Publications

Program

Investment Management Workshop

Summary The Investment Management Workshop convenes the world's top principals, portfolio managers, and executives to explore the latest industry strategies and best practices. Focused on asset management, business strategy, business... View Details

03 Jun 2021
Blog Post

HBS Pilots First Impact Investing Fund

This year, HBS piloted its first student-run Impact Investing Fund, focused on investing in BIPOC-led and owned small businesses in the Massachusetts area. Since launching, the fund has raised $200k, completed diligence on eight businesses, and is in the View Details

March 2022
Teaching Note

Sawiris Foundation: Elevating Education in Egypt

By: Brian Trelstad and Alpana Thapar

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 322-023. Founded in 2001 by the Sawiris family, one of the wealthiest families in Egypt, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD) invested in human capital and provision of basic social services for the most marginalized... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Development; Human Capital; Equality and Inequality; Education; Business Strategy; Social Enterprise; Social Issues; Partners and Partnerships; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; Egypt

2024
Chapter

Regulating Collective Emotions

By: Amit Goldenberg

When we think of emotion and emotion regulation, we typically think of them as processes occurring at the individual level. Even when emotions are experienced by multiple people who interact with each other, analysis is typically centered around individual-level... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Emotions; Behavior

Read Now

19 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Why Innovations Sit on the Shelf

the issues that will guarantee overall success. Leaders must ask themselves, "Do we have a coherent and distinctive innovation strategy that key managers believe in? Do we have the capabilities to execute? Is our leadership... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer, Russell Eisenstat & Derek Schrader

August 1993 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Filene's Basement

By: David E. Bell and Dinny Starr

Filene's Basement is in the process of deciding where, and if, to locate two new stores in its new Chicago area of operations. The existing Chicago area stores have been performing well, however, management is concerned with over saturation of the market. At the time... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Growth Management; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Business Processes

August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (A)

By: Willy Shih

This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan

30 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 30, 2007

cognitive processes through which a problem is interpreted associatively in terms of something that has been experienced in the past. Despite recognition's centrality to strategic choice, we have limited knowledge of its nature and its... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Jun 2012
First Look

First Look: June 19

making complex decisions. Under some circumstances, unconscious thought improves decisions even more than conscious thought. Executive functioning depends on energy provided by glucose, and we know from previous research that the performance of various conscious View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Can Japan Compete? [Part Two]

In our January 2 update, we featured the first part of a two-part interview with HBS professor Michael E. Porter, an internationally influential expert on strategy and competition. (Porter was recently appointed to a University... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Hilah Geer

November 1978 (Revised October 1989)
Case

Amicon Corp. (A)

Amicon holds a patent on a new process for the separation of blood plasma from whole blood. It has to decide whether to pursue a direct entry, joint venture, or licensing strategy. If it chooses licensing, there are many sub-issues to consider. View Details

Keywords: Technology; Patents; Commercialization; Health Care and Treatment; Biotechnology Industry

October 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Wit Capital: Evolution of the Online Investment Bank

Wit Capital brings democracy to the IPO process via the World Wide Web. This case encourages debate about the role service will play in this technology-intermediated investment bank and the sources and sustainability of its competitive advantage. View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Service Delivery; Competitive Advantage; Investment Banking; Web; Banking Industry

January 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Hester Pharmaceuticals (A): A Pricing Dilemma

By: Dante Roscini and John Masko

In August 2019, the leadership of Hester Pharmaceuticals (Hester) had a problem. Italy promised to be a key market for their new breakthrough oncology drug Akrozumab, but for almost two years, its single-payer healthcare system had been unable to agree with Hester on a... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Trade; Price; Global Range; Global Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Health Care and Treatment; Patents; Monopoly; Negotiation; Business and Government Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Human Needs; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Pharmaceutical Industry; Italy

November 1998 (Revised February 1999)
Case

Microsoft Office: Finding the Suite Spot

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Steven Sinofsky

Describes a key decision-making process within Microsoft's Office products division. At a time when the PC software business has a great deal of uncertainty, Microsoft's management has to make a key decision regarding the future of software suites. A strengthening of... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Applications and Software; Strategic Planning; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Product Development; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk and Uncertainty; Goals and Objectives; Digital Platforms; Innovation and Management; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry

Program

Mergers and Acquisitions

Details Enable growth through an effective M&A process Build stronger M&A strategies Identify the right targets, assess business value accurately, and perform meaningful due diligence Negotiate complex... View Details

15 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Businesses Beware: The World Is Not Flat

expansion," Ghemawat argues. While identifying similarities from one place to the next is essential, effective cross-border strategies will take careful stock of differences as well. An expert on global strategy, Ghemawat lays out an... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

2016
Working Paper

Innovation Adoption and Organizational Identity: Identity Dynamism as a Strategic Resource for Top Management Team Decision Making

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Mary Ann Glynn and Michael Tushman

Organizations continuously face decisions about whether to adopt radical innovations. We examine the relationship between innovation adoption and identity, linking identity with firm strategy to explain innovation adoption over time. We conceptualize identity as... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Managerial Capabilities; Organizational Identity; Innovation Adoption; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention; Adoption

June 2001
Case

Competitive Dynamics in Home Video Games (E): The Rise of 3DO and 32-bit Gaming

Describes the launch of the innovative home video game company, 3DO, which had developed a groundbreaking system featuring 32-bit processing and CD-ROM software. Examines the competitive dynamics in the home video game industry from 1970 into the new millennium. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Competition; Product Launch; Video Game Industry

March 2001 (Revised March 2002)
Background Note

Service Recovery

Discusses the value of service recovery to service organizations working to enhance customer loyalty. Also provides practical advice to managers and examines strategies proven helpful to service organizations in their recovery objectives. View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Operations; Service Industry