Publications

January 2012 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Tough Decisions at Marks and Spencer

By: George Serafeim

In 2007, under the leadership of CEO Stuart Rose, the iconic British retailer Marks and Spencer, with great fanfare, announced its "Plan A" initiative. Based on the five essential pillars of climate change, waste, sustainable materials, fair partnership, and health,... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry

09 Nov 2023
News

From the Brink

Antonio Weiss (MBA 1994), Adam Chepenik (MBA 2010), Sebastián Negrón-Reichard (JD/MBA 2024) As the senior top official in the US Treasury Department on domestic finance issues, Antonio Weiss (MBA 1994) could see Puerto Rico’s financial meltdown coming, like watching a... View Details

Keywords: Ralph Ranalli

01 Mar 2024
News

Game On

It’s raining in Sarasota. And not a light sprinkle but a proper, Florida drenching, so the outdoor courts at the Pickleball Club’s Lakewood Ranch location are deserted. Inside is a different story. Most of the 12 courts are in play. With four people to a court, all... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; photographed by Edward Linsmier; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment

22 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

Why Salespeople Struggle at Leading

This sad scenario plays out at many firms: Top-performing salespeople get promoted to become sales managers, but don’t actually know how to manage. The result is a disaster—productivity takes a dive, disgruntled salespeople start heading for the door, and the new View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Web

Curriculum - Business & Environment

MBA Experience Curriculum 2ms Required Curriculum (1st Year) Cases Environmental opportunities and challenges are embedded in most Required Curriculum courses so that all students understand the importance of the natural environment to their roles as View Details

27 Feb 2019
Research & Ideas

The Hidden Cost of a Product Recall

more important than previously thought, says Ariel D. Stern, an assistant professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, where she is the Hellman Faculty Fellow in the Technology and Operations Management Unit. “Product... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Manufacturing; Consumer Products; Auto; Medical Devices & Supplies

01 Jan 2014
News

To Spot Financial Trouble Early, Use Three Circles: A conversation with Blythe McGarvie of Harvard Business School

July 2002 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Computer Associates International, Inc.: Governance and Investor Communication Challenge

By: Paul M. Healy and Krishna G. Palepu

Sanjay Kumar, the CEO of Computer Associates, faces investor communication challenges following the company's implementation of a new business model and the accompanying change method used to recognize revenue. Despite management's confidence that the new business... View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Earnings Management; Stock Shares; Problems and Challenges; Communication Strategy; Accrual Accounting; Business Model; Budgets and Budgeting; Corporate Governance; Revenue; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry

Web

Advisory Board - Entrepreneurship

1995. During its history, FreeMarkets first created the market for internet deployed supply management software and services and then went public in 1999 in a record setting IPO. Later, the company expanded dramatically across the globe,... View Details

March 2025
Case

Harvey: AI for Lawyers

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Charles Krumholz and Radhika Kak

In early 2025, Winston Weinberg and Gabe Pereyra, co-founders of Harvey AI, reflected on the company’s meteoric rise as a pioneer in AI-powered legal technology. Since its founding in 2022, Harvey had transformed how lawyers approached research, drafting, and document... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Legal Services Industry; Technology Industry; New York (city, NY); San Francisco; London

Web

Online Finance & Accounting Courses | HBS Online

accounting course is right for me? + – Finance and accounting are essential in any business. All industries require accountants and finance professionals for financial reporting , revenue management , and... View Details

07 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 7

2017 New York: Oxford University Press Managing Risk in Reinsurance: From City Fires to Global Warming By: Hauter, Niels Viggo, and Geoffrey Jones, eds. Abstract—This is the first book to provide a comprehensive history of the reinsurance... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Nov 2018
HBS Case

On Target: Rethinking the Retail Website

meanwhile, managed a startling recovery from its five-year slump. The company’s third-quarter sales increased by more than 5 percent over last year, and in August online revenue showed especially high growth... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail

Web

Course Overview - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

designed for newly appointed CEOs of public parent companies with annual revenues of $2 billion or more. Faculty & Participant Preparation The faculty interviews each participant before the Workshop to identify issues of particular... View Details

19 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

What Makes Employees Trust (vs. Second-Guess) AI?

tries to put the right number of products in the right stores at the right time, so it sells as much as possible and doesn’t lose track of stock. As part of the study, Tapestry managers who oversee shelf stocking provided employees called... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

22 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

Use Artificial Intelligence to Set Sales Targets That Motivate

data, the algorithm learns to predict the outcome from the input data. Unsupervised learning. In this case, using unlabeled data, the algorithm learns the inherent structure from the input data. Either machine learning approach is only as good as the humans who are... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

June 2021
Case

HelloSelf: Launch

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In April 2021, Charles Wells, founder and CEO of HelloSelf was reflecting on the company’s progress since it launched two years earlier. HelloSelf’s goal was to help the mentally ill recover and those who were mentally fit to stay well and feel even better. To do this,... View Details

Keywords: Mental Health; Health Care and Treatment; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Great Britain