Publications

12 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

COVID Tested Global Supply Chains. Here’s How They’ve Adapted

Global supply chains took some heat during the COVID-19 pandemic, with consumers waiting months for goods and politicians wringing their hands over trade policy. “Reshoring” is one of the hottest new corporate buzzwords, as many companies... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

February 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Shaping the Governance Debate at ISS

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Jonah S. Goldberg and Calvin O. Liou

ISS is the world’s largest provider of corporate governance research, data, analytics, and voting services. The case uses the effort of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to impose an array of new regulations that would severely restrict the functioning of... View Details

Keywords: Proxy Advisory Services; Corporate Governance; Research; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Shareholder Relations; Institutional Investing

October 2018
Case

African Bank Investments Limited (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; Africa; South Africa

01 Jul 2009
Working Paper Summaries

File-Sharing and Copyright

Keywords: by Felix Oberholzer-Gee & Koleman Strumpf; Technology; Entertainment & Recreation

26 Apr 2016
First Look

April 26

Greening Walmart: Progress and Controversy In 2005, Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, launched a sustainability initiative aimed at reducing waste and making the company more environmentally and socially conscious. By 2015, the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Apr 2023
What Do You Think?

How Does Remote Work Affect Innovation?

team weren’t even on the ads team It was the culture that attracted . These five engineers . To the company in the first place. How would this story play out if Google had relied heavily on remote work at the time? Would Jeff Dean and his... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

31 Mar 2022
Op-Ed

Navigating the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ in Professional Services

differentiator for some services. Linklaters’ clients, for example, derive comfort from knowing that the firm has the resources to work on large, high-stakes, complex matters. A 2007 analysis found that the firm’s average billing rate View Details

Keywords: by Ashish Nanda

21 Mar 2018
Research & Ideas

Why Artificial Intelligence Isn't a Sure Thing to Increase Productivity

their full promise. And that’s a key piece of information to have as companies consider investing what consulting firm Accenture estimates will be $35 trillion into cognitive technologies in the United States by 2035. Just adding AI tools... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology; Information

03 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 3

respect to Genentech, the pros and cons of merging the two companies with different cultures, the value of Genentech, and the tactics of a hostile tender offer. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/210040-PDF-ENG... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 23

Discussion of new model of social enterprise that applies the venture capital model to social enterprise. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/811053-PDF-ENG Redesigning a 401(k) Plan at Haley-Midland Robert C. Pozen and Scott PerlHarvard Business... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Learning in Action

Bean, the U.S. Army's Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL), AT&T's Bell Laboratories, the Timken Companies and General Electric's Change Acceleration Process (CAP). L.L. Bean has long relied on inquiry as a source of learning to... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Garvin

14 Jun 2011
First Look

First Look: June 14

Publication:,em>Harvard Business Review 89, no. 6 (June 2011) Abstract The bottom of the economic pyramid is a risky place for business, but decent profits can be made there if companies link their financial success with their... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Pay Workers More So They Steal Less

employee theft. A cost-benefit analysis proved that what companies saved in cash and inventory loss covered about 39 percent of the costs associated with wage increases. (So if a company increases wages by... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Retail

March 2025
Case

Metaphysic AI: Rethinking the Value of Human Expertise

By: Zoë B. Cullen, Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

In early 2025, Thomas Graham, CEO of Metaphysic, a leading AI generative video company confronted fundamental questions about who should control digital identity in a world where AI could perfectly recreate human likeness. Founded in 2021, Metaphysic first rose to fame... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Ethics; AI and Machine Learning; Intellectual Property; Rights; Negotiation; Value; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Technology Industry