Publications

January 2009 (Revised June 2014)
Case

CityCenter (A): Vision and Design

By: A. Eugene Kohn, John D. Macomber and Ben Creo

CityCenter is a $9 billion project for MGM MIRAGE. The project's star architects have a major disagreement about a critical design issue. Bill Smith, head of the MGM MIRAGE Design Group, must resolve this issue to the satisfaction of all the project's stakeholders.... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Cost vs Benefits; Design; Construction; Projects; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Conflict Management; Value Creation

Program

Strategic Negotiations

key issues, and develop the best process for each deal—all before the negotiations even start. This program is eligible for the Certificate of Management Excellence. Learn More Key Benefits The advanced skills you develop in this program... View Details

Program

Driving Digital Strategy

program is eligible for the Digital Transformation Certificate. Learn More Key Benefits By the end of this course, you will emerge as a dynamic and future-ready leader, armed with the knowledge, tools, and mindset necessary to lead your... View Details

06 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

Did You Hear What I Said? How to Listen Better

these misperceptions are problematic, the researchers say. First, vital information the person is trying to communicate might be lost, and secondly, the speaker might feel unnecessarily hurt, thinking the other person isn’t listening. “In both cases, we could View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Program

Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management

nonprofit management course is presented jointly with the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative. Key Benefits This program delivers the strategic perspectives, practical frameworks, and leadership skills you need to drive high performance... View Details

November 2008 (Revised July 2009)
Background Note

A Managerial Perspective on Clinical Trials

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

This note describes the history and regulation of clinical trials, managerial challenges related to pharmaceutical product testing, and current debates regarding prescription drug safety. Since clinical testing takes between five and seven years, and consumes up to 70... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Health Testing and Trials; Product Development; Safety; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

October 1991 (Revised November 1996)
Case

Gordon Cain and the Sterling Group (A)

By: Michael C. Jensen

A Houston-based LBO firm makes two petrochemical acquisitions that benefit from improved industry conditions and improved organizational performance. The LBOs generate huge increases in value, creating problems for managers, who have large, undiversified equity... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Value Creation; Business Exit or Shutdown; Leveraged Buyouts; Chemical Industry; Houston

23 Jan 2017
News

Helping Warli artists profit from their work

12 Jul 2016
News

Powering Up Our World

October 2007 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Advanced Energy: Programs for Energy Conservation

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Brooke Barton

Describes the dilemma facing Advanced Energy (AE), a $6 million nonprofit engaged in energy conservation in North Carolina. Most of the money for its programs comes from a Public Benefits Fund (PBF) enacted by the state legislature. With renewed effort by activists in... View Details

Keywords: Energy Conservation; Public Equity; Performance Efficiency; Nonprofit Organizations; Conflict and Resolution; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry

Find at Harvard

05 Sep 2023
Book

Failing Well: How Your ‘Intelligent Failure’ Unlocks Your Full Potential

future. A failed blind date leads to success The benefits of intelligent failures apply not only to business, but also to our personal lives. Edmondson explains that she is actually a product of learning from failure. In the 1950s, her... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

September 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Spire, the CubeSat Revolution, and the Government as a Space Data Customer

By: Matthew Weinzierl, Mehak Sarang and Brendan L. Rosseau

This case outlines the rise of Spire Global, a young space company using CubeSats to provide weather data and weather prediction services. In addition to tracing the evolution of a space startup from novel idea to publicly-traded company, the case also examines the... View Details

Keywords: Space; Government Contracting; Remote Sensing; Satellites; Business Startups; Public Sector; Cost vs Benefits; Competition; Weather; Forecasting and Prediction

There is a growing belief that scalable and low-cost AI assistance can improve firm decision-making and economic performance. However, running a business involves a myriad of open-ended problems, making it hard to generalize from recent studies showing that generative... View Details

05 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

In Praise of Marketing

latent or explicit. It involves branding these products and services, communicating their benefits to intermediaries and end consumers, and distributing them. All of these activities involve value creation. In return, producers extract... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Advertising

January 11, 2024
Article

Understanding the Tradeoffs of the Amazon Antitrust Case

By: Chiara Farronato, Andrey Fradkin, Andrei Hagiu and Dionne Lomax

Regulators in the United States and Europe have been taking on Big Tech, challenging what they say are the companies’ anti-competitive and predatory strategies that harm consumers and third-party users of their platforms. This article examines the FTC’s case against... View Details

Keywords: Monopoly; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Market Design; Lawsuits and Litigation

Read Now

August 2014
Article

Religion, Politician Identity and Development Outcomes: Evidence from India

By: Sonia Bhalotra, Irma Clots-Figueras, Guilhem Cassan and Lakshmi Iyer

This paper investigates whether the religious identity of state legislators in India influences development outcomes, both for citizens of their religious group and for the population as a whole. Using an instrumental variables approach derived from a regression... View Details

Keywords: Politician Identity; Infant Mortality; Primary Education; India; Muslim; Fairness; Religion; Government and Politics; India