Publications

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November 2004 (Revised September 2019)
Background Note

The U.S. Health Club Industry in 2004

By: John R. Wells, Gabriel Ellsworth and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2004, the $16.8 billion U.S. health club industry continued its strong record of growth. There were almost 27,000 health clubs in the United States, up from 6,700 two decades earlier, and these clubs claimed 41 million members, over 14% of the U.S. population.... View Details

Keywords: Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Obesity; Exercise; Personal Training; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; YMCA; Gold's Gym; Curves; Franchise; Franchising; Subscription; Promotional Sales; Promotions; Fixed Costs; Body; Accrual Accounting; Revenue Recognition; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Customers; Demographics; Age; Income; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Retention; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Operations; Service Operations; Franchise Ownership; Private Ownership; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Nonprofit Organizations; Welfare; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Expansion; Segmentation; Hardware; Health Industry; United States

01 Dec 2020
News

The Camel and the Unicorn

different leaders and investors taking positions in high-risk, untested, brand-new high-tech firms. Morrell: That appetite for risk has remained a dominant characteristic of modern Silicon Valley, which has also View Details

01 Sep 2011
News

MBAs Reveal Their Hopes and Dreams

Want to know what makes HBS students tick? Try reading the short essays 34 from the Class of 2011 wrote in response to the simple question: “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Each essay is paired with the... View Details

Keywords: photography; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

15 Jun 2021
News

June 2021 Books and Podcasts

drives; and how to manage the disease and vaccinations in the villages of developing countries. The book also explores how governments across the world can work closely with... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

19 May 2023
Blog Post

Creating and Nurturing a Sense of Belonging at HBS

Throughout my life I have always looked for a sense of community. A group of people I could depend on, who may or may not have shared similar interests but always supported me in personal growth and View Details

2016
Chapter

Wrong Paths to Right: Defining Morality With or Without a Clear Red Line

By: Ryann Elizabeth Manning and Michel Anteby

The extensive literature on organizational wrongdoing tends to assume that a clear red line divides the moral terrain. However, many organizations function not as moral orders, but as moral pursuits in which there is intentionally no explicit definition of right and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Organizational Theory; Sociology Of Ethics And Morality; Morality; Organizational Culture; Culture; Ethics; Africa; North and Central America

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August 2003
Exercise

SACD Final Paper Assignment

By: Shoshana Zuboff, David A. Thomas and Monica C. Higgins

The final paper assignment for the Self-Assessment and Career Development course. View Details

Keywords: Curriculum and Courses; Personal Development and Career

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11 Jan 2016
Blog Post

Meet the Business and Environment Initiative

relationships between economic systems and the natural environment, and about the structures that enable firms to act productively in this arena. It develops innovative cases,... View Details

01 May 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 1, 2018

2018 Atlas of Moral Psychology In Search of Moral Equilibrium: Person, Situation, and Their Interplay in Behavioral Ethics By: Lee, Julia J., and F. Gino Abstract—This comprehensive View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Oct 1998
News

A Long and Winding Road

the Charles. A passionate Gloria Steinem rocked us with her irreverence. From Washington, George Romney and Caspar Weinberger took the campus by storm. Ray Kroc of McDonald's reminded us, "I still put my pants on one leg at a time," when... View Details

Keywords: Wayne R. Vibert (MBA 1973)

March 2007 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Anne Dwojeski, William Grundy, Erica Helms and Katherine Miller

Madam C. J. Walker, who has been credited as the first self-made African-American woman millionaire, created a hair-care empire after years spent as a laundress in St. Louis, Missouri. Decades before the Civil Rights movement, her company gave employment to thousands... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Business History; Race; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Saint Louis

01 Sep 2020
News

3-Minute Briefing: Mark Mason (MBA 1995)

be the thing that saves the firm.” I took that job. I have a desk piece that my wife bought for me when I first joined the firm. It reads, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” It is really about thinking big and... View Details

Keywords: April White; Photo by: Michael Bucher; banking; diversity; COVID-19; leadership; African American; career advice; Finance

20 May 2020
Blog Post

Jeff Surette and Mike Peters: A Winning Team at TB12

felt drawn to the operator role and specifically wanted to work for a small, entrepreneurial company that aligned with his interests. Peters found that company in TB12 two months after graduation, and six... View Details

07 Sep 2021
News

Increasing Access and Expanding Opportunity

explore career options, and pursue their passions after graduation. What is the significance of the term “MBAid Journey” as it applies to the assistance provided to many HBS students while they are at the... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

February 2018
Teaching Note

Still Leading Series—Issues in Transitioning to New Forms of Service Later in Life

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Rakesh Khurana, James Honan and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

The Still Leading case series includes an introductory note, “Still Leading (A): Issues in Transitioning to New Forms of Service Later in Life” and 10 supplementary cases that cover the transition of highly accomplished and prolific leaders (Hon. Robert McDonald, Hon.... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Transition

18 Nov 2002
Research & Ideas

Where Morals and Profits Meet: The Corporate Value Shift

with outstanding financial results.— Lynn S. Paine This shift in our understanding of the corporate personality has profound implications for management. Among other things, it means that managers must View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler

September 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

pymetrics: International Expansion

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In August 2018, pymetrics, a solution offering neuroscience-based recruiting tests, closed a $40 million funding round that valued the business at $160 million. Over 60 companies around the globe were using pymetrics tests in their recruiting process, including... View Details

August 1985
Case

Bob Malott and Product Liability Law Reform

Robert Malott, Chairman and CEO of FMC, must decide whether or not to continue his work on product liability law reform, an issue on which he has worked for almost 10 years. Malott must decide how extensive his own involvement should be and what arguments he can or... View Details

Keywords: Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Development and Career; Legal Liability

2012
Chapter

The Availability and Utilization of 401(k) Loans

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

We document the loan provisions in 401(k) savings plans and how participants use 401(k) loans. Although only about 22% of savings plan participants who are allowed to borrow from their 401(k) have such a loan at any given point in time, almost half had used a 401(k)... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Finance; Retirement; Financing and Loans; Microeconomics

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