Publications

August 1994
Case

Grupo IUSACELL (A)

Describes the challenges facing a cellular telephone company in Mexico as it positions itself in the explosive cellular market and prepares to become a full-service telecommunications provider. Faced with declining market share, revenues per subscriber, and operating... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Customer Relationship Management; Telecommunications Industry; Mexico

Tech startups are often associated with Silicon Valley and men. To contrast that perception, we went on a quest to find some of the women interning at Boston startups this summer; to talk to some of the people hiring them; and explore how these companies are... View Details

November 2007
Supplement

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.

By: Tarun Khanna and Krishna G. Palepu

How do companies develop a strategy that is both low-cost and differentiated without becoming squeezed in the middle? Describes how Teva, Israel's largest and first multinational, achieved its globally dominant position in generic pharmaceuticals, an industry that has... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Emerging Markets; Rank and Position; Competitive Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Israel; India

September 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Epic: The Future of Health Information Technology

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Brian L. Walker

What are the next steps for a firm that has scaled up?
The case focuses on how the founder and leadership team of a health IT company with over 45 years of market leadership should prepare for the future, while navigating founder transitions and industry... View Details

January 2017 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Susan Cassidy at Bertram Gilman International

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Michael Norris

In 2016, Susan Cassidy, VP of sales and marketing for the packaged foods division at CPG firm Bertram Gilman International, has to make a promotion decision. Should she choose the person she has been grooming for the position or another candidate recommended by central... View Details

Keywords: People Analytics; Algorithms; Promotion Decision; Human Resources; Business Processes; Consumer Products Industry; United States

November 2006
Case

Tickle

By: William A. Sahlman and Dan Heath

Describes a set of decisions confronting the management team of a rapidly growing online psychological testing and social networking company. They can either sell the company to a large public company, raise another round of capital from a preeminent venture capital... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Internet and the Web; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Business Strategy; Corporate Finance

12 Jun 2009
News

Do you really want to tax ability?

15 Mar 2024
HBS Case

Let's Talk: Why It's Time to Stop Avoiding Taboo Topics at Work

You feel your career stalling, with no clear path for advancement or a raise. You know the right conversation, artfully navigated, with the right individual at the right time is necessary—but approaching that moment requires ingenuity and skill. From politics to sex,... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

December 2014 (Revised February 2023)
Module Note

Legal Analysis: Customers

By: Lena G. Goldberg

This Note introduces the Module on Responsibilities to Customers taught in Leadership and Corporate Accountability, a required course in the Harvard Business School MBA program. The Note outlines the asymmetries inherent in the company-customer relationship and... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Legal Liability; Customer Relationship Management

November 2009 (Revised March 2011)
Case

New York Life and Immediate Annuities

By: Julio J. Rotemberg and John T. Gourville

By positioning Immediate Annuities as "guaranteed lifetime income," New York Life has built itself a $1.4 billion per year business by 2009. However, to make Immediate Annuities a mainstream financial product for retirees, New York Life must understand why many... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Personal Finance; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Retirement; Salesforce Management; Insurance Industry

February 1992 (Revised January 1999)
Background Note

Selected Profitability Data on U.S. Industries and Companies

Describes the importance of industry structure and competitive positioning to the profitability of U.S. corporations between 1981 and 1994. Cites recent research indicating that persistent industry differences and persistent competitor differences account for 19% and... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Industry Structures; Profit; United States

13 Apr 2012
News

Power Poses: Tweaking Your Body Language For Greater Sales Success

30 Nov 2011
News

Yelp's IPO Will Test the Flaws in Its Business Model

July 2023
Supplement

Schuberg Philis: From Success to Significance (B)

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Three years into their “Ambition” growth plan, in 2022, the management team of Dutch professional service firm Schuberg Philis is taking stock. The global COVID-19 pandemic and other headwinds required adjustments to their growth targets, but they believe that their... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Growth Management; Change Management; Transformation; Mission and Purpose; Leadership; Leading Change; Information Technology Industry; Consulting Industry; Europe; Netherlands

Article

Asymptotic Improvements of Lower Bounds for the Least Common Multiples of Arithmetic Progressions

By: Daniel M. Kane and Scott Duke Kominers

For relatively prime positive integers and r, we consider the least common multiple L_n:=\mathop{\textrm{lcm}}(u_0,u_1,\dots, u_n) of the finite arithmetic progression \{u_k:=u_0+kr\}_{k=0}^n. We derive new lower bounds on L_n that improve upon those obtained... View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods

Find at Harvard

September 2013 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Antoine Leboyer and GSX

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Antoine Leboyer (HBS '92) acquired the Swiss-based software company GSX in February 2008. He managed through the recession of 2008–2009, dealt with a tumultuous separation from the founder/owner, rebuilt the management team, and upgraded the company's software... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Small Business; Finance; Private Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; France; Switzerland

June 1982 (Revised May 1995)
Case

Ellis Manufacturing Co.

By: Roy D. Shapiro

Ellis finds itself in a weakening competitive position largely due to the lack of rationalization in its plants. Driven by a strong traditionally decentralized sales organization, Ellis finds that all plants want control over all product lines. As a result, overall... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Cost; Analytics and Data Science; Brands and Branding; Performance Capacity; Competitive Strategy; Construction Industry