Utilities - Publications - Faculty & Research

27 Aug 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Learning From Japan’s Remarkable Disaster Recovery

It's common in Harvard Business School classrooms to discuss the "pivot," the moment an enterprise changes direction to pursue a new strategy. On a visit to eastern Japan, MBA students talked to Masamichi Ono, CEO of chrysanthemum grower Ono Kashoen, which... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Utilities; Utilities; Utilities

14 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

New Agenda for Corporate Accountability Reporting

How do you measure corporate accountability? And can you do it credibly? Since the financial crisis of 2008-2009, for-profit corporations are facing greater demand to disclose more than revenues and expenses on annual financial reports. In response, some are pointing... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Accounting; Energy; Utilities

24 Feb 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Accelerating Innovation In Energy: Insights from Multiple Sectors

Keywords: by Rebecca M. Henderson & Richard G. Newell; Utilities; Utilities; Utilities

Ross S. Sterling

Using proceeds from his feed store business, Sterling began investing in oil wells in 1909. Forming Humble Oil with several other astute oil businessmen, Sterling led his company through a strong expansion period, during which the company’s capitalization grew... View Details

Keywords: Utilities & Energy

William L. Mellon

Under Mellon’s management, the firm became a pioneer on several fronts. He opened the nation’s first service stations in 1913 became and expanded into international oil exploration. By the mid-1920s, Gulf’s refinery at Port Arthur, Texas, was the largest in the world.... View Details

Keywords: Utilities & Energy

Kenneth S. Adams

Adams climbed the ranks at Phillips Petroleum, beginning as a clerk in the warehouse division. In 1938, when Adams became president, Phillips Petroleum had a gross income of $78 million with 8,000 employees. When Adams retired from that office, Phillips had become the... View Details

Keywords: Utilities & Energy

Armand Hammer

Hammer expanded Occidental Oil from a tiny, near-bankrupt California oil firm into one of the “Big Oil” companies - turning it into a conglomerate, beginning with the acquisition of an oil concession from Libya. Hammer was also instrumental in initiating trade between... View Details

Keywords: Utilities & Energy

Jean Paul Getty

After accumulating a one-third interest in Getty Oil Company, Getty negotiated for a controlling interest in the company after the death of his father. Getty went on to merge Tidewater Oil Company, Skelly Oil Company, and the Missouri Oil Company into Getty Oil, which... View Details

Keywords: Utilities & Energy

Otto D. Donnell

When Donnell took over the presidency of Ohio Oil in 1927, the company had over $104 million in assets with $7 million in net profits. Donnell began a program of expansion in 1930, purchasing various oil companies and service stations. By 1948, Donnell had nearly... View Details

Keywords: Utilities & Energy

Joshua S. Cosden

Known as the “prince of petroleum,” Cosden is credited with establishing Oklahoma as a major oil producing state. Starting with a small parcel of land, he built a $35 million oil business in ten short years. Through his oil discoveries and exploration, he almost... View Details

Keywords: Utilities & Energy

Web

Eric Li | MBA

of technology and business: Bringing Harvard Tech for Social Good from 0 to 1 has taught me how to thoughtfully apply technology to social causes, how leading organizations think about this work, and how different incentive structures can be View Details

01 Mar 2012
News

In Charge

and descendant of a Creole voodoo princess, landed on her feet. A former utility executive and state official in Illinois, she became the new CEO of Johnson Publishing, which produces Ebony and Jet magazines. About her stint in the White... View Details

Keywords: Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Government; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

01 Apr 2000
News

Strike Up the Broad(band)

social utility -- the enjoyment of fulfillment people derive from consuming a good or utilizing a service." Beyond movies-on-demand and videoconferencing, the authors say "the most savvy service providers,... View Details

01 Jan 2008
News

Anand G. Mahindra, MBA 1981

Harvard College. Instead, he opted for HBS and then a job in Mumbai with his father at Mahindra Ugine Steel (MUSCO). Soon after he arrived, the young Harvard MBA was called on to restructure and diversify MUSCO. That was the preparation he needed to join View Details

30 Jun 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Empire Struck Back: The Mexican Oil Expropriation of 1938 Reconsidered

Keywords: by Noel Maurer; Utilities; Utilities

06 Jan 2010
What Do You Think?

Is a Stringent Climate Change Agreement a Pot of Gold?

Summing Up Do we even need a stringent climate change agreement? Judging from this month's comments, a question can be raised about the necessity of a climate change agreement, stringent or not, as a catalyst to foster innovation and the venture capital investment... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Utilities; Utilities

November 1983 (Revised September 1987)
Case

Boston Edison: Overload

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Keywords: Utilities Industry; Massachusetts

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November 2015 (Revised April 2017)
Case

Streaming Over Broadband: Why Doesn't My Netflix Work?

By: Shane Greenstein and Michael Norris

In late 2013 and early 2014, Netflix service over the major U.S. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) suffered major slowdowns. What were the causes of these problems? What could Netflix do to solve them? View Details

Keywords: Digital Innovation; Internet; Broadband Service; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Infrastructure; Utilities Industry; United States

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