Publications

Read Now

August 2008
Case

The Chubb Corporation in China

By: Li Jin, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Aldo Sesia

The Chubb Corporation, headquartered in the U.S., was the holding company for a number of property and casualty insurance companies which operated in 29 countries. In 1979, the Chinese government, as part of its "reform and open" policy invited a delegation of Chubb... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Business and Government Relations; Insurance Industry; China; United States

2017
Working Paper

Business and Green Knowledge Production in Sweden 1960s–1980s

By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist and Kristina Söderholm

This working paper contributes to the burgeoning historical literature that has transformed our understanding about the relationship between big business and the environmental regulation. Previously, it was believed that corporate managers resisted the extra costs... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Research and Development; History; Sweden

SSRN

Read Now

Web

HBS Working Knowledge – Harvard Business School Faculty Research

in ChatGPT’s Second Year by Rachel Layne 09 JAN 2024 | In Practice Companies across industries rushed to adopt ChatGPT last year, seeing its potential to streamline tasks formerly handled by people and vendors at much higher cost. As... View Details

August 2018
Article

The Impact of the Entry of Biosimilars: Evidence from Europe

By: Fiona M. Scott Morton, Ariel Dora Stern and Scott Stern

Biologics represent a substantial and growing share of the U.S. drug market. Traditional “small molecule” generics quickly erode the price and share of the branded product upon entry; however, only a few biosimilars have been approved in the U.S. since 2015, thereby... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Biosimilars; Biologics; Pharmaceutical Competition; Healthcare Spending; Innovation; Health Care and Treatment; Spending; Market Entry and Exit; Competition; Innovation and Invention; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; Europe

Register to Read

February 2003 (Revised April 2003)
Background Note

Note on Staffing in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda

This case discusses the problem of balancing demand and supply of professionals within a professional services firm (PSF). It emphasizes how human resources management policies impact supply conditions and how market opportunities determine demand conditions. The case... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Balance and Stability; Supply and Industry; Employees; Service Industry

22 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

Advertising: It’s Not ‘Mad Men’ Anymore

in his 2012 paper, Conflict Policy and Advertising Agency-Client Relations: The Problem of Competing Clients Sharing a Common Agency. According to Silk, industry opposition to an agency serving competing... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Advertising

2025
Working Paper

How to Choose Among Technologies with Learning Curves: Making Better Investment Decisions

By: Christian Kaps and Arielle Anderer

Learning curves, the fact that technologies improve as a function of cumulative experience or investment, are desirable-think inexpensive solar panels or higher performing semiconductors. But, for firms that need to pick one technology among several candidates, such as... View Details

Keywords: Learning Curve; Technology; Innovation; Batteries; Energy Storage; Sequential Decision Making; TELCO; Exploration; Exploitation; Problems and Challenges; Cost vs Benefits; Technology Adoption; Battery Industry

SSRN

November 2003 (Revised June 2004)
Background Note

China's Telecommunications Sector

By: Richard L. Nolan and Stephen P. Bradley

In mid-2003, China was the fastest-growing telecom market. Telecom subscribers are estimated at 472 million. With the size and growth of telecom, China is a hot spot for new telecom and IT technologies. Furthermore, China's sheer market power provides a strong position... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; Technological Innovation; Policy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Competition; Telecommunications Industry; China

30 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

Where Could More Regulation Help Small Businesses? Online Lending.

With Donald Trump’s election, Washington’s policy debate on financial services shifted overnight. Recent signs such as the president-elect’s own words and those of GOP leaders point to renewed efforts to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act.... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills and Brayden McCarthy; Financial Services

2024
Working Paper

What Makes Players Pay? An Empirical Investigation of In-Game Lotteries

By: Tomomichi Amano and Andrey Simonov

In 2020, gamers spent more than $15 billion on loot boxes, lotteries of virtual items in video games. Paid loot boxes are contentious. Game producers argue that loot boxes complement the gameplay and expenditures on loot boxes reflect players’ enjoyment of the game.... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Policy; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Product Design; Ethics; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Video Game Industry

Read Now

21 Feb 2014
Blog Post

Cautious Optimism: A Recap of the Harvard India Conference

leaders of Indian industry ranging from the senior-most leadership of India’s biggest CPG Company to some of the leading names in the Indian VC world. The second day at the Kennedy school offered the chance for the View Details

September 2004 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Brazil's WTO Cotton Case: Negotiation Through Litigation

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Robert Lawrence and J. Katherine Milligan

Brazil has just won a case action against the U.S. cotton agriculture program at the World Trade Organization. What does this mean for future agricultural programs in the United States? For future trade policies of the United States, Brazil, and others in the global... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Trade; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Lawsuits and Litigation; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Types; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States; Brazil

2011
Chapter

Clusters and Competitiveness: Porter's Contribution

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

While clusters have been known to exist at least since the days of Marshall, Michael Porter's work, first in The Competitive Advantage of Nations (Porter, 1990) and then in On Competition (originally published in 1998; updated edition in Porter, 2008), has undoubtedly... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Framework; Policy; Industry Clusters; Practice; Competitive Advantage

11 Feb 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Leviathan as a Minority Shareholder: A Study of Equity Purchases by the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES), 1995-2003

Keywords: by Sergio G. Lazzarini & Aldo Musacchio

January 1990 (Revised February 1993)
Case

Selling Durable Goods

Examines the pricing policy for a firm that is a monopoly supplier of a durable good. Lowering price over time in an attempt to increase market penetration seems desirable. But doing so may also cause some buyers to postpone their purchases. Describes these... View Details

Keywords: Price; Consumer Behavior; Monopoly

August 1998
Case

General Motors Corporation (C), The : 1990-1992

By: Peter Tufano

The third in a four-part series, this case details the financial policies and practices at General Motors from 1990 to 1996. This part describes the firm's financial responses to the business stresses it faced in the 1992 time period. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Finance; Auto Industry; United States