Publications

September 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Qatar: Energy for Development

By: Aldo Musacchio, Colin Donovan, Samir Mikati, Rami Sarafa and Abdulla AlMisnad

Despite being the richest country in the world on a per capita basis, for analysts Qatar belongs in the group of emerging markets considered "frontier markets." This case analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the development strategy of this small country as set... View Details

Keywords: Frontier Markets; State-owned Enterprises; State Capitalism; Sovereign Wealth Funds; Economic Development; Sovereign Finance; State Ownership; Development Economics; Energy Industry; Middle East; Qatar

November 1989 (Revised February 1992)
Case

Ford Motor Co.: Dealer Sales and Service

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger

Since Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Co., Ford vehicles have been sold and serviced the same way. By the late 1980s Ford began to consider making changes in its sales and service process. Two developments forced Ford to reconsider these processes. First, Ford found... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Distribution Channels; Customer Focus and Relationships; Service Industry; Auto Industry; Retail Industry; United States

Web

People - Behavioral Finance & Financial Stability

member of the faculty of the Harvard Business School since 1998. He develops research, case writing, and teaching in the areas of investment... View Details

09 Oct 2013
News

Why business can be good at solving social problems

July 1989
Case

NWA, Inc. - Northwest Airlines Revenue Management

Northwest Airlines is evaluating improvements to its revenue management system. This system executes a program of economic price discrimination under which the airline attempts to control the conditions on its discount fare offerings. Students must evaluate the effect... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Air Transportation; Management Systems; Corporate Finance; Air Transportation Industry; United States

13 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 13

demanding that middle- and lower-level managers redo their forecasts, plans, and budgets. In some cases, top executives simply acquiesce to increasingly unrealistic analyst forecasts and adopt them as the basis for setting organizational... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 1985
Case

Business Research Corp. (B)

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a set of related decisions confronting the management and directors of Business Research Corp. (BRC) in April of 1984. BRC needs more capital to finance continued development of the market for a full-text database comprised of Wall Street... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Finance; Capital Structure; Capital; Goals and Objectives; Conflict of Interests; Business Plan; Financing and Loans; Ethics

December 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Nutrition Science Initiative: Are All Calories Created Equal?

By: Kevin Schulman and Matan Dabora

In 2012, Gary Taubes lunched the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI), a not-for-profit organization aiming to question the mainstream scientific paradigm regarding obesity and dietary recommendations. This case provides a brief scientific background on obesity and its... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Nutrition

November 2013 (Revised January 2015)
Case

Obamacare

By: Matthew Weinzierl and Katrina Flanagan

One vote in June, 2012, decided the fate of President Barack Obama's crowning first-term achievement: universal health insurance. Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court cast the deciding vote to uphold the keystone of the reform: the mandate to purchase... View Details

Keywords: Universal Health Insurance; Adverse Selection; Leviathan; Courts and Trials; Judgments; Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Government and Politics; Insurance Industry; Public Administration Industry; Health Industry; United States

September 2014 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief: What Can We Learn from Commercial Supply Chains?

By: Willy Shih and Margaret Pierson

Organizing speedy and efficient supply operations for unpredictable major natural disasters was a continuing challenge for the U.S. military, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti was both unique in its operational scope and political complexity. As he reviewed the... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chains; Humanitarian Assistance; Disaster Relief; Distribution; Logistics; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Operations; Distribution Industry; United States; Haiti

November 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Companion Diagnostics: Uncertainties for Approval and Reimbursement

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Norman C. Selby and Phillip Andrews

The FDA approvals of novel therapeutics were seen as signs in the personalized medicine community of real progress in the growth of personalized medicine. The FDA's approval of such drugs, along with companion diagnostics, suggested a shift in thinking and regulatory... View Details

Keywords: Models Of Reimbursement; Personalized Medicine; Regulation; Healthcare Reform; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; United States

Web

Academics | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Courses The first year Required Curriculum (RC) incorporates social enterprise cases and topics in several courses ranging from finance to entrepreneurship. In their second (EC) year, students choose from a... View Details

22 May 2018
Blog Post

How to Engage a Search Firm

it?" One does not know if email or Priority Mail is the best method in a particular situation. After receiving this information, continue with: "If something comes to your attention for which I am not... View Details

01 Sep 2023
News

Global Outposts Expand HBS’s Intellectual Footprint

at the company. He then turned his attention to the e-commerce platform the firm launched in 2018 to sell products directly to retail consumers. Now, as View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

21 Nov 2006
First Look

First Look: November 21, 2006

capital. Purchase this working paper from SSRN: http://papers.nber.org/papers/w12592 Cases & Course MaterialsFriendster (A) Harvard Business School Case 707-409 In January 2006, View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Course Overview - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

grasp course concepts, although advanced training in economics or management is recommended. The course is taught using the case method, together with readings, lectures, and... View Details

September 2014
Case

Pfizer's Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI)

By: Gary Pisano, James Weber and Kait Szydlowski

In 2010, Pfizer established four small research units in New York, Boston, San Francisco, and San Diego located close to several premier Academic Medical Centers (AMCs), or hospitals with adjoining medical schools. The goal of these units was to redesign collaboration... View Details

Keywords: Drug Development; Academic Collaboration; Research And Development; Innovation; Translational Research; Management; Operations; Problems and Challenges; Research; Science; Information Technology; Strategy; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; North and Central America; Europe; Asia

October 1991 (Revised June 1996)
Case

Lotus MarketPlace: Households

By: Lynn S. Paine

Managers at Lotus and Equifax must decide what to do about their new jointly developed database and software product Lotus MarketPlace which has been criticized as a threat to individual privacy. The Product, which would allow small businesses to buy targeting mail... View Details

Keywords: Information; Business or Company Management; Rights; Ethics; Marketing Communications; Applications and Software; Product Marketing; Information Technology Industry