Publications

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

February 2010 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Re-THINK-ing THINK: The Electric Car Company

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and David Kiron

On January 5, 2010, 48-year-old Richard Canny was on his way to meet the governor of Indiana. He was reading his newly issued press release announcing that THINK planned to start automobile production in Elkhart County, Indiana to launch its THINK City battery-operated... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Global Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Product Development; Production; Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Norway; Indiana

04 Jan 2016
News

Making Things Right for Those Who’ve Been Done Wrong

helped clients gain market share.’ I wanted to look back on my career and say, ‘I did my part to make the world a better place.’ “I talked to a lot of people about work that they did and what they found satisfying, and I realized that the... View Details

01 Mar 2004
News

Protecting against the Erosion of Brand Value

brands of premium cachet and the premium prices that come with it. “The same forces that cause the commoditization of products and services precipitate the commoditization of brands,” they continue. Fortunately, managers aren’t helpless... View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

2012
Article

Specialization and Variety in Repetitive Tasks: Evidence from a Japanese Bank

By: B. Staats and F. Gino

Sustaining operational productivity in the completion of repetitive tasks is critical to many organizations' success. Yet research points to two different work-design-related strategies for accomplishing this goal: specialization to capture the benefits of repetition... View Details

Keywords: Motivation; Productivity; Specialization; Variety; Work Fragmentation; Boundaries; Performance Productivity; Organizations; Research; Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Opportunities; Market Transactions; Resource Allocation; Performance; Goals and Objectives; Learning

Find at Harvard

01 Mar 2011
News

The Rankings Game

weight is assigned to the various answers. “I think people would be surprised just how different the methodologies are,” says Brian Kenny, chief marketing and communications officer at HBS whose office View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; rankings; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

11 Oct 2024
News

Highlights from the Fall 2024 Alumni Board Meeting

Harvard Business School hosted its annual fall Alumni Board Meeting in late September, bringing together its members for a three-day event that included interactive sessions with faculty and HBS leadership on the School and its programs, a dinner and reception with MBA... View Details

February 2001 (Revised April 2001)
Case

CDC Capital Partners

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

In 2001, CDC Capital Partners is facing the greatest challenge in its 53-year history. Founded as part of the U.K. government's post-war colonial reconstruction, it had operated as a developmental finance institution, largely issuing debt to the world's poorest... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Private Equity; Emerging Markets; Cost vs Benefits; Mergers and Acquisitions; Partners and Partnerships; Financial Institutions; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

01 Aug 1998
News

Spring Reunions: Milestones and Memories

risk: following his heart, he left a lucrative corporate career to pursue a long-standing dream. In Baron's case, the pull was toward writing, and the risk so far has paid off. After achieving success in marketing and general View Details

Keywords: Eileen K. McCluskey

02 Jan 2014
News

The Power to Change

technology that will take a long time to develop, the financing challenges that come with that, and a firmly established market status quo. The risks, he says, are worth it. "When people feel like they are part of a grand cause, they stay... View Details

Keywords: Ralph Ranalli; Business and Environment Initiative; Scientific Research and Development Services

01 Jun 2024
News

Case Study: Ready for an Upgrade

Illustration by Alvaro Dominguez The Los Angeles–based startup Stell was borne of a pain point almost as old as recorded history itself: paperwork. One of Stell’s cofounders, Malory McLemore (MBA 2022), had landed a job as an engineer at Airbus after earning a... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Computer Systems Design and Related Services; Professional Services

01 Feb 1997
News

Mexico on the Brink: A Conversation with Juan Enriquez-Cabot (MBA '86)

business community stand on all this? Generally, it backs reforms, believing that open markets require political openness. The business community is influential but the government is sufficiently repressive to hurt anyone who pushes it... View Details

2024
Case

EPCorp: Convincing the C-Suite

By: Jacob M. Cook

In EPCorp: Convincing the C-Suite, Shivani Bahl is attempting to sell EPCorp's CEO, Debbie Sullivan, on her ideas for not only a new website upgrade but also a more expansive vision on how data and Generative AI can be used to grow the company. Debbie is understandably... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; E-commerce; Growth and Development Strategy

February 1995
Case

Catalan Leather Industry, The

Antoni Subira, the Minister of Industry in Catalonia, Spain, must decide whether to impose strict European Union environmental guidelines on the local leather industry. Failure to impose new regulations would result in substantial fines. Imposition, on the other hand,... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Industry Structures; Environmental Sustainability; Spain

August 2016
Supplement

HEINEKEN—Brewing a Better World (B)

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, José Alvarez and Tonia Junker

This is a follow-up to the “HEINEKEN—Brewing a Better World (A)” case, with updated information on sustainability at HEINEKEN and some new initiatives. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Corporate Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Food and Beverage Industry

August 2014
Case

Rent the Runway (Abridged)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Brent Goldfarb and David A. Kirsch

Two months after a successful launch In November 2009, the cofounders of Rent the Runway (RTR), a website that rented designer dresses, are debating whether to grow their startup at a measured pace and focus on improving operational effectiveness, or raise a new round... View Details

Keywords: Lean Startup; Electronic Commerce; Fashion; Expansion; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Fashion Industry

May 2003
Case

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

By: John A. Quelch

Didier Cherpitel, CEO of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), is implementing a new strategy that will fundamentally change the role of its International Secretariat. The organization is in the early stages of implementing a best... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Brands and Branding