Publications

December 2017 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Amazon Buys Whole Foods

By: José B. Alvarez, David Lane and Joni Coughlin

The June 2017 news that e-commerce giant Amazon was paying $13.7 billion for organic supermarket chain Whole Foods precipitated a broad sell-off in the shares of grocery retailers and suppliers. Behind the precipitous declines lay recognition that Amazon’s bold move... View Details

Keywords: Amazon; Whole Foods; Grocery; Grocery Delivery; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Business Models; Food Value Chain; Agribusiness; Mergers and Acquisitions; Operations; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

20 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Blind Spots: We’re Not as Ethical as We Think

steps individuals and organizations can take to make decisions that are truly in line with their own ethical views? A: Organizations can monitor how they are creating... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

September 2024
Module Note

Governance for Non-Profit Social Enterprises

By: Brian Trelstad, Gerald Chertavian and Alexis Lefort

An overview of the various roles a non-profit board of directors plays, including the board’s principal responsibilities and how those evolve as organizations grow and scale. Looks closely at the overall role in setting the mission of the organization; supervising and... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; United States

21 Jan 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Going Through the Motions: An Empirical Test of Management Involvement in Process Improvement

Keywords: by Anita L. Tucker; Health

26 Oct 2018
Blog Post

Making the Switch from Finance to Fitness

summer. Discovering Fitness No level of excitement for the job could have prepared me for working 60-70 hours/week and operating in the 4th decimal place. In time, I realized I needed an outlet, View Details

26 May 2023
Blog Post

Bringing Space Tech Back to Earth

Sciences (SEAS) and Harvard Business School, will soon head to SpaceX, where she’ll work in the direct-to-cell connectivity department. Along with enabling normal cell phone features such as text messaging... View Details

Omar Olivarez

Omar Olivarez is a doctoral candidate in the Technology & Operations Management unit. His interests lie at the intersection of automation, labor, innovation, and managerial views of the firm. Omar received his BBA in Management Information Systems from The... View Details

04 Mar 2020
News

Harvard Business School Professor Reflects On Jack Welch

Regina E. Herzlinger

Regina E. Herzlinger is the Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. She was the first woman to be tenured and chaired at Harvard Business School and serve on many established and start-up corporate health care/medical... View Details

Keywords: health care; insurance industry; medical devices; retailing; digital health

January 2013 (Revised March 2017)
Case

CloudFlare, Inc.: Running Hot?

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alex Godden

In July 2012, the cofounders of CloudFlare, a Silicon Valley startup that protects websites and accelerates their traffic, are considering the implications of five employees' resignations over the prior three months. Was this natural attrition for a high-tech venture... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Resignation and Termination; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; California

Shane Greenstein is the Martin Marshall Professor of Business Administration. He teaches in the Technology, Operations and Management Unit.

Encompassing a wide array of questions about computing, communication, and Internet markets, Professor Greenstein’s... View Details

Keywords: computer; information technology industry; electronics; information; e-commerce industry; internet; software

07 May 2019
News

Global Workers Are Ready for Retraining

Research Summary

Retailing

Sanghavi has undertaken / acted as lead researcher for numerous research projects for several retail and retail-related organizations in the UK, Europe and USA, and also various government organizations including the European Commission, University of St Gallen,... View Details

August 1993
Case

Nestle S.A.: International Marketing (B)

By: John A. Quelch

Describes organization changes announced by Nestle's chariman in 1991 and updates the description of Nestle's marketing organization. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Structure; Globalization; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Switzerland

01 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The ‘Luxury Prime’: How Luxury Changes People

exposure to luxury, we believe more work is required. Future research should tease out the nuances in the psychological effects of "luxury prime" (which we have shown to promote self-interest) and... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

February 2003 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Silvio Napoli at Schindler India (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Michael Y. Yoshino and Perry Fagan

A young Italian MBA working for a Swiss multinational is sent to India to establish a subsidiary and implement the strategy he prepared at headquarters as a strategic planner. This case focuses on three core strategic decisions he must make as his plan is challenged by... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Decisions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Employees; Management Teams; Strategic Planning; India; Switzerland

March–April 2024
Article

How Fast Should Your Company Really Grow?

By: Gary P. Pisano

Growth—in revenues and profits—is the yardstick by which the competitive fitness and health of organizations is measured. Consistent profitable growth is thus a near universal goal for leaders—and an elusive one.

To achieve that goal, companies need a growth... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Strategy; Organizational Culture