Publications

April 2008
Case

Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad

By: Michael Beer and Elizabeth Collins

In May 2007, the Engstrom Auto Mirrors plant, a relatively small supplier based in Indiana, faces a crisis. The business was in the second year of a downturn. Sales had started to decline in 2005; a year later, plant manager Ron Bent had been forced to lay off more... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Human Resource Management; Incentives; Motivation; Manufacturing; Leadership; Change Management; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Manufacturing Industry; Indiana

May 2011
Article

The Growing Power of Non-financial Reports

By: Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim

We are exploring the value of forcing corporations to issue sustainability reports, which provide information about corporate performance in terms of social, environmental and governance issues. In a breakthrough study they asked, what is the effect of mandatory... View Details

Keywords: Value; Reports; Performance; Management Practices and Processes; Globalization; Power and Influence; Natural Environment; Governance; Social Issues

Lynda M. Applegate is a Baker Foundation Professor at HBS and is Chair of the Advisory Committee for Harvard University’s Masters Degree of Liberal Arts in Finance and Management at the Harvard University Extension School. She has also played a... View Details

January 1991 (Revised September 1992)
Background Note

Note on Starting a Nonprofit Venture

Provides anyone considering starting a nonprofit organization with a basic understanding of the nature of nonprofit status, tax and regulatory issues for nonprofits, and the distinctive management challenges associated with a nonprofit start-up. View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Entrepreneurship

October 2009 (Revised October 2010)
Supplement

Sara Campbell Ltd. (C)

By: Romana L. Autrey, V.G. Narayanan and Julia Rozovsky

Supplements the Sara Campbell Ltd. (A) and (B) cases by revealing the aftermath of issues presented in the (B) case. The students are given context to discuss how this situation could have been prevented. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Employee Relationship Management; Outcome or Result; Situation or Environment; Conflict Management; Apparel and Accessories Industry

17 Oct 2016
HBS Case

Business Solutions That Help Cut Food Waste

As much as 40 percent of food grown in the United States for human consumption is wasted. Source: Eivaisla After decades of wasteful food practices, where perfectly good food is discarded even as poverty keeps many families hungry, solutions are starting to come... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

05 Jan 2017
Blog Post

Crossing the River: The HBS/HKS Joint Degree Program

economics, and econometrics. Here I received training that offered new lenses to examine to the social issues I’m passionate about. I also had the opportunity to dive deeper into my interests through an... View Details

January 1998 (Revised December 2001)
Case

Fitzpatrick Hotel Group (A)

By: Paul A. Gompers and Catherine M. Conneely

Examines the issues raised in the financing of the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group, an Irish hotelier. The perspective of Paddy Fitzpatrick, founder and CEO at Fitzpatrick Group, and Niall Carroll, founder of ACT Venture Capital, are contrasted. View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Venture Capital; Perspective; Accommodations Industry; Republic of Ireland

Find at Harvard

03 Mar 2010
What Do You Think?

To What Degree Does “Identity” Affect Economic Performance?

of identity. Perceptions vary widely on the issue of "identity" and economic performance, particularly as it applies to the U.S. One school of thought is summarized by C. J. Cullinane when he says, "Our identify has... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

2007
Working Paper

Diasporas and Domestic Entrepreneurs: Evidence from the Indian Software Industry

By: Ramana Nanda and Tarun Khanna

This study explores the importance of cross-border social networks for entrepreneurs in developing countries by examining ties between the Indian expatriate community and local entrepreneurs in India's software industry. We find that local entrepreneurs who have... View Details

Keywords: Diasporas; Developing Countries and Economies; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Social and Collaborative Networks; Technology Industry; India

Read Now

January 1989 (Revised December 1991)
Case

British Airways: ""Go for It, America!"" Promotion (A)

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Senior marketing executives of a major international airline are deciding on a strategy to address a crisis situation precipitated by a series of terrorist acts. The company is experiencing the worst downturn ever in its U.S.-U.K. travel business due to media reports... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Crime and Corruption; Crisis Management; Management Teams; Time Management; Marketing Strategy; Perception; Value Creation; Travel Industry; United Kingdom; United States

January 2018
Technical Note

Business at the Base of the Pyramid: Understanding Impact and Impact Evaluations

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Tricia Gregg

Unlike financial success, there is no clear consensus regarding how best to define and measure social impact. This HBS Technical Note written for students of the HBS MBA course Business at the Base of the Pyramid (BBOP), offers readers pragmatic perspectives on how the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Social Issues; Value Creation; Human Needs; Performance Evaluation

13 Aug 2021
Blog Post

Exploring Racial Justice with the Scaling Minority Businesses Course

a general management skillset that transcended sectors – private, non-profit, and public. Our most urgent social issues require a multi-faceted approach that spans these sectors because those with the... View Details

Web

Faculty & Research

Seminars & Conferences Apr 15 15 Apr 2025 Hal Hershfield, University of California, Los Angeles Apr 16 16 Apr 2025 Darrell Duffie (Joint MIT) , Stanford GSB More Seminars & Conferences Recent Publications Corporate Actions as Moral Issues... View Details

06 Jun 2023
Cold Call Podcast

The Opioid Crisis, CEO Pay, and Shareholder Activism

Keywords: Re: Suraj Srinivasan; Health; Pharmaceutical; Distribution

27 Mar 2005
Research & Ideas

Should I Pay the Bribe?

frustrated by the "explanations" offered for the country's economic and social problems. One of the more standard arguments was that corruption was the cause of all our problems. It seemed that we could become rich by becoming... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia D. Churchwell

April 2017
Case

Yushan Bicycles: Learning to Ride Abroad

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Paul S. Myers

Yushan Bicycles, one of Taiwan's leading bicycle manufacturers, is pursuing an international expansion strategy by increasing demand for its range of traditional and electric bicycles and shifting its product mix toward higher-margin models sold through specialty... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Conflict Management; Learning; Bicycle Industry; Taiwan; Australia

February 2016 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Martin Luther King and the Struggle for Black Voting Rights

By: David Moss and Dean Grodzins

In January 1965, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., the most prominent leader of the civil rights movement in the United States, launched a campaign of civil disobedience in Selma, Alabama, to bring national attention to disenfranchisement of black voters in the South. On... View Details

Keywords: Rights; Voting; Race; Government and Politics; Conflict and Resolution; Leadership; History; Alabama

April 1995 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Unemployment in France: "Priority Number One"

By: David A. Moss

Explores the problem of French unemployment on the eve of the presidential elections of 1995. Traces the development of social and economic policies under President Mitterrand and surveys leading explanations for the nation's mounting unemployment crisis. One major... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Employment; Economics; Government and Politics; Political Elections; Social Issues; Wages; France