Publications

15 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

GM: What Went Wrong and What’s Next

Much of the substance of 20th century management was worked out at GM. Let's hope that crisis will summon the will to make the changes that are needed. If not, the next Detroit may be in China, and sooner... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto

Forthcoming
Article

The Evolution of Financial Services in the United States

By: Robin Greenwood, Robert Ialenti and David Scharfstein

This article surveys the literature on the historical growth and transformation of the U.S. financial sector. The sector expanded rapidly between 1980 until 2006, when its contribution to GDP rose from 4.8% to 7.6%. After the Global Financial Crisis, the size of the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Financial Institutions; Financial Markets; Growth and Development; Economic Sectors

Read Now

22 Mar 2010
Research & Ideas

One Strategy: Aligning Planning and Execution

question that decades of success at Toyota demonstrate the power of its management systems and approaches. At the same time, the roots of its current crisis appear very deep. It is difficult to understand... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Video Game; Web Services

May 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Airbnb During the Pandemic: Stakeholder Capitalism Faces a Critical Test

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Allison Ciechanover

As the COVID pandemic spread in early 2020, global travel ground to a halt. For Airbnb, the San Francisco-based platform for renting accommodations, the impact was both swift and severe as revenues plummeted more than 70% over the prior year. Responding to the sudden... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Leadership; Digital Platforms; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Value Creation; Decision Making; Goals and Objectives; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Travel Industry; Tourism Industry; Service Industry; United States

April 1989 (Revised October 2005)
Case

James Burke: A Career in American Business (A)

By: Richard S. Tedlow and Wendy Smith

Presents an historical overview of the professional career of James E. Burke, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. Examines the corporation's handling of three major occurrences--the Tylenol poisonings in 1982 and 1986 and the acquisition and subsequent sale of... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Marketing Strategy; Ethics; Personal Development and Career; Crisis Management; Consumer Products Industry; Health Industry; United States

01 May 2020
What Do You Think?

Does Remote Work Mix with Organizational Culture?

SUMMING UP Is Management the Missing Ingredient in Melding Organization Culture and Remote Work? Those who have experienced remote work are largely vocal supporters of the notion. Its success is dependent, on the one hand, on an effective... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January 2005 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Anne Mulcahy: Leading Xerox through the Perfect Storm (A)

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

In 2000, Xerox faces bankruptcy amid a liquidity crisis, collapsed profitability, and an expanding SEC investigation. Traces the career and leadership development of Anne Mulcahy, a former sales executive unexpectedly named COO of the beleaguered company as a last... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Financial Liquidity; Organizational Culture; Crisis Management; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Gender; Corporate Governance

21 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

What's Missing from the Racial Equity Dialogue?

purchase a home than to rent one in 95 percent of America. This one racist policy has led to an affordable housing crisis that impacts most White home buyers today. “I often ask how racism harms those at the bottom of the imaginary... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

Web

K–12 Education | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Skydeck, the alumni podcast Re: Stephen Moret (MBA 2001) 17 Dec 2024 | Skydeck Solving the Underemployment Crisis More than half of college grads are underemployed. In this excerpt from Managing the Future... View Details

01 Jun 2008
News

You Only Thought You Were Republican

benefits of these cuts would go “to people at the bottom end of the economic ladder,” he assured voters. And yet, of course, CEOs — let alone hedge fund managers — now routinely pay a lower proportion of their income in federal tax than... View Details

Keywords: Andrew Tobias; national debt; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

17 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

Why Business Should Support Employees Who Are Caregivers

because of caregiving needs, the costs could be significant. Add in wasted investments in ineffective or underused benefits and this hidden crisis becomes clear, Fuller says. Building a “care culture” Caregiving has long been an invisible... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Health

Web

1929: The Great Crash - Bubbles, Panics & Crashes – Historical Collections – Harvard Business School

HBS Quick Links MBA Executive Education Doctoral Programs Faculty and Research Alumni HBS Publishing Site Index HBS Home Contact Us Map/Directions Introduction 1837: The Hard Times 1873: Off the Rails 1907: The Banker's Panic 1929: The Great Crash View Details

January 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

ByteDance: TikTok and the Trials of Going Viral

By: William C. Kirby and John P. McHugh

In 2020, TikTok became the most valuable start-up ever. The short-form, video-sharing social media platform emerged as the crown jewel of the Chinese technology firm ByteDance, realizing 850 million monthly users and an estimated worth of $180 billion. However, a... View Details

09 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Leadership Lessons of the Great Recession: Options for Economic Downturns

when other approaches would produce better results for customers, employees, and shareholders and foster better long-term performance of the company. “I’ve been a leader during three recessions, and I’ve never heard a management team talk... View Details

Keywords: by Sandra Sucher & Susan Winterberg; Aerospace; Electronics

01 Jan 2011
News

Karen Gordon Mills, MBA 1977

loan when the credit crisis hit, small business owners inspire Mills daily with their determination, she says. "The people we work with are tightly woven into the fabric of their communities," notes Mills, whose career has been influenced... View Details

January 2004 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Johnson & Johnson's Corporate Credo

By: Thomas R. Piper

No corporate credo is better known than that of Johnson & Johnson. Describes the history of the credo, including the credo challenge initiated by the CEO, James Burke, in 1975 and the role the credo played during the Tylenol poisoning crisis. View Details

Keywords: History; Mission and Purpose; Goals and Objectives; Corporate Accountability; Reputation; Crisis Management; Corporate Governance; Management Teams

March 2010 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Malden Mills (A) (Abridged)

By: Nitin Nohria and Thomas R. Piper

CEO Aaron Feuerstein of Malden Mills decided to pay idled workers after a massive fire at his mill in 1995. Focuses on the decisions made post-fire and the rebuilding process and eventual bankruptcy of the company. Also outlines creditors' struggle to decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financing and Loans; Employees; Leadership; Crisis Management; Social Issues; Manufacturing Industry; Massachusetts

04 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 4

312-038 The (B) case provides information on actions taken by Citigroup management in 2009-2010 in the aftermath of the financial crisis and massive government intervention to save the bank. It is a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2017 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying to political activism. In 2016, Target CEO Brian Cornell must... View Details