Publications

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June 2023
Case

Tractor Supply Co

By: David L. Ager and Michael A. Roberto

In February 2023, Hal Lawton, CEO of Tractor Supply Co, the largest farm and ranch retailer in the United States reflected on the company’s 70% growth between 2019 and 2022. Economists had begun to predict an economic downturn and experts were predicting softening... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Demand and Consumers; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Retail Industry

14 Aug 2006
HBS Case

On Managing with Bobby Knight and “Coach K”

needs more structure, or less structure, or more love, more challenge, or more support. Increasing your ability to accurately read relevant situational demands, understand more clearly your own assumptions about human nature, and then appropriately View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Sports

Web

Buy Now, Pay Later: Credit in a Consumer Society

The Rise of Installment Selling Home Finance Cars on Time The Secondary Credit Market The Usurer's Grip Research Links Credits “Beautiful credit, the foundation of modern society!” — Mark Twain, The Gilded Age: A Tale of To-Day (1873) Just as credit had to View Details

Web

Online Business Analytics Course | HBS Online

The Multiple Regression Equation Adapting Concepts from Single Regression Performing Multiple Regression Analyses New Concepts in Multiple Regression The Caesars Staffing Problem Featured Exercises Estimate the relative predictive power... View Details

August 2011 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Language and Globalization: 'Englishnization' at Rakuten (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley

Hiroshi Mikitani, the CEO of Rakuten, (Japan's largest online retailer), is at the helm of an organization that is rapidly expanding into global markets. In a critical stride toward becoming the world's No. 1 Internet services company, Mikitani announces... View Details

Keywords: Teaching; Human Capital; Change Management; Transformation; Social Enterprise; Communication Strategy; Internet and the Web; Disruptive Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Leadership; Global Strategy; Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Japan

10 Jan 2023
Op-Ed

Time to Move On? Career Advice for Entrepreneurs Preparing for the Next Stage

physically and emotionally, about these events? How did they motivate you going forward? What are 1-2 lowlights from your experience? It could be that one time you really thought the company was dead or when one of your best employees quit because they just couldn’t... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

27 Feb 2017
Research & Ideas

Reputation is Vital to Survival in Turbulent Markets

informational cues it provides. We propose that it is this very stability that provides a springboard for firms to reorient resources in order to adapt to a changing environment. For example, when Mahindra had to lay off 500 people to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

28 Nov 2018
HBS Case

On Target: Rethinking the Retail Website

managers themselves to work with the data. That meant creating a flexible analytics system that could not only adapt to real-time business changes but one that managers felt comfortable using. “He didn’t want to be the bottleneck. It took... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail

Web

Globalization - Faculty & Research

practices in global organizations; cross-cultural learning and adaptation processes; the challenges of taking companies global; emerging-market companies with global potential; and international political economy and its impact on... View Details

14 Jul 2023
Blog Post

Harvard Business School Announces Its 2023-2024 Blavatnik Fellows

(MBA 2022) and Christopher Edward Dee (MD 2021). Patrick's research focuses on utilizing real-world behavioral data from smartphones to characterize patient quality of life and to develop adaptive interventions using reinforcement... View Details

March 2019 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Global Sourcing at Nike

By: Nien-hê Hsieh, Michael W. Toffel and Olivia Hull

This case explores the evolution of Nike’s global product sourcing strategy, in particular ongoing efforts to improve working conditions at its suppliers’ factories. When the case opens in July 2018, Vice President of Sourcing Amanda Tucker and her colleagues in Nike’s... View Details

13 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Managing the Family Business: Leadership Roles

mediate differences among family members fairly. In leadership, they lack a clear vision for the future; or they haven't accepted the need to change in order to adapt to the environment; or they are uninspired. It takes deep inspiration... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Davis

August 2019
Case

Huawei and the U.S.-China Trade War

By: Elie Ofek and John Masko

In 2019, Chinese smartphone maker and telecommunications empire Huawei was preparing to launch its new flagship smartphone series, the Mate 30. After years of explosive growth, the previous 18 months had been a challenge for the company. In early 2018, Huawei’s planned... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Global Strategy; International Relations; National Security; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Information Infrastructure; Volatility; Adaptation; Telecommunications Industry; China; United States; European Union

June 2013 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Governance and Sustainability at Nike (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Nien-hê Hsieh and Lara Adamsons

Two members of Nike's executive team must decide what sustainability targets to propose to Nike's CEO and to the corporate responsibility committee of Nike's board of directors. Set in 2012, the case traces the evolution of Nike's approach to environmental and social... View Details

Keywords: Nike; Hannah Jones; Mark Parker; Phil Knight; Philip Knight; Eric Sprunk; Jill Ker Conway; Phyllis Wise; Don Blair; Sustainable Business And Innovation; SB＆I; Flyknit; DyeCoo; Footwear; Athletic Footwear; Apparel; Athletic Apparel; Sustainability; Greenpeace; Detox Campaign; Dirty Laundry; Water; Water Use; Water Pollution; Water Resources; Corporate Responsibility Committee; Judgment; Board Of Directors; Board Committees; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Footwear Industry; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Ethics; Fairness; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Alignment; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Judgments; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia; China; United States; Oregon; Portland

February 2009 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Cleveland Clinic: Transformation and Growth 2015

By: Michael E. Porter and Elizabeth O. Teisberg

The Cleveland Clinic's health care services are internationally renowned for quality. In 2008, The Clinic began to restructure the organization into teams defined around patient needs, rather than traditional medical specialties. "Patients First!" takes shape as the... View Details

Keywords: Health; Health Care Operations; Health Care Quality; Health Care; Strategy And Leadership; Strategy Development; Health Care and Treatment; Leading Change; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Measurement and Metrics; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Outcome or Result; Health Industry; Cleveland

22 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

Want Hybrid Work to Succeed? Trust, Don’t Track, Employees

The COVID-19 pandemic made remote work more the norm than the exception, and now many companies are struggling to map out a hybrid plan that both managers and employees can embrace long term. With return-to-work policies in flux, this is “a fragile period” in which... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Portrait Project

Shivangi Goel

the care they need in their most vulnerable moments. I want to reimagine how we bring innovative healthcare tools to the right patients so that in times of crisis we can adapt quickly and prevent unnecessary suffering. I hope to inspire... View Details

October 2018
Case

Recipe for Success: Growth and Evolution at Cafe Cupcake

By: Anthony Mayo and Heather Beckham

Café Cupcake (CC) is a fast-casual restaurant chain that offers artisan cupcakes and light fare throughout the southeastern United States and Texas. This case chronicles the growth and evolution of Café Cupcake. It also considers the specific human resource challenges... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Human Resources; Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry