Publications

September 2009 (Revised April 2011)
Supplement

Integrated Project Delivery at Autodesk, Inc. (B)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Faaiza Rashid

Describes Autodesk's engagement in Integrated Project Delivery—a new model of risk management, inter-firm teamwork, and multi-objective (aesthetic, cost, and sustainability) optimization in building projects. In 2008, Autodesk, Inc. the world's largest design software... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Groups and Teams; Goals and Objectives; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Integration; Construction Industry

23 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

Will the “Long Tail” Work for Hollywood?

which is good news for the industry because it helps save on fixed cost. But unfortunately, the level of sales that today’s blockbusters achieve is disappointing when compared with earlier hits.” Given the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Entertainment & Recreation

2012
Chapter

Firing Your Best Customers: How Smart Firms Destroy Relationships Using CRM

By: Jill Avery and Susan Fournier

With incidences in the 20%–25% range, the practice of firing customers has become increasingly attractive as firms try to maximize the lifetime value of their customer portfolios. This chapter traces the relationship trajectory of a 30-year customer of Filene's... View Details

Keywords: Brands; Brand Management; CRM; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customers; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

Web

Mid-US - Global

the Spirits Industry In an episode of Harvard Business Review's "Cold Call" podcast, Senior Lecturer Hise Gibson discusses the case "Uncle Nearest: Creating a Legacy." In 2017, Fawn Weaver cofounded Uncle Nearest, a premium American... View Details

February 2023 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Graphic Packaging: Project Cowboy (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

In July 2019, Graphic Packaging CEO Michael Doss was proposing a $600 million investment in a new machine to produce coated recycled board (CRB), a type of paper packaging used for consumer products (cups, cereal boxes, beverage boxes, etc.) that utilized recycled... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Growth Management; Demand and Consumers; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Value Creation; Supply and Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; North America

July 2007 (Revised March 2008)
Background Note

Staging Two-Sided Platforms

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Andrei Hagiu

Firms that aspire to develop two-sided platforms face a formidable challenge. Prospective users on each side will not invest in the platform until they are confident there will be enough users on the other side. Traditional strategies for dealing with this... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Risk Management; Two-Sided Platforms; Supply Chain; Strategy; Retail Industry

Howard H. Stevenson is Sarofim-Rock Baker Foundation Professor emeritus, former Senior Associate Dean, Director of Publishing, and Chair of the Harvard Business Publishing Company board. The Sarofim-Rock Chair was established in 1982 to provide a continuing base for... View Details

Keywords: industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods; industrial goods

October 2023
Case

Driving Sustainability at AB InBev

By: Ethan Rouen and Antonio Manuel Oftelie

It was the height of the summer in 2022, and Michel Doukeris, the CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), and Peter Kraemer, the company’s Chief Supply Officer, gazed across the vast desert surrounding Zacatecas, Mexico. They were visiting their Grupo Modelo Brewery,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Transformation; Decisions; Environmental Sustainability; Leading Change; Growth Management; Business Model; Food and Beverage Industry; Mexico

Program

OPM Renew

connections through cross-cohort collaboration. Details Broaden your global perspective and entrepreneurial leadership skills Learn how innovative global operators are changing buyer behavior and transforming bold ideas into new products and services Explore emerging... View Details

02 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 2, 2007

options. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-020.pdf How to Capture Value from Innovation: Shaping Intellectual Property and Industry Architecture Authors:Gary P. Pisano and David J. Teece Abstract In making strategic... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2015
Case

Unilever: Combatting Global Food Waste

By: David F. Drake, Janice H. Hammond and Matthew G. Preble

The global consumer goods company Unilever was on pace to hit a number of aggressive targets by 2020 as part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Project, including a goal to halve the waste associated with the disposal of its products. Unilever's chief supply chain... View Details

19 Dec 2023
Blog Post

Answering Your Questions About the HBS MBA Application

We do not start the evaluation process prior to the application deadline. Top 3 Questions We Wish We Got from Applicants 1. What makes a good essay? A good HBS essay is self-reflective! The essays are your... View Details

April 2010 (Revised March 2011)
Case

The Auction for Travelport (A)

By: Andrei Hagiu and Misha Sanwal

A senior Blackstone director is deciding how aggressively to bid for Travelport, a travel distribution business containing several key services and platforms. Travelport's most important properties were Galileo, one of the top 3 global distribution systems (GDSs),... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Product Positioning; Cost vs Benefits; Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Competitive Advantage; Auctions; Industry Structures; Travel Industry