Publications

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Spring 2012
Article

The Need for Sector-Specific Materiality and Sustainability Reporting Standards

By: Robert G. Eccles, Michael P. Krzus, Jean Rogers and George Serafeim

Even though the supply of sustainability information has increased considerably in the last decade, companies are still failing to disclose material information in a comparable format. We believe this has two downsides. On the one hand, companies are not adequately... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Reporting; Standard Setting; Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Accounting; Standards; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Disclosure; Competitive Advantage; Capital Markets; Accounting Industry; United States

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April 2006
Case

Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness

Nutricia's Middle East and African region is transitioning from a trading to a customer focus. CEO Ernest Vandenbussche must decide how to market infant milk formula most effectively in a region where the information environment is much less rich than in other... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Salesforce Management; Customer Relationship Management; Emerging Markets; Nutrition; Performance Effectiveness; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Health Industry; Middle East; Africa

01 Mar 2024
News

Action Plan: Wild at Heart

At first glance, Heather Evans (MBA 1983) might not seem the likeliest candidate for a career in ecological landscaping. A former chief marketing officer and “true urbanist” (“to the extent I used to hate visiting people in the... View Details

Keywords: Christine Speer Lejeune; gardening; entrepreneurship; sustainability

Web

Greenhill House | About

Germany. In his role at the Treasury, Humphrey was an enthusiastic advocate of a free market economy and the reduction of federal deficits. To honor Humphrey, the George M. Humphrey Fellowship was established at the School to support an... View Details

February 2005 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba): The Pot Line 5 Expansion Project

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia

In September 2002, Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) needed to decide how to finance its proposed $1.7 billion pot line. The company's financial adviser, Taylor De-Jongh (TDJ), had recommended Alba employ a multisourced financing strategy using as many as five sources of debt... View Details

Keywords: Project Finance; Emerging Markets; Financing and Loans; Investment; Capital; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Bahrain

27 Jun 2019
Blog Post

My Week at Harvard Business School's Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP)

encouraged to listen intensely to my peers and also to add value with my responses. This way the analyses progressed intelligently and critically which kept me engaged and inspired to think through different perspectives. We covered a variety of cases in View Details

Summer 2025
Article

Dynamic Competition for Customer Memberships

By: Cristian Chica, Julian Jimenez-Cardenas and Jorge Tamayo

A competitive two-period membership (subscription) market is analyzed. Two symmetric firms charge a “membership” fee that allows consumers to buy products or services at a given unit price for both periods. Firms can choose between long- or short-term memberships. When... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Price Discrimination; Membership; Dynamic Competition; Competition; Price; Consumer Behavior; Business Model

2023
Working Paper

Global Supply Chains: The Looming 'Great Reallocation'

By: Laura Alfaro and Davin Chor

Global supply chains have come under unprecedented stress as a result of U.S.-China trade tensions, the COVID-19 pandemic, and geopolitical shocks. We document shifts in the pattern of U.S. participation in global value chains over the last four decades, in terms of... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; International Relations; Trade; Globalized Markets and Industries

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March 2010 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Major League Baseball Advanced Media: America's Pastime Goes Digital

By: Anita Elberse and Brett Laffel

In January 2010, Bob Bowman, chief executive officer of Major League Baseball Advanced Media -- MLB's digital arm -- is facing a number of decisions related to its 'app' for Apple's new iPad. What are the best name, price, and set of features for MLBAM's iPad app? The... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Sports Industry

May 2014 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Health City Cayman Islands

By: Tarun Khanna and Budhaditya Gupta

Narayana Health (NH) had been successfully delivering affordable high quality tertiary care to the masses in India through its chain of hospitals for over a decade. To encourage the adoption of the NH affordable care delivery model worldwide, Dr. Shetty, Chairman of... View Details

13 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

does it take to find a reliable vaccine? What can you tell ... Could you just help me understand what does it take? Frazier: Well, first of all, it takes a lot of time. I think the record for the fastest vaccine ever brought to market was... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Pharmaceutical

25 Jun 2020
Blog Post

Harvard Business School Class of 2021 Student Profiles

self-select yourself out of an opportunity because you think you might not qualify.” HOME REGION New York, NY UNDERGRAD EDUCATION University of Florida PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE Zarbee's Naturals (Johnson & Johnson), General Mills HBS ACTIVITIES Latino Student... View Details

June 2023
Case

Tractor Supply Co

By: David L. Ager and Michael A. Roberto

In February 2023, Hal Lawton, CEO of Tractor Supply Co, the largest farm and ranch retailer in the United States reflected on the company’s 70% growth between 2019 and 2022. Economists had begun to predict an economic downturn and experts were predicting softening... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Demand and Consumers; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Retail Industry

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Duolingo: On a 'Streak'

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Nicole Tempest Keller and Nicole Luo

In December 2024, Severin Hacker, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Duolingo, reflected on the remarkable evolution of the language-learning app he helped launch in 2011. As the #1 most downloaded education app in the world, Duolingo had over 100 million... View Details

Keywords: Learning; AI and Machine Learning; Growth and Development Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Diversification; Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Technology Industry; Education Industry; United States