Publications

August 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Barbie: Reviving a Cultural Icon at Mattel

By: Elie Ofek, Ryann Noe and Sarah Mehta

The 2023 release of the live-action film Barbie, and its accompanying marketing blitz, incited a worldwide Barbie craze. Suddenly Barbie was everywhere, a celebrated icon reinstated at the forefront of cultural conversation. This goodwill stood in contrast to... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Media; Intellectual Property; Business Strategy; Entertainment; Gender; Public Opinion; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Retail Industry; United States

27 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

How One Late Employee Can Hurt Your Business: Data from 25 Million Timecards

by lateness and absenteeism in the stores. According to their research, in a sample of more than 25 million shift timecards covering more than 100,000 employees across 500-plus stores over a four-year period: 9.6 percent of shifts were... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Retail

March 1986 (Revised December 1986)
Case

British Telecommunications, PLC

Presents a description of international equity markets, including comparisons of the U.S., Japanese, and British markets and recent trends toward deregulation of these markets. The decision focus of the case is on the initial public offerings of British... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Initial Public Offering; Capital Markets; Canada; London; Tokyo

Web

Donor Societies - Alumni

offerings Specially selected HBS cases or articles that exemplify faculty research $25,000+ Above offerings Faculty-authored book plus invitation to members-only virtual event with author $50,000+ Above offerings Recognition on the HBS campus Invitation to annual View Details

25 Jul 2023
Blog Post

Malcolm McClain (MBA/MPP 2023) Named First RISE Career Fellow

BrightUp that are having a deep impact on marginalized communities across the country,” said Alicia Thomas, director of diversity and inclusion for HBS’s MBA and Doctoral programs. “In addition to helping... View Details

2009
Working Paper

Private Equity and Industry Performance

By: Josh Lerner

The growth of the private equity industry has spurred concerns about its potential impact on the economy more generally. This analysis looks across nations and industries to assess the impact of private equity on industry performance. Industries where PE funds have... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment; Common Law; Industry Growth; Performance Productivity; Europe; United Kingdom; United States

23 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Strategy-Focused Organization

illustrate how major organizations have used the Scorecard to create an entirely new performance management framework that puts strategy at the center of a company's key management processes and systems. Mobil North America Marketing and... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

27 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

How the FBI Reinvented Itself After 9/11

Business Administration in the Strategy unit and Senior Associate Dean for Research. Balancing design and identity Whereas organizational design is concerned with how tasks are prioritized, structured, and coordinated across individuals... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

Web

Faculty & Research | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

social impact, the HBS faculty has developed a body of knowledge that encompasses leadership, strategy, and governance of mission-driven organizations across the spectrum, from entrepreneurial ventures to more established firms. Business... View Details

24 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

When Tech Platforms Identify Black-Owned Businesses, White Customers Buy

widespread discrimination on Airbnb, leading Airbnb to take steps to mitigate bias and prompting broader discussion across other companies. “Many businesses were unaware of the implications of their decisions,” says Luca, whose research... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Food & Beverage

Web

Curriculum - Business & Environment

MBA Experience Curriculum 2ms Required Curriculum (1st Year) Cases Environmental opportunities and challenges are embedded in most Required Curriculum courses so that all students understand the importance of the natural environment to... View Details

Web

Community | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

reflection, conversations, tools, and networking to help them lead positive change in the world. The Rising Leaders for Social Impact Forum builds a robust community that connects students and alumni, supports success in the classroom, and helps navigate this unique... View Details

May 2023
Case

Natural Gas in New England

By: Robin Greenwood, Richard S. Ruback and Gil Highet

Participants in the New England power market are exploring several strategies to meet the region's renewable power goals while also providing its residents with inexpensive and reliable electricity and heating fuel. New England was a first-mover into natural gas power... View Details

Keywords: Natural Gas; Energy; Energy Industry; United States; Massachusetts

18 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Central Banks Missed Inflation Red Flags. This Pricing Model Could Help.

than some of the real operating cost increases in 2022. The US Department of Agriculture estimated that costs rose 36 percent for crops and meats that year, and Eurostat put the comparable number at 31 percent across the European Union.... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services; Banking

01 Dec 2023
News

A Continuum of Innovation

As senior associate dean and chair of the MBA Program, Matt Weinzierl has a running list of questions that he and Jana P. Kierstead, the executive director of MBA and Doctoral programs, always keep in mind. They range from the curricular (How can we ensure that the MBA... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

2021
Working Paper

Winner Takes All? Tech Clusters, Population Centers, and the Spatial Transformation of U.S. Invention

By: Brad Chattergoon and William R. Kerr

U.S. invention has become increasingly concentrated around major tech centers since the 1970s, with implications for how much cities across the country share in concomitant local benefits. Is invention becoming a winner-takes-all race? We explore the rising spatial... View Details

Keywords: Invention; Innovation; Artificial Intelligence; Clusters; Agglomeration; Innovation and Invention; Patents; Applications and Software; Industry Clusters; United States

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2014
Working Paper

Agenda Setting at the FASB: Evidence from the Role of the FASAC

By: Abigail Allen

I examine the extent to which the FASB's agenda determination is a function of the contemporaneous preferences of its primary constituents: auditors, preparers, and financial statement users. Using the FASB's consultation with the FASAC as a lens through which to view... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Accounting Industry; United States

SSRN

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Other Article

What Do We Know About Variance in Accounting Profitability?

By: Anita M. McGahan and Michael E. Porter

In this paper, we analyze the variance of accounting profitability among a broad cross-section of firms in the American economy from 1981 to 1994. The purpose of the analysis is to identify the importance of year, industry, corporate-parent, and business-specific... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; United States