Publications

October 2010 (Revised October 2011)
Case

Ken Langone: Member, GE Compensation Committee

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Lizzie Gomez

On September 2003, Richard Grasso stepped down as chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, following weeks of intense public criticism over the size of his $190 million compensation package. As chairman of the committee that oversaw Grasso's payout, Ken Langone... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Executive Compensation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Labor and Management Relations; Wages; Change Management; Energy Industry; New York (city, NY)

14 Jun 2023
Research & Ideas

Four Steps to Building the Psychological Safety That High-Performing Teams Need

offered new insight into how best to create psychologically safe workplaces, detailed in a new analysis by Edmondson and Harvard doctoral researcher Derrick P. Bransby that distills insights from 185... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

May 1992 (Revised August 1996)
Case

NIKE in Transition (A): The Ascendancy of Bob Woodell

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Explores Bob Woodell's tenure as Nike's first COO. Describes development of Woodell's management style, his attempts to develop the organization, and his responses to unforeseen business problems. Changing market forces, new competitors, a build-up of low-end... View Details

Keywords: Conferences; Crisis Management; Management Style; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Evaluation; Competition

June 2011 (Revised April 2014)
Case

sweetriot 2.0

By: Christopher Marquis, Donna Khalife and Bobbi Thomason

In the fall of 2010, Sarah Endline, CEO and Founder of sweetriot, an organic chocolate company, was deciding the best way to grow her organic chocolate company, while keeping her chocolate physically and conceptually on the shelf. She wanted to grow the offerings and... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Profit; Business Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; Experience and Expertise; Economic Growth; Organizational Culture; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; New York (state, US)

13 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

The Hidden Market for Babies

"It is difficult to conceive of a child as commerce," writes Harvard Business School professor Debora L. Spar in her new book, The Baby Business: How Money, Science, and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception. In fact, baby... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Biotechnology; Health; Technology

02 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

The Success of Persistent Entrepreneurs

in part due to good timing seem to also do well in subsequent ventures. (By good timing we mean those entrepreneurs who founded a company in a given industry at a time when... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

August 2016
Supplement

CEO Succession at Cisco (C): Chuck Robbins' First 100 Days

By: Boris Groysberg, J. Yo-Jud Cheng and Annelena Lobb

Supplements the (A) case (417-031). This case supplement describes new CEO Chuck Robbins’ earliest days after being announced as Cisco’s new chief executive. During this time, Robbins focused on building a leadership team featuring people with complementary skills... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Technology Industry

September 1990 (Revised November 1991)
Case

Merck & Co., Inc. (B)

In late 1986, Merck revised its performance review and pay practices. The most important change was a shift from an absolute rating system to a forced-distribution system in which managers are forced to adhere to a given distribution of performance ratings. Other major... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Pharmaceutical Industry

03 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 3

of new ideas in their intercultural ties but not intracultural ties. Study 3 required participants to work collaboratively with a non-acquaintance from another culture and found that higher metacognitive CQ engendered greater idea sharing... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

November 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Creativity under the Gun at Litmus Corporation

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Yana Litovsky

Teaches students to diagnose the circumstances under which time pressure can facilitate or hinder creativity. A team's creative "genius", Miles Grady, who previously conceptualized a revolutionary material for an important new product, must now significantly change... View Details

Keywords: Situation or Environment; Creativity; Innovation and Management; Problems and Challenges

July 2013
Case

Montreaux Chocolate USA: Are Americans Ready for Healthy Dark Chocolate?

By: John A. Quelch and Diane Badame

Andrea Torres, director of new product development at a high-end chocolate confectionery company, leads her team through a carefully sequenced program of market research to support the development and launch of a new product, healthy dark chocolate with fruit. This is... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Food; Consumer Behavior; Nutrition; Product Launch; Product Development; Food and Beverage Industry; Switzerland; United States

16 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 16, 2008

pursuing either of the latter two avenues for recourse. Purchase this note: http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=309022 New York City: Bloomberg's Strategy for... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2001
Supplement

BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project-An Interview With Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design

By: Stefan H. Thomke

Chris Bangle describes how BMW is trying to reduce its development time by half with the aid of computer-aided technologies. To leverage these technologies in the very competitive automotive industry, he talks about how BMW is faced with the challenges of changing its... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Management Practices and Processes; Time Management; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Competition; Information Technology; Auto Industry

19 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

The History of Beauty

you have a major industry that still has lots to reveal. We asked Jones to discuss his research and his new book. Sean Silverthorne: What inspired your interest in the beauty business and its history? Geoffrey Jones: My initial interest... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics

December 2007 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Wall Street's First Panic (A)

By: David A. Moss and Cole Bolton

In the early 1790s, a flood of newly issued public and private securities sparked an investment boom in the nascent United States. In New York, the bustling commercial district along Wall Street emerged as the center of the city's securities trade. One of the many... View Details

Keywords: History; Financial Instruments; Auctions; Financial Crisis; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry

August 2012 (Revised August 2024)
Case

ABC Pharmaceuticals

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Erik R. Sparks

This case asks students to price a new drug that is in Stage II of its clinical trials. It contains detailed estimates of the time required and costs for all the steps needed to commercialize a drug in the U.S. Students will learn virtually all the steps required to... View Details

Keywords: Drug Development; Price; Product; Product Launch; Health Industry; Technology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

July 2013 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Experience! The Finger Lakes: The Groupon Partnership Decision

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Chekitan S. Dev, Gabriele Piccoli and Arnold B. Peinado

In 2010, Experience! The Finger Lakes (ExperienceFLX), a tour operator offering guided tours and concierge services in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, was at a crossroads. The business was poised for growth, and its owners, Laura and Alan Falk, were... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; United States