Publications

April 2010 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Tata Nano The People's Car

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Bharat N. Anand and Rachna Tahilyani

The case explores how Tata Motors, India's largest automobile company, developed the Nano, the world's cheapest car. The case focuses on the translation of Ratan Tata's (chairman of Tata Motors) vision of a safe affordable car for the masses by Ravi Kant, managing... View Details

Keywords: Price; Globalized Firms and Management; Disruptive Innovation; Emerging Markets; Business Processes; Quality; Competition; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; India

November 2017
Teaching Note

Predicting Consumer Tastes with Big Data at Gap

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

CEO Art Peck was eliminating his creative directors for The Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic brands and promoting a collective creative ecosystem fueled by the input of big data. Rather than relying on artistic vision, Peck wanted the company to use the mining of big... View Details

March 2002 (Revised November 2003)
Case

Satellite Radio

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alastair Brown

In early 2002, XM and Sirius were fighting for control of the emerging U.S. market for satellite radio. Each company targeted consumers in automobiles, providing 100 channels of CD-quality audio for a monthly subscription fee of $10-$13. Wall Street analysts predicted... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Price; Risk and Uncertainty; Problems and Challenges; Network Effects; Partners and Partnerships; Information Technology; Business Model; Investment Return; Auto Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

February 1992 (Revised September 1995)
Case

Goldman, Sachs & Co.: Nikkei Put Warrants--1989

By: Peter Tufano

Japanese financial institutions' willingness to sell put options on the Nikkei Stock Average provides investment banks with the raw material from which to create a security that would allow U.S. investors to bet on falls in the Japanese Stock Market. The investment... View Details

Keywords: Debt Securities; Investment Banking; Product Design; Globalized Markets and Industries; Japan; United States

21 Nov 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

The New Challenge of Leading Financial Firms

London, and Tokyo, but in the emerging markets of India, China, and Brazil as well. "I think many companies are realizing that their track record of going outside their home country isn't great, because, to be completely honest, not... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

11 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 11, 2018

Betfair was an underfunded second mover in the betting exchange space, it was able to attract punters at a much faster rate than the better-funded first mover, Flutter. Moreover, while Betfair and traditional bookmakers competed... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

April 2016 (Revised June 2019)
Case

The Walt Disney Studios

By: Anita Elberse

In December 2015, Alan Horn, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, celebrates the world premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens—only the latest in a string of big bets that he has overseen. Disney pursues a “tentpole strategy” that revolves around at least eight... View Details

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

The Power of Stars: Do Stars Drive Success in Creative Industries?

Keywords: by Anita Elberse; Entertainment & Recreation; Motion Pictures & Video; Financial Services

October 2009 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Ingrid Johnson and Nedbank Business Banking

By: Michael Tushman and David Kiron

This case discusses the issue of leading change at the business banking division of Nedbank, a prominent South African bank, between 2005 and 2009. (This timeframe, beginning just 11 years after Apartheid's end, covers Ingrid Johnson's leadership of this division... View Details

Keywords: Leadership And Change Management; Leadership; Leading Change; Banks and Banking; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Change Management; Leadership Style; Banking Industry; South Africa

March 2019 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Accion's Fintech Strategy

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Michael Chu and Tricia Gregg

Accion, an NGO, had been a pioneer in microfinance since its entry into that sector in the early 1970s. Its investments in Banco Compartamos paid off, when the microfinance bank went IPO in 2007, leaving an influx of $138 million for Accion. Under a new CEO, Michael... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Impact Investing; Financial Inclusion; Technological Innovation; Strategy; Strategic Planning; Performance Effectiveness; Non-Governmental Organizations; Microfinance; Financial Institutions; Business Growth and Maturation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Industry Growth

October 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

JSW Steel: Balancing Growth While Decarbonizing

By: Vikram S Gandhi and Radhika Kak

Sajjan Jindal, Chairman & Managing Director of JSW Steel, India's largest steel producer by market capitalization, was facing a dilemma. Steel demand in India was expected to grow exponentially over the next decade. However, given its traditional reliance on carbon,... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Growth and Development; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Pollutants; Pollution; Production; Steel Industry; India

February 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

BET.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Pauline M Fischer

Black Entertainment Television, a leading cable programmer, is launching BET.com, an Internet portal targeted toward African-Americans. This case examines the challenges facing BET management as it defines its service offerings and target customer segments in a... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Ethnicity; Internet and the Web; Age; Race; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Startups; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

19 Mar 2007
Research & Ideas

Handicapping the Best Countries for Business

important and what are the keys to analyzing and understanding a country's near-term direction? A: Any business person is interested only in the future—in where markets and countries are heading. The only way to understand the near-term... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2022
Case

Leading The UK Vaccine Task Force

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Claudia Pienica

This case describes the first six months of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, under the leadership of Kate Bingham. With a career spent in the private sector as a biotech investor, Bingham’s appointment within the government was considered unusual. The overarching brief given... View Details

11 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating When the Rules Suddenly Change

How can you negotiate when the rules suddenly change, and no one knows whether your particular market is headed up or down? Regrouping from the cancellation of the 2004-2005 season due to failed labor negotiations, National Hockey League... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler; Sports

27 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 27

of a market mechanism to draw out knowledge from diverse external sources to solve internal problems. Creating Common Ground: Propositions about Effective Intergroup Leadership Author: Rosabeth M. Kanter Publication: In Crossing the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2022
Working Paper

Confidence, Self-Selection and Bias in the Aggregate

By: Benjamin Enke, Thomas Graeber and Ryan Oprea

The influence of behavioral biases on aggregate outcomes like prices and allocations depends in part on self-selection: whether rational people opt more strongly into aggregate interactions than biased individuals. We conduct a series of betting market, auction and... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Cognition and Thinking; Markets; Price

Find at Harvard

October 2016 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

By: Anita Elberse

In June 2016, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is planning for the upcoming launch of an endeavor that is a first for a Hollywood actor with superstar status—a digital channel. The channel (named “Seven Bucks Digital Studios”) will be a new part of film and television... View Details