Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,102)
- Faculty Publications (166)
- July–August 2014
- Article
Becoming a First-Class Noticer: How to Spot and Prevent Ethical Failures in Your Organization
By: Max Bazerman
We'd like to think that no smart, upstanding manager would ever overlook or turn a blind eye to threats or wrongdoing that ultimately imperil his or her business. Yet it happens all the time. We fall prey to obstacles that obscure or drown out important signals that... View Details
- 2014
- Working Paper
Waste, Recycling and Entrepreneurship in Central and Northern Europe, 1870–1940
By: Geoffrey Jones and Andrew Spadafora
This working paper examines the role of entrepreneurs in the municipal solid waste industry in industrialized central and northern Europe from the late nineteenth century to the 1940s. It explores the emergence of numerous German, Danish, and other European... View Details
- January 2014
- Case
Steven Carpenter at Cake Financial (Abridged)
Steven Carpenter reflects on the successes and failures of his recent venture, Cake Financial. Carpenter had just sold the four-year-old startup and was at work on a new business plan. But first, he wanted to understand why Cake Financial, a service that allowed users... View Details
- October 2013 (Revised January 2017)
- Case
Walmart around the World
By: Juan Alcácer, Abhishek Agrawal and Harshit Vaish
After reaching the limits of its successful expansion in the United States in the early 1990s, Walmart sought growth opportunities in markets abroad. This case describes Walmart's attempts to replicate its successful U.S. business model in Mexico, Canada, Brazil,... View Details
- October 2013
- Article
Corporate Venturing
By: Josh Lerner
For decades, large companies have been wary of corporate venturing. But as R&D organizations face pressure to rein in costs and produce results, companies are investing in promising start-ups to gain knowledge and agility. The logic of corporate venturing is... View Details
- September 2013 (Revised June 2016)
- Case
The Morning Star Company: Self-Management at Work
By: Francesca Gino, Bradley R. Staats, Brian J. Hall and Tiffany Y. Chang
Morning Star, a collection of affiliated companies, had grown steadily since 1970 when Chris Rufer, president and founder, started the business hauling tomatoes to processing plants in a truck. The company's main products continued to be tomato-based, including a... View Details
- October 2013
- Article
With a Little Help from My (Random) Friends: Success and Failure in Post-Business School Entrepreneurship
By: Josh Lerner and Ulrike Malmendier
To what extent do peers affect our occupational choices? This question has been of particular interest in the context of entrepreneurship and policies to create a favorable environment for entry. Such influences, however, are hard to identify empirically. We exploit... View Details
- June 2013
- Teaching Plan
The K-Dow Petrochemicals Joint Venture
By: Guhan Subramanian and Charlotte Krontiris
This case follows a two-part deal involving Dow Chemicals: Dow's ill-fated joint venture with the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, the failure of which nearly scuttled Dow's simultaneous acquisition of Rohm & Haas. Focusing on Dow CEO Andrew Liveris, this case examines... View Details
- June 2, 2013
- Article
Corporate Sustainability Is Not Sustainable
By: Auden Schendler and Michael W. Toffel
Despite perceptions that sustainable business efforts are progressing, the environment reminds us we're failing to deal with the problem sufficiently. Here's what business leaders must do next. View Details
- February 2013 (Revised May 2013)
- Case
Juan Valdez: Innovation in Caffeination
By: Michael I. Norton and Jeremy Dann
Corporate entrepreneurs attempt to revive Colombia's famous Juan Valdez brand in the age of Starbucks, with café chain and packaged coffee ventures. In the 1970s and 80s, the iconic "Juan Valdez" ingredient brand was the most recognized in the world of coffee. The... View Details
- December 2012 (Revised November 2014)
- Case
W.R. Grace & Co.: Dealing with Asbestos Torts
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott
A manufacturer of building products and specialty chemicals, W. R. Grace & Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001 in response to a flood of lawsuits alleging that its products contained asbestos, and had caused hundreds of thousands of people to contract... View Details
Keywords: Bankruptcy Reorganization; Business Failures; Environmental Regulations; Class Action Lawsuits; Natural Environment; Valuation; Health Disorders; Capital Structure; Restructuring; Lawsuits and Litigation; Chemicals; Crisis Management; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Legal Liability; Construction Industry; Chemical Industry; United States
- November 2012 (Revised July 2013)
- Case
Gerry Pasciucco at AIG Financial Products
By: Gautam Mukunda and Thomas J. DeLong
Gerry Pasciucco was appointed to lead American International Group's Financial Products (AIGFP) group after the government bailout of AIG in 2008 and charged with the task of shutting down the division while minimizing the government's losses. AIGFP's failed trades had... View Details
- April 2012
- Case
Bella Healthcare India
By: Dorothy Leonard and Sunru Yong
Bella Healthcare India was originally established in Bangalore as a low-cost manufacturing facility for a U.S.-based cardiology equipment developer. Under country manager Joseph Cherian it evolved considerably, developing its own research and development capabilities.... View Details
Keywords: India; Productivity; Organizational Development; International Business; R＆D; Cross-cultural Relations; Medical Equipment ＆ Devices; Joint Ventures; Medical Specialties; Research and Development; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Care and Treatment; Product Launch; Failure; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Bangalore
- April 2012
- Case
People Express Airlines
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley
Recounts the history of People Express Airlines, which grew rapidly after its inception in 1980 then failed spectacularly in 1986. Profiles People's aggressive strategy and its distinctive approach to human resource management, which emphasized job rotation and minimal... View Details
- April 2012
- Article
Teamwork on the Fly
By: Amy C. Edmondson
In a fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, traditional teams aren't always practical. Instead, companies increasingly employ teaming: gathering experts in temporary groups to solve problems they may be encountering for the first and only time. This... View Details
- 2012
- Chapter
Schumpeterian Competition and Diseconomies of Scope: Illustrations from the Histories of Microsoft and IBM
By: Timothy F. Bresnahan, Shane Greenstein and Rebecca M. Henderson
We address a longstanding question about the causes of creative destruction. Dominant incumbent firms, long successful in an existing technology, are often much less successful in new technological eras. This is puzzling, since a cursory analysis would suggest that... View Details
- January – February 2012
- Article
When One Business Model Isn't Enough
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jorge Tarzijan
Trying to operate two business models at once often causes strategic failure. Yet LAN Airlines, a Chilean carrier, runs three models successfully. Casadesus-Masanell, of Harvard Business School, and Tarziján, of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, explore how... View Details
- October 2011
- Case
Strategy and Governance at Yahoo! Inc.
By: Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan, David Lane and Ian McKown Cornell
Yahoo! faces a number of governance and strategic challenges in late 2011 as it tries to compete with rivals such as Google and find ways to monetize its shareholding and business links with Alibaba Group in China and Yahoo! Japan. The company is now valued at almost... View Details
- September 2011 (Revised July 2012)
- Case
Building Watson: Not So Elementary, My Dear!
By: Willy Shih
This case is set inside IBM Research's efforts to build a computer that can successfully take on human challengers playing the game show Jeopardy! It opens with the machine named Watson offering the incorrect answer "Toronto" to a seemingly simple question during the... View Details
- June 2011 (Revised January 2013)
- Case
Home Essentials: Building a Global Service Business with Local Operations
By: Lynda M. Applegate, William R. Kerr and David Lane
Chris Exline founded Home Essentials, a furniture rental business targeted toward expatriates, in Singapore but rapidly moved the base of operations to Hong Kong. The company was highly successful in Singapore and Hong Kong and then pursued rapid global expansion.... View Details