Publications

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April 1994 (Revised August 1996)
Case

American Express (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

In January 1993, the American Express board met to decide who would succeed James D. Robinson, III as chairman and CEO. The board needed to act in the spotlight of intense media and investor scrutiny, and after leaks had revealed that there was a conflict among the... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Corporate Governance; Resignation and Termination; Leadership; Management Succession; Performance Evaluation

14 Nov 2006
First Look

First Look: November 14, 2006

that penniless immigrant taught himself to lead a major corporation through some of the toughest challenges in the history of business. This is an inspiring biography that will enthrall anyone who cares about technology or leadership.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2009 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Crosley

By: Tom Nicholas and David Chen

In October 1941, a top secret envoy from the U.S. military was sent to Crosley Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio to request their assistance to construct a weapon that would drastically strengthen the defenses of U.S. troops: the proximity fuze. Such a fuze would allow... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; History; Production; National Security; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Research and Development; Product Development; Business and Government Relations; Creativity; Innovation and Invention; Ohio

Web

ハーバード - Global

structure and operating model. When asked if he could have done any better, he laughed with a humble smile. "There's no 'perfect' in the world-but we are doing almost perfectly. I am not a very optimistic type of person. But we are... View Details

07 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Digital Transformation: A New Roadmap for Success

However, as much as possible, they recommend designing organizations to mirror the end-to-end experience of the customer so that employees solve problems "through the eyes of the customer." This structure tends to support an enterprise... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

24 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

Passion at Work Is a Good Thing—But Only If Bosses Know How to Manage It

that I seek to make in the world.’ Employees may view passion as an end in itself, to achieve fulfillment.” Managers are often aligned with this view, says Jachimowicz: "When I talk to organizational leaders, they're often very well-intentioned. They want to View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Web

Finance - Faculty & Research

debt held by the domestic banking sectors of Eurozone countries was more than twice its 2007 level. We show that this type of increasing reliance on the domestic banking sector for absorbing government bonds generates a crowding out of View Details

17 Jan 2023
In Practice

8 Trends to Watch in 2023

As 2023 begins, businesses and employees face an uncertain economy and labor market, as the twin dilemmas of inflation and interest rates weigh on forecasts. Harvard Business School faculty share the top trends that they believe will shape the workplace and markets... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

02 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 2, 2010

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-063.pdf Do Bonuses Enhance Sales Productivity? A Dynamic Structural Analysis of Bonus-Based Compensation Plans Authors:Doug J. Chung, Thomas Steenburgh, and K. Sudhir Abstract We estimate a dynamic View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Oct 2012
First Look

First Look: October 2

Publications Corporate Social Responsibility and Access to Finance Authors: Beiting Cheng, Ioannis Ioannou, and George Serafeim Publication: Strategic Management Journal (forthcoming) Abstract In this paper, we investigate whether... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Apr 2016
First Look

April 19, 2016

involvement of nonbank institutions and, in particular, the rise of mutual fund participation in the leveraged loan market after the financial crisis. Based on the wider syndication, (narrower) skills, and diverse incentives of nonbank institutional lenders, optimal... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Novo Nordisk Foundation

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau

In 2024, Novo Nordisk A/S was one of the most profitable firms in the world, thanks largely to just two GLP-1-based drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy. Unusually, this incredibly profitable firm was controlled not by individual private shareholders, but by a non-profit... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Companies; Diabetes; Obesity; Foundation; Non-profit Management; Profit; Corporate Governance; Business or Company Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Expansion; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Nonprofit Organizations; Pharmaceutical Industry; Denmark; Europe

December 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Migros

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman

In October 2005, Urs Riedener, head of marketing at Swiss retailer Migros, is contemplating the company's competitive position. Primarily a retailer for foods and near-foods products, the cooperative Migros, with close to 600 retail outlets in Switzerland (but only... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Corporate Governance; Corporate Strategy; Cooperative Ownership; Supply Chain Management; Product Marketing; Environmental Sustainability; Social Enterprise; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Switzerland

24 Oct 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

Startup or Established Company? Which Is Best for You?

fit. “At our first startup after a series of roles at large enterprise software companies, we tried to force a big company perspective on how we did employee feedback and reviews. We were too structured with this initially and quickly cut... View Details

Keywords: by Julia B. Austin

26 May 2022
HBS Case

Apple vs. Feds: Is iPhone Privacy a Basic Human Right?

decision-making processes. Many companies already elevate an ethics focus to the board level, creating committees on corporate responsibility and accountability. These structures can help create trust in a... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

June 2002 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Life, Death, and Property Rights: The Pharmaceutical Industry Faces AIDS in Africa

By: Debora L. Spar

In the final years of the 20th century, the world was hit by a plague of epidemic proportions--AIDS, a life-threatening disease that remained stubbornly immune to any cure or vaccine. In the developed nations of the West, AIDS was slowly brought under control through a... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Health Pandemics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Pharmaceutical Industry; Africa

Web

Leadership - Faculty & Research

of caring for not only the corporation and shareholders but also the patients and medical professionals. How should leaders of health-related businesses weigh the demand for efficiency and profit alongside the care of patients and the... View Details

November 2014
Teaching Note

American Airlines in 2011

By: Willy Shih

The American Airlines in 2011 case set was developed to provide a setting for the comparative analysis of two very different business models in the U.S. domestic airline industry—the network carrier and the low cost carrier (LCC). These models offer very different... View Details

Keywords: American Airlines; Network Carrier; Low-cost Carrier; LCC; Air Transportation; Business Model; Restructuring; Adaptation; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Transportation Industry; United States