Publications

25 Jun 2020
News

Covering All Corners

affected by the significant disruptions in global supply chains. Unfortunately, being on the developing side of the world means your shipments get deprioritized first. Your supply View Details

20 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

Globalization Hasn’t Killed the Manufacturing Cluster

create a new cluster. Once the cluster erodes, it's hard to rejuvenate it. "When they actually start to decline, they come apart pretty quickly," Pisano says. When making supply chain decisions, executives... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Manufacturing; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion

September 1992 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Staples, Inc.

By: David E. Bell

Staples is dissatisfied with the merchandising of its office furniture. The case reviews the situation, allowing students to consider whether the category should be dropped or changed. Permits consideration of the portfolio of products a positioning implies, and... View Details

Keywords: Change; Product Positioning; Supply Chain; Salesforce Management; Manufacturing Industry

November 2011 (Revised January 2014)
Teaching Note

FIJI Water: Carbon Negative?

By: Michael W. Toffel and Francesca Gino

Keywords: Energy; Pollutants

August 1993 (Revised April 1994)
Case

Flanders of Springfield

By: Arthur Schleifer Jr.

Flanders is a catalog merchandiser. Various decisions on catalog distribution policy, ordering and inventory policy, and catalog format design are considered. This was a final examination, and serves as a review for a number of topics in the course. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Policy; Distribution; Product Design; Supply Chain; Mathematical Methods; Consumer Products Industry

August 2012 (Revised September 2013)
Case

EnerNOC: DemandSMART

By: Michael W. Toffel, Kira Fabrizio and Stephanie van Sice

EnerNOC is an energy company with an innovative business model: it serves as an intermediary between electric utilities and electricity users. It contracts with electricity users willing to reduce demand during periods of peak energy demand, and sells this as excess... View Details

Keywords: Production Planning; Productivity; Environmental Protection; Energy; Environment; Business Government Relations; Laws And Regulation; Business Model; Environmental Sustainability; Innovation and Invention; Opportunities; Risk and Uncertainty; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Supply Chain Management; Production; Energy Conservation; Energy Industry

Fast Answer

Challenges and Opportunities in the Restaurant Industry

forward dining -animal and plant based protein -restaurant franchising -restaurant expansion -food safety and supply chain -restaurant technology management -restaurant private equity funding View Details

30 Mar 2022
Blog Post

How I Spent My HBS 2+2 Deferral: Adrian Obleton

and 2+2 would give me more flexibility in my decision making before then. How long did you defer your 2+2 admission? I deferred for 4 years. What job(s) did you have during your deferral? I spent 2 years at Bain & Company splitting my time between PE due diligence... View Details

01 Sep 2009
News

Faculty Books

and skilled people to accomplish what relief agencies could not: an information system and supply chain that managed the flow of relief supplies. IBM’s actions exemplify an emerging business idea: the... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

31 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 31, 2018

of Manufacturing Clusters By: Buciuni, Giulio, and Gary P. Pisano Abstract—Over the past two decades, the greater prevalence of global supply chains has had contrasting effects on Western manufacturing... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

December 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Migros

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman

In October 2005, Urs Riedener, head of marketing at Swiss retailer Migros, is contemplating the company's competitive position. Primarily a retailer for foods and near-foods products, the cooperative Migros, with close to 600 retail outlets in Switzerland (but only... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Corporate Governance; Corporate Strategy; Cooperative Ownership; Supply Chain Management; Product Marketing; Environmental Sustainability; Social Enterprise; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Switzerland

2003
Article

Developing a Management Systems Approach to Sustainability at BMW Group

By: Michael W. Toffel, Natalie Hill and Kellie McElhaney

This article describes how Designworks/USA, a subsidiary of BMW Group, developed a Sustainability Management System (SMS) by integrating the management of environmental, social, and traditional business issues. After several months of deploying the SMS throughout its... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Management Systems; Standards; Operations; Auto Industry

Read Now

21 Jul 2022
News

How Sumner Feldberg Helped Transform Retail

mill stores were merely a fad. Instead, he bet on supermarket-style stores, with self-service, offering clothing, toys, beauty supplies and housewares. That idea became the basis for the family’s chain of... View Details

Keywords: Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade

March 2018
Teaching Note

Sandlands Vineyards

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Greg Saldutte

Teaching Note for HBS No.718-438. View Details

16 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 16, 2015

unifying framework for obtaining reliable proxies of expected returns worldwide. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49238 Monitoring Global Supply Chains By: Short, Jodi... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Feb 2025
Blog Post

Leadership with Purpose: Redefining Success & Impact with Satpal Singh (SELP—India 4, 2019)

more strategic and holistic lens. My career has continued to evolve since SELP—India. As Country Head of Supply Chain during the pandemic, I navigated operational complexities that taught me invaluable... View Details

January 2025
Case

COMAC - Chinese Aviation Soars to New Heights

By: William C. Kirby and Daniel Fu

COMAC's C919 manifested the first challenge to the Boeing-Airbus duopoly since it came to dominate aircraft manufacturing in the 1990s. Beijing sought to export the C919 abroad in its quest to become a "transportation superpower." Was it a wise decision for COMAC to... View Details

Keywords: Aviation; Boeing; Airbus; Aircraft; State-owned Enterprise (SOE); Chinese Manufacturing; Airline Industry; Airports; Global Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Supply Chain; Expansion; Aerospace Industry; China; United States; Europe