Publications

July 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Northwest Airlines and the Detroit Snowstorm (A)

Northwest Airlines forced hundreds of passengers to wait up to 8 1/2 hours on aircraft after reaching their destination in an unusually horrible service disaster. The case explores what occurred, why it occurred, and the feelings of those involved. View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Failure; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry

November 1978 (Revised June 1982)
Case

Federal Express (B)

Federal Express is a small-package airline operating throughout the United States. After initial heavy losses, it is now profitable. Management is examining the services offered by the firm and believes that there is great potential for "Courier Pak," an overnight... View Details

Keywords: Product; Product Marketing; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry; United States

March 2011
Case

Grand Circle Travel: Where Risk Comes with the Territory

By: Herman B. Leonard

A worldwide travel company is intrinsically exposed to risks of natural and man-made disasters. How do you organize a business for success when it must on a nearly daily basis cope with hazards ranging from minor mishaps to large-scale catastrophes? Alan and Harriet... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Transportation; Organizational Design; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Structure; Mission and Purpose; Competitive Advantage; Travel Industry

27 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 27, 2007

Cases & Course MaterialsDesign: More Than a Cool Chair Harvard Business School Note 607-026 This introduction to the Design industry includes definitions, and industry statistics, as well as descriptions... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 2020 (Revised February 2021)
Supplement

Accounting for Leases at American Airlines (B)

By: Jonas Heese, Gerardo Pérez Cavazos and Julia Kelley

This is a supplement to the “Accounting for Leases at American Airlines (A)” case. The (B) case describes American Airlines’ financial results for the first quarter of 2020, as well as the continuing effects of coronavirus on the airline industry. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Finance; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Leasing; Health Pandemics; Accounting Industry; Accounting Industry; North and Central America; United States

April 2020 (Revised April 2023)
Supplement

TransDigm in 2017: The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning?

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

TransDigm was a highly acquisitive company that manufactured a wide range of highly engineered aerospace parts for both military and commercial customers. Over the ten years ending in 2016, its stock price had increase ten times, and both EBITDA and revenues had grown... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Ethics; Private Equity; Financial Strategy; Growth Management; Performance Evaluation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Horizontal Integration; Value Creation; Competitive Advantage; Aerospace Industry; Aerospace Industry; United States

December 2001 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Delays at Logan Airport

By: V.G. Narayanan and George Batta

Logan Airport is facing mounting delays for flights landings and takeoffs, especially in inclement weather. An additional runway and peak-period pricing are two alternatives being considered. View Details

Keywords: Price; Problems and Challenges; Decision Making; Mathematical Methods; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry; Boston

April 1988 (Revised March 1991)
Supplement

Boeing 767: From Concept to Production (B)

By: David A. Garvin

Updates the (A) case to the present day. The issue facing students is whether Boeing's approach to managing new airplane programs must be modified to fit with this new environment. View Details

Keywords: Production; Change Management; Product Development; Product Marketing; Situation or Environment; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry

May 1996 (Revised October 2001)
Case

BAE Automated Systems (B): Implementing the Denver International Airport Baggage-Handling System

By: Lynda M. Applegate, H. James Nelson, Ramiro Montealegre and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Describes the negotiations between the City of Denver officials, airlines, consulting companies, and BAE for the construction of a backup baggage system to enable the Denver International Airport (DIA) to open. When DIA finally opens in February 1995, 16 months behind... View Details

Keywords: Performance Effectiveness; Management Practices and Processes; Projects; Negotiation; Outcome or Result; Problems and Challenges; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry; Colorado

17 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 17

origins of the social psychology of creativity, trace its arc, and suggest directions for its future. Demand and Capacity Management in Air Transportation Authors:Cynthia Barnhart, Douglas S. Fearing, Amedeo Odoni, and Vikrant Vaze... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2022 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Commercial Space Stations, Chickens and Eggs, and Demand for Activity in Low-Earth Orbit

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl and Brendan L. Rosseau

With the International Space Station set to retire in January 2031, NASA has made clear its desire to transition to commercially-led space stations in low-earth orbit (LEO). But the history of commercial station attempts has been fraught, characterized by a lack of... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Opportunities; Business Model; Travel Industry; Travel Industry; Travel Industry

18 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 18

level of maturity where scaling the business model was the next logical step. With two greenhouses already in Canada, he was looking into other locations in the U.S. Though Lufa Farms' advanced cultivation technologies made the company stand out in its sector, the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2014 (Revised January 2015)
Supplement

Vehbi Koç and the Making of Turkey's Largest Business Group (B)

By: Asli M. Colpan and Geoffrey Jones

The case builds on the earlier (A) case, which described the origins of the Turkish business group established by Vehbi Koç before 1988. This case takes the story forward to 2012 as the Koç group was led by Vehbi's son Rahmi followed by his grandson Mustafa. It... View Details

Keywords: Business Groups; Turkey; Entrepreneurship; Management; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Central Asia; Middle East

17 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Can China Maintain Its Economic Power?

economic growth.” Blagg: What were your first impressions of China in the late 1970s? McFarlan: We were seeing a country that had missed the industrial revolution that happened in many other countries in the nineteenth century, and then... View Details

Keywords: by Deborah Blagg

30 Jan 2018
First Look

January 30, 2018

flash sales industry was created using this idea as a cornerstone of its business strategy. In this paper, we identify and investigate a new reason why frequent assortment rotations can be valuable to a retailer, particularly for products... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2014
Article

Mastering the Intermediaries: Strategies for Dealing with the Likes of Google, Amazon, and Kayak

By: Benjamin Edelman

Many companies depend on powerful platforms which distinctively influence buyers' purchasing. (Consider, Google, Amazon, and myriad others in their respective spheres.) I consider implications of these platforms' market power, then suggest strategies to help companies... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Market Power; Dominance; Advertising Campaigns; Marketing Channels; Agreements and Arrangements; Competitive Strategy; Negotiation; Transportation Industry; Transportation Industry; Transportation Industry