Publications

May 1975 (Revised May 1982)
Case

Southwest Airlines (C)

Southwest Airlines, a small intrastate carrier, has just completed its first year of operations in June 1972 and management is debating what advertising and promotional strategy to adopt for the future. Southwest has successfully broken into a market dominated by two... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry; United States

October 2024
Article

On Why Women-owned Businesses Take More Time to Secure Microloans

By: Goran Calic, Moren Lévesque and Anton Shevchenko

Examining gender differences in business financing reveals important dimensions on which women- and men-owned businesses differ. Although considerable progress has been made in understanding gender differences in mobilizing resources, the role of time in business... View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Gender; Financing and Loans; Equality and Inequality; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship

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How to create the high-performance, high-commitment organization.

Integrating knowledge from strategic management, performance management, and organization design, strategic human resource expert and Harvard Business School Professor Michael Beer outlines... View Details

October 2007
Case

Blue River Capital

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Tarun Khanna and Richard Bullock

Examines the strategy and experience of Indian private equity firm Blue River Capital. Blue River was established in 2005 to invest primarily in middle market, particularly family-run, businesses in India. Blue River caters to this niche as an active investor,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Emerging Markets; Family Ownership; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; India

Program

Value Creation Through Effective Boards

improving corporate board effectiveness, the program helps you master global governance challenges, build productive relationships with the CEO and management team, and implement efficient processes that... View Details

November 12, 2021
Editorial

The Psychology Behind Meeting Overload

By: A.V. Whillans, Dave Feldman and Damian Wisniewski

Bad meetings are the bane of the corporate world — and yet despite what appears to be an overwhelming consensus that they’re often unnecessary and unproductive, many workplaces continue to struggle to avoid them. In this piece, the authors discuss the psychological... View Details

Keywords: Meetings; Collaboration; Psychology; Time Management; Communication

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16 Feb 2017
News

Trump & Business

06 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 6, 2007

growth without undermining the progress achieved in reducing inequality and poverty. Can the Brazilian government reverse inequality and grow at the same time? What development View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Global Supply Chains in a Post-Pandemic World

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities in the production strategies and supply chains of firms everywhere. Coupled with a rise in economic nationalism, manufacturers everywhere are going to be under pressure to rethink their sourcing and logistics... View Details

09 Oct 2013
News

Why business can be good at solving social problems

June 28, 2021
Article

4 Imperatives for Managing in a Hybrid World

By: Kalle Heikkinen, William R. Kerr, Mika Malin and Panu Routila

As more and more companies turn to a hybrid model of work more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, what challenges are leaders likely to face when managing people both in the office and remotely? Interviews with 38 executives in Nordic countries point to four main... View Details

Keywords: Hybrid Organizations; Organizational Structure; Management; Leadership

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2019
Chapter

The Case Method

By: Joseph L. Bower

The case method was developed concurrently with the emergence of business schools as a way of teaching future executives evidence-based problem solving in the classroom. Harvard Business School faculty led in developing the method. A particular challenge in the writing... View Details

Keywords: Case Method; Case Studies; Case Teaching; Problem-based Learning; Cases; Learning; Teaching

24 May 2014
News

Analysts’ dim view of CSR brightens over time

May 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Telewest Communications plc

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Laure Mougeot Stroock

Created in 1992, Telewest has become the second largest broadband communication provider in the United Kingdom, offering telephone, cable television, and cable Internet services, as well as television and online content to the U.K. entertainment market. The first to... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Telecommunications Industry; Europe; United Kingdom

February 1994 (Revised August 1994)
Background Note

Note on Contingent Environmental Liabilities

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Forest L. Reinhardt

Addresses contingent environmental liabilities that are the result of unforeseen environmental risks where the dollar amount of such liabilities is unknown and depends on future events. In contrast, fines for violating environmental laws are liabilities, but are not... View Details

Keywords: Legal Liability; Risk Management; Natural Environment; Laws and Statutes; Pollutants; Governance Compliance; United States

16 Dec 2015
News

The Kinds of Teams Health Care Needs

May 2022
Case

Maestro Pizza: Coming in Hot!

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais

Maestro Pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details

January 2004 (Revised July 2006)
Background Note

Incentives within Organizations

By: Brian J. Hall

Serves as a brief introduction to incentive design and implementation. The analysis first locates incentive strategy within the larger structure of organizations and markets and then helps to define the central components and difficulties of incentive design. Focuses... View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Motivation and Incentives

March 2024
Teaching Note

Madrigal: Conducting a Customer-Base Audit

By: Eva Ascarza, Peter S. Fader, Bruce Hardie and Michael Ross

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 524-046. This case presents a scenario where Madrigal, a U.S. retailer with a rich 20-year history and a solid loyalty program, faces a turning point with the arrival of a new CEO. This leadership change reveals a critical gap in... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Analytics and Data Science; Growth and Development Strategy; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; United States