Publications

May 1990
Case

Frito-Lay, Inc.: From Manufacturing to Operations Strategy

By: David A. Garvin

Keywords: Production; Strategy; Quality; Performance Productivity; Strategic Planning

Find at Harvard

10 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

Motivation and the Cross-Sector Alliance

frequently the case in Latin America, such a license should not be taken for granted, especially when collection of tolls appears to be a rather unpopular means of funding, as revealed from several of our interviews.6 Another example along these lines would be a... View Details

Keywords: by James Austin, Ezequiel Reficco & SEKN research team

27 Jun 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Learning to Make the Move to CEO

customer and product markets, and geopolitical environments. Professor William Fruhan leads the corporate finance piece of the curriculum, providing perspective on the globalization of financial markets. "Increasingly, there is more... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education

09 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

Uncompromising Leadership in Tough Times

because of aggressive discounting by its chief competitor. Revenue in one of Dreyer's new product lines began to drop. And one of its customers threatened to terminate its long-term distribution contract. “CEOs recognize that they have to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

June 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

The Rise of Circuit City Stores, Inc.

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In fiscal 2000, Circuit City was at the top of its game. The world's leading consumer electronics retailer had delivered record sales and profits for the first year of the new millennium. It was a fitting moment for Richard Sharpe, the CEO of the last 14 years, to step... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Strategic Planning; Competition; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; North America

22 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Control Your Inventory in a World of Lean Retailing

Manufacturers generally classify products in terms of broad product lines, developing a single marketing strategy and production plan for each... View Details

Keywords: by Frederick H. Abernathy, John T. Dunlop, Janice H. Hammond & David Weil; Consumer Products

07 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: Sept. 7

decisions are driven by a tradeoff between managers' pecuniary benefits of coordinating production and their private benefits of operating in preferred ways. Integration generates more output than non-integration but imposes a cost on... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 Apr 2011
Op-Ed

HBS Faculty Comment on Environmental Issues for Earth Day

companies alike, this means organizations that are investing in and marketing resource productivity at scale—whether sharing assets or adding insulation. In the real estate and urban planning world, this... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Energy; Utilities

April 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Change at Whirlpool Corporation (A)

By: Jan W. Rivkin, Dorothy A. Leonard and Gary Hamel

In 1998, the CEO of Whirlpool Corp. decides to change the company's strategy significantly to escape an increasingly unattractive "stalemate" in the appliance industry. The change he proposes involves a fundamental shift in the company's focus--from manufacturing to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Competitive Advantage; Strategic Planning; Production; Brands and Branding; Management Teams; Consumer Products Industry; United States

02 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 2

per capita and, thus, lower cost of capital. We also explain that the variation in revenues per capita was both a product of the variation in natural endowments and a commodity boom that had asymmetric effects among states. These two... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Do We Tax?

Lawmakers, following public opinion rather than scholars' theories, have put in place very little tagging. Does this mean it's time to bury the Utilitarian approach? Not quite, says economist Matthew C. Weinzierl. The Harvard Business School assistant professor has a... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Legal Services

September 1999 (Revised October 2006)
Case

MarketSoft

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Diana S. Gardner

Greg Erman and Nancy Benovich-Gilby have assembled a team and selected a market for the launch of a high-potential venture based on using an Internet-based service to manage the flow of sales leads between principals and their distribution channel partners. Their... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Planning; Sales; Management; Internet; Web Services Industry

12 Jul 2020
Book

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2020

policy for presidents from Roosevelt through Nixon. My summer plan is to read Andrew Roberts’ Churchill: Walking with Destiny. For relaxation, I read crime and mystery stories, and have been a long-time fan of Michael Connelly. One... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

06 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Conducting Layoffs: ’Necessary Evils’ at Work

the Bind of Necessary Evils: Psychological Engagement and the Production of Interpersonally Sensitive Behavior," in the Academy of Management Journal. The researchers joined forces and shared their insights on this tricky topic in an... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

April 2020 (Revised May 2020)
Case

NTT DOCOMO's Race to 5G

By: Juan Alcácer, Horst Melcher and Akiko Kanno

The case, based on extensive interviews with NTT DOCOMO’s technology leaders, focuses on the opportunities and challenges that NTT DOCOMO faces with the launch of infrastructure and services for 5G wireless telecommunication technology. With higher data rates and... View Details

Keywords: 5G; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Product Launch; Strategic Planning; Decision Making; Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry

September 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

The Fall of Circuit City Stores, Inc.

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

On January 16, 2009, after a dismal holiday season, Circuit City was forced into liquidation. Unable to meet creditors' demands, and with no acquirer in sight, Circuit City began the process of liquidating its remaining 567 U.S. stores. Circuit City had been the leader... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Leadership; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; North America