Publications

17 May 2016
First Look

May 17, 2016

stability. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51049 in press Economic Growth and the Origins of Modern Political Economy: Economic Reasons of State, 1500–2000 Achtung! Banditi!... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Mar 2019
News

INK: The Lessons of Blitzscaling

Companies. “Blitzscaling” is a set of techniques to scale up in a massive and urgent manner. Why is speed so critical? The key insight for blitzscaling is that there is a time when the best way to win is to... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

Profile

Cathy Zhou

our technology. On top of that, I get to lead, work alongside and learn from a wonderful team, truly own a P&L and scale an organization. I can think of few other roles... View Details

Keywords: Technology

24 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 24

Publications February 2015 University of Chicago Press Political Standards By: Ramanna, Karthik Abstract—There are certain institutions underlying our modern market-capitalist system that are largely outside the interest and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

BIM: Finding New Ways to Grow

By: Michael Chu and Gamze Yucaoglu

BIM, Turkey’s giant retailer with a hard-discount model for the popular segments, must decide whether to launch a brand-new format challenging the modern supermarkets. Since its founding in 1995, BIM has adhered to a business model based on a relentless focus on costs... View Details

Keywords: Turkey; Decision; Emerging Markets; Private Sector; For-Profit Firms; Business Model; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Growth and Development Strategy; Value Creation; Change Management; Decisions; Growth Management; Retail Industry; Turkey

04 Jan 2012
What Do You Think?

Income Inequality: What’s the Right Amount?

concentration of wealth is very high. Others view inequality as a potential drag on the economy, a deterrent to the development of a strong, large middle class, which in turn is considered essential to economic growth View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

11 May 2020
Op-Ed

Immigration Policies Threaten American Competitiveness

articulate just how disastrous closing our borders long-term would be. Some of the recent political rhetoric to halt all immigration, even if later scaled back in practice, endangers the image of America as a welcoming beacon to the next... View Details

Keywords: by William R. Kerr

05 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 5, 2007

roots to the present day, and examines the growth of Whole Foods Market in the context of the broader growth of the organic industry. Also investigates John Mackey's role as a... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2012
Case

People Express Airlines

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley

Recounts the history of People Express Airlines, which grew rapidly after its inception in 1980 then failed spectacularly in 1986. Profiles People's aggressive strategy and its distinctive approach to human resource management, which emphasized job rotation and minimal... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Air Transportation; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Structure; Entrepreneurship; Failure; Human Resources; Business Startups; Air Transportation Industry

19 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 19

owned. This book explores the political logic of reforms to land ownership and control, accounting for how land development and real estate have become synonymous with economic View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2017
Case

A. Lange & Söhne

By: Stefan Thomke and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The case describes how A. Lange & Söhne became one of world's leading watch companies. Its obsession with quality and innovation were behind its initial rise in the 19th century and, after a 40-year involuntary hiatus under the East German regime, again at the end of... View Details

Keywords: Watches; Operational Excellence; Brand ＆ Product Management; Product Development; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Brands and Branding; Management; Operations; Production; Innovation and Invention; Price; Business History; Germany

23 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 23

2.0 tools and applications like blogging, search engine optimization, and social media. Students follow the growth of HubSpot, an entrepreneurial venture which, in its quest... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

20 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Users Love Ello, But What’s the Business Model?

scale very well, and it costs nearly as much to serve the ten millionth member as the millionth. Little networks like LiveJournal exist, but they don't grow into Facebook any more than beetles grow to the... View Details

Keywords: Re: John A. Deighton & Sunil Gupta; Publishing; Financial Services

2010
Working Paper

The Influence of Prior Industry Affiliation on Framing in Nascent Industries: The Evolution of Digital Cameras

New industries sparked by technological change are characterized by high uncertainty. In this paper we explore how a firm's conceptualization of products in this context, as reflected by product feature choices, is influenced by prior industry affiliation. We study... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Technological Innovation; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Industry Growth; Product Development; Behavior; Competitive Strategy; Electronics Industry

Read Now

31 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

A Scholarly Crowd Explores Crowdsourcing

When Clayton Christensen and Derek van Bever prepared to write The Capitalist's Dilemma for the June issue of Harvard Business Review, they took an approach rarely tried on the same scale: They outsourced it with 150 Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2025
Case

Luca de Meo at Renault Group (A)

By: Emily Truelove, Linda A. Hill and Lydia Begag

When Luca de Meo became CEO of Renault Group in 2020, the 122-year-old French automaker faced financial challenges and the double technological disruption of the automotive industry: the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) and the rise of software-defined vehicles (SDVs).... View Details

12 Oct 2017
Blog Post

Why I Spent this Summer Coding

there’s deep satisfaction not just in making something that didn’t exist before but also in seeing others benefit from your work. Finally, coding offers incessant growth as technologies, languages, and... View Details

02 Jul 2009
Research Event

Business Summit: The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in Transforming American Public Education

Editor's Note: This is a summary of an HBS Business Summit presentation. View a full summary and video of the event on the HBS Centennial Web site linked below. Date of Event: October 14, 2008 Moderator: Stacey Childress, HBS faculty... View Details

Keywords: Education

2023
Working Paper

Do Third-Party Guarantors Reassure Foot Soldiers?

By: Natalia Garbiras-Díaz, Michael Weintraub, Leopoldo Fergusson, Juana Catalina Garcia Duque and Laia Balcells

Since the end of the Cold War, international third parties such as the United Nations (UN) have become frequent guarantors of peace agreements. Existing studies document that third parties provide assurances that help maintain peace, yet these studies nearly... View Details

Keywords: United Nations; Colombia; Peacemaking; Peace Process; Peace; Civil Unrest; Civil Society; Political Leadership; Policy; Civil Society or Community; Governance; Government and Politics; Economy; Economic Growth; Latin America; South America; Colombia