Publications

March 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

The Market and the Mountain Kingdom: Change in Lesotho's Textile Industry

By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Regina M. Abrami, Noel Maurer and Aldo Musacchio

In Maseru, the capital of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the stirrings of industrialization and modernization were promising, and more than 50,000 workers, mostly women, were employed in the textile sector; the figure reflected more than a threefold increase in just a few... View Details

Keywords: History; Labor Unions; Trade; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Financial Crisis; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business and Government Relations; Decision Choices and Conditions; Foreign Direct Investment; Developing Countries and Economies; Fashion Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Lesotho

09 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 9, 2010

versus exploitation innovations impact economic growth through a tractable endogenous growth framework that contains multiple innovation sizes, multi-product firms, and entry/exit. Firms invest in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2002 (Revised June 2005)
Case

McDonald's Corporation (Abridged)

McDonald's has over many years built an operating strategy based on consistency and quality through a limited product range. Competitive forces have drawn the company into a much wider variety of foods and services to maintain growth. Now, new competitors threaten to... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Competition; Brands and Branding; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

Research Summary

Markets of Progress: Coffee, Commerce, and Community in the Soconusco, Chiapas, 1867-1920

Markets of Progress presents a new holistic story of rural development in Mexico at the turn of the century. In the Soconusco, as in regions throughout the world, the accelerating circulation of commodities and capital, ideas and immigrants reshaped society... View Details

Keywords: Commodities; Coffee; Mexico; Foreign Investment; Institutions; Immigration; Developing Agriculture; Development; Export Crop; Emerging Market; Property Rights; Labor History; History; Capital Markets; Business History; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Latin America; Mexico; Central America

24 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 24

Publications March 2015 Partners or Creditors? Attracting Foreign Investment and Productive Development to Central America and Dominican Republic Foreign Direct Investment: Effects, Complementarities, and Promotion By: Alfaro, Laura... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Jan 2024
In Practice

Harnessing AI: What Businesses Need to Know in ChatGPT’s Second Year

while nascent, showed exponential growth in both capability and wonder. “A recurring theme that emerged was the prospect that, at least in the near future, successful outcomes would be achievable through human-AI collaborations rather... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology

March 2007 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Micro Insurance Agency: Helping the Poor Manage Risk

By: Michael Chu and Jean Hazell

The notable success of insurance products for low-income clients of its microfinance network leads Opportunity International to launch the first global specialized microinsurance company, the Micro Insurance Agency (MIA). Building on the experience in 10 countries... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Cost Management; Microfinance; Globalization; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Infrastructure; Nonprofit Organizations; Competition; Financial Services Industry; Africa; Asia; Latin America

August 2009
Case

Intel NBI: Vivonic

By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston

Vivonic was a start-up that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives that sought to develop and sell personal health monitoring hardware and software. When it was first funded, Intel was in the midst of record growth and was seeking diversification. But the company... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Experience and Expertise; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Development; Failure; Diversification; Semiconductor Industry

Find at Harvard

23 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

Creative Entrepreneurship in a Downturn

need for substitutes.” Another outcome of a drop-off in consumption and employment is a need for products that become more valuable during such periods when consumers have more time on their hands. An astounding number of media companies... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

30 Jun 2022
HBS Case

Peloton Changed the Exercise Game. Can the Company Push Through the Pain?

product line. Everybody can understand it,” says Harvard Business School Professor Robert J. Dolan. “Then it got incredibly complicated.” In May, Peloton reported its biggest quarterly loss since its 2019 initial public offering and said... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Media & Broadcasting; Health; Bicycle

Web

Managing the Future of Work

abilities to change curriculum. AI & Workforce Transformation 09 OCT 2024 Joseph Fuller explains how generative AI will boost productivity across industries, sectors, and roles. But he cautions that employers can’t scale AI and realize... View Details

February 2004 (Revised August 2018)
Case

The American System

By: David A. Moss, Tiffany Morris and Sarah Brennan

Traces the economic development of the United States from 1790 to 1857, focusing especially on the struggle between free traders and protectionists over federal tariff policy. Devotes considerable attention to the nation's political system, its evolving common law,... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Economic Growth; Government and Politics; United States

April 1996 (Revised May 2000)
Case

Bed Bath & Beyond

By: Amy P. Hutton and James Weber

This case examines how accurately investors have incorporated information about the growth strategy of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) into share price, especially given the changing competitive environment in the housewares industry and the recent Barron's article pointing... View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Valuation; Financial Statements; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

05 Jul 2023
Cold Call Podcast

How Unilever Is Preparing for the Future of Work

Keywords: Re: William R. Kerr; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

Web

Accounting & Management - Faculty & Research

2025. Go Mobile: Aligning District Managers and Store Teams (B) By: Tatiana Sandino and Samuel Grad January 2025 | Supplement | Faculty Research In January 2025, Modi reflects on the past decade of Go Mobile and looks ahead to new growth... View Details

19 Jan 2011
First Look

First Look: Jan. 18

710-464 In January 2010 Mark Pincus is deciding how to double the number of Zynga games' players to 500 million without sacrificing profitability. These ambitious growth plans required changes to product, corporate strategy, and customer... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Acelerex

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In early 2019, Randell Johnson, Founder and Chief Executive of Acelerex, was reflecting on the company’s first year of rapid growth and the challenges of scaling the business that lay ahead. Acelerex was riding the waves of change taking place in electrical power grids... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Energy Sources; Growth Management; Expansion; Global Strategy; Cash Flow; Energy Industry; Web Services Industry; Consulting Industry

16 Nov 2016
Research & Ideas

Turning One Thousand Customers into One Million

photographers to take inviting photos of hosts’ apartments). Following those guidelines, they were able to gradually improve their products and identify what made them resonate most with customers and suppliers. Only after that was... View Details

Keywords: by Thales S. Teixeira and Michael Blanding; Retail; Transportation; Accommodations

December 1997 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Hewlett Packard: Creating, Running, and Growing an Enduring Company

By: H. Kent Bowen and Courtney Purrington

Traces the development of Hewlett-Packard Co. from a small start-up company in 1938 to a world-class manufacturer of electronic instruments and computer products. Examines the challenges of starting and running a small company, including financing, human resources... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Product Positioning; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Brands and Branding; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry