Publications

February 2021
Background Note

Jobs to Be Done: A Toolbox

By: Derek C. M. van Bever, Bob Moesta, Iuliana Mogosanu, Shaye Roseman and Katie Zandbergen

The Jobs to Be Done methodology is both a theory and a practical approach for understanding customer behavior and why people make the choices they make. Many practitioners, whether they work for startups or incumbent businesses, find Jobs to Be Done useful because it... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Decision Choices and Conditions; Knowledge Acquisition; Attitudes; Perception; Theory; Behavior; Customer Relationship Management

03 Nov 2008
HBS Case

Economics of the Ethanol Business

What happens when a group of Missouri corn farmers gets into the energy business? With consumers paying more than double for gasoline than they did a year ago, turning crops into fuel, not food, seems like a good way to go—but not so fast. In "Mid-Missouri... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Agriculture & Agribusiness; Energy

September 2012 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Doing Business in China

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Michael Shih-ta Chen, Nancy Dai and G.A. Donovan

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in China. It highlights China's remarkable economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2012 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case summarizes the main obstacles faced... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Market Finance; Emergent Countries; Business History; Economic History; Emerging Markets; Business Ventures; Strategy; China

28 Jun 2010
HBS Case

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Health-care reform is more than a political football. For twenty years it's been a ground-level topic of increasing importance for the administrators, physicians, nurses, and frontline employees who interact with patients every day. "Cincinnati Children's Hospital... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Health

2014
Report

An Economy Doing Half Its Job: Findings of Harvard Business School's 2013–14 Survey on U.S. Competitiveness

By: Michael E. Porter and Jan Rivkin

In 2013–14, Harvard Business School (HBS) conducted its third alumni survey on U.S. competitiveness. Our report on the findings focuses on a troubling divergence in the American economy: large and midsize firms have rallied strongly from the Great Recession, and highly... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Economy; Financial Crisis; United States

Research Summary

Overview

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Winner of the Harvard Business School outstanding teacher award and research awards from U.S. and international health care and accounting organizations: 2016 “60 of the Most Powerful People in Healthcare in 2016,” Becker’s Hospital Review, January 3, 2017 ; 2014 ... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Insurance; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Information Technology

24 Nov 2008
Research & Ideas

Harvard Business School Discusses Future of the MBA

For the school that so boldly launched the MBA 100 years ago and went on to become the bluest of blue-chip brands in business education, it seemed only fitting that Harvard Business School should mark its centennial year by examining the future of the degree it... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson & HBS Bulletin; Education

21 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Good Banks, Bad Banks, and Government’s Role as Fixer

Most books about the nation's financial crisis tell us what happened. In his new book, HBS senior lecturer Robert Pozen tells us how to fix the system. A financial industry veteran and chairman of MFS Investment Management, a Boston firm that oversees more than $170... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

2013
Report

Competitiveness at a Crossroads: Finding of Harvard Business School's 2012 Survey on U.S. Competitiveness

By: Jan Rivkin, Michael E. Porter and Rosabeth M. Kanter

Harvard Business School gleaned responses from nearly 7,000 alumni and more than 1,000 members of the general public. The survey not only provides an updated view of the U.S. business environment, but also illuminates specific actions that business leaders and... View Details

Keywords: PK - 12 Education; U.S. Competitiveness; Competition; Education; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; United States

January 2013 (Revised February 2013)
Case

EverTrue: Mobile Technology Development (A)

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Brent Grinna is evaluating different options for the technology development of his start-up's iPhone app, including hiring local programmers, finding a CTO, or outsourcing. He only has a little over two months before he presents his alumni networking app to Brown... View Details

Keywords: Start-up; Mobile App; oDesk; Outsourcing; CTO; Minimum Viable Product; App Development; Business Startups; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Intellectual Property; Product Development; Globalization; Technology Industry; Massachusetts; Boston; India

February 2012 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Rospil.info

By: Paul Healy, Karthik Ramanna and Matthew Shaffer

What should business leaders do about corruption? In December 2011, four HBS alumni met to debate how to engage the unprecedented protests against Vladimir Putin's corrupt government, which had erupted in Russia in response to alleged fraud in the recent parliamentary... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Crime and Corruption; Government and Politics; Social and Collaborative Networks; Blogs; Information Industry; Russia

September 2012 (Revised September 2014)
Case

Doing Business in Malaysia

By: C. Fritz Foley, Michael Shih-Ta Chen and Keith Chi-Ho Wong

This case focuses on the current business environment in Malaysia as of 2012 by introducing the main economic, political and cultural aspects of the country for those interested in doing business there. The advantages and challenges of investing and doing business in... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Market Finance; Emergent Countries; Business History; Economic History; Fieldwork; Emerging Markets; Business Ventures; Strategy; Malaysia

15 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

The Coming Transformation of Social Enterprise

sector. In a way they become the catalysts for internal change. Q: Many alumni get involved with corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Critics of CSR often cite Milton Friedman, who famously said that "the social... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson

January 2022
Case

Hybrid Classroom - an Opportunity or a Threat?

By: V.G. Narayanan

When the Covid pandemic struck in the spring of 2020, HBS pivoted to remote instruction while maintaining the interactive and engaged discussions which distinguished the case system pedagogy. In fall 2020 HBS adopted a hybrid approach, fitting out its classrooms with... View Details

Keywords: Education; Teaching; Higher Education; Technology Adoption; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Adaptation; Opportunities; Education Industry

2020
Working Paper

Do Judge-Lawyer Relationships Influence Case Outcomes?

By: Tianwang Liu and David Hao Zhang

We examine whether law school alumni relationships between the lawyers and judges affect case outcomes. We show that in the context of medical malpractice lawsuits in Florida, the plaintiff lawyer sharing the same law school as the judge increases the chances of... View Details

Keywords: Law; Relationships; Judgments; Outcome or Result

11 Mar 2009
HBS Case

The Energy Politics of Russia vs. Ukraine

In a virtual replay of events this past January, in 2006 Russia's energy giant Gazprom cut off its supply of natural gas to Ukraine's energy company in the depths of winter. The move confirmed the fears of many in the West that the wounded Russian bear, smarting from... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Energy; Utilities

July – August 2011
Article

Evolve (Again)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Frenzy over social networks and interactive media can produce equally overhyped predictions that everything will change, not to mention money-losing investments in silly ventures. Separating enduring strategic lessons from the hype can help avoid a new crash. Hint: the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Investment; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Partners and Partnerships

Find at Harvard

2013
Article

Inflated Applicants: Attribution Errors in Performance Evaluation by Professionals

By: S. A. Swift, D. Moore, Z. Sharek and F. Gino

When explaining others' behaviors, achievements, and failures, it is common for people to attribute too much influence to disposition and too little influence to structural and situational factors. We examine whether this tendency leads even experienced professionals... View Details

Keywords: Evaluations; Correspondence Bias; Selection Decisions; Attribution; Prejudice and Bias; Selection and Staffing; Decision Choices and Conditions; Performance Evaluation; Cognition and Thinking