Publications

06 Sep 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Cross Functional Alignment in Supply Chain Planning: A Case Study of Sales & Operations Planning

Keywords: by Rogelio Oliva & Noel Watson

November 1993 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Romeo Engine Plant

By: Amy P. Hutton and Robert S. Kaplan

A newly reopened automobile engine plant has been organized along total quality and teamwork principles. Employees now is to solve problems and ensure quality, rather than watch parts being produced. New operating and financial systems have been installed to promote... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Groups and Teams; Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

January 11, 2024
Article

Understanding the Tradeoffs of the Amazon Antitrust Case

By: Chiara Farronato, Andrey Fradkin, Andrei Hagiu and Dionne Lomax

Regulators in the United States and Europe have been taking on Big Tech, challenging what they say are the companies’ anti-competitive and predatory strategies that harm consumers and third-party users of their platforms. This article examines the FTC’s case against... View Details

Keywords: Monopoly; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Market Design; Lawsuits and Litigation

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Teaching Interest

Overview

Luciana has taught in front of MBA, Master of International Business and Economics, and Executive Education students. At HBS, she was a teaching fellow in "Managing Innovation" (taught in the MBA program by Professor Karim Lakhani) and co-developed most teaching... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Evolution; Organizational Behavior; Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design

23 Apr 2014
HBS Case

Are Electronic Cigarettes a Public Good or Health Hazard?

health," one health advocate said. Consisting of a small barrel-shaped design that mimics an actual cigarette, the devices vaporize a liquid nicotine solution, which is then inhaled without the tar and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage; Advertising

July 1997
Case

Ford Motor Company: Maximizing the Business Value of Web Technologies

One of the largest companies in the world decides to aggressively deploy Web technology and must manage and support the new technology. A discussion of infrastructure renewal, application development, extranets, and content management is included. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Value Creation; Information Technology; Infrastructure; Internet and the Web; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

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November 2006 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Pitney Bowes Inc.

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Ho Howard Yu

Pitney Bowes, the world's dominant maker of equipment used in generating and handling mail, is facing flattening growth in its core businesses and needs to create new growth products and businesses. Describes how a group of employees use state-of-the-art techniques for... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Distribution Channels; Growth and Development Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

04 Apr 2005
What Do You Think?

Can an Organization’s “Deep Smarts” Be Preserved?

Summing Up This month's column appears to have struck a chord with those who lament the continuing loss of implicit knowledge buried inside the heads of experienced leaders (termed "deep smarts" by Dorothy Leonard and Walter... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

10 May 2012
Working Paper Summaries

The Flattened Firm—Not as Advertised

Keywords: by Julie Wulf

February 2010 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Ricoh Company, Ltd.

By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson, Marco Iansiti and Akiko Kanno

Ricoh, the Japanese copier manufacturer, is committed to reducing its environmental impact to one-eighth of its 2000 levels by 2050. It has already introduced three stages of environmental awareness to its operations, and its recycled copier business broke even in... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Accounting; Financial Reporting; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Investment; Operations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Electronics Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

08 Jun 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Location Choices Under Strategic Interactions

Keywords: by Juan Alcacer

January 1998 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Acer America: Development of the Aspire

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Anthony St. George

Follows the development, national launch, and global rollout of the Aspire, Acer's first new product developed outside of Taiwan. Implementing a very promising new PC concept proves challenging to Mike Culver and his U.S. team, who are plagued by coordination problems... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Organizational Design; Supply Chain; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business Subsidiaries; Product Launch; Computer Industry; United States; Taiwan

June 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

Cementos Argos in the U.S.: Go Big or Go Home?

By: Jorge Tamayo, Ruth Costas, Pedro Levindo and Karina Souza

In April 2011, Colombian group Cementos Argos had to decide on whether to double down its business in the U.S., amidst the U.S. cement industry’s lowest performance in 30 years. Argos— Colombia’s leading cement producer and one of the “jewels” of Grupo GEA, the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Organization; Business Subsidiaries; Talent and Talent Management; Cost vs Benefits; Financial Crisis; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Latin America; South America; North and Central America; United States; Colombia

February 2011
Supplement

Carbon Trading Simulation: Black Cement Inc.

By: Peter A. Coles

This simulation presents students the opportunity to experience firsthand the economics of carbon markets and permit trading. Each student has private role information about a company he or she manages. The student must make decisions about pollution-reducing... View Details

Keywords: Market Design; Pollutants; Investment; Price; Profit; Agreements and Arrangements; Decisions; Service Industry; Energy Industry

December 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Synthes

By: John T. Gourville

Synthes is the recognized leader in the U.S. orthopedic implant market, with a 50% market share in the metallic plates, rods, and screws used to fix severe bone fractures. Synthes' marketplace strength lies in the strength of its sales force and in the quality and... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Risk Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Product Development; Problems and Challenges; Competition; Manufacturing Industry; United States

11 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

The Paradoxical Quest to Make Food Look 'Natural' With Artificial Dyes

derived from achiote tree seeds, to make their butter look summery all year round. Late in the nineteenth century, dye manufacturers started supplying synthetic food coloring to dairy producers for the purpose of coloring butter View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

January 2007
Case

Robert E. Rubin (A)

By: Nitin Nohria, Robert Steven Kaplan and Nicole Davison

Bob Rubin was a businessman given the task of setting up and running the National Economic Council for the Clinton Administration. Unfamiliar with management in a political climate, Rubin worked hard to design, staff, and position the Council to make better economic... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Government and Politics; Managerial Roles; Macroeconomics; Organizational Design; Economy

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Research Summary

Evolution of firm structure in vertical specialized technology supply chains

By: Willy C. Shih

The global market in many everyday products has been transformed by the internationalization of production. In many industries, semiconductors and electronic products in particular, a sequential mode of production has evolved in which goods are produced... View Details

Keywords: Globalization Of Supply Chain; Globalization; Technological Innovation; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Asia; China

October 2019
Supplement

Airbus vs. Boeing (L): Discontinuing the A380 (February 2019)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes Airbus’ February 2019 announcement that it was ending production of the A380, with the last delivery scheduled for 2021. The announcement followed an order cancellation by Emirates, a major customer of the A380. The A380 had faced significant... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Air Transportation; Projects; Competition; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Europe