Publications

October 2021 (Revised September 2022)
Case

SmartOne: Building an AI Data Business

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Pippa Armerding, Gamze Yucaoglu and Fares Khrais

The case opens in August 2021, as Habib and Shahysta Hassim, husband and wife co-founders of the data labeling company SmartOne, contemplate the strategy of the high growth company. Between 2016 and 2021, SmartOne had kept doubling its size every two years and now,... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Data Labeling; Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Operations; Business Model; Growth Management; Growth and Development Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Africa; Madagascar; Europe; France; United States

August 2005 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Can Bollywood Go Global?

By: Geoffrey Jones, Namrata Arora, Surachita Mishra and Alexis Lefort

Considers the opportunities and challenges facing Indian film producers in accessing the global film market. Provides a historical context by describing the history of the cinema and the rise of Hollywood to global dominance by the 1920s. Although film industries... View Details

Keywords: History; Competition; Film Entertainment; Globalized Markets and Industries; Product Development; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; India

February 2006 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Investment Banking at Thomas Weisel Partners

By: Malcolm P. Baker and Lauren Barley

Thomas Weisel Partners (TWP), a San Francisco-based bank focusing on emerging growth companies, is considering its strategy in the context of regulatory, competitive, and legal changes. Blake Jorgensen, the chief operating officer and co-director of investment banking,... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business or Company Management; Conflict of Interests; Change Management; Investment Banking; Financing and Loans; Laws and Statutes; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Banking Industry; San Francisco

July 2004 (Revised December 2004)
Case

Timberland: Commerce and Justice

By: James E. Austin, Herman B. Leonard and James Quinn

When Jeffrey Swartz became the third generation in his family to lead the Timberland Co., he pursued a strategy in which commerce and justice were "inextricably linked." Community involvement, environmental management, and global labor standards became not addenda to... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Innovation and Invention; Leadership Development; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Programs; Opportunities; Alignment; Business Strategy; Value

In today's economic climate, corporate leaders in multidivisional and multinational companies face a uniquely broad set of challenges. While putting in place the systems, relationships, and strategies that foster business unit success, you also must lead the business... View Details

May 1993 (Revised December 1994)
Background Note

Geography of Competition and Strategy, The

Addresses the role of geographic scope in competition and strategy. Makes distinctions between the geographic scope of competition (or the effective area over which firms compete), the geographic scope of competitive advantage (or the geographic area from which a firm... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Geographic Scope

2005
Book

Renewing Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

By: Geoffrey Jones

This book examines the history of Unilever over the last half century. Managing such a firm in the era of globalization posed enormous challenges. The book covers the company's strategies and provides compelling evidence of its decision-making, marketing, brand... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Globalization; Transformation; Human Resources; Business Strategy; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention; Consumer Products Industry

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December 2008 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Olam International

By: David E. Bell and Mary Shelman

In 20 years, Sunny Verghese had built Singapore-based Olam International from a small Nigerian export company into a $5 billion global leader in agricultural commodities with a core competence in Africa. Olam's growth had come by pursuing product and geographic... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Trade; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply Chain; Expansion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Africa; Singapore

2024
Working Paper

Private Regulation, Institutional Entrepreneurship and Climate Change: A Business History Perspective

By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist and Geoffrey Jones

Private regulatory systems, including voluntary efforts by firms to restrain their own behavior are the primary form of global climate change governance. However, when environmental challenges first rose up on the scientific and political agendas during the 1970s, the... View Details

Keywords: Certification; Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Business History; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy

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January 2025
Case

Reimagining the Employee Experience at the LEGO Group

By: Amy Edmondson, Mark Mortensen and Elisabeth Powell

In 2024, the LEGO Group faced a decision about the future of LEGO’s Benefits Experience Strategy and the “Best of Both” remote/hybrid work policy. With over 28,500 employees spanning global hubs, retail stores, and manufacturing plants, LEGO leaders had to consider... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Employee Relationship Management; Values and Beliefs; Organizational Culture; Alignment; Compensation and Benefits; Europe

21 May 2019
Video

Getting to Know 2019 Class Day Student Speaker Brandon Rapp

TeachingInterests

Senior Executive Leadership Program - China (SELPC)

By: Stefan H. Thomke

Today's global business environment offers many exciting prospects for talented executives and ambitious organizations. To take full advantage of emerging opportunities in Greater China and beyond, businesses... View Details

David J. Collis

For the past thirty years David J. Collis has been a professor at the Harvard Business School, where he was only the second ever full-time Adjunct Professor appointed. Previously, he was the Thomas Henry Carroll Ford Foundation Adjunct Professor, the MBA Class... View Details

16 May 2011
Other Presentation

Chilean Competitiveness: Ready for the Next Stage?

By: Michael E. Porter

This presentation draws on ideas from Professor Porter's articles and books, including, The Competitive Advantage of Nations (The Free Press, 1990), "The Microeconomic Foundations of Economic Development," in The Global Competitiveness Report, (World Economic Forum),... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Chile

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September 2010 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Recruiting Andrew Yard (A)

By: Brian J. Hall, Nicole S. Bennett and Sara del Nido

This case describes a compensation negotiation between a global HR director and a candidate for a high-level executive position. The situation becomes awkward when the candidate feels insulted because he is given a monetary incentive to join the company more quickly... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Interpersonal Communication; Executive Compensation; Negotiation; Negotiation Style; Emotions

A native of North Dakota, Dr. Goldberg received his A.B. from Harvard University in 1948, his MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1950 and his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Minnesota in 1952.

... View Details

Keywords: agribusiness; agriculture; fast food; food; food processing; forest products; grocery; high technology; information; restaurant; retailing; soft drink; textiles; tobacco; transportation; wholesale; wine

April 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Ripple: The Business of Crypto

By: David B. Yoffie and George Gonzalez

The case explores Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s mission to disrupt the global payments industry by leveraging the cryptocurrency XRP. Students will learn about Bitcoin and the blockchain industry, as well as Ripple’s unique crypto business model. The case provides an... View Details

Keywords: Payment Systems; Cryptocurrency; Bitcoin; Blockchain; Fintech; Business Startups; Business Model; Disruption; Strategy; Banking Industry; Technology Industry

September 2010 (Revised July 2012)
Supplement

Recruiting Andrew Yard (C)

By: Brian J. Hall, Nicole Shae Bennett and Sara del Nido

This case describes a compensation negotiation between a global HR director and a candidate for a high-level executive position. The situation becomes awkward when the candidate feels insulted because he is given a monetary incentive to join the company more quickly... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Recruitment; Negotiation Offer; Performance Effectiveness; Emotions; Strategy