evaluate success of those efforts and outline what the company should do going forward. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Sustainability; Energy Efficiency; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Energy Conservation; Environmental Sustainability; Gender; Electronics Industry

September 2012 (Revised February 2013)
Case

micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

mHS is a social enterprise for the provision of affordable housing in India. After India's microfinance industry collapses, mHS needs to reposition itself for continued operations and long-term growth. View Details

Keywords: India; Loans; Development; Micro Finance; Entrepreneurship; Housing; Social Enterprise; Poverty; India

Profile

Tiffany Pham

responsive on mobile and will soon launch a mobile app on iPhone. Noting the passionate following of our original video series, “How She Did It,” as well as the user engagement on our curated videos, we will also be further focusing on... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Entertainment / Media; Technology

Profile

Lisa Cousins

culture, and team dynamics are critical to achieving success as a company and happiness as an individual. I have been fortunate to work with amazing leaders who have encouraged and enabled me View Details

Keywords: Services; Entertainment / Media

September 2005 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Spyder Active Sports - 2004

By: Belen Villalonga, Dwight B. Crane and James Quinn

David Jacobs founded a high-end ski apparel company in 1978. He successfully built and grew the company, establishing a major international brand that appealed to ski racers and other active skiers. In 1995, he sought external financing to support further growth of the... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Private Equity; Financial Liquidity; Business Exit or Shutdown; Valuation; Brands and Branding; Wealth; Family Business; Financing and Loans; Globalization; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry; Colorado

January 2009
Case

Marks and Spencer: Plan A

By: David E. Bell, Nitin Sanghavi and Laura Winig

Marks & Spencer initiated a comprehensive approach to sustainability (reduction of waste, carbon emissions, fair trade) called Plan A. Does it offer a competitive advantage? View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategic Planning; Environmental Sustainability; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry

November 1995 (Revised February 2017)
Supplement

Luna Pen (B)

By: Kathleen McGinn and Michael Wheeler

Presents a series of multiple choice options to be distributed and discussed in class. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Strategy; Negotiation Tactics; Performance Evaluation; Gender; Culture; Power and Influence; Germany; Taiwan

December 2010 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Asian Agri and the Future of Palm Oil

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

For Asian Agri and other Indonesian palm oil producers, the future promised rising demand from fast-growing Asian populations, but also intensifying criticism from environmental groups. With the highest yield and lowest production cost of any edible oil, palm oil... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Social Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Natural Environment; Marketing Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Indonesia; Malaysia

June 2013
Teaching Note

A Politician in a Leather Suit and the Paradox of Japanese Capitalism

By: Karthik Ramanna

Two lost decades later, capitalism in Japan embodies peculiar contradictions—preserving wealth and social stability in the face of declining economic power. Scant transparency in Japanese corporate practices plays an important role in this phenomenon. Sometimes... View Details

Keywords: Japan; Tokyo; Economic Systems; Corporate Accountability; Values and Beliefs; Fairness; Crime and Corruption; Civil Society or Community; Corporate Governance; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Tokyo

March 2005 (Revised May 2005)
Background Note

Even Bigger Change: A Framework for Getting Started at Changing the World

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Presents a framework for leading change in institutions or society, showing leaders how to manage political, economic, or social change by mapping their targets (policy, programs, or people/culture) and choice of action vehicle (single organizations or coalitions of... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leading Change; Society

December 2000 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Reverend Jeffrey Brown: Cops, Kids and Ministers

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Alexis Lefort

Introduces Reverend Jeffrey Brown, one of the cofounders of the Ten Point Coalition in Boston, Mass. The Ten Point Coalition, a group of ministers that worked to change the dynamics between the Boston Police Department and the kids on the street, was instrumental in... View Details

Keywords: Change; Civil Society or Community; Alliances; Interpersonal Communication; Power and Influence; Law Enforcement; City; Boston

October 2024
Article

Greater Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake among enrollees Offered Health and Social Needs Case Management: Results from a Randomized Trial

By: Margae Knox, Elizabeth A. Hernandez, Daniel M. Brown, Jennifer Ahern, Mark D. Fleming, Crystal Guo and Amanda L. Brewster

The CommunityConnect case management program for Medicaid beneficiaries is run by Contra Costa Health, a county safety net health system in California. Case management infrastructure modestly improved Covid-19 vaccine uptake in a population of Medicaid beneficiaries... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Medical Specialties; Programs; Human Needs; Welfare; Health Industry; California

Read Now

July 2005 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Recall 2000: Bridgestone Corp. (A) (Abridged)

By: Lynn S. Paine

In September 2000, the president of Bridgestone-Firestone, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's Bridgestone Corp., was invited to appear before a U.S. congressional subcommittee investigating the August 2000 recall of more than 6.5 million tires made by the subsidiary. The... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Product; Trade; Organizational Culture; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Auto Industry; United States; Japan

Find at Harvard

November 2020 (Revised September 2021)
Case

BRAC in 2020

By: Tarun Khanna and Shreya Ramachandran

In 2020, the largest non-governmental organization in the world, BRAC, headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh, has some big problems to tackle. Its founder, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, has left behind a challenge: take the 1981-founded organization from Bangladesh to every... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Education; Health; Social Issues; Poverty; Programs; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Strategy; Education Industry; Health Industry; Bangladesh; South Asia