Publications

January 2019 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Jain Irrigation Systems Limited: Continuing a Legacy

By: Forest Reinhardt, Gunnar Trumbull and Mahima Rao-Kachroo

Founded in 1963 by Bhavarlal Jain (Bhau), who believed in “providing solutions for every problem,” Jain Irrigation in 2018 had a global footprint and $1.1 billion in revenue. Bhau had insisted that his business add value to farmers' lives and promote sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; India

November 2022 (Revised October 2024)
Case

'A Marshall Plan for Africa': James Mwangi and Equity Group Holdings

By: Caroline M. Elkins, Debora L. Spar, Zeke Gillman and Julia M. Comeau

Financial Inclusion. Dignity. Trust. These were the core principles driving James Mwangi’s transformation of Equity Building Society, insolvent in 1991, into what is, today, Equity Group Holdings, East and Central Africa’s largest retail banking institution. Raised in... View Details

Keywords: Income Inequality; Micro Finance; Microcredit; Microfinance; Banks and Banking; Equality and Inequality; Mission and Purpose; Business Model; Social Entrepreneurship; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Africa; Kenya

Policies that mandate calorie labeling in fast-food and chain restaurants have had little or no observable impact on calorie consumption to date. In three field experiments, an alternative approach was tested: activating consumers’ self-control by having servers... View Details

June 2024
Article

Inflation with COVID Consumption Baskets

By: Alberto Cavallo

The Covid-19 pandemic led to changes in expenditure patterns that introduced significant bias in the measurement of Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation. Using publicly-available data on card transactions, I updated the official CPI weights and re-calculated inflation... View Details

Keywords: COVID; Consumer Expenditures; CPI; Inflation; Consumer Behavior; Inflation and Deflation; Health Pandemics

Deborah Winshel is a Senior Lecturer in the General Management Unit of Harvard Business School. She teaches several MBA required courses: Leadership and Organizational Behavior (LEAD), Leadership and Corporate Accountability and the Field Immersion course (2025 in... View Details

February 2012 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Sweet Deal—Industry Self-Regulation of Breakfast Cereal Advertising to Children

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Dennis Yao, Britta Kelley and Lizzie Gomez

In response to growing concern about childhood obesity, in February 2006 the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) announced an initiative to examine its self-regulatory program on children's advertising. The existing program was a voluntary cross-industry program... View Details

Keywords: Food; Advertising; Ethics; Food and Beverage Industry

14 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 14, 2017

through three examples: the design of medical residency matching programs, a scrip system to allocate food donations to food banks, and the recent "Incentive Auction" that reallocated wireless spectrum from... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Research Summary

Retailing: Past, Present, and Future

Walter J. Salmon is working on several retailing-related research and course development projects, including a study (with Gwen K. Ortmeyer) of the evolution and future of American department stores, and a case book (with DAVID E. BELL) for use in graduate... View Details

2003
Casebook

Professional Services: Text and Cases

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Ashish Nanda

DeLong and Nanda's Professional Services: Text and Cases is the first casebook to be published on the management of professional service firms (law firms, architecture, financial services, consulting). It includes a comprehensive selection of case studies that... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firms; Management; Cases

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Teaching Interest

Managing Service Operations - MBA Elective Curriculum

By: Ryan W. Buell

World-class service organizations deeply understand the needs and behaviors of their customers, and design, manage, and improve their operating models accordingly. This course investigates the distinct challenges inherent in leading service operations, which make up... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Loyalty; Quality; Employees; Service Models; Service Industry

August 2022
Article

Availability of New Medicines in the U.S. and Germany From 2004 to 2018

By: Katharina Blankart, Huseyin Naci and Amitabh Chandra

Importance: Germany's unique approach to coverage determination and pricing has ensured that effective medicines remain on the market, often at prices reduced through negotiation. However, less is known about trade-offs of this approach with regard to initial... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Price; Market Timing; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; Germany

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01 May 2018
News

Elon Musk’s Unusual Compensation Plan Isn’t Really About Compensation at All

January 2015 (Revised April 2018)
Case

CJ E&M: Creating a K-Culture in the U.S.

By: Elie Ofek, Sang-Hoon Kim and Michael Norris

Buoyed by the success of K-pop music and K-drama television shows in Asian countries, Chairman Jay Lee, of the South Korean conglomerate CJ Group, believed that the time was ripe for taking Korean cultural content to the West. One initiative, carried out by the Group's... View Details

Keywords: Cultural Consumption; Media Businesses; International Marketing; Event Marketing; Creative Industries; Cross-cultural Adaptation; Ethnic Marketing; South Korea; Marketing Strategy; Entertainment; Global Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; South Korea

21 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 21, 2007

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=807074 PublicationsPerspectives on Risk and Regulation: The FDA at 100 Author:Arthur A. Daemmrich Publication:Chemical Heritage Press, 2007 Abstract Perspectives on Risk and Regulation: The FDA at 100... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

The Dannon Company: Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (A)

By: Christopher Marquis, Pooja Mehta Shah, Amanda Elizabeth Tolleson and Bobbi Thomason

At the end of 2009, The Dannon Company was considering pro actively communicating its CSR efforts to consumers. With the strong connection between Dannon's production of health foods and its commitment to health and nutrition-based CSR activities, communicating these... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Nutrition; Marketing Communications; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Natural Environment; Food and Beverage Industry

January 2025
Teaching Note

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel and Stacy Straaberg

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 124-007. The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of... View Details

June 2005
Tutorial

Prematriculation Financial Accounting Tutorial/Module

By: David F. Hawkins, Paul M. Healy and Ratna G. Sarkar

The Financial Accounting course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts of financial accounting in a management context. The course describes the business activities for Global Grocer, a small retail franchise specializing in gourmet foods and specialty kitchen... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Performance; Financial Statements

May 2017
Case

Pho Hoa Dorchester

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger, Michael Raiche and Roger Zhu

Pho Hoa is a traditional, family-owned Vietnamese restaurant in Dorchester, Massachusetts that opened in 1992. As he approached retirement in recent years, the founder/owner has scaled down his involvement in the day-to-day operations, leading to a number of... View Details