Publications

29 Jul 2022
Research & Ideas

Will Demand for Women Executives Finally Shrink the Gender Pay Gap?

onto the exec team.” "When there's more scarcity and higher demand, that puts a premium on the type of person and on your willingness to pay." That push for gender diversity in senior management could spell an opportunity for women to... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

03 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

Cut Payroll Costs with Transparency, Fairness, and Compassion

many companies is that widespread salary cuts may not be workable because of existing employee agreements. Furloughs A furlough is a mandated unpaid leave of absence, utilized by private (such as General Motors during the 2019 United Auto... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

01 Apr 2020
Blog Post

The Product Design Sprint - 5 Things I Learned in Launch Lab 1

Ventures, who invented the Sprint process, and popularized it in the book of the same name. Jake ran the first two days, then handed over to faculty co-chairs Alan MacCormack and Russ Wilcox. The pressure was on the teams to make progress, rapidly building prototypes... View Details

October 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Epic Games

By: Andy Wu and Christopher Zhang

Epic Games entered a stagnant market with its PC-games digital storefront in 2018, in the context of incumbent competitors such as Steam, its meteoric rise via Fortnite, and imminent industry shifts in gaming distribution. On the surface, Epic Games Store’s competitive... View Details

Keywords: Industry Analysis; Video Games; Platforms; Comparative Advantage; Growth Strategy; Innovation Focused Strategy; Pricing Strategy; Strategy; Competition; Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Digital Platforms; Technology Industry

May 2010
Case

CEIBS: A Global Business School Made in China

By: John A. Quelch

In 2009, just 15 years after it was founded, the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) has achieved the remarkable 8th position in the Financial Times Global MBA rankings. The case describes the short history of the school and the reasons for its success.... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Quality; Business History; Competitive Advantage; Business Education; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; China

10 Nov 2015
Op-Ed

Authentic Leadership Rediscovered

authentic. Authentic Leadership was intended as a clarion call to the new generation to learn from negative examples like Enron, WorldCom and Tyco. In it, I defined authentic leaders as genuine, moral and character-based leaders:... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

October 2000 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Avon Products (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Greg Rogers

The general manager of Avon Mexico, Fernando Lezama, must decide whether to promote a woman to the position of vice president of sales. If appointed, the candidate would be the first female in all of Latin America to hold an executive position and one of the first... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Leading Change; Salesforce Management; Organizational Culture; Job Design and Levels; Gender; Management Teams; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Mexico

January 1997 (Revised December 1999)
Case

OXO International

By: H. Kent Bowen, Marilyn Matis and Sylvie Ryckebusch

OXO, a kitchen tools and gadgets company, was started by a businessman who had 30 years of experience in the housewares industry. With his wife and son as founders, he creates a new niche in the gadgets industry for high-end gourmet stores. The company has headquarters... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Supply Chain Management; Production; Design; Ownership; Business Startups; Acquisition; Consumer Products Industry; Asia; New York (city, NY); Connecticut

Lynda M. Applegate is a Baker Foundation Professor at HBS and is Chair of the Advisory Committee for Harvard University’s Masters Degree of Liberal Arts in Finance and Management at the Harvard University Extension School. She has also played a... View Details

Program

High Potentials Leadership Program

eligible for the Certificate of Management Excellence. Learn More Key Benefits Focused on developing high potential leaders, this program prepares you to embrace the risks and opportunities that accompany new leadership roles. You will... View Details

February 2010 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Digital Media Group: The Shanghai Bid

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

In December 2008, Thomas G. Tsao, acting CEO of Digital Media Group (DMG), a venture-backed provider of technology and media used primarily in subways, must decide how to structure the company's bid for the advertising concession in Shanghai's 13 existing and planned... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Corporate Accountability; Business or Company Management; Bids and Bidding; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Competitive Strategy; Advertising Industry; Technology Industry; Shanghai

23 Jul 2018
News

Driving Digital Strategy to Reimagine Your Business

TeachingInterests

MBA Required Curriculum Marketing

Marketing

The objectives of this course are to demonstrate the role of marketing in the company; to explore the relationship of marketing to other functions; and to show how effective marketing builds on a thorough understanding of buyer behavior to create... View Details

03 Jul 2013
What Do You Think?

What Are the Limits of Transparency?

given credit for fostering trust among members of an organization, building loyalty among employees, and generally creating better places to work. For many years we observed need-to-know policies (that may have had their origins in the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

June 2023 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Social Media Background Screening at Fama Technologies

By: Joseph Pacelli, Jillian Grennan and Alexis Lefort

Fama Technologies is an online screening company that uses AI to analyze job applicants' publicly available online content for signs of risk and culture fit. The case opens with Ben Mones, founder and CEO, looking to secure funding from venture firms. He is running... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Culture; Talent and Talent Management; AI and Machine Learning; Social Media; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; United States

January 2020
Background Note

Climate Change in 2020: Implications for Business

By: Rebecca M. Henderson, Sophus A. Reinert and Mariana Oseguera

This note provides general information about climate change and its implications for business. Included is an overview of climate change science and a number of its impacts, including rising sea levels, changing weather patterns and extreme weather, pressure on water... View Details

09 Dec 2013
Research & Ideas

Cultural Disharmony Undermines Workplace Creativity

Conflicts in Social Environment Undermine Creativity, a paper published this month in the Academy of Management Journal. Multicultural teams may need managerial nurturing to overcome frictions. Photo: iStockPhoto "A lot of times when we... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

June 2001 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Madison Avenue: Digital Media Services (B)

In late 1999, Madison Avenue was experiencing phenomenal growth in sales, clients, employees, and services provided. The stress and strain on the firm's employees was considerable and threatened to jeopardize the high-quality, active-ad management for which the firm... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Service Operations; Digital Marketing; Business Processes; Advertising Industry