Publications

June 2007 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Comcast Corporation

By: Anita Elberse and Jason Schreiber

In October 2006, Comcast executives had entered negotiations with broadcast networks to broaden the selection of free network content distributed via its video-on-demand (VOD) service. The major broadcast networks, however, were unsure of the effect it would have on... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Consumer Behavior; Competitive Strategy; Technology Adoption; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

April 2008
Supplement

Ti-Tech (B)

By: Benson P. Shapiro and John T. Gourville

This case concerns the selection and scheduling of orders by a small industrial titanium fabricator that recently has been plagued by poor deliveries and a lack of capacity. At the time of the case, Ti-Tech must decide which of four orders to accept, with capacity... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Production; Performance Capacity; Marketing Strategy; Bids and Bidding; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; United States

25 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Beauty Entrepreneur Madam Walker

By 1910, however, with the new name Madam C.J. Walker, Breedlove had accrued a sizable fortune and considerable influence. This daughter of adversity was now well known and respected among the nation's African Americans as a savvy entrepreneur with a thriving business... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Beauty & Cosmetics

January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Juno (A): Leveraging Student Power

By: Joshua Schwartzstein, Kathleen L. McGinn and Amy Klopfenstein

In March 2020, Chris Abkarians and Nikhil Agarwal were in the midst of preparing the annual auction for their student loan assistance startup, Juno. Both current MBA students at Harvard Business School, the duo founded Juno in 2018 to leverage student bargaining power... View Details

2020
Working Paper

Socioeconomic Network Heterogeneity and Pandemic Policy Response

By: Abhishek Nagaraj, Mohammad Akbarpour, Cody Cook, Aude Marzuoli, Simon Mongey, Matteo Saccarola, Pietro Tebaldi, Shoshana Vasserman and Hanbin Yang

We develop and implement a heterogeneous-agents network-based empirical model to analyze alternative policies during a pandemic outbreak. We combine several data sources, including information on individuals’ mobility and encounters across metropolitan areas,... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Policy; Outcome or Result; Analysis

Read Now

Research Summary

Immigrant Policymakers and Entrepreneurs

Since completing his prize-winning biography of Joseph Schumpeter in 2007 and his book, American Business since 1920 in 2009, Professor McCraw has been working on two new books about immigrants who came to the United States and became important policymakers... View Details

July 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Digital Microscopy Is Making Me Crazy!

By: Willy Shih

For Carl Zeiss Microimaging, modular hardware and software enabled customers to tailor Zeiss's broad range of microscopy systems hardware and software to meet a wide range of needs from basic scientific research in the biological and medical sciences to clinical... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Corporate Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Science-Based Business; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Business Conglomerates; Digital Platforms; Opportunities; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Computer Industry

25 Mar 2021
Blog Post

Meet the Student Academic Services Support Team at HBS!

Determining how to successfully balance responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges is imperative to a positive and productive student experience. The Student and Academic Services (SAS) Support Services team in the MBA Program... View Details

August 2007 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Grand Central Publishing

By: Anita Elberse

In April 2007, Grand Central's publisher Jamie Raab and editor Karen Kosztolnyik were involved in a frantic bidding war for a proposed book on the life of cat Dewey, billed as the feline answer to the best-selling "Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Product Launch; Bids and Bidding; Product Development; Publishing Industry

26 Oct 2018
Blog Post

Making the Switch from Finance to Fitness

at night, I was so happy doing what I loved. I was also conscious of the fact that my primary responsibility was to my company. I worked to ensure that I was productive and meeting deadlines, and I appreciated the support I received from... View Details

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

It's a much believed assumption in the retail world: If you're going to compete on the basis of low cost, then you can't afford to invest in your employees. Extensive training—who has the time to give? Regularly scheduled hours?—way too... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

Web

Alumni

LOG IN For a more personalized visit Log in The Golden Thread The Golden Thread Teresa Amabile spent decades studying creativity, motivation, and productivity in the workplace. At 60, her curiosity turned to a different question: When and... View Details

March 2017 (Revised December 2018)
Case

Reawakening the Magic: Bob Iger and the Walt Disney Company

By: David Collis and Ashley Hartman

Mickey Mouse, Snow White, and Buzz Lightyear strolled down Main Street at the grand opening of Hong Kong Disney in the fall of 2005, pausing to snap selfies with enthusiastic children in Mickey Mouse ears. Bob Iger, newly appointed CEO of The Walt Disney Company,... View Details

Keywords: Franchise Management; Brand Management; Culture Change; Business Units; Acquisition Strategy; Technological Change; Disney; ESPN; Cord-cutting; Bob Iger; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Integration; Media; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

25 Sep 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Colocation and Scientific Collaboration: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Keywords: by Kevin Boudreau, Ina Ganguli, Patrick Gaule, Eva Guinan & Karim Lakhani; Health

21 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 21

internal beneficiary that made connectedness salient yielded a persistent increase in productivity relative to a control group. We validate this effect in the laboratory and provide evidence that the effect is mediated by an enhanced... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

01 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: Nov. 1

growing concern that such regulation may simply shift production to unregulated regions, potentially increasing overall carbon emissions in the process. Carbon tariffs have emerged as a possible mechanism to address this concern by... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2004 (Revised February 2010)
Case

The Passion of the Christ (A)

By: John A. Quelch, Anita Elberse and Anna Harrington

Bob Berney, president of Newmarket Films, must decide on a distribution and marketing strategy for Mel Gibson's controversial new movie, The Passion of the Christ. Fueled by Gibson's star power as well as an extensive prescreening campaign among Christian leaders and... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Film Entertainment; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Distribution Channels; Religion; Motion Pictures and Video Industry