Business Unit Strategy - Publications - Faculty & Research

September–October 2020
Article

Social-Impact Efforts That Create Real Value

Until the mid-2010s few investors paid attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data—information about companies’ carbon footprints, labor policies, board makeup, and so forth. Today the data is widely used by investors. How can organizations create... View Details

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July 2020 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Mr. Five Percent: Calouste Gulbenkian and the Origins of Global Oil

By: Geoffrey Jones and Yazeed Al-Rashed

This case describes the business career of Calouste Gulbenkian, a skilled intermediary who was able to secure 5 percent of a vast oil concession covering much of the Middle East that was signed in 1928. Gulbenkian was an ethnic Armenian born in the Ottoman Empire,... View Details

Keywords: Oil; Globalization; Energy Sources; History; Biography; Energy Industry; Turkey; Central Asia; Middle East

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November 2008 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Maggie Lena Walker and the Independent Order of St. Luke

By: Anthony Mayo and Shandi Onise Smith

As America struggled to regain its balance in the aftermath of the American Civil War, Maggie Lena Walker did her best to actively effect change by finding solutions to the social and economic problems facing blacks and especially black women. Taking charge of the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Ethnicity; Race; Social Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Welfare; Business and Community Relations; Gender; Banks and Banking

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December 2006 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Ponsse: From Finland to Global

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

Finland-based Ponsse Oyj, with 2005 turnover of $250 million, is the only dedicated forest equipment company of size that remained in a consolidating industry. Competitors included global giants such as John Deere and Komatsu. Since his arrival at Ponsse in 2004, CEO... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development Strategy; Performance Capacity; Expansion; Forest Products Industry; Forestry Industry; Russia; Finland; United States; Brazil

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29 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

Why Do Outlet Stores Exist?

little weird," says Donald K. Ngwe, an assistant professor in the Marketing unit at Harvard Business School. "Why don't companies just sell this merchandise closer to their customers? Why do some... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Retail

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Videos

By: Tarun Khanna

Business Today, 'Genome Sequencing' & How Biology Is Connected To AI; Explains Tarun Khanna, March 29, 2023

NASSCOM Product, NPC2022 Tête à... View Details

08 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

The Immigrants Who Built America’s Financial System

As today's fiscal deficit and dragging economy continue to cast long shadows, it's easy to forget much darker times in American history. Shortly after winning its independence from Great Britain, the United States was bankrupt. Individual... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Financial Services; Banking

15 Aug 2005
HBS Case

Classic Cases Live On at HBS

Everyone talks about how quickly business changes, yet some HBS cases remain reliably relevant decades after they are written. We take a behind-the-scenes look at five cases that are at least twenty years old, are still regularly taught... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

Article

Red Light States: Who Buys Online Adult Entertainment?

By: Benjamin Edelman

This paper studies the adult online entertainment industry, particularly the consumption side of the market. In particular, it focuses on the demographics and consumption patterns of those who subscribe to adult entertainment websites. On the surface, this business... View Details

Keywords: Online Technology; Segmentation; Film Entertainment; Demographics; Web Sites; Competition; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Demand and Consumers; Legal Liability; Culture; Religion; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

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February 2008 (Revised November 2011)
Case

The International Monetary Fund in Crisis

By: Rawi Abdelal, David Moss and Eugene Kintgen

When Dominique Strauss-Kahn became the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund in late 2007, he faced a number of significant changes. The organization had lost much of its legitimacy over the previous decade, and countries seemed increasingly reluctant to... View Details

Keywords: History; Globalized Economies and Regions; Problems and Challenges; Developing Countries and Economies; Borrowing and Debt; Government and Politics; Financial Institutions; Business Strategy; Macroeconomics; Financial Services Industry

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September 2024
Case

Navigating Digital Transformation at Carrefour

By: Sunil Gupta and Emilie Billaud

In 2023, Elodie Perthuisot, Carrefour’s Executive Director for e-commerce and digital transformation, met with CEO Alexandre Bompard to discuss strategies for the company’s digital initiatives. Carrefour, a global retail giant with over 14,300 stores across 40... View Details

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July 2009 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Blue Ocean or Stormy Waters? Buying Nix Check Cashing

By: Peter Tufano

Kinecta Federal Credit Union has the opportunity to purchase Nix Check Cashing as part of their "blue ocean" strategy to reach the financially underserved and increase credit union membership and deposits. But they face financial as well as reputational risk. Check... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Credit; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Strategic Planning; Partners and Partnerships; Reputation; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

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2008
Report

Nordic Globalization Barometer 2008

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

The countries in the Nordic region—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden—have been among the economies that have done best in an increasingly global economy. All Nordic countries have higher levels of prosperity than the average OECD country. Only the United... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Globalized Economies and Regions; Competitive Strategy; Scandinavia

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September 1990 (Revised March 1991)
Case

Mod IV Product Development Team

By: Anne Donnellon and Joshua D. Margolis

Focuses sharply on a crossfunctional product development team at Honeywell's Building Controls Division. Traces the history of teams at the division, which introduced them as a response to intensifying competition and the need for faster development. Reveals the... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Management Teams; Product Development; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams; Competitive Strategy

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25 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

In America, Immigrants Really Do Get the Job Done

ferrantraite The Muslim ban. The Wall. Children separated from their parents at the Mexican border. The past two years have seen an aggressive push by the Trump administration against both legal and illegal immigration. But it’s not just the View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Agriculture & Agribusiness; Technology; Service

27 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

How the FBI Reinvented Itself After 9/11

Business Administration in the Strategy unit and Senior Associate Dean for Research. Balancing design and identity Whereas organizational design is concerned with how tasks are... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

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Curriculum Vitae

Noel Watson

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04 Dec 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The Air War versus The Ground Game: An Analysis of Multi-Channel Marketing in US Presidential Elections

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung & Lingling Zhang

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Full Biography

By: Rohit Deshpande

Rohit Deshpandé is Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing at Harvard Business Schoolwhere he currently teaches in the Owner/President Management Program and in other executive education offerings. He has also taught global branding, international marketing, and... View Details

April 1999
Case

Steve Perlman and WebTV (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ron Fortgang

The dynamics of a linked series of internal and external negotiations involved in launching, growing, and selling a high-tech, Internet start-up are explored. Steve Perlman unfurled an impressive new technology, recruited a top technical and management team, secured... View Details