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May 1, 2020
Article

COVID-19’s Hard Lessons Might Prepare Business for Climate Change

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Danielle Kost

The coronavirus pandemic caught the business world by surprise, but the catastrophe might force companies to face a crisis that has been unfolding in plain sight: climate change.
We asked faculty members affiliated with the Business and Environment Initiative at... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Pandemics; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability

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17 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

even excluding COVID-19 deaths) Mental health crises Secondary health problems from neglect/postponement of routine/preventative care Mass unemployment Dining, entertainment, arts, tourism industries—the whole experiential economy—devastated. Further, the View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

2020
Working Paper

HBS COVID-19 Global Policy Tracker

By: Alberto Cavallo and Tannya Cai

The HBS COVID-19 Global Policy Tracker is an initiative by the Business, Government and the International Economy (BGIE) unit at Harvard Business School (HBS) to collect and standardize economic policies implemented as a response to the coronavirus pandemic around the... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Economics; Policy; Health Pandemics; Government and Politics; Global Range

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16 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Your Customers Have Changed. Here's How to Engage Them Again.

Company is making hand sanitizers, and Louis Vuitton, Nivea, and Zara are making surgical masks, disinfectants, and other medical-related devices. THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS More Business-Related Pandemic... View Details

Keywords: by Rohit Deshpandé, Ofer Mintz, and Imran S. Currim; Retail; Service

January 2023 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Adams + Beasley Associates

By: Dennis Campbell and Iuliana Mogosanu

This case illustrates how a strong culture, founder-led SME designed and used a unique performance metric—the job security index—to manage through periods of economic uncertainty. The case centers specifically on how the job security index was used in an interactive... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Measurement and Metrics; Employee Ownership; Risk and Uncertainty; Small Business; Leadership; Organizational Culture

11 Jun 2020
In Practice

Are Digital Organizations Better at Overcoming COVID?

assistant professor of business administration. THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS More Business-Related Pandemic Coverage from Around Harvard and Beyond COVID-19 Business Impact Center (Harvard Business School) Lessons... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

08 May 2020
In Practice

Nonprofits Hurt by COVID-19 Must Hoard Cash to Hold On

The coronavirus crisis is hobbling social enterprises around the world, leaving many fighting for survival at a time of profound need. Since the pandemic hit, donations have fallen for more than two-thirds of nonprofit organizations, and... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

August 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Gogoro: From Electric Scooter to Energy Platform

By: Tarun Khanna and Billy Chan

The founder of Gogoro had always wanted to revolutionize the energy market from day one since he started the electric scooter business that featured an innovative battery swapping technology. Over the course of five years, he had developed a premium line of electric... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Energy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Taiwan

April 2021 (Revised December 2023)
Case

The Mahindra Group: Leading with Purpose

By: Ranjay Gulati and Rachna Tahilyani

India headquartered Mahindra Group is a multibillion-dollar federation of companies operating across the globe. It is ahead of its time in articulating its purpose and mapping its values, something it had first done at inception and then refreshed yet again as ‘Rise’... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Change Management; Communication Strategy; Family Ownership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Revenue; Auto Industry; Financial Services Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; Asia; India; Mumbai; South Korea; Italy; United States

01 May 2020
In Practice

COVID-19’s Hard Lessons Might Prepare Business for Climate Change

The coronavirus pandemic caught the business world by surprise, but the catastrophe might force companies to face a crisis that has been unfolding in plain sight: climate change. We asked faculty members affiliated with the Business and Environment Initiative at... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

14 May 2020
Research & Ideas

What Leaders Can Do to Fight the COVID Fog

is why sleep so often incubates insight—that reference librarian in your brain has just put two volumes together. It is also why many people are having unusually vivid dreams right now. THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS More Business-Related View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

July 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Mary Kay Inc.: Enriching Women's Lives while Embracing Change

By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Julia Kelley

In December 2020, Mary Kay Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Sheryl Adkins-Green considered several strategic dilemmas. Founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash, Mary Kay was a direct sales company whose Independent Beauty Consultants purchased its beauty and cosmetics products at... View Details

06 Oct 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

18 Tips Managers Can Use to Lead Through COVID's Rising Waters

reorient based on the new realities. While team launches set the course of a group at the moment it comes together, relaunches act as resets. The COVID-19 pandemic upending routines calls for relaunches to help leaders and team members... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

13 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

mobility the way it is, this pandemic is just the first of many that we could experience as a species because those conditions are only going to get worse going forward. THE COVID-19 CRISIS More Business-Related View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Pharmaceutical

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

November 2020
Case

Valuing Celgene's CVR

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

When Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) acquired Celgene Corporation in November 2019, Celgene shareholders received cash, BMS stock, and a contingent value right (CVRs) that would pay $9 if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved three of Celgene’s late stage... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Value; Valuation; Judgments; Decision Making; Cash Flow; Financial Instruments; Cognition and Thinking; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States

07 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

How to Help Small Businesses Survive COVID's Next Phase

small-business owners can take now Mills offers three recommendations to cash-strapped business owners: Focus on social media and email to reach customers. The coronavirus pandemic forced many analog... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Food & Beverage; Service

January 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Delta Air Lines: Navigating the COVID-19 Storm

By: Ted Berk and Ryan Flamerich

This case examines Delta Air Lines’ response as demand for its services plummeted in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on the company’s funding needs and capital structure. Following a series of initial actions, the company’s cash “burn” had reduced from... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Pandemics; Financial Condition; Capital Structure; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Air Transportation Industry

May 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

COVID-19: The Global Shutdown

By: Laura Alfaro and Sarah Jeong

In the first months of 2020, a pandemic overwhelmed the world. COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, spread from China and created a severe public health emergency across countries. While an immediate fear of the disease’s impact on human life permeated society,... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Microeconomics; Macroeconomics; Financial Crisis; Economy; Economic Systems; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Economic Sectors; Health Pandemics