Publications

26 Jun 2000
Research & Ideas

Presentation Round-Up

creation, production, delivery and use of the Web, as well as toward a service delivery infrastructure. Panelist Katie Burke (HBS MBA '95) noted Web-based e-mail as a good example of how and why software is turning into a service. Web-based e-mail has become extremely... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Kenneth Liss; Technology; Communications; Telecommunications

September 2006 (Revised September 2007)
Case

VMware, Inc. (A)

By: David B. Yoffie, Ward Bullard, Nikhil Raj and Suja Vaidyanathan

VMware, Inc., the first company to crack the software virtualization market, faces new challenges from competitors' plans to bundle free virtualization solutions in operating systems. VMware, acquired by data storage giant EMC Corp. in 2003, has delivered top-line... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Open Source Distribution; Competition

Find at Harvard

November 2019 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Russia: A Drama In Three Acts

By: Rawi Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella, Galit Goldstein, Sogomon Tarontsi and Lavinia Teodorescu

The collapse of central authority in the Soviet Union in 1991 ushered in a period of revolutionary transformations for the states that emerged in its wake. The leaders of Russia, the USSR's successor, struggled to reestablish central authority while also seeking to... View Details

17 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Companies Detangle from Legacy Pensions

option is for companies to "de-risk" their pension plan by putting assets into more predictable investments that generate enough income while still reducing the risk due to market or interest rate volatility. To do that, some... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Aerospace; Financial Services

17 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 17, 2009

Vietnam Harvard Business School Case 409-017 Should Lawrence Trinh pursue his aspiration of working in Vietnam-and if so, what set of principles and practices should he adopt if he encounters corruption? These are questions that reverberate for many students who wish... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2019
Working Paper

The Effect of Payment Choices on Online Retail: Evidence from the 2016 Indian Demonetization

By: Chaithanya Bandi, Antonio Moreno, Donald Ngwe and Zhiji Xu

The Indian banknote demonetization in 2016 was one of the most significant international events of that year. Overnight, 86% of Indian currency in circulation was declared invalid unless exchanged for new bills. The sudden and unexpected demonetization constituted a... View Details

Keywords: Cash On Delivery; Online Retail; Product Returns; Payment Methods; Digitization; Emerging Markets; Currency; Internet and the Web; Demand and Consumers; Retail Industry; India

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Web

Doctoral

New Ideas for a Changing World New Ideas for a Changing World Some of the greatest intellectual challenges of our time are emerging from the broad fields of business management. Harvard Business School together with the Harvard Graduate... View Details

January 2020 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Zara: An Integrated Store and Online Model (A)

By: Antonio Moreno

In 2010, amidst the growth of ecommerce and the emergence of new, purely online, fashion players, Zara launched its first online store, Zara.com. Since then, Zara’s online business had grown at a fast pace. By 2018, 12% of Inditex Group’s total sales came from the... View Details

Keywords: Stores; Integration; Operations; Business Model; Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry; Europe

July 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

WebMD (A)

Discusses the emerging role of the Internet in the health care industry and describes the strategy of WebMD in this new "ehealth" space. Issues include technology strategy, industry transformation, competition in turbulent environments, and strategic alliances. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Alliances; Competitive Advantage; Industry Structures; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

02 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Explaining China's Crash

supply it with oil, gas, metals, and other primary materials. A slowdown in China could impact some of these emerging markets pretty hard. Capital has quickly flown out of them, hitting their currencies and... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese; Financial Services

05 Nov 2019
News

Learning from a Different Past

2021
Working Paper

The Business of K-12 Education in China

By: Geoffrey Jones and Yuhai Wu

This working paper examines the evolution of K-12 education in China, especially between 1985 and the present day, drawing extensive interviews with participants in the educational sector. China has been hugely successful in reaching almost 100 percent literacy,... View Details

Keywords: K-12 Education; China; Real Estate; Early Childhood Education; Performance Evaluation; Teaching; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Personal Development and Career; Social Issues; Nonprofit Organizations; Private Sector; Education Industry; Real Estate Industry; China

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05 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 5

Corsi, and Elisa FarriHarvard Business School Case 711-044 ABB, a power and automation Swiss engineering company had to decide if they wanted to be even more integrated into the Chinese economy, ABB's biggest market, or if they should instead increase their presence in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The Rising Cost of Consumer Attention: Why You Should Care, and What You Can Do about It

Keywords: by Thales S. Teixeira

May 1998 (Revised August 2017)
Case

DuPont Kevlar: Commercializing a Miracle Fiber

By: Clayton Christensen and Rory McDonald

Describes Dupont's efforts to build commercial markets for its miracle fiber, Kevlar. Initially, it sought to create a market for Kevlar tire cord, primarily because its existing tire cord business was languishing. This market never developed, even after Dupont spent... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Crisis Management; Product Launch; Emerging Markets; Research and Development; Technology

October 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Souqalmal: The Choice Is Yours (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Alpana Thapar

This case describes how Ambareen Musa, Founder and CEO of Souqalmal, a Dubai-based online comparison aggregator of banking and insurance products launched her business in 2011 and rapidly grew it over next couple of years. However, by 2017, the Mauritian entrepreneur... View Details

Keywords: Unit Economics; Finance; Accounting; Competitive Strategy; Financial Statements; Insurance Industry; Middle East

December 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Blockbuster Inc. & Technological Substitution (D): The Threat of Direct Digital Distribution

Examines the emergence of technologies for delivering video content to consumer homes via direct digital distribution and investigates the strategic options facing video rental giant Blockbuster Inc. as it tries to respond to the new technological substitutes. Examines... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Competition; Change Management; Service Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

January 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Arcadia Biosciences: Seeds of Change (Abridged)

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

Arcadia Biosciences is seeking to introduce genetically modified rice to China that will lower farmers' costs and generate environmental benefits through reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The case describes challenges facing this small agricultural biotechnology... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Intellectual Property; Genetics; Environmental Sustainability; Science-Based Business; Climate Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry; China