Publications

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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

12 Jun 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Corporate Resilience and Response During COVID-19

Keywords: by Alex Cheema-Fox, Bridget LaPerla, George Serafeim, and Hui (Stacie) Wang

19 Jan 2010
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing the Economic Crisis

companies lose when they cut corporate giving? How Do I Lead In A Crisis? 7 Lessons for Navigating the Storm Leading in crisis requires a combination of skills and behaviors—personal and professional—that can be mastered, says HBS... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

24 Apr 2018
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: What Mark Zuckerberg Can Learn About Crisis Leadership from Starbucks

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson (left) meets with employees and community members in this file photo. (Photo courtesy Starbucks.) Johnson & Johnson CEO Jim Burke’s leadership during the 1982 Tylenol crisis is what we at Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Technology; Food & Beverage

25 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

Planning for Surprises

do to make prevention of a potential disaster a priority in the face of competing priorities, and to mobilize a response in the face of concerted opposition for special interests. Far too often, we only address problems after the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

July 2020
Case

King's College Hospital in Crisis

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

On December 11, 2017, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (King’s), one of London’s leading teaching hospital groups, was put into “special measures” by NHS Improvement (NHSI), the financial regulator of England’s National Health Service (NHS). The future of... View Details

Keywords: Hospitals; Financing; Health Care and Treatment; Financial Condition; Crisis Management; Organizational Structure; Transformation; Strategic Planning; United Kingdom

March 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Background Note

The Newspaper Industry in Crisis

By: David J. Collis, Peter W. Olson and Mary Furey

This note is a primer on the newspaper industry, which has been in decline in the U.S. and Western Europe. The 19th century business model whereby news and editorial content was packaged and delivered to homes daily and paid for by national advertisers has been... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business History; Newspapers; Disruptive Innovation; Consumer Behavior; Business Strategy; Internet; Journalism and News Industry; Publishing Industry; Europe; United States

December 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

FIRA: Confronting the Mexican Agricultural Crisis

By: James E. Austin, Michael Chu and Cate Reavis

In fall 2003, Mexico's agriculture sector was facing a crisis brought on largely by a surge in cheap U.S. imports resulting from NAFTA and inaccessible and/or expensive terms of credit for Mexican agricultural producers. It was getting harder for Mexican producers to... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Public Sector; Trade; Financial Instruments; Crisis Management; Markets; Strategic Planning; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

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01 Feb 2017
What Do You Think?

Is the Next Jobs Crisis Just Ahead?

and communities? What are feasible responses to this eventuality? Whether or not they are political, should we be considering them now? Is the real jobs crisis ahead of us? What do you think? View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Service

01 Mar 2008
News

Avoiding a Succession Crisis

research suggests that planning for CEO succession should be part and parcel of the way a company is managed. Grooming potential leaders is a process that takes years. It’s not an ad hoc event. The key elements in this process are the way... View Details

Keywords: Joseph L. Bower; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management

September 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

BP's Macondo: Spill and Response

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

This case starts by reporting various factors that may have contributed to the massive Macondo oil spill, noting that BP, its partners and the government all made decisions that helped cause the accident. It then discusses the response to this spill by BP and the... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Metals and Minerals; Crisis Management; Infrastructure; Trade; Pollutants; Risk and Uncertainty; Business and Government Relations; Finance; Multinational Firms and Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Technology Adoption; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United Kingdom; United States

06 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

The Innovator’s Battle Plan

disappointing, ending in either a brutal fight or incumbent co-option How Asymmetries Propel Disruptive Entrants Asymmetries allow disruptive attackers to enter a market, grow without incumbent interference, and mitigate the incumbent's View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Scott D. Anthony & Erik A. Roth

2012
Chapter

Leading in Crises: Observations on the Political and Decision-Making Dimensions of Response

By: Herman B. Leonard and Arnold M. Howitt

Emergency response organizations, as we have argued in earlier writing, must deal with both "routine emergencies" (dangerous events, perhaps extremely severe, that are routine because they can be anticipated and prepared for) and "true crises" (which, because of... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Leadership; Decision Choices and Conditions; Crisis Management; Government and Politics

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May 2011 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Redesigning a 401(k) Plan at Haley-Midland

By: Robert C. Pozen and Scott Eric Perl

Rose Adams, the CFO of Haley-Midland, Inc., dispensed with pleasantries and started right in on her questions for Jim Sweeney, the senior vice president of human resources, and Nancy Walters, Haley-Midland's vice president and treasurer, about the brewing crisis with... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Crisis Management; Design; Planning; Human Resources

01 Sep 2012
News

A Silent Workplace Crisis

Benvenuti Photo courtesy Janet Simpson Benvenuti Although I didn’t realize it until much later, my life changed the day I agreed to become legally responsible for my 78-year-old father and my 77-year-old mother, who suffered from lung... View Details

Keywords: Janet Simpson Benvenuti; caregiving; aging; Nursing and Residential Care Facilities; Health, Social Assistance

June 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Nissan's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: Ananth Raman, William Schmidt and Ann Winslow

In January 2020, Ashwani Gupta took over as COO at Nissan Motor Corporation, and several weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic began. Nissan’s Business Continuity Plan (BCP) had been key to the resilience of Nissan’s supply chain. It had enabled Nissan to recover from... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Supply Chain Management; Health Pandemics; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Japan; India