Publications

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October 2022 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Driving Decarbonization at BMW

By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel

The case describes BMW’s electrification and decarbonization strategy, and how the company measured carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of its vehicles and used tools like carbon abatement cost curves to evaluate decarbonization opportunities. In mid-2022,... View Details

2001
Case

Analog Devices (B)

By: Vijay Govindarajan, Chris Trimble and Jesse Johnson

In 2000, ADI posted an unprecedented 78 percent growth rate. Their participation was growing in new consumer markets (electronics and communications) with shorter life cycles and high volatility. ADI had to rethink their scorecard for more dynamic environments. View Details

Keywords: Adaptation; Business Strategy

12:30 PM – 2:30 PM EDT, 30 Apr 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Scaling Ventures

Scaling Ventures is for startup founders and senior leaders who have achieved product-market fit and now need to successfully guide their company through cycles of rapid growth and organizational change. Program Dates: April 30, 2019 - June 18, 2019 (Every Tuesday from... View Details

January 2015 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Curriculum Associates: Turning the Page from Tradition to Innovation

By: John J-H Kim and Christine S. An

Set in Fall 2014, the traditional textbook publishing industry is being transformed by technological innovations and new student achievement standards. This case chronicles how Rob Waldron, CEO, and his team bring Curriculum Associates (CA), a traditional supplemental... View Details

Keywords: Education Technology; SaaS; Turnaround; Textbook Publishing; Innovation; Sales Cycle; HR Strategy; Privately-funded Businesses; Sustainable Growth; Product Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Competitive Advantage; Publishing Industry

January 1989
Background Note

Managing Information Technology: System Development

By: James I. Cash Jr. and Thomas H. Davenport

Provides an overview of the system development process in large organizations. Describes traditional life cycle approaches as well as more recent methods, e.g., prototyping. The objective is to familiarize students with the terminology and issues involving system... View Details

Keywords: Design; Information Technology; System

July 1986 (Revised April 1989)
Background Note

Note on Sources of Comparative Advantage

By: David B. Yoffie and John J. Coleman

After Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin's propositions about the sources of comparative advantage were empirically challenged by Wassily Leontief, scholars set out to explain the "Leontief paradox" by developing alternative theories on the sources of comparative... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage

TeachingInterests

Scaling Ventures, HBS Online

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

This course is for startup founders and senior leaders who have achieved product-market fit and now need to successfully guide their company through cycles of rapid growth and organizational change. Topics include optimal growth rate, recruiting and motivating... View Details

Video

Robert Livingston presents "A Master’s Tool: The Leadership, Life, and Legacy of Lewis Harwood (Harry) Spence" (Flash Talk)

2015
Other Teaching and Training Material

Entrepreneurship Reading: Partnering with Venture Capitalists

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Michael J. Roberts

This reading takes a deep look at the venture capital (VC) industry in the United States. VCs have a unique perspective on opportunity evaluation, deal structure, new venture support, and exit strategy. Their work at all stages of the entrepreneurial life cycle offers... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship

Leslie A. Perlow is the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. She leads the Crafting Your Life Special Project, dedicated to helping individuals make purposeful life choices while gathering... View Details

August 1989 (Revised May 1991)
Case

Grosvenor Park

By: William J. Poorvu and Katherine Sweetman

Dick Dublin believes he has designed a townhouse development which will appeal to mobile young professionals. Dublin has removed some market risk by locking in a forward commitment for low interest rate loans for future purchasers at Grosvenor Park. The pricing... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Projects; Financing and Loans; Property; Financial Strategy; Price; Strategic Planning; Business and Government Relations; Real Estate Industry; Maryland

October 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Supplement

Mike Mayo Takes on Citigroup (B)

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Amy Kaser

Mike Mayo takes on Citigroup (B) is a supplementary exercise to go along with Mike Mayo takes on Citigroup (A) case and is designed to give students an opportunity to understand the creation of deferred tax liabilities (DTLs) and the life cycle of a DTL using an... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Accounting; Banking Industry

March 1994 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.: Target Costing System

Describes Nissan's sophisticated target costing system in the context of new product introduction. On the basis of consumer analysis and a life cycle contribution study, Nissan conducts an exhaustive analysis of component costs to determine whether a new model can be... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Japan

September 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Compilation

Max Green: Work Patterns at Ditto (C)

By: Leslie A. Perlow

According to his managers, Max, a software engineer on a product development team, is an organizational superstar. Describes his life and provides a log of how Max spends his time. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Time Management; Groups and Teams; Work-Life Balance; Information Technology Industry

2016
Chapter

Nudging as a Tool for Leaders

By: Max Bazerman

BOOK ABSTRACT: Jewish organizational life is inundated with publications on organizational change and effective leadership, but from mutually exclusive sources: business and organizational studies, on the one hand, and Jewish studies, on the other. One addresses... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Leadership; Civil Society or Community; Religion; Business and Community Relations

May 2014
Article

Making 'Freemium' Work: Many Start-ups Fail to Recognize the Challenges of This Popular Business Model

By: Vineet Kumar

The article discusses the "freemium" business model, which is used by some Internet businesses and smartphone application developers to give users free basic features of a digital product and access to premium functionality for a subscription fee. The discussion topics... View Details

Keywords: Freemium; Startups; Product Design; Business Model; Marketing; Business Startups

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28 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

The Clock Is Ticking: 3 Ways to Manage Your Time Better

others, but also from where they are doing it. This is important, given that we are in an era in which options for how, when, and where people spend time are perhaps more varied than ever before. Leslie A. Perlow is the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership in... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

Robin J. Ely

Robin Ely is the Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. She conducts research on race and gender relations in organizations with a focus on leadership, identity, and organizational culture change.... View Details

October 2020
Supplement

TowerBrook: ESG in Action (B)

By: Victoria Ivashina, Brian Trelstad and Meaghan Conway

This case is the second of a two-part series that follows Ramez Sousou and his team at TowerBrook Capital Partners as they face a challenging investment decision in February of 2013. It is intended to be distributed at the end of the discussion of “TowerBrook: ESG in... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Finance; Private Equity; Corporate Governance; Value Creation