Publications

Find at Harvard

09 Feb 2021
News

A CEO's Guide to Crafting a Message That Reassures and Inspires Staff During a Crisis

01 Dec 2019
News

Action Plan: Tapping into a Legacy

As the new managing director of Hall & Woodhouse, one of England’s leading regional breweries, Matt Kearsey (AMP 193, 2017) knows that the best-tasting beer requires more than premium hops and pure spring water. “We give the process the time it needs,” he says. “We... View Details

Keywords: Leah Flickinger; manufacturing; craft beer; leadership; management; Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

03 May 2013
News

Looking Through Glass, Historically

Dolphin Comport: To Wilson, the bowl of this piece (c. 1929) "suggests a body in an endless pirouette." Photo Courtesy of Charlie Wilson When Charlie Wilson (MBA 1967) was a small boy, he lived for a time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his grandfather, Chas Howard... View Details

Keywords: Visual arts; crafts; glass making; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Manufacturing

February 2017 (Revised May 2018)
Case

The Flint, Michigan Sit-Down Strike

By: Tom Nicholas, Christopher T. Stanton and Matthew Preble

For roughly six weeks between late December 1936 and February 1937, a major strike at several critical General Motors (GM) plants in Flint, Michigan, essentially halted the corporation’s U.S. production and resulted in significant gains for the nascent United... View Details

August 2018
Case

Tapping Growth at Lord Hobo Brewing Company

By: Ethan Rouen and Susanna Gallani

Lord Hobo Brewing Company accounts for its inventory process as it prepares to create its first set of professional financial statements for investors. View Details

Keywords: Inventory; Start-ups; Craft Brewing; Investing; GAAP; Brand Management; Accounting; Working Capital; Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Business Startups; Business and Shareholder Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; Boston; New England; United States

March 2001 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Honest Tea

By: Paul A. Gompers

This case examines the decisions of Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff, founders of Honest Tea. Honest Tea is a start-up in the ready-to-drink tea market. Goldman and Nalebuff must craft an expansion and financing strategy. View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Expansion; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Decisions

October 2018 (Revised July 2023)
Case

The Boston Beer Company (A): New CEO

By: Christina R. Wing and Marco Iansiti

In 1984, when the Boston Beer Company’s Samuel Adams Boston Lager was first sold, founder Jim Koch had helped ignite a craft beer movement by making small-batch premium beers in an era of industry consolidation. By 2018, Boston Beer was a publicly traded company that... View Details

Keywords: Beer/brewing Industry; Succession; Leadership; Change; Supply Chain; Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Supply Chain Management; Management Succession; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Boston

2014
Other Teaching and Training Material

Marketing Reading: Brand Positioning

By: Jill Avery and Sunil Gupta

This Reading addresses the principles of brand positioning and demonstrates how companies can strategically craft powerful, resonant, and unique brand positions to help products stand out amidst the cacophony of the marketplace. Strategic brand positioning provides... View Details

Keywords: Brand Positioning; Branding; Consumer Research; Defensive Strategies; Market Positioning; Marketing; Product Differentiation; Product Positioning; Strategic Positioning; Value Proposition; Customer Relationship Management; Organizational Structure; Customer Satisfaction; Brands and Branding

Video

Our Difference - Economics

Article

Perfect Pitch: Making Your Ideas Resonate in Negotiations

By: Kristin Sippl

To maximize persuasive power, ideational entrepreneurs should craft a 'creative type' persona, use discourse strategically, and offer useful resources. View Details

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February 2013
Case

LEGO (A): The Crisis

By: Jan W. Rivkin, Stefan H. Thomke and Daniela Beyersdorfer

As this case opens, iconic toymaker LEGO stands on the brink of bankruptcy. Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, LEGO's young and newly appointed CEO, must size up changes in the toy industry, learn from the company's recent moves, and craft a strategy that will put LEGO back on... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Competitive Strategy; Crisis Management; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Consumer Products Industry

January 2018 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Lagunitas Brewing Company

By: Joshua Margolis, Allison Ciechanover and Jeff Huizinga

The CEO of a California-based craft brewery manages new partnership with—and potential acquisition by—industry giant Heineken. View Details

Keywords: Culture; Non-profit; International; Organizational Behavior; Food; Leadership; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Culture; Management; Partners and Partnerships; Technology Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

15 Jan 2020
Video

Ritu Kumar

Ritu Kumar, the pioneer of boutique fashion culture in India, describes how her bridal business helped to revive the traditional craft of embroidery in India.

View Details

23 Jan 2017
News

Helping Warli artists profit from their work

Career Coach

Veni Arora

Veni worked in private equity and management consulting before HBS and spent her summer at eBay working with the Product team. While looking for her summer internship, she spent time evaluating multiple career paths before narrowing down on one. She particularly enjoys... View Details

29 Oct 2020
Blog Post

Delving Deeper into Development with the MBA/MPA-ID Program – a Q+A with Zainab Raji (MBA/MPA-ID 2022)

history on my grandpa’s walking tours of Lagos Island, celebrating Eid holidays with family, and working on craft projects with my twin sister. My family bonded over storytelling. Older family members recounted tales of their past... View Details

May 2006
Exercise

Boat Building Exercise: Four Modes of Propulsion

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Kerry Herman

Describes alternative methods of propulsion (including steering) for small crafts (canoes, row boats, etc.) and the pros and cons of each. View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities