Publications

October 2013 (Revised January 2016)
Case

J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (Abridged)

By: Elie Ofek and Jill Avery

As he gets ready to release 2nd quarter 2012 results, Ron Johnson, the new CEO of department store J.C. Penney, is reconsidering the dramatic changes he initiated for the business model and brand image of his company. A new pricing scheme he put in place in February,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Price; Consumer Behavior; Decision Making; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States

November 2007
Article

Solve the Succession Crisis by Growing Inside-Outside Leaders

By: Joseph L. Bower

This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. In his interviews and data analysis, Harvard Business School professor Bower found... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Leadership Development; Management Practices and Processes; Management Succession; Planning

Find at Harvard

January 2005 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Anne Mulcahy: Leading Xerox through the Perfect Storm (A)

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

In 2000, Xerox faces bankruptcy amid a liquidity crisis, collapsed profitability, and an expanding SEC investigation. Traces the career and leadership development of Anne Mulcahy, a former sales executive unexpectedly named COO of the beleaguered company as a last... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Financial Liquidity; Organizational Culture; Crisis Management; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Gender; Corporate Governance

Research Summary

Fast Retailing

I am conducting research on Fast Retailing, which is a holding company in Japan best know for its UNIQLO and THEORY brands. The company is going global in a big way and wants to be the No. 1 apparel company in the world, surpassing H&M, Zara, and GAP... View Details

07 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 7

topic generated a multi-year research project that ultimately led to a comprehensive program, built around eight key management attributes, designed to help Google employees become better managers. By... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

April 2012 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Capitalizing for the Future: HSBC in 2010

By: Anette Mikes and Dominique Hamel

Following the financial crisis of 2007/2008, HSBC CEO Michael Geoghegan saw a fundamental change in global opportunities and risks. With increasing regulation and fierce competition between banks, the Western hemisphere was going to be a tougher place to do business.... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Competitive Strategy; Control Systems; Finance; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Emerging Markets; Risk Management; Business Strategy; Banking Industry

April 2006
Module Note

Asset Allocation: A Half-Course Module Note

By: Luis M. Viceira

Provides an overview of the main ideas and structure of a 15-session module on long-term asset allocation designed for MBA graduate students and investment professionals. This module is taught as part of a full-length, 30-session elective class on investment management... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Investment; Decisions; Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Teaching; Theory

August 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Case

VTS

By: Mark Roberge and Michael Roberts

The case raises issues around sales force deployment and management issues in the SaaS industry. Specifically, VTS sells a software product to the real estate industry and has designed a Go-to-Market strategy for what the founders perceive to be the unique... View Details

Keywords: Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Managerial Roles; New York (city, NY)

August 2017 (Revised July 2019)
Case

GROW: Using Artificial Intelligence to Screen Human Intelligence

By: Ethan Bernstein, Paul McKinnon and Paul Yarabe

Over 10% of all 2017 university graduates in Japan used GROW, an artificial intelligence platform and mobile app developed by Tokyo-based people analytics startup IGS, to recruit for a job. This case puts participants in the shoes of IGS founder and CEO Masahiro... View Details

Keywords: Big Data; Artificial Intelligence; Talent and Talent Management; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Resources; Information Technology; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Financial Services Industry; Air Transportation Industry; Advertising Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; Japan

25 Aug 2014
HBS Case

Starbucks Reinvented

But you don't save a business and turn it around without speaking to, focusing, and calling on the spirit of your people." Schultz's experience qualifies him for closer study in Koehn's HBS course Power... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage

23 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Globalization: Little Impact on the Continent

destabilizing effect on some local cultures. But what has begun cannot be undone, he said. "There is no point in imagining a world where Pandora's box has not been unlocked," he said. "We cannot dig trenches around any... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette

September 2014
Case

Radiometer, 2003

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2003, Radiometer was the world's leading supplier of blood gas analysis equipment and accessories for critical care patients. Based in Denmark, Radiometer sold through a combination of sales subsidiaries and distributors around the world, and generated sales of over... View Details

Keywords: Medical Devices; Medical Equipment ＆ Devices; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Strategic Analysis; Strategic Change; Family Business; Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Denmark; United States

March 2007 (Revised December 2008)
Case

Green Dot Public Schools: To Collaborate or Compete?

In order to execute a strategy to transform the entire 768-school Los Angeles public school district, Green Dot Public Schools, a nonprofit charter school management organization with 10 high-performing high schools around Los Angeles, is faced with a crucial choice... View Details

Keywords: Secondary Education; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Nonprofit Organizations; Competition; Cooperation; Los Angeles

Benjamin Esty is the Roy and Elizabeth Simmons Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Over the years, he has taught a variety of courses ranging from advanced corporate finance and project finance to competitive strategy and leadership. He... View Details

Keywords: asset management; asset management; asset management; asset management; asset management; asset management; asset management

25 Feb 2020
Research & Ideas

For Migrant Workers, Homesickness Can Reduce Productivity

more important, Choudhury says, as people increasingly choose to live and work close to where they grew up, often foregoing economic opportunity to do so. “Vacation flexibility means being able to go to your manager and say this is when I... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

November 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Jeanne Lewis at Staples, Inc. (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Kristin Doughty

Jeanne Lewis, after six years with Staples, Inc., is promoted to senior vice president of marketing. She is to work for fifteen months alongside her predecessor, a legacy in the organization, "learning the ropes" before he moves on. This case is set nine months after... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Style; Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Management Succession; Competitive Advantage; Problems and Challenges; Management Teams; Retail Industry; United States