Publications

August 2018
Teaching Note

Magpie: Developing and Using Buyer Personas

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-013. Magpie is a startup with a platform that allows publishers to natively tag the products discussed in their content and thus allows consumers to purchase those products without needing to leave that publisher’s web page. A key aspect... View Details

Keywords: Buying Process; Marketing; Sales; Distribution Channels; Segmentation; Entrepreneurship; Social Media; Consumer Products Industry; Fashion Industry; United States

Article

Distributionally Robust Optimization and Its Tractable Approximations

By: Joel Goh and Melvyn Sim

In this paper we focus on a linear optimization problem with uncertainties, having expectations in the objective and in the set of constraints. We present a modular framework to obtain an approximate solution to the problem that is distributionally robust and more... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Mathematical Methods; Operations

November 29, 2011
Article

The Role of The Board in Creating a Sustainable Strategy

By: Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim

While conceptually elegant, the belief that a corporation's role is to maximize value for shareholders is under increasing challenge as society's expectations for companies change. An equally elegant new concept that takes account of these dual pressures has yet to... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Strategy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Expectations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Practices and Processes; Decisions; Risk and Uncertainty; Cost vs Benefits; Information

Read Now

April 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Shanzhai! MediaTek and the "White Box" Handset Market

By: Willy C. Shih, Chen-Fu Chien and Jyun-Cheng Wang

The term "white box" is often used to describe products without a brand name. Such products are assembled from standardized parts, and they became a very popular category of desktop PCs. Hsinchu, Taiwan based MediaTek is a fabless semiconductor company that unleashed a... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; Competitive Advantage; Wireless Technology; Semiconductor Industry; Taiwan

September 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Supplement

SUN Brewing (A) (CW)

The Khemka family of India--founders, managers, and majority owners of Russia-based SUN Brewing--faces a difficult decision in 1998. Following the ruble's massive devaluation in August 1998, the stock price of SUN brewing, which is publicly listed on the Luxemburg... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Emerging Markets; Family Business; Financing and Loans; Capital Markets; Decision Choices and Conditions; Food and Beverage Industry; India; Russia

July 2002 (Revised December 2002)
Case

Mercer Management Consulting (A)

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Michael Echenberg

Insurance giant Marsh & McLennan acquires management consulting firms Temple, Barker & Sloane (TBS) in 1987 and Strategic Planning Associates (SPA) in 1990 and sets out to merge the two. The merger proceeds slowly and painfully. Following the February 1990 merger,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Horizontal Integration; Consulting Industry

11 Apr 2024
In Practice

Why Progress on Immigration Might Soften Labor Pains

dynamism. Marco Tabellini is an assistant professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy Unit at HBS. Raj Choudhury: The US gains when it welcomes skilled migrants My research focuses on the migration of skilled workers. When the US lets in skilled... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

Web

Entrepreneurship - Recruiting

4% Entertainment / Media 3% Financial Services 22% Health Care 10% Manufacturing 6% Nonprofit / Government 1% Retail 1% Services 10% Technology 43% When Decided to Start Business 1st Year Term I 2% 1st Year View Details

Web

Sign up for our e-mail newsletter - HBS Working Knowledge

Sign up for our e-mail newsletter Sign up for the weekly Working Knowledge e-mail newsletter, offering business leaders cutting-edge research and ideas from Harvard Business School faculty. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and View Details

12 Sep 2023
Research & Ideas

How Can Financial Advisors Thrive in Shifting Markets? Diversify, Diversify, Diversify

clients by offering information sessions, teaching them financial principles and such has a much bigger effect” in terms of growth rates, Di Maggio says. You Might Also Like: Buy Now, Pay Later: How Retail's Hot Feature Hurts Low-Income... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Financial Services

31 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

Where Can Digital Transformation Take You? Insights from 1,700 Leaders

but also themselves. Everything is changing and technology is a key driver When we asked executives to join our roundtable conversations about “digital leadership,” they warned us that the term was too narrow: “leadership in the digital... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

Web

Marketing Curriculum - Faculty & Research

Term Quarter Credits B2B Sales and Distribution Lou Shipley Spring 2025 Q3 1.5 The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports (also listed under General Management) Anita Elberse Fall 2024 Q1Q2 3.0 Business Solutions for the Global Poor... View Details

Web

Cross-Registration Policies and FAQ - MBA

or Y depending on the week. X or Y class schedules, course titles, and times may be found on the Fall and Spring Term Course Schedules in the Course Planning Resources section of this website. The X and Y scheduled days are also shown on... View Details

22 May 2007
Working Paper Summaries

The Speed of New Ideas: Trust, Institutions and the Diffusion of New Products

Keywords: by Felix Oberholzer-Gee & Joel Waldfogel

March 2022
Teaching Note

Sawiris Foundation: Elevating Education in Egypt

By: Brian Trelstad and Alpana Thapar

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 322-023. Founded in 2001 by the Sawiris family, one of the wealthiest families in Egypt, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD) invested in human capital and provision of basic social services for the most marginalized... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Development; Human Capital; Equality and Inequality; Education; Business Strategy; Social Enterprise; Social Issues; Partners and Partnerships; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; Egypt

February 2011 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Utilis: Designing, Producing, and Selling Rapid Deployment Shelters for a Troubled World

By: Herman B. Leonard, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Simon Harrow

How can a company that supplies disaster response and humanitarian agencies best handle the intrinsically unpredictable and highly volatile demand for its products? Utilis is a French supplier of rapid-deploy high-end tent solutions for civilian and military uses (such... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Strategic Planning; Natural Disasters; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; France

February 1998 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Delamere Vineyard

Delamere Vineyard is a small, integrated winemaking business in Tasmania, specializing in pinot noir (red) and chardonnay (white) wines. Richard Richardson, Delamere's owner and winemaker, manages and operates the vineyard and winery largely alone. His products have... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Quality; Production; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Australia

2004
Chapter

Measuring the Value of Political Connections After Liberalization: Some Thoughts on Theoretical Constructs and Improved Research Design

By: Jordan I. Siegel

Scholars have recently begun to focus heightened attention on how firms in emerging economies react and even thrive during deep liberalization. Yet one fundamental question remains less than satisfactorily answered. How much in terms of scarce resources should firms in... View Details

Keywords: Liberalization; Emerging Economies; Political Connections; Business and Government Relations; Emerging Markets; Strategy