Publications

Herman B. ("Dutch") Leonard is Eliot I. Snider and Family Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and the George F. Baker, Jr. Professor of Public Sector Management at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. In... View Details

Keywords: federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government

02 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 3, 2018

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53646 January–February 2018 Harvard Business Review The New CEO Activists By: Chatterji, Aaron K., and Michael W. Toffel Abstract—Though corporations have been lobbying the government and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Eaton Corp.: Portfolio Transformation and the Cost of Capital

In 2000, Eaton Corporation was broadly diversified industrial conglomerate. But its strategy was evolving and its focus was narrowing around “power management” and more recently on “intelligent power,” the use of digitally enabled products and services designed... View Details

Article

The Supply Chain Economy: New Policies to Drive Innovation and Jobs

By: Mercedes Delgado and Karen G. Mills

The debate in economic policymaking about the drivers of innovation and job creation has long centered on manufacturing versus services. The predominant view is that manufacturing drives innovation, wages, and growth, and that services provide less innovation and... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Industries; Supply Chain; Economy; Policy; Innovation and Invention; Jobs and Positions

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June 2012 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Best Buy in Crisis

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In June 2012, Best Buy was in crisis. In 1996, Best Buy overtook Circuit City as the world's leader in consumer electronics retailing; however, 18 years later, Best Buy now found this position threatened. With $51 billion in revenues, it was still the biggest CE... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Forecasting and Prediction; Competitive Strategy; Ethics; Management Teams; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; Retail Industry

17 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 17, 2006

that robust verification mechanisms such as independent certification may be necessary for voluntary management programs to mitigate information asymmetries surrounding management practices. Implications are discussed for the industry-associations, View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2014
Case

Building a High Performance Culture at IDFC

By: V.G. Narayanan and Vidhya Muthuram

IDFC was set up in 1997 to direct private finance to infrastructure projects in India. Over the years, it expanded its capabilities to become a 'complete solutions provider' offering financing solutions including debt and equity, investment banking, brokerage and asset... View Details

SST offered a subscription-based gunfire detection service, ShotSpotter Flex, to cities across the United States, and a few abroad. Over its 20-year history, SST had mostly honed a reliable business to government sales model, and the company had been focused on... View Details

31 Oct 2019
Video

Dato' Sri Tahir

Daro’ Sri Tahir, founder of a large financial service group in Indonesia, argues that the whole eco-system of the country is corrupt, with businesses pursuing strategies which make no economic sense, and then... View Details

Web

Entrepreneurship & Innovation - MBA

health and wellness company provides at-home lab testing kits and digital results to consumers, and offers a suite of validated tests, including; food sensitivity, fertility, STDs, and thyroid. This past year Everlywell did $40M in sales.... View Details

2015
Working Paper

Bureaucratic Norms and State Capacity in India: Implementing Primary Education in the Himalayan Region

By: Akshay Mangla

Himachal Pradesh outperforms other Indian states in implementing universal primary education. Through comparative field research, this article finds that bureaucratic norms—unwritten rules that guide public officials—influence how well state agencies deliver services... View Details

Keywords: India; Norms; State Capacity; Civil Society; Policy Implementation; Education; Policy; Performance Capacity; Education Industry; Public Administration Industry; India

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2024
Working Paper

Mammography - Early Detection, Precise Diagnoses: Case Histories of Transformational Advances

By: Amar Bhidé, Srikant M. Datar and Katherine Stebbins

This case history describes how the development of x-ray-based techniques and equipment (“mammography”) led to widespread screening for breast cancer and enabled “minimally invasive” biopsies of breast tumors. Specifically, we chronicle how: 1) new protocols and... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Technology Adoption; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Invention; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

SSRN

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John A. Quelch is Executive Vice Chancellor and Distinguished Professor of Social Science at Duke Kunshan University. He is also John DeButts Professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. Between 2017 and 2023 he was the Leonard M. Miller University... View Details

Keywords: federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government; federal government

24 Sep 2021
Blog Post

Alumni Spotlight: Career Advice from Alums Working in Climate

This year the theme of Climate Week is highlighting what businesses and governments can do to meet their climate targets. In that spirit, we have reached out to recent alums working in the climate space and asked them the following, “What... View Details

04 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Making the Case for Consumer-Driven Health Care

of health care is a major research topic at Harvard Business School and its Healthcare Initiative, where some 40 faculty conduct research on questions as diverse as how "work-around" cultures develop in hospitals to the best ways deliver high-impact medical... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

January 2021 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Best Buy's Corie Barry: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: William W. George and Amram Migdal

This case examines the leadership of Corie Barry, the new CEO of Best Buy, with a focus on actions the company took in 2020 to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The case includes a history of Best Buy’s strategy and leadership, including the transitions between the... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Change; Disruption; Volatility; Communication; Competency and Skills; Customers; Decision Making; Ethics; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Finance; Cash Flow; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Goods and Commodities; Corporate Governance; Health Pandemics; Human Resources; Executive Compensation; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Jobs and Positions; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Job Design and Levels; Job Interviews; Job Offer; Labor; Employment; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Law; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Succession; Management Systems; Management Teams; Risk Management; Operations; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Logistics; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Outcome or Result; Personal Development and Career; Retirement; Work-Life Balance; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Science; Strategy; Retail Industry; North and Central America; United States; Minnesota

May 2014
Case

Groupon, Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Blythe J. McGarvie and James Weber

Internet coupon site "Groupon" grew revenues rapidly and went public, but struggled to impress investors or operate profitably. Did it have a sustainable business model? Groupon sold coupons called Groupons which purchasers used to acquire goods or services at... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Entrepreneurship; Financial Management; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Web Services Industry; United States