Publications

November 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

China's Rural Leap Forward

By: Bruce R. Scott and Jamie Matthews

Collectively owned township and village enterprises (TVEs) played a pivotal role in China's rapid growth during the 1980s and 1990s. Although they originated in the policies and institutions of the Maoist era, TVEs thrived only after Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms... View Details

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Public Sector; Public Ownership; Development Economics; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Macroeconomics; Emerging Markets; China

03 Mar 2022
HBS Seminar

Daniela Saban, Stanford

01 Jun 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Firm-Size Distribution and Cross-Country Income Differences

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro, Andrew Charlton & Fabio Kanczuk

October 2023
Case

Prime Coalition: Estimating Climate Impact

By: Natalia Rigol, Benjamin N. Roth, Brian Trelstad and Amram Migdal

A case on CRANE, a tool to help investors and green technology companies estimate the future climate impact of new technologies and products, called emissions reduction potential (ERP). The case includes material on CRANE’s methodology for estimating future carbon... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Environmental Accounting; Analysis; Climate Change; Green Technology; Innovation and Invention; Measurement and Metrics; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Risk and Uncertainty; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Enterprise

Companies compete on the decisions they make. For years—even decades—in response to intensifying global competition, companies decided to outsource their manufacturing operations in order to reduce costs. But we are now seeing the alarming long-term effect of those... View Details

October 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

McDonald's Board of Directors (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

In October 2019, the McDonald’s Corporation board of directors, chaired by Enrique Hernandez, Jr., gathered to learn the results of their outside counsel’s investigation into the conduct of the CEO. On the surface, the iconic fast-food chain was thriving as growing... View Details

October 1986 (Revised November 2003)
Case

Pinnacle Mutual Life Insurance Company

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

Pinnacle Mutual is one of the largest mutual life insurance companies in the world. Offering a full range of financial services, it competes with a broad group of financial service providers. In an effort to compete more effectively, Pinnacle adopted GAAP accounting... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

Article

Navigating Talent Hot Spots

By: William R. Kerr

Innovation clusters like San Francisco and Boston have long had an outsize impact on the global economy, and their influence keeps growing. In 2017, for instance, America’s ten largest tech hubs accounted for 58% of U.S. patents. Globally, cities such as Tokyo, Paris,... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Innovation and Invention; Urban Scope; Industry Clusters; Innovation and Management

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11 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 11, 2009

profit from their private information relating to a specific financial reporting element, goodwill impairments, prior to its incorporation by the equity market or recognition by the firm's accounting system. Download the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 1991 (Revised March 2005)
Case

WPP Group and Its Acquisitions

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

WPP Group acquired J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather, paying high premiums in relation to earnings. In each acquisition the goodwill acquired was immediately charged off against owners' equity. Then, WPP Group established a value for the brand names of the two... View Details

Keywords: Goodwill Accounting; Accounting; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Market Transactions; Equity; Private Equity; Relationships; Mergers and Acquisitions; Management Style; Consumer Products Industry; United States; United Kingdom

October 2008
Case

Tegan c.c.c.

Examines a struggling IT outsourcing project from the perspective of the customer--Tegan. It should be used in conjunction with Hrad Technika (9-609-039), which illustrates the supplier's point of view. When Tegan, a Welsh toy distributor, outsources the development of... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Information Technology; Service Operations; Business Processes; Information Technology Industry; Wales; Czech Republic

13 Jul 2021
Blog Post

A View from the Horizon

Rene Jones, Chairman and CEO of M&T Bank, Harvard Business School, Summer Venture in Management (SVMP) alumnus 1985 In April, I was honored to join over 70 Black leaders from a variety of industries who signed a letter that supported... View Details

December 2020
Article

Multinational Firms and the Politics of International Trade in Multidisciplinary Perspective

By: Grace A. Ballor and Aydin B. Yildirim

From the technical analyses of wide ranges of scholars to the public discourse backlashes against globalization, there is a huge volume of work historicizing, quantifying, and problematizing the complex role of multinational corporations (MNCs) in international trade.... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Corporations; International Trade; Big Business; Economic Governance; Global Value Chains; Trade Policy; Corporate Regulation; Multinational Firms and Management; Trade; Policy; Governance; Globalization

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June 2011
Case

CA Technologies: Bringing the Cloud to Earth

By: Marco Iansiti and Kerry Herman

Adam Famularo, general manager, Cloud Computing business, CA Technologies, and David Dobson, WVP and group executive, Customer Solutions Group, were preparing for a presentation on communicating and positioning CA Technologies' new strategy for cloud computing.... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Product Positioning; Expansion; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption

16 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Delivering the Digital Goods: iTunes vs. Peer-to-Peer

and the development of incremental tradeoffs towards radical moves to create new business models, new forms of satisfying needs that drastically reduce costs and/or raise value perceived by customers. One important enabler of new business models is the Internet. This... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Music

December 1961 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Plowman Poultry Farm

By: Samuel L. Hayes III

A poultry farmer wanted to expand production greatly and sought a large extension of his line of credit from his bank in addition to his existing loan on which he had not made payment. The Board of Directors must review a detailed account of events leading to this... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financing and Loans; Commercial Banking; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

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August 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale, Part 2

By: John A. Deighton and Das Narayandas

How does a $2 million software sale happen? This case traces efforts by Siebel Systems to sell lead management software to discount broker Quick & Reilly. The buying process is mapped out over four years. Covers in detail the last six months--from Siebel's initial... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Leadership; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Structure; Behavior; Competition; Applications and Software; Technology Industry

August 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale, Part 1

By: John A. Deighton and Das Narayandas

How does a $2 million software sale happen? This case traces efforts by Siebel Systems to sell lead management software to discount broker Quick & Reilly. The buying process is mapped out over four years. Covers in detail the last six months—from Siebel's initial... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Structure; Behavior; Competition; Applications and Software; Technology Industry