Publications

09 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

Who Sways the USDA on GMO Approvals?

Many corporations have gotten good at pulling the levers of government to tilt the odds in their favor, weakening regulations or securing perks, justified or not, to further their business interests. Economists use the term... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage; Biotechnology; Agriculture & Agribusiness

28 Apr 2011
Op-Ed

While Waiting for Japan’s Recovery, Let’s Enhance Supplier Competitiveness at Home

earthquake damage. They can take action now to ensure that America invests in growing our domestic stock of world-class suppliers. A national campaign to enhance supply-chain partnerships could also accelerate job creation. America needs... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

January 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

School of Rock: Tuning into Structured Empowerment (A)

By: Tatiana Sandino, Jeffrey Rayport, Samuel Grad and Stacy Straaberg

In summer 2021, School of Rock was a youth-oriented music education company with 291 franchise- and company-owned schools globally. Before CEO Rob Price’s hire in 2017, School of Rock’s nonconformist rock ‘n’ roll culture led to variability in teaching styles,... View Details

David Thomas is H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. His research addresses issues related to executive development, cultural diversity in organizations, leadership and organizational change. He recently served as a... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; consulting; consumer products; education industry; financial services; media

Clayton S. Rose

Clayton Rose is Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice. He currently teaches the course Accountability in the Advanced Management Program. His research is focused on the how leaders can manage the challenges created by the intense, varied and often... View Details

Keywords: financial services

01 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

How Politics Drives Business Decisions in a Polarized Nation

How politics cuts across business Written with Margarita Tsoutsoura, an associate professor of finance at Washington University in St. Louis, the analysis draws from data such as executive surveys, voter registration lists, campaign... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

May 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Teaching Note

Brand Activism: Nike and Colin Kaepernick

By: Jill Avery and Koen Pauwels

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-046. Nike’s selection of politically polarizing Colin Kaepernick as the spokesperson for the thirtieth anniversary of its iconic “Just Do It” campaign catapulted the brand into the media spotlight and made it a political flashpoint... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands and Branding; Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry; Sports Industry; United States; North America

March 2025
Case

The Changing Climate on Wall Street

By: Clayton S. Rose, Maxim Pike Harrell and Michael Norris

Increasing and conflicting regulatory requirements and political pressures regarding climate change tested the leaders of U.S. financial institutions, as they struggled to determine how best to comply while managing their business and its risks. In October 2024,... View Details

09 Sep 2024
HBS Case

McDonald’s and the Post #MeToo Rules of Sex in the Workplace

behemoth’s corporate culture as it collided with the #MeToo movement’s spotlight on sexual relationships and power in the workplace. And as new information about Easterbrook’s romantic relationship with other employees emerged, it became... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Food & Beverage

11 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: Dec. 11

Purchase this case:http://hbr.org/search/713022-PDF-ENG Integrated Reporting in South Africa Eccles, Robert G., George Serafeim, and Pippa ArmbresterHarvard Business School Case 413-038 This case presents a 20-year history of the evolution of View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Here’s How Businessman Trump Is Likely to Approach the Presidency

His plan during the campaign was admirable in some ways. The simplicity of the rate structure for individuals, the expansion of the standard deduction, the limitation on deductions, and the reduced corporate... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese

05 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Can Putin Score Olympic Gold?

million every four years just for the privilege of using The Rings in their advertising—with hundreds of millions more spent on the advertising campaigns themselves. They aren't the only ones banking on Olympic success. NBC, which paid... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports; Advertising

15 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Lessons Not Learned About Innovation

innovation teams under too much bureaucracy, treating the innovators as more valued corporate citizens than those who work in the current business, and hiring leaders who don't have the relationship and communications skills necessary to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

09 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

The Manager in Red Sneakers

in packs of three with the tagline "nothing matches, but anything goes." Deciding to be different can win points in other corporate ways, too. "Just like people signal status by not conforming, brands can also signal status with a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion

February 2017
Case

Clear Channel (A): The Rise, 1972–2003

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

At the end of 2003, Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a diversified media group with revenues of $8.9 billion, could claim leadership positions in all three of its main businesses. Clear Channel Broadcasting was the largest radio-station operator in the world, with... View Details

Keywords: Clear Channel; Clear Channel Outdoor; Radio; Outdoor Advertising; Concert Industry; Lowry Mays; Federal Communications Commission; Regulation; Regulations; Regulatory Environment; JCDecaux; Media; Growth Management; Consolidation; Competitive Strategy; Fair Value Accounting; Advertising; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Growth and Maturation; For-Profit Firms; Entertainment; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Public Equity; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Government Legislation; Business History; Laws and Statutes; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Channels; Industry Structures; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Opportunities; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Wireless Technology; Valuation; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Advertising Industry; Music Industry; United States; Texas

March 1996 (Revised February 1999)
Case

Vistakon: 1 Day Acuvue Disposable Contact Lenses

By: Alvin J. Silk, Bruce Issacson and Marie Bell

Vistakon, an independent and entrepreneurial subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, pioneered the production and marketing of disposable contact lenses with the 1987 launch of Acuvue, the first disposable extended-wear lens--a soft contact lens that patients wear for a... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Business Subsidiaries; Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Price; Risk Management; Marketing; Product Positioning; Production; Performance Effectiveness; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Research Summary

Renovating Democratic Capitalism

By: Malcolm S. Salter

This in-process work focuses on how best to address the declining public trust and confidence in democratic capitalism, which many citizens consider to be a cornerstone of our national ideology and identity? While the answer to this question is not entirely clear, I... View Details

2021
Case

Starbucks: Opposing a Local Tax to Address Homelessness while Promoting Social Justice

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

In 2018, the Seattle City Council unanimously voted 9-0 for a tax that would require companies whose annual revenue surpassed $20 million to pay the city $275 per employee per year. The tax money would then be used to combat homelessness in Seattle. In response,... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; City; Welfare; Wealth and Poverty; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Seattle