Publications

September 1996 (Revised June 1998)
Case

InterSoft of Argentina (B)

By: Linda A. Hill and Stacy Palestrant

Focuses on InterSoft of Argentina, a growing software company in Argentina. In 1993, InterSoft acquires a Russian software company and Emilo Lopez, the vice president and director of InterSoft's Systems Software Lab, must manage a creative, cross-cultural, "virtual"... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Business Growth and Maturation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Management Teams; Groups and Teams; Partners and Partnerships; Conflict Management; Information Technology Industry; Argentina; Russia

05 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

Fixing the ‘I Hate Work’ Blues

comes from never-ending, short-term pressures of the stock market. An even greater factor is the global nature of competition today, which pits American organizations directly against counterparts in Asia, where work days are long View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

Article

How to Launch Your Digital Platform: A Playbook for Strategists

By: Benjamin Edelman

The ubiquity of Internet access has caused a sharp rise in the number of businesses offering platforms that connect users for communication or commerce. Entrepreneurs are particularly drawn to these platforms because they create significant value and have modest... View Details

Keywords: Platforms; Launch; Mobilization Strategy; Two-Sided Platforms; Network Effects; Adoption; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

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14 Jul 2021
Blog Post

From Colombia to the District of Columbia: Making an Impact with Paulina Llano (MBA 2022)

Harvard Business School. Here, Llano could continue to grow as a leader able to make an impact across sectors. Setting and Resetting the Target One goal Llano set for herself upon entering business school was to work in the U.S. over the... View Details

Keywords: Health Care

28 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 28, 2007

outdated. Instead, innovations are increasingly brought to the market by networks of firms, selected for their unique capabilities, and operating in a coordinated manner. This new model demands that firms... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 26

Abstract Many scholars and practitioners have recently argued that corporate awards are a "free" way to motivate employees. We use field data from an attendance award program implemented at one of five View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Jan 2017
Blog Post

Crossing the River: The HBS/HKS Joint Degree Program

I joined a section of MBA candidates representing a variety of industries including corporate strategy, manufacturing operations, and private equity. Every day, the case method demanded an extensive level of... View Details

05 Oct 2010
First Look

First Look: October 5, 2010

Affect Credit Ratings? Authors:Bo Becker and Todd Milbourn Abstract The credit rating industry has historically been dominated by just two agencies, Moody's and S&P,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2002 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Jinwoong: Financing an Entrepreneurial Firm in the Wake of the Korean Financial Crisis

Describes T.P. Lee, the founder and CEO of Jinwoong, a 19-year-old entrepreneurial company in Korea that has grown to become the world's largest manufacturer of camping tents. Labeled by Fortune as one of the most promising entrepreneurs in Asia in 1993, Lee faces some... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Financial Crisis; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; South Korea

Article

Why Build in Web3

By: Jad Esber and Scott Duke Kominers

A major change is coming to the internet. While today’s dominant platforms have guarded their troves of user data and maintained an advantage through network effects, new companies—working in what they're calling a “Web3” model—are proposing a new value proposition to... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; User Experience; Digital Platforms; Network Effects; Internet and the Web; Competition; Web Services Industry

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01 Sep 2006
News

Sorry, We’re All Out of Chilean Sea Bass

It doesn’t take long before entire populations are removed, and that’s what has happened. Why don’t people seem as impassioned about protecting endangered fish as they do about, say, saving trees? People talk about the world becoming a... View Details

Keywords: Lewis I. Rice; Fishing, Hunting and Trapping; Fishing, Hunting and Trapping

May 1996 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Colliers International Property Consultants, Inc.: Managing a Virtual Organization

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In less than 20 years, the real estate firm Colliers International expanded into a federation of 180 offices with close to 4,500 professionals in over 30 countries. Because Colliers expanded by signing up existing firms strong in their local markets, its leaders had to... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Globalized Firms and Management; Management Practices and Processes; Service Operations; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Strategy; Budgets and Budgeting; Real Estate Industry

August 1993 (Revised June 1994)
Case

21-Speed Gizmos, Inc.

In this hypothetical case, 21-Speed Gizmos, Inc., a manufacturer of electronic bicycle components for the serious cyclist, must decide what price to charge for a new product. Describes the product and includes cost and demand information available for making the... View Details

Keywords: Price; Decision Making; Product Marketing; Manufacturing Industry

05 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Radical Change, Entrepreneurial Opportunity

strategies of companies within those industries. In particular, I focus on how an industry gets defined: how consumers and other industry players make sense of, or frame, the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael J. Roberts; Technology

February 2006 (Revised October 2006)
Case

The Children's Investment Fund, 2005

By: Randolph B. Cohen and Joshua B. Sandbulte

TCI, The Children's Investment Fund, is a London-based hedge fund. The firm donates a significant fraction of the fees it earns to a charitable foundation. In 2005, TCI took a large stake in Deutsche Borse, the stock exchange in Frankfurt. Its battle with management... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Financial Markets; Investment Activism; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Financial Services Industry; London; Germany

01 Dec 2008
News

Back to the Future

rules, along with conservation and alternative energy development) Carter himself described as “the moral equivalent of war.” But when oil prices began dropping on global View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Oil and Gas Extraction; Oil and Gas Extraction; Oil and Gas Extraction; Oil and Gas Extraction

September 1994 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Citibank: Launching the Credit Card in Asia Pacific (A)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Consumer Bank pondered the possibilities of launching a credit card in the Asia Pacific region. The bank's New York headquarters, and several of its country managers in the region, were not enthusiastic. But others were supportive because of the opportunity to expand... View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Service Operations; Value Creation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Trade; Business Strategy; Expansion; Laws and Statutes; Banking Industry; Asia; New York (city, NY)

October 2005
Case

Kinko's

Over the decades, Kinko's had forged a deep emotional bond with consumers by easing their anxiety and helping them solve pressing document processing problems. By 2003, however, consumer research revealed that a confusing retail experience had eroded some of this good... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Customer Satisfaction; Service Industry