Publications

December 2010
Article

Why You Aren't Buying Venezuelan Chocolate

By: Rohit Deshpandé

The article discusses the "provenance paradox," wherein consumers are unwilling to buy high-quality products from regions not commonly associated with excellence in certain product categories. Venezuelan chocolate maker Chocolates El Rey does little international... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Global Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Emerging Markets; Food and Beverage Industry; Venezuela

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February 2007 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Li & Fung 2006

By: F. Warren McFarlan, William C. Kirby and Tracy Manty

Describes the opportunities and strategy facing one of the most innovative global supply-chain companies, and the strategy it has chosen to deal with the expanding demand for its services. Li & Fung links thousands of factories in India, China, and elsewhere to nearly... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Supply Chain Management; Distribution Channels; Global Range; Strategy; Information Technology; Service Industry; Distribution Industry; China; India; United States; Europe

September 1992
Case

Kodak Business Imaging Systems Division

By: Marie-Therese M. Flaherty and Steven C. Wheelwright

Describes Kodak's decision regarding a manufacturing site for some of its products. Compares several types of products (with different cost structures) and several worldwide locations (with different characteristics). Provides a framework (model) for comparing and... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Production; Product; Global Range; Supply Chain Management; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Electronics Industry

February 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Case

International Agribusiness in China: Charoen Pokphand Group

By: William C. Kirby, Michael Shih-ta Chen, Tracy Manty and Yi Kwan Chu

The world's leading Thai agribusiness corporation and largest agribusiness investor in China, CP Group, is facing another crossroads in China as the country starts to undergo rural reform. The issues at hand for Chairman Dhanin Chearavanont is how CP can balance its... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; SWOT Analysis; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Rural Scope; Agribusiness; Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; China

June 2008
Article

The Multiunit Enterprise

By: David A. Garvin and Lynne C. Levesque

A multiunit enterprise is a geographically dispersed organization built from standard units (stores, restaurants, or branches) that are aggregated into larger geographic groupings (districts, regions, and divisions). Although this organizational structure has become... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Global Range; Research; Business Ventures; Problems and Challenges; Business or Company Management; Business Headquarters; Organizational Design; Talent and Talent Management; Goals and Objectives

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March 2010 (Revised June 2010)
Case

The Greening of DUMBO

By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and Abhijit Prabhu

The Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass (DUMBO) has seen a revitalization since the late 1970s. The neighborhood's business improvement district (BID) is charged with supplementing New York City's efforts in several areas, including... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Local Range; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Wastes and Waste Processing; Urban Development; Public Administration Industry; New York (city, NY)

February 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Cable Data Systems

By: Paul W. Marshall and Todd H Thedinga

Describes the operating challenges of Cable Data Systems (CDS), a minority-owned cable installation company with a dual mission of maximizing profits and providing employment opportunities to minorities in urban markets. Following the merger of two cable installation... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Employment; Forecasting and Prediction; Urban Scope; Cost Management; Infrastructure; Labor Unions; Demand and Consumers; Demographics; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Boston

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February 2022 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Lilium: Preparing for Takeoff

By: Navid Mojir, Vincent Dessain, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

Lilium is a German company focused on developing electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) that can be used to offer air taxi services. The company went public in September 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal, raising more than... View Details

Career Coach

Doug Lester

Doug’s approach to career and executive coaching is informed by over ten years in marketing, digital, and general management roles at Johnson & Johnson and other Fortune 500 companies. He offers perspective as a former executive recruiter and often counsels alumni on... View Details

Keywords: Auto/Transportation/Logistics; Consumer Products; Education; Emerging Markets; Entertainment / Media; Entrepreneurship; Government; Health Care; Hospitality; Insurance; Publishing / Communications / Advertising; Real Estate; Retail; Social Enterprise; Technology

11 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: Dec. 11

network-based technologies, and for the median technology, the frequency of interactions decays by 73% every 1000 kms. Overall, we document the significant role that geography plays in determining technology diffusion across countries.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Nov 2021
Op-Ed

5 Principles for Scaling Change from IBM’s High School Innovation

into any other state or geography that implemented P-TECH. So, you got the key players not just to donate something, but to be part of the decision-making process. The new principal of the first P-TECH school went door to door in the... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

27 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 27

generates a negative effort response to higher wages. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50189 When Proximity May Not Be Destiny: The Role of Existing Relationships By: Hasan, Sharique, and Rembrand Koning Abstract—Research on View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2021 (Revised October 2022)
Supplement

Hester Pharmaceuticals (B): Securing Supply

By: Dante Roscini and John Masko

Supplements the (A) case. In late 2020, demand for Hester Pharmaceutical’s (Hester’s) breakthrough oncology drug Akrozumab was outstripping the company’s most optimistic projections. In order to increase manufacturing capacity and meet the demand, Hester was... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Cost vs Benefits; Trade; Supply Chain; Global Strategy; Buildings and Facilities; Operations; Health Care and Treatment; Demand and Consumers; Global Range; Globalized Markets and Industries; Pharmaceutical Industry; Italy; China; United States; Germany

January 2013 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Pittsburgh

By: Eric Werker, Meg Rithmire, Benjamin Kennedy and Andrew Knauer

The case narrates the development of Pittsburgh from the 1940s to 2012. It analyzes the collapse of the steel industry in the early 1980s, the city's subsequent decline, and the city's later re-emergence as a hub for higher education, the tech sector, and the... View Details

October 2010 (Revised July 2013)
Case

ActionAid International: Globalizing Governance, Localizing Accountability

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and Rachel Gordon

As a global NGO working in 45 countries, ActionAid International aims to eradicate poverty by addressing its underlying causes such as injustice and inequality. This case follows a series of radical transformations implemented by the organization's CEO, Ramesh Singh—a... View Details

Keywords: Local Range; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Nonprofit Organizations; Power and Influence; Johannesburg; London

September 2010 (Revised December 2011)
Case

WildChina: Taking the Road Less Traveled

By: Mukti Khaire, Daniel Isenberg, Victoria Song and Shirley Spence

This case deals with supplier difficulties faced by WildChina—a travel service provider in China. WildChina is a classic case of a company that is trying to bring a local, within-country product to a market outside the country (in this case, travelers to China from... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Local Range; Globalized Markets and Industries; Supply Chain Management; Conflict Management; Travel Industry; China