Publications

June 2016 (Revised November 2021)
Case

chotuKool: 'Little Cool,' Big Opportunity

By: Rory McDonald, Derek van Bever and Efosa Ojomo

In 2013, a team led by Gopalan Sunderraman, vice president of corporate development at Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.—one of the companies owned by Godrej Group, a large Indian conglomerate—was preparing to launch an innovative low-cost refrigerator. Developed expressly... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; India

October 2014
Module Note

Market Design in Online Businesses (Abridged)

By: Peter Coles and Benjamin Edelman

The purpose of this note is to characterize the challenges entrepreneurs may face in creating a well-functioning ecosystem of users, and to equip entrepreneurs with tools to overcome these obstacles. The note is meant to accompany the final module of the "The Online... View Details

Keywords: Platform Design; Network Effects; Market Design; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

25 Mar 2013
Research & Ideas

How Chapter 11 Saved the US Economy

and Chapter 11 played a heroic role in helping the country rebound. He outlines these ideas in Coming Through in a Crisis: How Chapter 11 and the Debt Restructuring Industry Are Helping to Revive the US Economy , published in the fall... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Financial Services

April 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Background Note

Winning the Influence Game: Corporate Diplomacy and Business Strategy

Provides a framework for influencing key outside players--businesses, governments, and NGOs--in support of business strategy. This could mean negotiating contracts with major customers and suppliers, concluding acquisitions and alliances, and securing financing from... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Business Strategy; Power and Influence

02 Feb 2007
What Do You Think?

Is There Too Little “Know Why” In Business?

Buffett), (3) altruism, where the primary purpose is to serve (customers, employees, etc.) first and assume that profit will follow (as at Nordstrom), and (4) heroism, typically involving grand plans to change entire industries or even... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

Christina M. Wallace

A self-described “human Venn diagram” Christina Wallace has crafted a career at the intersection of business, technology, and the arts. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry

22 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 22

talent has become one of the biggest competitive issues for law firms. But although talent management is now recognized as a business issue of prime importance, law firms often lack the experience, vision, and tools to do it. This... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2023
Working Paper

Can Digitalization Improve Public Services? Evidence from Innovation in Energy Management

By: Robyn C. Meeks, Jacquelyn Pless and Zhenxuan Wang

This paper examines how digitalization impacts public service provision through a study of the U.S. power sector. We exploit the staggered timing of electric utilities’ investments in “smart” meters and find that electricity losses per unit sold decrease by 3.6%. This... View Details

Keywords: Electric Utility; Energy Management; Smart Meters; Energy; Climate Change; State Ownership; Private Ownership; Technology Adoption; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; United States

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February 2001 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Estee Lauder and the Market for Prestige Cosmetics

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Opens with a brief history of the U.S. cosmetics market and its rapid development in the 1920s. Also recounts Lauder's initial involvement in the sector, making skin care products and selling them in Manhattan beauty parlors during the Great Depression. Pays particular... View Details

Keywords: Fluctuation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Market Entry and Exit; Entrepreneurship; Luxury; Business Strategy; Society; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States

October 1994
Case

Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation (Abridged)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright

Describes a decision facing Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp. in June 1985: whether to continue to compete in the silicon steel business in the face of stiff competition from imports. Includes a complete description of the company's productivity improvement systems and... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Strategy; Performance Improvement; Management Systems; Technology; Steel Industry

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21 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Lessons for Retailers from the Rebirth of Indie Bookstores

business,” he says. “I embed myself into an industry for multiple years to understand the nuances of what’s happening, and I try to uncover unexpected patterns that can be difficult to predict using traditional statistical models.” Three... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Entertainment & Recreation

16 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 16

raised potential challenges to the dominance of leading firms. Our research tells a fascinating story of an industry that has proved remarkably resilient in resolving economic and regulatory challenges. It provides practitioners and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2024
Case

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM): The AI Journey

By: Shikhar Ghosh

In early 2024, Bill Fandrich, Executive VP and CIO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM), faced a critical decision about AI adoption within the organization. Fandrich had championed AI implementation at BCBSM. After successfully developing three AI... View Details

June 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Alibris (B)

Takes place more than two years after the (A) case. Alibris has weathered the storms and has built a popular, growing business. As the Christmas season of 2000 approaches, the company is confronted with two IT projects that both seem urgent and important. The first is... View Details

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Information Technology; Service Operations; Competitive Advantage; Information Management; Service Industry

Profile

Debora Lehrer

industry. Time at HBS has allowed me to discover what really excites me while giving me the tools to successfully pursue a career in those areas. A combination of my HBS course-load and summer internship have led me to the realization... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media

26 Sep 2012
Working Paper Summaries

License to Cheat: Voluntary Regulation and Ethical Behavior

Keywords: by Francesca Gino, Erin L. Krupka & Roberto A. Weber

19 Nov 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Management and the Financial Crisis (We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us …)

Keywords: by William A. Sahlman

2024
Article

Effects of a Real-Time Information-Based Intervention on Physician Prescribing Behavior

By: Olivia Zhao and Anna D Sinaiko

High out-of-pocket (OOP) prices for prescription drugs create financial difficulties for patients, and cost-related underuse of medications can adversely patient health. Simultaneously, many physicians report a willingness to address affordability concerns with... View Details

Keywords: Price; Health Care and Treatment; Communication Technology; Technology Adoption; Customer Focus and Relationships; Health Industry

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2018
Book

American Capitalism: New Histories

By: Sven Beckert and Christine Desan

The United States has long epitomized capitalism. From its enterprising shopkeepers, wildcat banks, violent slave plantations, huge industrial working class, and raucous commodities trade to its world-spanning multinationals, its massive factories, and the centripetal... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; History; Finance; Trade; Economy; Policy; United States

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