Publications

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September 1988 (Revised January 1989)
Case

Unisys: The Merger of Burroughs and Sperry

Mike Blumenthal, CEO of Burroughs, successfully executes the merger of Burroughs and Sperry in 1986. The case discusses the putting together of the two firms in a fast time period in order to achieve cost savings, high earnings, and an integrated culture. Blumenthal... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Organizational Structure; Mergers and Acquisitions; Consolidation

August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (A)

By: Willy Shih

This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan

September 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Epic: The Future of Health Information Technology

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Brian L. Walker

How should the founder and leadership team of a health IT company with more than 45 years of market leadership prepare for the future, while navigating founder transitions and industry changes? Founded by Judy Faulkner in the late 1970s, Epic pioneered electronic... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Private Ownership; Customer Focus and Relationships; Information Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Health Industry; Electronics Industry; Information Technology Industry

March 2019
Case

Wattpad

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

How to run a platform to match four million writers of stories to 75 million readers? Use data science. Make money by doing deals with television and filmmakers and book publishers. The case describes the challenges of matching readers to stories and of helping writers... View Details

2011
Chapter

The Economics of Housing Finance Reform

By: David S. Scharfstein and Adi Sunderam

This paper analyzes the two leading types of proposals for reform of the housing finance system: (i) broad-based, explicit, priced government guarantees of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and (ii) privatization. Both proposals have drawbacks. Properly-priced... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Housing; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government and Politics

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07 Oct 2015
HBS Seminar

Ann Majchrzak, USC Marshall School of Business

01 Sep 2017
News

City of Dreams

Mawilmada helped secure a $1.25 billion investment for the line from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, with two other 25-kilometer corridors prepped for public-private partnership funding. Buses are another piece of the puzzle,... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photographed by Alice Carfrae; Sri Lanka; Construction of Buildings; Construction of Buildings; Construction of Buildings; Construction of Buildings

From Cotton Mill to Business Empire: The Emergence of Regional Enterprises in Modern China

The demise of state-owned enterprises, the transformation of collectives into shareholding cooperatives, and the creation of investment opportunities through stock markets indicate China’s movement from a socialist, state-controlled economy... View Details

February 2025 (Revised February 2025)
Case

What's Heiring Next? The Saga of the Murdoch Media Empire

By: Lauren Cohen, Mayra Gazel and Sophia Pan

As Lachlan Murdoch left the courthouse, he puzzled on the next phase of his battle for control over his father Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. With Rupert aging and his siblings determined to retain their voting rights, Lachlan was convinced that the future of News... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Lawsuits and Litigation; Rights; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Family and Family Relationships; Power and Influence; Media and Broadcasting Industry

March 2011 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Office of Technology Transfer - Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences

By: Willy Shih, Sen Chai, Kamen Bliznashki and Courtney Hyland

Gordon Zong is trying to teach Chinese universities and research institutes how to do effective technology transfer and IP licensing, but he is trying to do it in an environment with weak property rights and an underdeveloped support infrastructure. As the managing... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Patents; Knowledge Management; Law Enforcement; Business and Government Relations; Research and Development; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; China

22 Feb 2018
Book

The New History of American Capitalism

Desan look to how scholars in history, law, and political science are redefining capitalism in light of the American experience. Essayists write on such diverse subjects as markets, selling of slave... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing

May 2013
Case

Transport Corporation of India (A): The Cross-selling Conundrum

By: V.G. Narayanan and Saloni Chaturvedi

Transport Corporation of India was a logistics company that provided multi-modal transport solutions to its customers. Set up in 1958, TCI had grown from a 'one man, one truck, one office' set-up to a company with revenues of $400 million in half a century. TCI's... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Business Divisions; Performance; Sales; Transportation Industry; India

07 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

What Leaders Need to Do To Restore Investor Confidence

then must ensure that the various internal systems are consistent with the conduct desired—and then it must walk the talk. In a world filled with cynicism, people spot the contradictions very quickly. Finally, senior View Details

Keywords: by Harvard Management Update

Teaching Interest

Overview

Paul is primarily interested in teaching data science to management students through the case method. This includes technical topics (programming and statistics) as well as higher-level management issues (digital transformation, data governance, etc.) As a research... View Details

Keywords: A/B Testing; AI; AI Algorithms; AI Creativity; Algorithm; Algorithm Bias; Algorithmic Bias; Algorithmic Fairness; Algorithms; Analytics; Application Program Interface; Artificial Intelligence; Causality; Causal Inference; Computing; Computers; Data Analysis; Data Analytics; Data Architecture; Data As A Service; Data Centers; Data Governance; Data Labeling; Data Management; Data Manipulation; Data Mining; Data Ownership; Data Privacy; Data Protection; Data Science; Data Science And Analytics Management; Data Scientists; Data Security; Data Sharing; Data Strategy; Data Visualization; Database; Data-driven Decision-making; Data-driven Management; Data-driven Operations; Datathon; Economics Of AI; Economics Of Innovation; Economics Of Information System; Economics Of Science; Forecast; Forecast Accuracy; Forecasting; Forecasting And Prediction; Information Technology; Machine Learning; Machine Learning Models; Prediction; Prediction Error; Predictive Analytics; Predictive Models; Analysis; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Applications and Software; Digital Transformation; Information Management; Digital Strategy; Technology Adoption

September–October 2013
Article

Changes in Work, Changes in Self? Managing Our Work and Non-Work Identities in an Integrated World

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan and Erin M. Reid

Diverse workplaces are challenging the boundaries between workers' personal and professional lives, as workers today navigate employer pressures regarding who they are and who they can be outside of work. Lakshmi Ramarajan and Erin M. Reid consider how the attunement... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Identity; Boundaries; Power and Influence; Performance Effectiveness; Organizational Change and Adaptation

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Article

Recent Advances in the Empirics of Organizational Economics

By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

We present a survey of recent contributions in empirical organizational economics, focusing on management practices and decentralization. Productivity dispersion between firms and countries has motivated the improved measurement of firm organization across industries... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity; Geographic Location; Motivation and Incentives; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Competition; Human Capital; Markets; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Multinational Firms and Management; India; Brazil; United States

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04 Feb 2015
What Do You Think?

Is There a Stanford-Google-Silicon Valley School of Management?

Summing Up How Transferable is the Google "School of Management"? Responses to this month's column suggest a great deal of respect for what Google's management has... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Education

19 Apr 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Top Executive Background and Financial Reporting Choice: The Case of Goodwill Impairment

Keywords: by Francois Brochet & Kyle Welch; Accounting

January 2014
Case

Boeing 787 Manufacturing Footprint

By: Willy Shih

This case looks at the outsourcing strategy for major subsystems of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, and the risks and production consequences of letting go of core technology. It is intended to be used as a (B) case for 612-036 Boeing 737 Manufacturing Footprint: The Wichita... View Details

Keywords: Outsourcing; Outsourced Production; Boeing 787; Manufacturing Footprint; Systems Integration; Production; Supply Chain Management; Aerospace Industry; United States