Publications

Read Now

Portrait Project

Jayon Wang

ran out of cash to pay our employees. The real world had gotten the last laugh. For one more time, I closed our doors behind me and left my dreams behind in that empty office. And yet, day by day, the willingness to find joy in failure... View Details

09 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 9

larger organization. Publisher's link: http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-upside-to-large-competitors/ December 2014 Small Group Research Team Reflexivity as an Antidote to Team Information-Processing Failures By: Schippers, Michaéla... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Profile

Bruce Gago

plan to execute, the bigger risk would in fact be to abandon that to pursue a "safe" career path. HBS is not insurance against entrepreneurial failure but it certainly increases the probability of entrepreneurial success. What... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Other Financial Services; Real Estate; Services

Web

1.7 Grading | MBA

lowest performing 10% of students in an RC section or EC course section. Category IV: Seldom assigned; designates failure of achievement and/or commitment and, therefore, failure to meet minimum standards of... View Details

November 2022 (Revised March 2023)
Case

OneSmart

By: Nien-he Hsieh, Meg Rithmire and Shu Lin

At the end of 2021, Xi “Steve” Zhang was facing an existential crisis for himself and his business. OneSmart was a premium educational company founded in 2008 offering K-12 afterschool tutoring for students nationwide under a number of brands. The company was founded... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Crisis Management; Failure; Education Industry; China

17 Jul 2009
Research Event

Business Summit: Ethics in Globalization

capitalism in general, and the financial crisis in particular. The current financial crisis has raised questions about the legitimacy of capitalism. Ethical failures certainly played a role. While it remains to be seen whether and how... View Details

Keywords: Re: Rafael M. Di Tella

Portrait Project

Robert Carpenter

the pieces and make sense of failure and loss. These are not individually striking moments, yet the peace I find in them speaks its own truth about who I am and what I am called to do. I keep a prayer by the theologian John Baillie on... View Details

24 Apr 2014
News

Creating connections among consumers

embraced technology and tools that make it easier for members to access reviews and deals. “Our members want help with hiring decisions that have a high cost of failure if done improperly, so they’re happy to pay for reliable... View Details

December 2021
Supplement

Troverie (B)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Olivia Graham

Resolves the questions raised in Troverie (A); recounts pivots and efforts to raise capital from strategic investors and sell Troverie; and shares the founder's post-mortem reflections on what went wrong and what he might have done differently. View Details

Keywords: Startup; Failed Startup; Luxury Goods; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Failure; Luxury; Fashion Industry; United States

May 2012
Case

Columbia's Final Mission (Abridged) (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Kerry Herman

This case documents decision-making processes, organizational culture, and other contributors to NASA's failed Columbia mission in 2003. Addresses the question of how organizations should deal with "ambiguous threats" - weak signals of potential crisis - and explores... View Details

Keywords: Cognitive Biases; Teams; Organizational Learning; Ambiguous Threat; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Decision Making; Failure; Crisis Management; Aerospace Industry

September – October 2009
Article

An Ounce of Prevention: Financial Regulation, Moral Hazard, and the End of 'Too Big to Fail'

By: David Moss

Keywords: Finance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Failure

Find at Harvard

Read Now

March 2020
Case

Aereo

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jacey Taft

Aereo aimed to disrupt television program distribution by providing consumers access to local broadcast TV programming using offsite antennas, cloud-based DVRs, and an Internet connection. With Aereo, consumers could “cut the cord” and avoid the high cost of a cable TV... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Failure; Lawsuits and Litigation; Internet and the Web; Media; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

December 1994
Case

Intel's Pentium: When the Chips Are Down (A)

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Intel, the largest-selling manufacturer of microprocessor computer chips, finds itself in a brand-threatening situation when a flaw is revealed in its top-of-the-line Pentium chip. The story is front-page news for weeks. The company invested tens of millions of dollars... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Engineering; Crisis Management; Brands and Branding; Production; Failure; Semiconductor Industry

Web

Online Dynamic Teaming Course | HBS Online

dynamic teaming is and its importance Build skills to create psychological safety and foster inclusion Recognize and address unconscious, implicit, and affinity bias Improve team decision-making and communication through tested tools Develop a proactive approach to... View Details

July 2001
Case

Regal Cinemas LBO (B)

By: Malcolm S. Salter and Daniel Green

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Corporate Governance; Failure

December 1999 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Introducing New Coke

On April 23, 1985, the Coca-Cola Co. announced a decision that would rock the world. The old Coke formula would be taken off the market and replaced with a smoother, sweeter taste. The reaction of the American people was immediate and violent, causing three months of... View Details

Keywords: Failure; Product Development; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry