Company History - Publications - Faculty & Research

27 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

The Coffee Economy That Bloomed Out of Nowhere

set out to surmount the Soconusco's geographical isolation. He sent surveyors to assess the region, he negotiated the approval of an international port, and he arranged for an international shipping company to stop there once a month.... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Food & Beverage; Agriculture & Agribusiness

June 1973 (Revised July 1982)
Case

Textron, Inc.

By: Norman A. Berg

Covers the historical development, current business, management philosophies, corporate strategy, and the nature and role of the corporate headquarters in managing the highly diversified operations. Based on Textron, Inc. (A). View Details

Keywords: History; Management Style; Business or Company Management; Corporate Strategy; Business Headquarters; Operations

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12 Jul 2020
Book

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2020

my own history and ancestry. I think it’s so important for us to know about where we came from and what our ancestors experienced. I’ve read several of Kazuo Ishiguro’s books and they always inspire me and continue to haunt me long after... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

18 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 18, 2008

priorities that have made it so successful are difficult to overcome as the company tries to diversify away from its core. The case examines the history and evolution of the New Business Initiatives (NBI)... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Mar 2013
Lessons from the Classroom

Lessons from Running GM’s OnStar

Huber returned to the company after graduation. He was running the commercial activities at the company's locomotive division when, in 1995, GM's vice chairman Harry Pearce asked him to head up a new initiative called Project Beacon. The... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Auto

08 Jan 2007
Research & Ideas

Who Rises to Power in American Business?

company to serve an affinity constituency was often the only choice for success in business. Q: How has that situation changed today? Do paths to power mirror trends and values in society at large? A: There are still inside and outside... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

08 Sep 2011
What Do You Think?

What’s Apple’s Biggest Challenge: Replacing Steve or Wall Street?

will be a tough task." A second line of thought is, as Khurt Williams commented, "Apple's biggest threat is Wall Street fickleness and incessant focus on growth." Others felt that it is impossible to sort out whether the biggest challenge facing the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Computer

13 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

3 Ways Firms Can Profit From Environmental Investments

history is chockablock with companies whose potentially risky bets paid off in the long term. "Take DuPont's investment in nylon," she says. "They spent many years stabilizing the process and learning to... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

22 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

“Too Big To Fail”: Reining In Large Financial Firms

for the first time, define and limit. Second, companies that create systemic risk should bear the cost of insuring against it, just as commercial banks pay into an FDIC insurance pool. And the government should insist on appropriate... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

19 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

Political Turmoil and Mexico’s Economy

countries," he says. "Some are military, some are financial. Does this affect the cost of capital? Does the borrowing cost for the sovereign governments go up or down, and what is the cost of capital for companies that have... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

August 2005 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Cherkizovsky Group, The (A) (Abridged)

By: Lynn S. Paine

Describes the transformation of a formerly state-owned meat processing plant in Russia into a privately owned and operated food processing conglomerate under Russia's economic reforms of the 1990s. Among the challenges the CEO, Igor Babaev, and his top management team... View Details

Keywords: History; Business Conglomerates; Privatization; Transformation; Management Teams; Sales; Brands and Branding; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Crisis Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Russia

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17 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance

across businesses through movements of people from one company to another, supplier-customer collaborations, formal and informal technology sharing, and outright imitation of competitors. Although there is much talk these days about the... View Details

Keywords: by Gary P. Pisano & Willy C. Shih; Manufacturing

23 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

How Relationships are Building Biotech

Creativity (Oxford University Press) spells it all out. The Missing Link Higgins became interested in this missing link after watching a young biotech company go through two public offerings in the early 1990s. The observations she made... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Mallory Stark

20 May 2013
Op-Ed

Making America an Industrial Powerhouse Again

Critics have denounced this proposal as yet another government intrusion into the market and a futile attempt to "pick winners." What these critics ignore is that the US government has a long history of investing in research... View Details

Keywords: by Gary Pisano; Manufacturing

12 Sep 2006
First Look

First Look: September 12, 2006

& Course MaterialsA123Systems Harvard Business School Case 606-114 A123Systems was a young company that was founded on basic materials science research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A co-founder of the company,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

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

in index funds while $310 billion exited actively managed funds. But have they become too popular? Researchers and analysts are increasingly concerned that managers in companies with a large number of passive fund investors can too easily... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

13 Jan 2003
Research & Ideas

Making Biotech Work as a Business

low return. He also offered strategic pointers for companies immersed in the field. Suddenly, with the ability to monetize IP, there was a new freedom.— Gary P. Pisano At moments during Pisano's talk, titled "The Biomedical... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Biotechnology; Health; Technology

29 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

Building a Powerful Prestige Brand

Lauder, founded Estée Lauder Cosmetics. By the time she retired from public life in the mid-1990s, this company had become one of the largest cosmetics manufacturers in the world and was recognized as one of the leading players in the... View Details

Keywords: by Nancy F. Koehn; Beauty & Cosmetics; Consumer Products; Retail

12 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Power to the People: The Unexpected Influence of Small Coalitions

in the United States and Europe. Within this new scenario, three groups play unique roles: policymakers who identify and use groups for support; companies that understand the interests of diffuse groups and tap them to reap larger profits... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

30 Apr 2001
What Do You Think?

Dot.Com Shakeout: Chess or Roulette?

was that of T. N. Rao: "There is an immense business opportunity now for all the investing companies to pick up some very good dot.coms that have very sound business models. It is just that the principles of assessing the health of... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

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