Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,245)
- Faculty Publications (176)
- September 2018 (Revised April 2019)
- Case
Sigfox: Building a Global IoT Network
By: Rajiv Lal, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emilie Billaud
In 2018, Ludovic Le Moan and Christophe Fourtet, co-founders of the French tech startup Sigfox, reflected on the evolution of their venture and the way forward. Founded in 2009, Sigfox was a company that provided a global connectivity network for devices connected to... View Details
- May 2018 (Revised July 2018)
- Case
EY China (A): Strengthening Presence in a Critical Market
By: Ashish Nanda, Das Narayandas and Lisa Rohrer
Soon after being named regional managing partner for Ernst & Young (EY) China in September 2009, Albert Ng reflects on the enormity of challenges facing EY China. Despite EY Global's commitment to the China practice, EY China’s growth agenda has been reversed, post... View Details
- Article
Investors as Stewards of the Commons?
By: George Serafeim
Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of initiatives seeking to mobilize investor voice towards positive social impact. In this paper, I provide a framework outlining the role of investors as stewards of the commons. While... View Details
- March 2018 (Revised September 2020)
- Background Note
Short Note on Game Theory
By: Eric Van den Steen and Dennis Yao
This note provides a very concise (2 page) introduction to game theory. View Details
- 2018
- Working Paper
Zig-Zagging Your Way to Transformative Impact
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Tricia Gregg
Achieving transformative impact has been much discussed by social entrepreneurs, funders, and consultants. These discussions have focused on issues of increasing impact and scale, but often with no clear distinction between the two terms. In order to provide clarity,... View Details
- September 2017
- Case
Blackstone's Julia Kahr at the Summit
By: Paul A. Gompers, John D. Dionne and Amram Migdal
In 2009, Blackstone, the New York-based alternative asset and financial services firm, committed to invest up to $750 million into Summit Materials, a new company in the aggregates sector (i.e., construction materials, such as crushed stone, sand, gravel, cement,... View Details
Keywords: Roll Up; Private Equity Roll Up; Aggregates; Aggregates Materials; Construction Materials; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Leveraged Buyouts; Business Growth and Maturation; Engineering; Construction; Finance; Capital; Equity; Private Equity; Financial Instruments; Investment; Housing; Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Personal Development and Career; Management Teams; Planning; Problems and Challenges; Value; Valuation; Value Creation; Construction Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States
- May 2017 (Revised November 2019)
- Case
The Dubai International Film Festival
By: Rohit Deshpandé and Alpana Thapar
This case follows the conception and emergence of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). In an already crowded and highly competitive industry, Abdulhamid Juma was attempting to define and establish a unique brand positioning for DIFF. Committed to its vision,... View Details
Keywords: Brand Positioning; Underdog Brand Building; Business Models; Non-profit; Managing Multiple Stakeholders; Film Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Decision Making; Growth and Development Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry
- May 2017
- Case
Buffer.com
By: Susanna Gallani, Tiffany Y. Chang, Brian J. Hall and Jee Eun Shin
Social media company Buffer wanted to establish clear company values early in its growth. One of these values was a commitment to transparency in its company practices. Buffer openly shared its business strategies and fundraising decks, among lots of other information.... View Details
- April 2017 (Revised January 2020)
- Case
Korea Telecom: Building a GiGAtopia (A)
By: Shane Greenstein, Feng Zhu and Kerry Herman
Korea Telecom (KT) has committed $4 billion in investments and R&D to build a GiGAtopia, essentially ushering in the next generation of mobile (5G) and wired infrastructure. CEO Dr. Chang-Gyu Hwang, and his team are considering which areas to prioritize in terms of new... View Details
- January 2017
- Supplement
Intrapreneurship at DaVita HealthCare Partners: Cash Flow Tool
By: Joseph B. Fuller and Christopher Payton
DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. (DaVita) is one of the U.S.'s leading dialysis providers, a process whereby persons with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are connected to a machine that performs the functions of a healthy kidney. Kent Thiry, DaVita's CEO, has expanded... View Details
- January 2017
- Case
Expanding Ecommerce at Technos
By: Thales Teixeira, Rohit Deshpandé, Ruth Costas and Priscilla Zogbi
Technos was the market leader in the Brazilian watch market. Its CEO had made a firm commitment to evolve the company’s marketing and commercial practices by focusing less on pushing product to retail clients and more on branding to end consumers to pull watches from... View Details
- December 2016 (Revised May 2018)
- Module Note
Strategy Execution Module 15: Using the Levers of Control to Implement Strategy
By: Robert Simons
This module reading pulls together key concepts and techniques from the Strategy Execution series into an integrated model—the levers of control. The four levers are: (1) belief systems, (2) boundary systems, (3) diagnostic control systems, and (4) interactive control... View Details
Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Levers Of Control; Balancing Innovation And Control; Managing Growing Businesses; Turn Around Management; Human Behavior; Organizational Life Cycle; Strategy; Management Systems; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Behavior
- November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
- Module Note
Strategy Execution Module 14: Managing Strategic Risk
By: Robert Simons
This module reading provides an overview of the business conduct boundaries, strategic boundaries, and internal control systems used to manage risk. Boundary systems—linked to clear, enforceable sanctions—are essential whenever demanding performance goals are set and... View Details
Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Boundary Systems; Innovation; Internal Controls; Fraud; Human Behavior; Staff Experts; Strategy; Risk Management; Behavior; Governance Controls; Management Practices and Processes; Boundaries; Employees; Business Strategy; Innovation and Invention
- Article
Why Leadership Training Fails—and What to Do about It
By: Michael Beer, Magnus Finnström and Derek Schrader
U.S. corporations spend enormous amounts of money—some $456 billion globally in 2015 alone—on employee training and education, but they aren't getting a good return on their investment. People soon revert to old ways of doing things, and company performance doesn't... View Details
- August 2016 (Revised August 2016)
- Teaching Note
Intrapreneurship at DaVita Healthcare Partners
By: Joseph B. Fuller and Matthew Preble
DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. (DaVita) is one of the U.S.'s leading dialysis providers, a process whereby persons with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are connected to a machine that performs the functions of a healthy kidney. Kent Thiry, DaVita's CEO, has expanded... View Details
- June 2016
- Article
Managing the High Intensity Workplace: An 'Always Available' Culture Breeds a Variety of Dysfunctional Behaviors
By: Erin M. Reid and Lakshmi Ramarajan
People today are under intense pressure to be “ideal workers”—totally committed to their jobs and always on call. But after interviewing hundreds of professionals in many fields, the authors have concluded that selfless dedication to work is often unnecessary and... View Details
- April 2016 (Revised February 2017)
- Supplement
Eastman Kodak Company: Restructuring a Melting Ice Cube
By: Stuart C. Gilson, John D. Dionne and Sarah L. Abbott
In May 2013, senior managers of GSO Capital Partners, an $80 billion credit-oriented investment firm owned by The Blackstone Group, are considering what to do next with their investment in the senior secured debt of Eastman Kodak Company. Once a great company and an... View Details
- 2016
- Case
Africa Strategy of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group
By: F. Warren McFarlan, Jie Jiao, Dayong Yang and Shanshan Cao
Founded in 1983, China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. ("CNMC") is one of the earliest and largest global Chinese nonferrous metal industrial enterprises. It has investments and projects in 27 countries and trade networks in nearly 100 countries with a... View Details
- November 2015 (Revised August 2016)
- Case
Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability
In January 2009, when Paul Polman was appointed CEO of Unilever, he inherited a company in long-term decline at the beginning of a major global financial crisis. As the first outsider ever recruited to lead the company, Polman lost little time in challenging the... View Details
- 2019
- Working Paper
Self-Interest: The Economist's Straitjacket
By: Robert Simons
This paper examines contemporary economic theories that focus on the design and management of business organizations. In the first part of the paper, a taxonomy is presented that describes the different types of economists interested in this subject—market economists,... View Details
Keywords: Self-interest; Economist; Moral Philosophers; Regulation; Capture; Organization Design; Economy Theory; Organization Theory; Management Theory; Commitment; Controls; Governance; Customers; Conflict of Interests; Business or Company Management; Competition; Organizational Design; Business Education; Agency Theory; Economics; Theory; Boundaries