Publications

November 1976
Article

Partial Equilibrium Approach to the Free-Rider Problem

By: Jerry R. Green, Elon Kohlberg and Jean-Jacques Laffont

Groves and others have shown that truthful answers concerning preferences for public goods can be elicited as dominant strategies if appropriate tax-subsidies rules are applied. This paper studies the statistical properties of the total revenues generated by one of the... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges

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25 Oct 2019
News

Can Big-Box Retailers Provide Local Health Care?

October 2014
Case

CreditEase: Providing Credit and Financial Services for China's Underclass

By: Lena G. Goldberg, Paul Healy and Nancy Hua Dai

In 2013 Ning Tang, who in 2006 founded CreditEase as a broker of P2P loans to unbanked individuals and small businesses in China, confronts the challenges of rapid growth and expansion in a changing regulatory environment. CreditEase needs to develop technology to... View Details

Keywords: P2P Lending; HNW Products And Services; Business Growth; Business Start-ups; Government Regulation; Change Management; Credit; Microcredit; Banking; Innovation And Management; Developing Countries And Economies; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Law; Financing and Loans; Change; China

23 Dec 2021
News

Taking Over a State by a Religious Movement Was Basically Inconceivable to Most Outside Observers

Article

China Gambles on Modernizing Through Urbanization

By: Kristen Looney and Meg Rithmire

Contemporary discussions of urbanization and urban construction in China tend to focus on “ghost towns” on the one hand or urbanization as China’s silver bullet to growth and reform on the other. In this paper, we detail what China calls its “New Urbanization Policy.”... View Details

Keywords: Urban Development; Development Economics; Problems and Challenges; China

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November 1997 (Revised February 1998)
Case

WESCO Distribution, Inc.

By: Das Narayandas

In 1996, WESCO, a national distributor of electrical equipment and supplies, charted out a growth of 6 to 8 percent in sales, and 12 to 16 percent in profitability over the next five years. The centerpiece of this growth strategy is the National Accounts (NA) program... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Customer Satisfaction; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Distribution; Sales; Balance and Stability; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry

March 2021 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Helen Keller: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case describes the rise of Helen Keller who at 19 months became deaf and blind. Refusing to be sidelined from life, Keller showed great determination in learning how to communicate with others, employing tutors and travelling to Boston to enroll in the Perkins... View Details

Keywords: Mission And Purpose; Values And Beliefs; Success; Diversity; Leading Change; Personal Development and Career; Personal Characteristics; Power and Influence

August 2003 (Revised September 2003)
Case

Tower Software

Tower Software (TS) is a publicly traded corporation engaged in multiple facets of the computer software business. Its flagship product, TS SERVE, is a successful proprietary network operating system. TS also develops and sells applications software for word... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Product Launch; Web Services Industry; Information Technology Industry

24 Apr 2020
News

Navigating the Crisis & Beyond: Perspectives for Leaders in South Asia

01 Sep 2023
News

Startup Success Beyond Silicon Valley

public companies. “It has gone global.” To explore this trend, Gompers has spent a year conducting in-depth field research spanning continents. His work will inform the creation of a new MBA elective course... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Mele

19 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

A Brand Manager’s Guide to Losing Control

will defend you," Avery tells brand managers. "If people start bashing a beloved brand, there is a ready group of organized consumers who swoop in and say, 'Don't beat up our brand!' Treating your... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising

20 Dec 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

How to Design a Better Customer Experience

workshops. He will be running the session in the Leading Product Innovation executive education program on the HBS campus in February. Creating a memorable experience When it comes to providing the type of... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health; Entertainment & Recreation

03 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

When Showing Know-How Backfires for Women Managers

slicing meat, baking bread—they show that they’re willing to roll up their sleeves, but this behavior could be costly to their businesses’ bottom lines. By looking at the everyday activities of women... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Retail; Consumer Products

01 Mar 2019
News

The Burden Legacy

philanthropic leadership of Mrs. Burden, her sons, and their family will never be forgotten. We are deeply grateful to the family for their generosity and their vision.” View Details

Keywords: Linda Kush

January 2021
Case

Cinépolis

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Fernanda Miguel

Two weeks after Cinepolis released a documentary film about corruption, a judge ordered its provisional suspension, claiming it had to be edited before it continued to be shown, against Mexican cinematography laws. Cinépolis, Latin America’s largest movie theater chain... View Details

Keywords: Movies; Entertainment; Corruption; Risk Assessment; Communication Strategy; Crime and Corruption; Decision Making; Film Entertainment; Ethics; Leadership; Risk Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Mexico; Latin America; North and Central America

September 2011
Article

Taking Gender into Account: Theory and Design for Women's Leadership Development Programs

By: Robin J. Ely, Herminia Ibarra and Deborah Kolb

We conceptualize leadership development as identity work and show how subtle forms of gender bias in the culture and in organizations interfere with the identity work of women leaders. Based on this insight, we revisit traditional approaches to standard leadership... View Details

Keywords: Programs; Prejudice and Bias; Leadership Development; Identity; Organizational Culture; Gender

May 2010 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Water Shortage and Property Investing in Mexico City

By: John D. Macomber, Regina Garcia-Cuellar and Griffin James

A commercial property company evaluates water risks including the government's ability to remedy, the company's operating exposure and mitigation, and whether to relocate because of water risk. A real estate fund manager assesses investment prospects in Mexico City in... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment; Risk Management; Infrastructure; Privatization; Business and Government Relations; Partners and Partnerships; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Utilities Industry; Mexico City

September 2001 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Webvan

Examines Webvan's operations and the processes by which it delivers groceries that were ordered from the Internet to customers' homes. Recounts Webvan's history from founding through early 2001 and concentrates on the unique approaches to warehousing, delivery,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Failure; Business Startups; Consumer Products Industry; Service Industry