Publications

April 2024
Case

Michelin in Motion: Putting Purpose to Work

By: Hubert Joly, Nitin Nohria and Emilie Billaud

When he became CEO, facing limited growth prospects, a low valuation, and therefore a stagnating share price, Menegaux and his team launched a set of initiatives to reposition Michelin. These included (1) articulating a clear purpose (“We care about giving people a... View Details

Web

Faculty & Researchers - Managing the Future of Work

on Managing the Future of Work and co-PI of the Digital Reskilling Lab. Her research focuses on managerial and organizational drivers of productivity and growth in corporations and the public sector. She co-founded several large-scale... View Details

May 2023
Case

Legacy Partners

By: Royce Yudkoff and Richard S. Ruback

Stephen Holbrook and Austin Pulsipher (both HBS '19) had been leading Nutrishare since acquiring the company six months earlier in mid-2021. The company, based in Sacramento CA, was a compounding pharmacy serving Total Parenteral Nutrition ("TPN") patients nationwide.... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business or Company Management; Pharmaceutical Industry

22 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

Restoring a Global Economy, 1950–1980

The 1950s onwards saw the beginning of the reconstruction of a new global economy. Between 1950 and 1973 the annual real GDP growth of developed market economies averaged around 5 percent. This growth was... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones

Web

HBS - The year in Review

leading in the digital world, as well as elective courses, so that participants can tailor their learning to their professional needs. It concludes with a capstone project where participants can apply their learning. HBS Online Press... View Details

20 Nov 2017
Research & Ideas

How Independent Bookstores Have Thrived in Spite of Amazon.com

promotion of independent bookstores. But then a funny thing happened. While pressure from Amazon forced Borders out of business in 2011, indie bookstores staged an unexpected comeback. Between 2009 and 2015, the ABA reported a 35 percent View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel (with video by Amelia Kunhardt); Retail

September 2022
Case

AllSpice: GitHub for Hardware Engineers

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Mel Martin

AllSpice, a software-as-a-service company that built a GitHub-like revision control tool for hardware engineers, was in the midst of preparing for rapid scale when the 2022 market downturn left them with big decisions to make. Cofounder and CEO Valentina Ratner had to... View Details

Keywords: Scaling; SaaS; Strategy; Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Technology Industry; Electronics Industry; United States

31 Mar 2008
HBS Case

JetBlue’s Valentine’s Day Crisis

and captured more of the market, with competitive fares, friendly service, and in the case of JetBlue, leather seats with television. Founded in 1999, JetBlue has seen rapid growth and frequently tops annual customer surveys of their... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Air Transportation

February 2023 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Doing Business in Accra, Ghana

By: Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Leonard Schlesinger and Namrata Arora

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Ghana. It highlights Ghana economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main obstacles... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Foreign Direct Investment; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Agribusiness; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Ghana

2011
Book

Capitalism at Risk: Rethinking the Role of Business

By: Joseph L. Bower, Herman B. Leonard and Lynn S. Paine

The spread of capitalism worldwide has made people wealthier than ever before. But capitalism's future is far from assured. The global financial meltdown of 2008 nearly triggered another Great Depression, economies in Europe are still teetering, and powerful... View Details

Keywords: Business And Society; Economic Systems; Economic Growth; Leading Change; Business and Community Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business Strategy

Find at Harvard

10 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

Truth Be Told: Unpacking the Risks of Whistleblowing

things, they can resolve it internally more quickly and in a more efficient way than if it goes to regulators. Although we don’t study this, I think it could also empower employees to feel ownership of the company because they’re helping in the overall View Details

Keywords: by April White

February 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Case

International Agribusiness in China: Charoen Pokphand Group

By: William C. Kirby, Michael Shih-ta Chen, Tracy Manty and Yi Kwan Chu

The world's leading Thai agribusiness corporation and largest agribusiness investor in China, CP Group, is facing another crossroads in China as the country starts to undergo rural reform. The issues at hand for Chairman Dhanin Chearavanont is how CP can balance its... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; SWOT Analysis; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Rural Scope; Agribusiness; Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; China

15 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Lessons Not Learned About Innovation

Every managerial generation rediscovers the need for innovation to drive growth but, decade after decade, "grand declarations about innovation are followed by mediocre execution that produces anemic results, and innovation groups are... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Web

About Us - HBS Working Knowledge

About Us Linking Policy About Us What We Do Since 1999, Harvard Business School Working Knowledge has connected the School’s leading edge research and ideas on business management with practitioners, thought-leaders, and academics.... View Details

September 2023
Article

Judging Foreign Startups

By: Nataliya Langburd Wright, Rembrand Koning and Tarun Khanna

Can accelerators pick the most promising startup ideas no matter their provenance? Using unique data from a global accelerator where judges are randomly assigned to evaluate startups headquartered across the globe, we show that judges are less likely to recommend... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship And Strategy; Global Strategy; Entrepreneurial Financing; Innovation; International; Entrepreneurship; Judgments; Business Startups; Geographic Location; Growth and Development Strategy

Find at Harvard

January 2018
Case

Flying into the Future: HondaJet

By: Gary P. Pisano and Jesse Shulman

This cases examine Honda’s diversification into the light jet market. In 1985, Honda initiated a secret program to develop a small jet. Over the years, the program had many ups and downs (it was almost canceled several times). Then, a breakthrough in the configuration... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Management; Air Transportation Industry

March 2008 (Revised June 2009)
Case

Actis: January 2008

By: Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Paul Feltcher, the CEO of Actis, a leading private equity investor in emerging markets, is preparing for an executive retreat at which the management team will consider how best to position the firm for the future. Actis could move in a number of different directions... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Private Equity; Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Emerging Markets; Organizational Change and Adaptation

December 2016
Case

Public Mission, Private Funding: The University of California, Berkeley

By: William C. Kirby and Joycelyn W. Eby

UC Berkley, long known as one of the leading public universities in both the U.S. and the world, has seen turbulent times recently. While student enrollment and costs have increased steadily in recent years, the school, which has been fiercely proud of its public... View Details