Publications

February 1991 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Ross Perot and General Motors

By: Jay W. Lorsch

In December, 1986 the General Motors Board of Directors must decide whether to accept the buyout agreement between GM and Ross Perot, a director of GM and its largest stockholder. The agreement called for GM to purchase all of Perot's GM shares in exchange for his... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Mergers and Acquisitions; Stock Shares; Resignation and Termination; Business or Company Management; Agreements and Arrangements

12 Apr 2013
News

Conversations Can Save Companies

27 Jun 2016
News

Net Neutrality Rules Will Make Winners and Losers Out of Businesses

From Higher Aims to Hired Hands

Is management a profession? Should it be? Can it be? This major work of social and intellectual history reveals how such questions have driven business education and shaped American management and society for more than a century. The book is also a call for reform.... View Details

December 2002
Case

National Economic Accounting: Past, Present, and Future

By: David A. Moss and Sarah A. Brennan

Presents the fundamentals of GDP accounting (including definitions, etc.), examines the history of national accounting, and surveys the international debate over "Green GDP." The first section explains the basic rules and definitions of national economic accounting and... View Details

Keywords: History; Natural Environment; Quality; Accounting; Forecasting and Prediction; Environmental Sustainability; Economy; United States

American Fair Trade explores the contested political and legal meanings of the term fair trade from the late nineteenth century through the New Deal era. This history of American capitalism argues that business associations partnered with... View Details

2018
Chapter

Between Economic Planning and Market Competition: International Law and Economics in the U.S.

By: Laura Phillips Sawyer

The impact of institutional economics in shaping the American regulatory tradition has largely been dismissed as an incoherent attack on the neoclassical economic paradigm. This essay briefly reconstructs the interwar institutionalist movement, exploring the... View Details

Keywords: Economics; History; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; United States

Find at Harvard

January 2020
Case

The Origins of Bell Labs

By: Tom Nicholas and John Masko

In 1947, scientists at Bell Labs invented the transistor—a tiny signal amplifier that would go on to become the fundamental building block of the digital age. But, confounding most traditional economic assumptions, it was not a vigorous startup that made this momentous... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Innovation Leadership; Technological Innovation; Patents; Monopoly; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; Boston; Massachusetts; New York (city, NY)

10 Sep 2021
Blog Post

Perspectives on Anti-Racism in the HKS Curriculum

In fall 2020, the Harvard Kennedy School incorporated a two-week module on Race and Racism in the Making of the United States as a Global Super power into the MPP core curriculum. The school created this module in response to calls by the student-led HKS Equity... View Details

November 2007 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Indonesia: Attracting Foreign Investment

By: Michael E. Porter and Christian H.M. Ketels

Describes the economic development of Indonesia from independence after World War II to 2006 and the post-Suharto period. The coverage of the post-Suharto period provides evidence of how political and economic conditions are intertwined after a change in the political... View Details

Keywords: History; Situation or Environment; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Policy; Foreign Direct Investment; Business and Government Relations; Public Administration Industry; Indonesia

May 2020 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Brand Storytelling at Shinola

By: Jill Avery, Giana M. Eckhardt and Michael B. Beverland

Detroit, Michigan, aka “The Motor City,” is most known as the birthplace of most of the American classic automotive brands. It is a city filled with the rich history of the industrial age, the pride of American manufacturing, and of the soulful sounds of Motown music.... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Advertising; Luxury; Consumer Products Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Detroit; United States; North America

October 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Ball: EVA Driving the World's Leading Can Manufacturer (A)

By: Jonas Heese and Susan Pinckney

The case describes Ball’s multi decade history of using Economic Value Added to drive decision making and workforce compensation. In 2016, the company acquired Rexam PLC and became the world’s leading metal beverage container company. Consumer demand for varied... View Details

June 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

The Lunar Gateway, Moon vs. Mars, and the Political Governance of Space Activities

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl and Mehak Sarang

In 2017, the Trump Administration made a bold claim—that they would return the next man and the first woman to the lunar surface by 2024, this time to establish a sustainable presence to enable further exploration in the solar system. With the Artemis Program, NASA has... View Details

Keywords: Space; Space Economy; Aerospace; Nasa; Governance; Policy; International Relations; Infrastructure

February 2014
Case

Diageo: Innovating for Africa

By: David E. Bell, Damien P. McLoughlin and Mary L. Shelman

Diageo, the world's leading premium drinks business, had a long history in Africa starting from its beer brand, Guinness, first exported to Sierra Leone in 1827. By 2013, 13% of Diageo's global revenues were from Africa, up from 9% in 2007. Diageo Africa President Nick... View Details

Keywords: Africa; Emerging Market; Innovation; Agribusiness; Beverage Industry; Emerging Markets; Innovation Strategy; Marketing; Food and Beverage Industry; Africa

July 2007 (Revised November 2009)
Case

World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jordan Mitchell

Nearly all environmental organizations have a similar aim: to stop the degradation of the natural environment. However, the strategies which environmental organizations choose to employ are sometimes starkly different. Compares the models of two dissimilar... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Non-Governmental Organizations; Business Strategy

July 2007 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Greenpeace

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jordan Mitchell

Nearly all environmental organizations have a similar aim: to stop the degradation of the natural environment. However, the strategies which environmental organizations choose to employ are sometimes starkly different. Compares the models of two dissimilar... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Non-Governmental Organizations; Business Strategy

05 Nov 2019
News

Learning from a Different Past

June 2016
Case

Big Spaceship: The Evolving Agency

By: Boris Groysberg and Matthew G. Preble

This case discusses the evolution of Big Spaceship, an advertising and marketing agency, from a product-focused business to a relationship-oriented one as clients seek deeper and more meaningful long-term partnerships. The 15-year-old company had already evolved... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Marketing; Organizational Structure; Organizational Design; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Social Media; Advertising Industry; United States; New York (city, NY)