Publications

09 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 9

value by converting a waste stream into a useful and saleable by-product (i.e., implementing by-product synergy [BPS]). We show that BPS creates an operational synergy between two products that are jointly produced. In essence, BPS is a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Juno (A): Leveraging Student Power

By: Joshua Schwartzstein, Kathleen L. McGinn and Amy Klopfenstein

In March 2020, Chris Abkarians and Nikhil Agarwal were in the midst of preparing the annual auction for their student loan assistance startup, Juno. Both current MBA students at Harvard Business School, the duo founded Juno in 2018 to leverage student bargaining power... View Details

2020
Working Paper

Socioeconomic Network Heterogeneity and Pandemic Policy Response

By: Abhishek Nagaraj, Mohammad Akbarpour, Cody Cook, Aude Marzuoli, Simon Mongey, Matteo Saccarola, Pietro Tebaldi, Shoshana Vasserman and Hanbin Yang

We develop and implement a heterogeneous-agents network-based empirical model to analyze alternative policies during a pandemic outbreak. We combine several data sources, including information on individuals’ mobility and encounters across metropolitan areas,... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Policy; Outcome or Result; Analysis

Read Now

23 Aug 2016
First Look

August 23, 2016

affects interventional cardiologists deciding between two types of cardiac stents. Analyzing 147,000 choices over six years, we find that individuals do respond to negative news by using the focal production tool less often. However, we... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2006 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Irizar in 2005

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jordan Mitchell

In June 2005, Koldo Saratxaga, the leader of Basque-based luxury coach manufacturer Irizar, decided to leave after 14 years at the helm of the worker-owned cooperative. Under Saratxaga's stewardship, Irizar was saved from near bankruptcy in 1991 and has become a highly... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Resignation and Termination; Leadership Style; Production; Quality; Luxury; Competitive Advantage; Construction Industry; Real Estate Industry; South Africa; China; India; Mexico; Brazil

16 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Luxury Isn’t What It Used to Be

refreshing their product lines and extending their brand to more affordable items. Pressure to innovate is intense, says HBS professor Nancy F. Koehn, a business historian and author of Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers' Trust... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Consumer Products

August 2007 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Grand Central Publishing

By: Anita Elberse

In April 2007, Grand Central's publisher Jamie Raab and editor Karen Kosztolnyik were involved in a frantic bidding war for a proposed book on the life of cat Dewey, billed as the feline answer to the best-selling "Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Product Launch; Bids and Bidding; Product Development; Publishing Industry

January 1991
Case

Volkswagen of America: Audi 5000 (A)

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Audi marketing executives and their advertising agency colleagues must decide which of several advertising executions should be employed for the introductory campaign for the Audi 5000, their new car entry scheduled to replace the Audi 100LS in the United States in the... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Auto Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

01 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: Nov. 1

growing concern that such regulation may simply shift production to unregulated regions, potentially increasing overall carbon emissions in the process. Carbon tariffs have emerged as a possible mechanism to address this concern by... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2017
Supplement

The De Beers Group: Exploring the Diamond Reselling Opportunity

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Daniel P. Gross and Lauren G. Pickle

In September 2014, Tom Montgomery (SVP of strategic initiatives at the De Beers Group) and his team launched a pilot program in the United States to explore the $1 billion diamond market for pre-owned (recycled) diamonds. According to Montgomery, the motivation for the... View Details

31 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

What Do CEOs Do?

Keywords: by Oriana Bandiera, Luigi Guiso, Andrea Prat & Raffaella Sadun

April 2008 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Ti-Tech (A)

By: Benson P. Shapiro, John T. Gourville and Craig E. Cline

This case concerns the selection and scheduling of orders by a small industrial titanium fabricator that recently has been plagued by poor deliveries and a lack of capacity. At the time of the case, Ti-Tech must decide which of four orders to accept, with capacity... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Metals and Minerals; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Supply Chain Management; Performance Capacity; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry

June 2007 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Comcast Corporation

By: Anita Elberse and Jason Schreiber

In October 2006, Comcast executives had entered negotiations with broadcast networks to broaden the selection of free network content distributed via its video-on-demand (VOD) service. The major broadcast networks, however, were unsure of the effect it would have on... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Consumer Behavior; Competitive Strategy; Technology Adoption; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

April 2008
Supplement

Ti-Tech (B)

By: Benson P. Shapiro and John T. Gourville

This case concerns the selection and scheduling of orders by a small industrial titanium fabricator that recently has been plagued by poor deliveries and a lack of capacity. At the time of the case, Ti-Tech must decide which of four orders to accept, with capacity... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Production; Performance Capacity; Marketing Strategy; Bids and Bidding; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; United States

Research Summary

Immigrant Policymakers and Entrepreneurs

Since completing his prize-winning biography of Joseph Schumpeter in 2007 and his book, American Business since 1920 in 2009, Professor McCraw has been working on two new books about immigrants who came to the United States and became important policymakers... View Details

July 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Digital Microscopy Is Making Me Crazy!

By: Willy Shih

For Carl Zeiss Microimaging, modular hardware and software enabled customers to tailor Zeiss's broad range of microscopy systems hardware and software to meet a wide range of needs from basic scientific research in the biological and medical sciences to clinical... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Corporate Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Science-Based Business; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Business Conglomerates; Digital Platforms; Opportunities; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Computer Industry

25 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Beauty Entrepreneur Madam Walker

By 1910, however, with the new name Madam C.J. Walker, Breedlove had accrued a sizable fortune and considerable influence. This daughter of adversity was now well known and respected among the nation's African Americans as a savvy entrepreneur with a thriving business... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Beauty & Cosmetics

March 2017 (Revised December 2018)
Case

Reawakening the Magic: Bob Iger and the Walt Disney Company

By: David Collis and Ashley Hartman

Mickey Mouse, Snow White, and Buzz Lightyear strolled down Main Street at the grand opening of Hong Kong Disney in the fall of 2005, pausing to snap selfies with enthusiastic children in Mickey Mouse ears. Bob Iger, newly appointed CEO of The Walt Disney Company,... View Details

Keywords: Franchise Management; Brand Management; Culture Change; Business Units; Acquisition Strategy; Technological Change; Disney; ESPN; Cord-cutting; Bob Iger; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Integration; Media; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry