Publications

September 2023 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Forecasting Climate Risks: Aviva’s Climate Calculus

By: Mark Egan and Peter Tufano

In late 2021, Ben Carr, Director of Analytics and Capital Modeling at Aviva Plc (Aviva)—a leading insurer with core operations in the UK, Ireland and Canada,—was preparing for an upcoming presentation before the company's board which included its CEO, Amanda Blanc,... View Details

Keywords: Climate Risk; Climate Finance; Forecasting; Insurance; Risk Measurement; Climate Change; Risk Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Insurance Industry; United States

December 2010
Article

Building Sustainable Hybrid Organizations: The Case of Commercial Microfinance Organizations

By: Julie Battilana and Silvia Dorado

We explore how new types of hybrid organizations (organizations that combine institutional logics in unprecedented ways) can develop and maintain their hybrid nature in the absence of a "ready-to-wear" model for handling the tensions between the logics they combine.... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Microfinance; Growth and Development Strategy; Identity; Commercialization; Balance and Stability; Policy; Recruitment; Business Model

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Program

General Management Program

or call us at +1.617.495.6226. Application Review To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, our Admissions Committee makes selections that balance each participant's experience, scope of current... View Details

April 2002 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Malaysia: Capital and Control

By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Laura Alfaro

On September 1, 1998, the government of Malaysia imposed currency and capital controls in response to the financial crisis that had swept Asia. The controls sparked an enormous controversy in the world of international finance. Some celebrated the controls for... View Details

Keywords: Capital Controls; Business and Government Relations; International Finance; Policy; Crisis Management; Balance and Stability; Globalized Economies and Regions; Malaysia

December 2004 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Executive Decision Making at General Motors

By: David A. Garvin and Lynne Levesque

Describes the evolution of General Motors' strategy, organizational structure, and management processes from its founding to the present day. Focuses on the role of GM's management committee—the senior-decision-making body at the company, now called the Automotive... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Decision Making; Management Teams; Auto Industry

01 Mar 2018
News

New Marketplace Survey: Payers and Providers Remain Far Apart

Program

Competing in the Age of AI—Virtual

optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, our Admissions Committee makes selections that balance each participant's experience, scope of current responsibilities, and type of organization. HBS seeks candidates... View Details

May 2020 (Revised March 2022)
Case

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and the Global Economy (A)

By: Alberto Cavallo and Christian Godwin

In April 2020, the world struggled to contain the exponential escalation of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Dozens of countries had imposed restrictions on travel, work, and social gatherings. A large share of the global population was under lockdowns and... View Details

July 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Pershing Square's Pandemic Trade (A)

By: Emil N. Siriwardane, Luis M. Viceira, Dean Xu and Lucas Baker

This case explores the decision that Bill Ackman, CEO and founder of the hedge fund Pershing Square Capital, was considering in late February 2020 about hedging the exposure of the fund’s portfolio from the potential financial fallout ensuing from an extreme event like... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Financial Liquidity; Cost Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Risk Management

August 2015
Case

Kjell & Company: Electronics Accessories Retail in the Nordics

By: Krishna Palepu, Das Narayandas and Kerry Herman

Swedish electronics accessories retailer Kjell is considering several issues as it plots its next stage of growth. How should it balance opportunities to expand retail stores into a new market (Oslo, Norway) with additional growth in its home market—Sweden—with... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Electronics Accessories; Online Channel; Omni-channel; Private Equity; Retail; Salesforce Management; Performance Management; Marketing; Sales; Strategy; Scandinavia; Sweden; Norway

If you're not a numbers person, then balance sheets and financial jargon can be intimidating and easy to ignore. But if you want to advance in your career, it's crucial that you are able to make smart financial decisions and develop the confidence to... View Details

20 Jun 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Fame, Faith, and Social Activism: Business Lessons from Bono

1980s, the band members' journey to sustain and enhance their identity in the next two decades, and the ongoing commitment to balancing their music careers, fame, personal lives, and—in the case of three of the musicians, their Christian... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Entertainment & Recreation

March 2003 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Threshold Sports

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Todd H Thedinga

Describes the sales, marketing, and operating issues facing Threshold Sports, a small cycling event management company that produces the Pro Cycling Tour. Examines the issues facing the company as it approaches breakeven and attempts to grow the business substantially.... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Bicycle Transportation; Service Delivery; Sports; Bicycle Industry; Service Industry

02 Jan 2013
News

Do good ethics make good business?

August 2018 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Facebook—Can Ethics Scale in the Digital Age?

By: George A. Riedel and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Since its founding in 2004, Facebook has built a phenomenally successful business at global scale to become the fifth most valuable public company in the world. The revelation of Cambridge Analytica events in March 2018, where 78 million users' information was leaked... View Details

Keywords: Facebook; Ethics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Trust; Business Model; Corporate Accountability; Social Media

May 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Airbnb During the Pandemic: Stakeholder Capitalism Faces a Critical Test

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Allison Ciechanover

As the COVID pandemic spread in early 2020, global travel ground to a halt. For Airbnb, the San Francisco-based platform for renting accommodations, the impact was both swift and severe as revenues plummeted more than 70% over the prior year. Responding to the sudden... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Leadership; Digital Platforms; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Value Creation; Decision Making; Goals and Objectives; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Travel Industry; Tourism Industry; Service Industry; United States

August 2008 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Polanco: A Fashionable Opportunity

By: Arthur I Segel and Ben Creo

Roberto Charvel is a young MBA graduate making his first personal real estate investment in his native Mexico City. Charvel is planning to purchase and renovate a nine-unit apartment building. Is the market good? Should he sell or lease the units? How should he handle... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Housing; Leasing; Property; Real Estate Industry; Mexico City

17 May 2010
Research & Ideas

What Brazil Teaches About Investor Protection

disclosure of financial statements (for instance, they had to publish full financial statements two or four times a year), and they had to disclose executive compensation packages. There was some balance between financial development,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Banking; Financial Services

2016
Book

The Three Box Solution: A Strategy for Leading Innovation

By: Vijay Govindarajan

How to Innovate and Execute. Leaders already know that innovation calls for a different set of activities, skills, methods, metrics, mind-sets, and leadership approaches. And it is well understood that creating a new business and optimizing an already existing one are... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Innovation Leadership

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