Publications

October 1991 (Revised August 1993)
Case

Acid Rain: Burlington Northern, Inc. (A)

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Burlington Northern (BN) hauls low-sulfur coal from the northern Great Plains to electric utilities in the Midwest. Acid rain legislation may affect the geographic scope of BN's markets. Railroad managers need to assess the economic effects of acid rain controls and... View Details

Keywords: Rail Transportation; Environmental Sustainability; Development Economics; Government Legislation; Natural Environment; Policy; Metals and Minerals; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Rail Industry; United States

06 Nov 2019
Op-Ed

Torched Planet: The Business Case to Reinvent Almost Everything

The world is. on. fire. The Earth is burning. We only have a little time to arrest climate change, and if we fail to do so the consequences will be both dire and irreversible. We have the technology and the resources to fix things, if we want to. We even have a... View Details

Keywords: by Rebecca Henderson; Energy

28 Oct 2024
Blog Post

It Takes a Village: Global Field Courses at Harvard Business School

restaurants, transportation options, and cultural activities. What was unique is that we're considering adding a visit to a more remote part of India,” said McCarthy. “I don’t often assess the drive, so I was noting the road conditions—is... View Details

28 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Novo Nordisk

to produce human insulin in genetically modified yeast cells: fermentation, recovery, and purification. The company also handles manufacturing and supply chain development, upscaling for production, assembly of delivery devices, packing of product, and cold chain View Details

21 Jun 2022
News

Banquet Brings Latino Alumni Back Together; Dallas Club Marks 75 Years with a Look Ahead

as other reasons for growth, while crime, low-quality public education, and transportation issues pose significant challenges. Sheets says the conversation also touched on the need to invest in underprivileged neighborhoods, how to make... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

07 Dec 1999
Research & Ideas

Henry Heinz and Brand Creation in the Late Nineteenth Century

of novel consumer goods—ready-made shirts, watches, Japanned fans, celluloid baby rattles, Swiss buttermilk soap, and much more. Heinz could also sense that the pace of urban life was quickening, spurred on by transportation and... View Details

Keywords: by Nancy F. Koehn

23 Mar 2017
Cold Call Podcast

Cost-cutting Leads to Turbulence in the Airline Industry

Keywords: Re: Susanna Gallani; Air Transportation; Air Transportation

29 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Work 3.0: Redefining Jobs and Companies in the Uber Age

Are Uber drivers and HourlyNerd consultants independent contractors or employees? Interesting question, but the wrong one. Better to ask: Are we stifling innovation across the digital economy by forcing a simplistic choice, contractor vs. employee? The short answer is... View Details

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu; Transportation; Transportation

23 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

How One Center of Innovation Lost its Spark

How do once-thriving centers of innovation slow down, falter, and in some cases all but grind to a halt? That's a question that fascinates HBS professor Donald N. Sull. In a new working paper describing his in-depth research, Sull focused on the travails of one former... View Details

Keywords: by Donald Sull; Transportation; Transportation; Transportation

June 1997 (Revised November 1998)
Case

Sky Air, Inc.

By: Paul A. Gompers

Concerns a fictitious airline company and examines the moral hazard situation that results within a firm. Provides an opportunity to discuss corporate governance and contracting under uncertainty. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Corporate Governance; Contracts; Risk and Uncertainty; Air Transportation Industry

March 2023 (Revised May 2023)
Case

OneTen at Delta Air Lines: Catalyzing Family-Sustaining Careers for Black Talent (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Lydia Begag

It was December 10, 2020, and Ed Bastian, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Delta Air Lines (Delta), had just finished a meeting with Joanne Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, and Keyra Lynn Johnson, the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Training; Race; Equality and Inequality; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Job Design and Levels; Air Transportation Industry; United States

May 2021
Teaching Note

American Airlines' Value Pricing (Abridged)

By: Sunil Gupta and Alvin J. Silk

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-019. View Details

Keywords: Consumer Marketing; Market Segmentation; Pricing; Pricing Strategy; Demand Analysis; Competition; Marketing; Segmentation; Price; Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Analysis; Air Transportation Industry

April 2020
Case

Cockpit Dynamics in Air France 447 and United 232

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Joshua Raymond

This case compares leadership and team dynamics between the cockpit crews in two renowned passenger airline crashes, twenty years apart: Air France 447 in 2009 and United 232 in 1989. The key dimensions of difference across the cases include organization and task... View Details

Keywords: Teams; Team Launch; Crisis Management; Groups and Teams; Leadership; Communication; Air Transportation Industry

April 2016
Supplement

Preparing a Concession Bid at TAV Airports Holding - Exhibit 7 Supplement Model

By: C. Fritz Foley and Çiğdem Çelik

In 2013, TAV Airports Holding prepared a bid for the concession to build and operate the third Istanbul airport. This process involved input from various parts of the firm with operating and financial expertise. Burcu Geriş, the CFO of TAV Airports Holding, and her... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Valuation; Investment; Bids and Bidding; Projects; Management Teams; Air Transportation Industry; Turkey

January 2016
Case

TransDigm Inc.

By: Eric Van den Steen, Kavita Mathews and Alon Galor

Transdigm had been very successful with a PE-like business model: it acquired smaller producers of aircraft components and improved their profits, mainly by increasing efficiency and applying value pricing. By 2014, Transdigm had completed almost 50 acquisitions. Its... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Price; Competitive Strategy; Air Transportation Industry

2014
Other Unpublished Work

Objections to Tentative Decision and Order to Show Cause (IATA 787)

By: Benjamin Edelman

I critique Order 2014-5-7 (Docket No. DOT-OST-2013-0048-0415) to the extent that the DOT permits, or purports to permit, airlines to sell tickets other than in accordance with published tariffs. I argue that tariffs provide important benefits to passengers and should... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Sales; Air Transportation Industry

Read Now

October 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Boeing 737 Industrial Footprint: The Wichita Decision

By: Willy Shih and Margaret Pierson

The case examines the circumstances leading up to the Boeing Company's decision to spin-off its Wichita Division. This case is intended to be taught with two other notes: "On the Use of Capital Efficiency Metrics," HBS No. 612-034, "Modularity in Design and... View Details

Keywords: Teaching; Capital; Standards; Design; Production; Air Transportation Industry