back to work - Publications - Faculty & Research

17 Nov 2020
In Practice

How Retailers Can Thrive in a Shopping Season Like No Other

stronger demand for home goods and furnishings. Many retailers may be wary about excess inventory and will pare back their ordering. The COVID-19 pandemic is also adversely affecting the supply chains of manufacturers who provide goods... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Retail

21 Mar 2004
Research & Ideas

Loyalty: Don’t Give Away the Store

spend X amount and receive an offer or discount of some kind. When you talk to retailers about their frequent shopper programs, they'll say the programs work and are very profitable. Then you ask, "How... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Consumer Products; Retail

22 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

Profits and Prophets: The Role of Values in Investment

Domini, who runs a fund specializing in socially responsible investments, was posed a similar, although theoretical, problem. Would she invest in a company doing great works for society, but whose board was all male? Hayes and Domini took... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

12 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Facing the New World Order

work with the poorer countries ...—Michael Porter When we put these pieces together, therefore, for the medium to long term, we ranked very high the countries that are demonstrating a capacity for sustained... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

06 Nov 2000
What Do You Think?

Succession at GE: What’s Next?

'change,'" and a working knowledge of "new" economics, in the opinion of Devdip Ganguli. Roberto Rodriguez added "global thinking" and "entrepreneurial spirit" to the list.... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

21 Jun 2004
Research & Ideas

Music Downloads: Pirates—or Customers?

does not even seem to work here in the United States. Despite the lawsuits—the RIAA has sued about 2,000 individuals to date—file sharing is more popular than ever. Q: Assuming... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Entertainment & Recreation; Music

29 Jan 2015
Op-Ed

The Fall of Greece

Editor's note. On Sunday, the left-leaning Syriza party and its leader Alexis Tsipra won a decisive national victory in Greece, partly on pledges to reduce current austerity measures and to seek a... View Details

Keywords: by George Serafeim

30 Jan 2006
HBS Case

The Case of the Mystery Writer’s Brand

agree that Patterson needs to broaden his reader base, and that the publishing industry should get away from the agricultural or "broadcast" mode of marketing, which provides little feedback on what View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Entertainment & Recreation; Information; Publishing

08 May 2006
Lessons from the Classroom

Writing the Case for Public School Reform

working with leadership teams from nine urban school districts over the course of three annual sessions to coordinate research and create coherent, scalable systems for education reform. Two cases written... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education

29 May 2001
Research & Ideas

Good News, Not Blues, For the Inner City

a "simplistic view of capitalism and competition and what the market system has to offer. There is no conflict between capitalism and developing skills. Creating a safe work environment is consistent... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

24 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

Tackling Climate Change Will Cost Less Than We Think

costs fell by more than 60 percent. We've seen change of a similar magnitude in civilian industries as well. Less than 2 percent of the US population/workforce now works on the land, but agricultural production has only continued View Details

Keywords: by Rebecca Henderson; Energy; Utilities

18 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 18, 2006

Working PapersNone available this week Cases & Course MaterialsThe Company Sale Process Author:William E. Fruhan Jr. Harvard Business School Note 206-108 Lays out the steps, timeline, and process by which a company is sold.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Vanguard, Trian And The Problem With 'Passive' Index Funds

corporate governance, such as the presence of engaged independent board members and other measures, is vital for this separation to work well. “But if management is not under shareholders’ control,”... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

18 Aug 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Business Plan Contest: 15 Years of Building Better Entrepreneurs

industry by talking to as many people as possible. That was a very good discipline that I still apply," says Machiels, a partner at private equity firm Pegasus Capital Advisors. "I also learned to View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education

27 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

How Leaders Build Winning Streaks

support, they don't have to fear their attacks or monitor their every move. When people give one another the benefit of the doubt and, better yet, believe in one another, more projects are launched, more innovations get seeded, and more... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

14 Jun 2004
Research & Ideas

The Big Money for Big Projects

Although involving the private sector has worked very well in many countries, one fact remains. Large projects, those costing $500 million or more, are extremely difficult to build successfully. In fact, one... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

12 Jun 2006
Research & Ideas

The Promise of Channel Stewardship

the chain best positioned to create a process that benefits all. In this excerpt, Rangan discusses the promise of channel stewardship. (Look for an HBS Working Knowledge interview with Rangan next... View Details

Keywords: by V. Kasturi Rangan & Marie Bell; Consumer Products

05 Jul 2006
Op-Ed

Corporate Governance Activists are Headed in the Wrong Direction

from the perennial objection that having two leaders is confusing, those opposed to this idea undoubtedly cite situations where a separate board chair hasn't worked. But the fact of the matter is, it has View Details

Keywords: by Joseph Hinsey

23 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Putting the Project Puzzle Together

that they should be a first mover (for example, Charles Schwab), or whether it is better to be a fast follower (for example, Merrill Lynch in terms of online stock trading, which waited to see whether the... View Details