Publications

22 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution

Business leaders can't develop and execute effective strategy without first gathering the right information, says Harvard Business School professor Robert Simons. In his new book, Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

November 1994 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Levi Strauss & Co.: Global Sourcing (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Jane Palley Katz

In 1993, senior managers at Levi Strauss & Co., the world's largest brand-name apparel manufacturer, were deciding whether the company should have a business presence in China, given the human rights and other problems there. The China Policy Group has been asked to... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Decisions; Management Skills; Trade; Brands and Branding; Rights; Ethics; Foreign Direct Investment; Apparel and Accessories Industry; China

October 1995
Supplement

Orientation for Viewing the Cranfield-Kearney Performance Appraisal Interview

By: John J. Gabarro and Linda A. Hill

Presents the background information to watching the video reenactment of the Cranfield-Kearney Performance Appraisal Interview. View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Compensation and Benefits; Performance; Motivation and Incentives

20 Aug 2020
Book

From the Plow to the Pill: How Technology Shapes Our Lives

time, we know that as humans we often get baffled by all this choice. It’s much harder to settle for one person or to convince yourself that any one person is the right one when there’s a constant array of... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

17 Jan 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Nestlé’s KitKat Diplomacy: Neutrality vs. Shared Value

Keywords: Re: Geoffrey G. Jones; Consumer Products

June 2020
Case

Jill Draeger

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Michael J. Roberts

The Jill Draeger case is designed as an introduction to a general course on entrepreneurship. It is appropriate for many levels of students. It attempts to portray the archetype of opportunity-focused, resource-constrained behavior that is the hallmark of... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Opportunities; Negotiation; Agreements and Arrangements; Risk Management

27 Sep 2018
Research & Ideas

Religion in the Workplace: What Managers Need to Know

Once the case reached the US Supreme Court in 2015, Justice Antonin Scalia said, “This is really easy.” He announced the court was siding with Elauf 8 to 1, ruling that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it’s illegal to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage; Apparel & Accessories

December 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Case

Troverie (A)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Olivia Graham

Six months after the August 2018 launch of Troverie, a U.S.-based online retailer of luxury watches, the average cost of acquiring a customer is much higher than originally projected, and the startup is incurring a substantial loss on each sales transaction. Could... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Luxury Goods; Customer Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Luxury; Failure; Internet and the Web; Revenue; Fashion Industry; United States

25 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Adjusting the Fit for Government

productivity revolution due to the loss of skills in society. "The other key underpinning is education," he continued. "In South Africa in particular, the legacy of apartheid was extremely destructive, and human capital... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

03 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

Cut Payroll Costs with Transparency, Fairness, and Compassion

Benioff has long espoused the need for a more equitable economic system and has stated that the current pandemic “is a tremendous opportunity for all CEOs and all businesses to really put their resources right out there and say, 'We're... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

March 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Governing OpenAI (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan and Will Hurwitz

In late November 2023, OpenAI’s new board of directors took stock of the situation. The company, which sought to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI)—computer systems with capabilities exceeding human abilities—was looking to regain its footing after a chaotic... View Details

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

maximizing productivity? How do we help employees with work/life balance?” “How to keep people engaged and connected and OPTIMISTIC in appropriate measure while so many have so many competing personal and business and health and family issues View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

June 2021
Case

Akira Fukabori and Kevin Kajitani at avatarin (A) (Abridged)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards

In 2016, Akira Fukabori and Kevin Kajitani, aeronautical engineers at All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd., began to wonder why, in a world of accelerating globalization and digital connectivity, those who lived in far-remote villages or impoverished urban areas could not... View Details

Keywords: Agility; Ecosystem; Innovation Ecosystems; Innovation; Crowdsourcing; XPRIZE; Open Innovation; Partnership; Government; Collaboration; Co-creation; Purpose; Impact; Social Impact; Movement; Organizational Behavior; Organizational Ambidexterity; Ambidexterity; Culture; Culture Change; Global Teams; Experimentation; Space; Space Industry; Airline Industry; Start-up; Platform Business; Platform Strategy; Platform; Digital; Robotics; Robots; Avatar; Telepresence; Innovation Lab; Mobility; COVID-19; Intrapreneurship; Public-private Partnership; Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Partners and Partnerships; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Alignment; Leadership; Leading Change; Diversity; Organizational Culture; Change Management; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Transportation Industry; Aerospace Industry; Japan

February 2019 (Revised March 2021)
Case

India: State Capacity and Unity in Diversity

By: Alberto Cavallo, Matthew Weinzierl and Robert Scherf

As 2018 drew to a close, India prepared to once again carry out the largest democratic exercise in human history, as in less than six months more than 850 million eligible voters would have the chance to choose their representatives to the Lok Sabha—the country’s lower... View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; Government and Politics; Leadership; Public Opinion; India

June 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

De Beers at the Millennium

At the time of the millennium, diamond demand was threatened by an increasing awareness among jewelry customers that diamond production and trading in some countries was being linked to growing inequities and human rights violations. This, in turn, had an impact on De... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Value Creation; Strategic Planning; Social Issues; Luxury; Consumer Products Industry; Mining Industry; Africa

16 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

As AI Upends Recruiting, Job Seekers Need a Waze App for Careers

transition is urgently required if more young people are to launch successful careers that will lead to economic security. “What’s left are the things that are hard to automate, called foundational or human skills.” Even as unemployment... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology; Technology

September 2007 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Norway Sells Wal-Mart

By: Robert C. Pozen and Aldo Sesia

In June 2006, Norway's Pension Fund decided to divest its position in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. after an investigation by the Fund's Ethics Council. According to a spokesperson of Norway's Finance Ministry, "The recommendation to exclude Wal-Mart cites serious and... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Ethics; Insurance; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Government and Politics; Rights; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Power and Influence; Retail Industry; Norway

14 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 14, 2017

October 2017 Negotiation Journal Prescriptions Based on a Realistic View of Human Behavior By: Bazerman, Max Abstract—No abstract available. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53096 November–December 2017... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

June 2018 (Revised July 2023)
Case

John Chambers, Cisco, and China: Upgrading a Golden Shield

By: Geoffrey Jones and Emily Grandjean

This case examines the role of Cisco led by John Chambers in facilitating web filtering in China. It begins by tracing the origins of Cisco as a pioneer of networking equipment. John Chambers, who had worked as a sales manager at IBM and Wang Laboratories, joined Cisco... View Details

Keywords: Cisco; Internet and the Web; Governance Controls; Ethics; Rights; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Technology Industry; China