Publications

Web

Technology & Innovation - Faculty & Research

Organizational Culture ; Organizational Design ; Strategic Planning ; Business and Shareholder Relations ; Business and Stakeholder Relations ; Research and Development ; View Details

January 1991 (Revised March 1992)
Case

USA Today

By: Robert L. Simons

USA Today is a national newspaper struggling to achieve profitability. This case focuses on the use of management control systems to identify emerging opportunities and the formulation of new strategies. The interactive system used by top managers--the Friday... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Managerial Roles; Forecasting and Prediction; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Labor and Management Relations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Journalism and News Industry; United States

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10 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

In Empowering Black Voters, Did a Landmark Law Stir White Angst?

the Voting Rights Act, we see that areas where the effects of the law were stronger displayed more negative racial attitudes.” The 1965 passage of the Voting Rights Act, a federal law that cracked down on discriminatory voting practices across the southern View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

Web

Behavioral Finance & Financial Stability

components of the bank business model, Juliane and Erik shed light on the bank’s performance over the period 1960-2016. They argue that the very strong investment performance of passive maturity transformation View Details

March 2016 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Central European Distribution Corporation: Hostile Takeover, Bankruptcy Makeover

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

In early 2013, Central European Distribution Corporation (CEDC), a large publicly traded producer and distributer of vodka and spirits in Eastern and Central Europe, has suffered significant declines in its financial performance, is at risk of defaulting on its debt,... View Details

Keywords: Hostile Takeover; Accounting Restatement; Activist Shareholder; Restructuring; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Statements; Corporate Governance; Investment Activism; Distribution Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Russia; Europe

May 2013
Case

Wendy Peterson

By: Linda A. Hill and Alisa Zalosh

Wendy Peterson was recently promoted to Vice President of Sales at the Plano, Texas, office of AccountBack, an accounting software and services company. To penetrate a perceived market niche, Peterson hires Fred (Xing) Wu, whose familiarity with and access to Chinese... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Conflict Management; Salesforce Management; Rank and Position; Performance Evaluation; Management Teams; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Accounting Industry; Texas

October 2023
Case

Social Finance: Driving Accountability

By: Robin Greenwood, Richard S. Ruback and Robert Ialenti

Social Finance is a Boston-based nonprofit that works at the intersection of finance and policy. It raises, allocates, and manages capital to fund projects in the areas of education, early childhood development, criminal justice, and health. The case explores how... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Nonprofit Organizations; Training

October 1990 (Revised November 1992)
Case

Ceramics Process Systems Corp. (A)

By: Clayton M. Christensen

A small ceramics company started by a group of MIT professors struggles with some basic technology strategy issues. A plan to take "one commercializable step" at a time in order to get a foothold in the market goes awry because of incompatibility between the company's... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Technology; Problems and Challenges; Market Entry and Exit; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Research and Development; Production; Manufacturing Industry; Cambridge

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December 2006 (Revised December 2007)
Case

The Convention on Biological Diversity: Engaging the Private Sector

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was a U.N. treaty that by 2006 had been signed by virtually every country in the world except for the United States. The treaty established three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Private Sector; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Genetics; Environmental Sustainability

August 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals: Decision Making in Clinical Trial Design and Operations

By: Satish Tadikonda and Amanda McEwen

The success or failure of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals (Dicerna) as an emerging pharmaceutical company would likely hinge on its lead drug candidate Nedosiran and the company’s ability to see it successfully through clinical development. Ralf Rosskamp, Chief Medical... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Health Testing and Trials; Product Development; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Pharmaceutical Industry

In 2000, Eaton Corporation was broadly diversified industrial conglomerate. But its strategy was evolving and its focus was narrowing around “power management” and more recently on “intelligent power,” the use of digitally enabled products and services designed... View Details

01 Dec 2023
News

Endless Possibilities

offers five choices, with 70 percent choosing monogamy (other options include “ethical non-monogamy” and “open to exploring”). “Tinder won’t tell you who to date or how to date,” says Iosotaluno, a longtime consumer tech executive who was previously chief View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

February 2022
Case

Toraya

By: Lauren Cohen and Akiko Kanno

Mitsuharu Kurokawa was the 18th generation leader of a family firm that produced and sold premium Japanese sweets, Toraya Confectionery Co., Ltd. He had succeeded the business from his father, Mitsuhiro Kurokawa who had led the firm for thirty years. Mitsuharu was... View Details

Keywords: Branding; Luxury Brand; Succession; Family Business; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Marketing; Expansion; Globalization; Innovation and Invention; Customer Satisfaction; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; Japan

21 Jan 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Managing the Family Business: Market Basket’s Lessons About Buyouts

One of the highlights of my year is in November, when teams of enterprising families meet for the Executive Education program I founded and still lead at Harvard Business School, Families in Business. One of the thornier problems we... View Details

Keywords: Retail

28 Aug 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: History Matters

excerpt. Key concepts include: Schumpeter's ideas on capitalism, entrepreneurship, and innovation still have great resonance to students and businesspeople today. Do Great American Business Leaders Share Similar Characteristics? Who Rises... View Details

Keywords: Re: Geoffrey G. Jones & Anthony Mayo

15 May 2024
Research & Ideas

A Major Roadblock for Autonomous Cars: Motorists Believe They Drive Better

may be bridling widespread acceptance of automation, says Julian De Freitas, an assistant professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, and one of the authors of the piece forthcoming in... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Transportation; Auto

October 2007 (Revised December 2007)
Case

TiVo 2007: DVRs and Beyond

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

Tom Rogers, CEO of TiVo, had placed multiple strategic bets on his company. In September 2007, that strategy was due for a major test. TiVo was a maker of digital video recorder (DVR) products and a distributor of DVR technology. Rogers believed that macro-trends in... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Business Model; Television Entertainment; Intellectual Property; Lawsuits and Litigation; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Distribution; Problems and Challenges; Partners and Partnerships; Research; Internet; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

May 2020
Case

Big Boom Beverages: Fight or Flight?

By: Stephen A. Greyser and William Ellet

Four college friends market a beverage that combines ingredients like those in a drink they consumed in college bars. It includes a caffeinated energy drink, malt liquor, and a soft drink flavoring. They launch the business, Big Boom Beverages (BBB), with their own... View Details

Keywords: Alcoholic Beverages; Energy Drinks; Regulation; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Marketing Communications; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Reputation; Communication Strategy; Decision Making