Publications

February 2023 (Revised April 2023)
Case

Kvadrat: Focus, Execute, and Grow

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Kvadrat was a family-owned global textiles company. The company had enjoyed impressive top-line growth and was shifting gears to emphasize profitability via a shorter strategic agenda. Agenda items included: U.S. expansion, generating improved margins in its consumer... View Details

Keywords: Growth; Culture; International Expansion; Organization; Family Business; Leadership; Growth and Development; Strategy; Organizations; Supply Chain; Family Ownership; Profit; Organizational Culture; Denmark

10 Feb 2022
News

A Dirty Secret: Here’s Why Your ESG ETF Likely Owns Stock in Fossil-Fuel Companies

Article

CEO Compensation in Financially Distressed Firms: An Empirical Analysis

By: S. C. Gilson and M. R. Vetsuypens

Keywords: Management; Compensation and Benefits; Business Ventures

May 2025
Case

'Net Zero in Action': Impact Investing at the McKnight Foundation

By: Lauren Cohen, Christina R. Wing and Sophia Pan

Elizabeth McGeveran, Vice President of Investments at the McKnight Foundation, reflected on how to effectively advance the organization’s net-zero strategy. The foundation had committed 10% of its endowment to building a portfolio of impact investments and was among... View Details

10 Sep 2020
News

Name Your Brand with a Global Audience in Mind

July–August 1999
Article

The Right Way to Restructure Conglomerates in Emerging Markets

By: Tarun Khanna and Krishna G. Palepu

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy

Web

Financing New Ideas - Georges F. Doriot : Educating Leaders, Building Companies, Baker Library, Harvard Business School

Home Site map Map / Directions Search: General Information HBS Home About Annual Report Campus Commencement Dean Nohria Employment Fifty Years of Women Give News New Construction Academic Programs Doctoral Programs Executive Education MBA... View Details

November 2002 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Building a Cluster: Electronics and Information Technology in Costa Rica

By: Michael E. Porter and Niels W. Ketelhohn

Describes the actions of Costa Rica President Figueres and his cabinet in attracting an Intel assembly and testing plant to their country. The effort was part of a government strategy that sought to develop further the Costa Rican electronics and information technology... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Clusters; Business and Government Relations; Information Technology; Electronics Industry; Information Technology Industry; Costa Rica

July–August 2024
Article

Case Study: Are the Right People in the Right Seats?

By: Nitin Nohria

The newly appointed CEO of Highstreet Properties has doubts about several members of the top team she has inherited. She’s trying to drive a turnaround, the company has a complicated matrix structure, and some team members seem opposed to her strategy. She’s debating... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Organizational Structure; Employees; Change Management

November 1991
Case

Investor Relations at Work: Situations in the Financial Marketplace

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Keywords: Business and Shareholder Relations; Communication

01 Jul 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Entrepreneurs and the Co-Creation of Ecotourism in Costa Rica

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Andrew Spadafora; Tourism

September 2019
Case

Funding Sources for Science & Technology Start-ups in India

By: Tarun Khanna, Arjun Swarup and Rachna Tahilyani

India's start-up ecosystem is amongst the largest globally, with a variety of funding options from angel investors, venture capital and corporate venture capital to debt. Classic consumer focused start-ups which look to leverage technology have been able to raise... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Business Startups; Science; Information Technology; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Technology Industry; India; South Asia

September 2023 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Going Mobile-First? The Digital Transformation of Davivienda Bank in Colombia

By: Jorge Tamayo and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2017, this case describes the digital transformation strategy of Davivienda—a leading player in Colombia’s commercial banking and one of the companies belonging to Grupo Bolívar, a major Colombian financial conglomerate. The case also describes the pioneer role... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Information Technology; Digital Strategy; Digital Transformation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Banking Industry; Latin America; Central America; South America; Colombia

April 2017
Teaching Note

Golden Rule

By: Andrew Wasynczuk

Jim Golden wants to radically change how catastrophic trucking accident lawsuit claims are handled by his trucking company. He wants to “do the right thing” for both the claimant and his company. Golden is a former litigator with 16 years of experience defending... View Details

Keywords: Business Ethics; Business Law; Law; Executives; Management Education; Management; Negotiator's Dilemma; Negotiations; Value; Moral Compass; Moral Leadership; Lawsuits and Litigation; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Corporate Accountability; Negotiation; Conflict and Resolution; Value Creation

December 2021
Case

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Assessing Risk in Carlos Ghosn's International Escape

By: Eugene F. Soltes, Grace Liu and Muneeb Ahmed

In 2018, automotive tycoon Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Japan on financial misreporting charges, followed later by charges of improper payments and misappropriation of funds. Over a year later, still awaiting trial, Ghosn organized his escape from house arrest in Tokyo... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Law; Courts and Trials; Rights; Risk and Uncertainty; Auto Industry; Japan

summer 1992
Article

Capital Choices: Changing the Way America Invests in Industry

By: M. E. Porter

Keywords: Change; Business Ventures; Investment; Decision Choices and Conditions; Capital; United States

February 2003 (Revised August 2004)
Background Note

Note on Valuation-Compensation Tradeoff in Professional Service Firm Acquisitions

By: Ashish Nanda

This case highlights the tradeoff between valuation ascribed to professionals at the time of a professional services firm (PSF) acquisition and the postacquisition compensation of these professionals. It emphasizes how a high valuation at acquisition carries with it... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Employees; Acquisition; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry

15 May 2019
News

More CEOs were forced out for ethical lapses in 2018 than poor financial performance

2012
Other Unpublished Work

Strategic responses to collective activism in the U.S. biomass sector

By: Shon R. Hiatt

Almost all companies face constraints and pressure from collective activists. Using tactics such as protests, boycotts, and lobbying, social movement organizations and collective actors can draw significant media attention to issues facing industries and organizations,... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Business and Community Relations; Social and Collaborative Networks; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Identity; Forest Products Industry; United States