Business Failures - Publications - Faculty & Research

November 2023
Supplement

'Care in Every Drop': Ayala Corporation and Manila Water (B)

By: Debora L. Spar, Paul Healy, Tricia Peralta and Julia Comeau

Since 1834, eight generations of the Ayala family have used their conglomerate to fund nation-building projects in the Philippines, including investments in tramcars, telecommunications, hospitals, and schools. In 1997, Ayala’s subsidiary, Manila Water, took control of... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Economic Growth; Social Entrepreneurship; Climate Change; Natural Resources; Crisis Management; Failure; Privatization; Social Issues; Urban Development; Adaptation; Infrastructure; Utilities Industry; Philippines

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Micah Macfarlane

market failures for climate change but less response from society. "We are just worse at thinking about climate impacts, which feel further away than they really are. I want to be part of the solution." Because so many clean... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare/Biotech; Manufacturing/Energy; Nonprofit/Government/Education

03 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

The Basics of Consumer Marketing in Asia

professor of international business at the Ming Hsin University of Science and Technology in Taiwan, per-capita income varies from $380 to $5,000 annually in different regions. "You have to realize that China is very, very... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette

01 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: Judgment Calls

bear. Written by Harvard Business School Visiting Professor Thomas H. Davenport and independent consultant Brook Manville, the book shares the tales of organizations that made successful choices through team-led decisions. This excerpt... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas H. Davenport & Brook Manville; Consumer Products

21 Jan 2009
First Look

First Look: January 21, 2009

Working PapersLetting Misconduct Slide: The Acceptability of Gradual Erosion in Others' Unethical Behavior (revised) Authors:Francesca Gino and Max H. Bazerman Abstract Previously titled "Slippery Slopes and Misconduct: The Effect of Gradual Degradation on the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

22 Jan 2020
News

What It Takes

firm's intellect away from my perhaps not-so-remarkable talents, and we ended up with remarkable outcomes for over 30 years. So that system only happened because we had an early disaster. Dan: In the book, Steve, you write that every year, when you address the... View Details

22 Jan 2025
Blog Post

Career Risks and Professional Growth: Finding a Fulfilling Career with Paige Arnof-Fenn (MBA 1991)

Learn about the career resources available to HBS alumni through HBS Career & Professional Development When I decided to attend Harvard Business School, I wasn’t entirely sure what my next step would be, but I knew it was time for a... View Details

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Tough Tech Ventures - Course Catalog

strategies and tactics for managing risk vs. reward. Historically, most entrepreneurship courses (at HBS, and elsewhere) disproportionately focus on consumer- and /or software-centric business model and product experimentation tools... View Details

01 Mar 2011
News

Alumni Books

essence, doing the right thing. Each major character in the epic embodies a moral failing or virtue. Das compares their successes and failures with those of prominent contemporary players in economics, business, and politics and finds... View Details

02 Dec 2010
News

Ten Rules for Entrepreneurs

Less than 20 percent of new businesses last five years. Despite those daunting odds, three MBAs from the Class of 1998 are among the elite who succeeded, and their stories make compelling reading in a new book. Former Washington Post... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Management; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

01 Mar 2004
Lessons from the Classroom

Mission to Mars: It Really Is Rocket Science

robustness, and flexibility. A "natural experiment" if you like. In 1999, however, the failures of two successive missions aimed at Mars brought the initiative to a halt. In the aftermath, the finger was pointed squarely at FBC... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

23 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Strategy for Small Fish

significant changes in technology and business models, which explains the many challenges and incumbent failures highlighted in a variety of research.19 A common failure of... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Iansiti & Roy Levien

02 Dec 2019
What Do You Think?

How Does a Company like Boeing Respond to Intense Competitive Pressure?

billion for SpaceX) from NASA. One can only imagine the pressure under which developers were working at Boeing. The result? A failure to reach its destination, the International Space Station. While the cause is under investigation, early... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Air Transportation

01 Dec 2016
News

Alumni Books of 2016

Founder’s Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth by James Allen (MBA 1989) and Chris Zook (Harvard Business Review Press) Based on their decade-long study of companies in more than 40 countries, the authors... View Details

09 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

The UK Needs a Bold Strategy Around Competition to Survive Brexit

competitive strategy expert Michael E. Porter, of Harvard Business School. The competitive challenges now facing the UK have been made significantly worse by years of inaction. “Our worry is that the UK remains mired in wishful thinking... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

10 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

Reinventing the Industrial Giant

manner of Dell and Cisco. Because the majority of these transformations are ongoing, the ultimate success or failure of these undertakings is difficult to evaluate. General Motors, for example, is attempting to rehaul its View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, Davis Dyer & Frederick Dalzell; Manufacturing

01 Sep 2009
News

How to Fix Wall Street

plan to restore confidence in the financial sector and prevent a repeat of past mistakes must address the leadership and organizational failures that led to shoddy ethics and careless judgment in so many firms. While external regulation... View Details

Keywords: Lynn Paine; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Finance; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

01 Oct 2001
News

New Economy Notables: Peter C. Wendell

Park, California, company boasts an impressive list of multibillion dollar market cap successes, including Healtheon, Intuit, Micromuse, and Strata- Com. Wendell passes his craft on to students enrolled in a popular second-year venture capital course he has taught at... View Details

Keywords: Young, Susan; Finance

03 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Making Money Making Movies

What makes a movie click with an audience? How important is buzz in the success or failure of an entertainment product? Should worldwide releases of movies be done over time, or all at once? Those are the kinds of questions that interest... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Entertainment & Recreation; Motion Pictures & Video

29 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 29

for Learning from Failure Author:Amy C. Edmondson Publication:Harvard Business Review 89, no. 4 (April 2011) An abstract is unavailable at this time. Read the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

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