Publications

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14 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

The High Cost of the Slow COVID Vaccine Rollout

to speed COVID-19 vaccination—to dig into the economics of the virus. The group noted in the paper that many countries worked to ramp up vaccine development and production over the last year. The US, in particular, View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

23 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 23, 2018

this period may mask the underperformance of the specialized bank activities. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53722 Harvard Business School Case 718-013 The Productivity Decline: Demographics,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Program

The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports

the viewpoints of the content producer, content reseller/aggregator, talent manager, and consumer—as you learn how to launch and manage creative products and portfolios more strategically. Details Allocate... View Details

Keywords: Media & Entertainment; Media & Entertainment

February 1992 (Revised December 1992)
Case

MCI Vision (A)

By: Frank V. Cespedes

This case series focuses on divisional marketing and sales efforts concerning Vision, a new telecommunication product intended for the small business marketplace. Vision represents both a significant opportunity, and different field marketing requirements, for MCI.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Development; Groups and Teams; Sales; Opportunities; Competitive Strategy

Find at Harvard

Web

Marketing - Doctoral

By their third and fourth years, most students are launched on a solid research and publication stream. The dissertation may take the form of three publishable papers or one longer dissertation. Recent examples of doctoral thesis research... View Details

May 2025
Case

Windsurf and the AI Code Assistant Market

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Sudhanshu Nath Mishra and Radhika Kak

In April 2025, the founding team of Windsurf, an AI start-up specializing in code generation gathered in Mountain View, California, to assess its remarkable year of growth. The company had scaled from a niche GitHub Copilot alternative to a breakout player with over... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Venture Capital; Innovation Leadership; Technological Innovation; Technology Industry; United States

March 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

WeightWatchers: Promoting Weight Health

By: Ranjay Gulati, Cynthia A. Montgomery, Ashley Whillans, Allison Ciechanover and Emily Grandjean

In December 2023, the 60-year-old weight management industry stalwart WeightWatchers announced the launch of WeightWatchers Clinic, which incorporated GLP-1s , a new class of prescription weight-loss medications, into the company’s portfolio of products and mobile app... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Resource Allocation; Diversification; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry; Health Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; New York (city, NY)

September 2023 (Revised August 2024)
Teaching Note

On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader, Jordan Mitchell and Karen Elterman

Teaching Note for "On," HBS Case No. 723-430. On is a premium performance running shoe company founded in Switzerland in 2010. The company rapidly gained traction through its unique CloudTec cushioning technology, its innovative midsole plate called the Speedboard, and... View Details

September 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Supplement

On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader, Jordan Mitchell and Karen Elterman

Slides to support the teaching of the On case, 723-430. On is a premium performance running shoe company founded in Switzerland in 2010. The company rapidly gained traction through its unique CloudTec cushioning technology, its innovative midsole plate called the... View Details

05 Sep 2023
Book

Failing Well: How Your ‘Intelligent Failure’ Unlocks Your Full Potential

be to produce the desired insights. Finally, the project does not risk excess resources in the event something goes wrong. “Nobody wants a bigger failure than necessary,” she says. Perhaps that means only pursuing a new initiative as a pilot project before View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

12 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Power to the People: The Unexpected Influence of Small Coalitions

environmentalists, consumer activists, women's organizations, health-care advocates, and farmers—wield great influence in areas of regulation including trade, product safety, and labor. Read an excerpt from the book. "It's important to... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

17 Feb 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

How Entrepreneurs Can Find the Right Problem to Solve

Dropbox, texting, and a high-fidelity mock front-end. After dozens of people used this method and she understood what they needed, she officially built and launched the product. Prototypes. Build small runs of your future View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

November 2003
Case

Procter & Gamble 2000 (A): The SpinBrush and Innovation at P&G

By: William A. Sahlman and Ryland Matthew Willis

Describes a set of decisions confronting some managers in the oral care division of Procter & Gamble. They must decide whether to buy a company that has developed an inexpensive, battery-operated toothbrush. The company's product has done well in one market, but... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Innovation and Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Mergers and Acquisitions; Product Launch; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry

18 Apr 2017
Blog Post

Why We Recruit: CRC Companies LLC

units—Development & Finance, Product Development, or Asset Management. Our full-time MBAs primarily work within one discipline that matches their past experience and interests to gain subject matter expertise in a certain function of... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate

24 Oct 2023
HBS Case

From P.T. Barnum to Mary Kay: Lessons From 5 Leaders Who Changed the World

phone, “You can do it, Mary Kay, you can do it.” When she launched her own firm, Beauty by Mary Kay, she leaned on the early lesson her mother taught her about motivation to inspire her salespeople. “Especially in the beginning, the... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

October 2016 (Revised July 2017)
Case

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra: Cultural Entrepreneurship

By: Rohit Deshpande and Annelena Lobb

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (LA Phil), under the leadership of Deborah Borda, had enjoyed great successes in the 2000s and 2010s, even as other U.S. orchestras faltered. The architecturally acclaimed Walt Disney Concert Hall had opened its doors. The... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Arts; Music Entertainment; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Music Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Los Angeles