Publications

November 2010 (Revised September 2015)
Case

American International Group - 2010

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton

The AIG Board underwent significant restructuring after the company was bailed out by the U.S. government in September 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Business and Government Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Restructuring; Financial Services Industry

10 Nov 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Crony Capitalism, American Style: What Are We Talking About Here?

Keywords: by Malcolm S. Salter

11 Feb 2008
Research & Ideas

Does Democracy Need a Marketing Manager?

services to citizens can institute service improvements and metrics modeled after those in the private sector. They can call on social marketers to aid in communicating with customers and creating attractive... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

May 2013
Case

Altius Golf and the Fighter Brand

By: Robert J. Dolan and Sunru Yong

Altius Golf is the clear leader in the golf ball market despite a long-term decline in the number of golfers and a drop in sales following the financial crisis. The firm has maintained its position by introducing generations of advanced, super-premium golf balls that... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Competitive Advantage; Decision Choices and Conditions; Distribution Channels; Sports; Financial Crisis; Brands and Branding; Segmentation; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

11 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 11, 2018

designing service interactions so that citizens can see the often-hidden work that government performs. Across three studies, we find that revealing the “submerged state” through operational transparency... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

Benjamin C. Esty

Benjamin Esty is the Roy and Elizabeth Simmons Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Over the years, he has taught a variety of courses ranging from advanced corporate finance and project finance to competitive strategy and leadership. He... View Details

Keywords: financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services

19 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

LEED-ing by Example

In the debate over whether to increase or decrease the stringency of environmental regulations, the possibility that government agencies might use purchasing to stimulate market demand for "green" products and View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

December 2018 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Bord Bia: Strategically Growing Irish Exports

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Forest L. Reinhardt and Emer Moloney

Agriculture was Ireland’s largest indigenous industry. Its agri-food sector was export driven, with almost 90% of production exported. Bord Bia was the Irish government agency charged with the promotion, trade development, and marketing of the Irish food, drink, and... View Details

April 2021 (Revised January 2022)
Case

SA Taxi: A Vehicle for Empowerment? (A)

By: Nien-he Hsieh, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and F. Christopher Eaglin

SA Taxi was a vertically integrated business that operated in South Africa’s distinctive taxi industry. Despite being plagued by violence, informal structures, unsafe road practices and lack of government support, the taxi industry had grown to become South Africa’s... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Accountability; Ownership; Ownership Stake; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Equality and Inequality; Race; Situation or Environment; Transportation Industry; South Africa; Africa

02 Feb 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Last Place Aversion in Queues

Keywords: by Ryan W. Buell; Retail

11 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

The Future of Boards

In discussions that continue to swirl in the aftermath of the financial crisis, the question of corporate governance's role is often front and center. In The Future of Boards: Meeting the Governance Challenges of the Twenty-First Century,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

February 2025
Article

Improving Customer Compatibility with Tradeoff Transparency

By: Ryan W. Buell and MoonSoo Choi

Through a large-scale field experiment with 393,036 customers considering opening a credit card account with a nationwide retail bank, we investigate how providing transparency into an offering’s tradeoffs affects subsequent rates of customer acquisition and long-run... View Details

Keywords: Transparency; Customer Selection; Customer Compatibility; Retention; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Banking Industry; Australia

Find at Harvard

Program

Competing in the Age of AI—Virtual

technology operations, marketing, supply chain and operations, talent management, and more, who want to move toward an AI-first digital business and operating model Government officials engaged in developing strategy and policy to address... View Details

February 2024
Case

Tabby: Winning Consumers' Digital Wallets

By: Eva Ascarza and Fares Khrais

Hosam Arab (MBA 2009), cofounder and CEO of Tabby, a Saudi-based fintech startup, raised its Series D funding round in October 2023, four years after its inception, valuing it as a regional unicorn. Tabby's core product, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service, allowed... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Risk Management; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Saudi Arabia

September 1999 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Auto Collection: Ford's Better Idea for Selling Cars and Trucks

Ford encourages its independent dealers to consolidate, showing them the benefits size can bring both to themselves and their customers. Now, consolidated dealerships improve customer service and reduce costs. View Details

Keywords: Consolidation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Sales; Retail Industry; Retail Industry