Publications

March 2023 (Revised April 2023)
Case

Shelly Sun at BrightStar Care: The Evolution of a Leader

By: Boris Groysberg, Colleen Ammerman and Sarah L. Abbott

Shelly Sun had founded BrightStar Care, a home health care and medical staffing agency, 20 years earlier and had grown the business to over 300 franchised locations and $654 million in annual system-wide sales. Sun had spent years working to get “the right people in... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Family Business; Franchising; Health Care; Women-owned Businesses; Growth And Scaling; Organization; Franchise Ownership; Entrepreneurship; Work-Life Balance; Growth and Development; Health Industry; United States

02 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Gear: Why Managers Don’t Act

book. The success formula becomes public and is harder to amend later. Your top executives look alike. Look around. Your company won't stretch itself when all the managers think alike and see the business in the same way. Your competitors... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

May 2013
Article

The Performance Frontier: Innovating for a Sustainable Strategy

By: Robert G. Eccles and George Serafeim

By now most companies have sustainability programs. They're cutting carbon emissions, reducing waste, and otherwise enhancing operational efficiency. But a mishmash of sustainability tactics does not add up to a sustainable strategy. To endure, a strategy must address... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Innovation; Environment; Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility; Governance; Strategy; Value; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Environmental Sustainability; Innovation and Invention

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16 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: ‘The Strategist’

executives in Harvard's Entrepreneur, Owner, President (EOP) program. During that time, she realized that many of her students hadn't spent much time thinking about their own companies' strategies. In this excerpt, Montgomery describes a... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia A. Montgomery

Blog

Emerging from the Pandemic: Insights from South Asia and ASEAN

While HBS delivers the majority of its Executive Education programs in Boston, we conduct research and deliver global leadership programs to serve the needs of executives from all over the world. In her role... View Details

June 2021
Case

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments): April 2021

By: Josh Lerner, Reza Satchu and Alys Ferragamo

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is one of the largest pools of investment capital in the world and follows a rigorous “Total Portfolio Framework” in its approach to investment management. In April of 2021, John Graham was just two months into his role... View Details

Keywords: Pension Funds; Investment Strategy; Capital Markets; Financial Strategy; Investment; Asset Management; Financial Institutions; Private Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Assets; Financial Markets; Financial Services Industry; Canada

Teaching Interest

Risk Management for Corporate Leaders

As companies adapt to the aftershocks of the global recession, risk management is a top priority for their senior executives and boards—and for those of nonprofit and public-sector enterprises as well. The financial crisis revealed that risk management processes cannot... View Details

June 2020
Case

Big Hit Entertainment and Blockbuster Band BTS: K-Pop Goes Global

By: Anita Elberse and Lizzy Woodham

Bang Si-Hyuk (‘Hitman Bang’) is the founder and co-chief executive officer of Big Hit Entertainment, the company behind BTS, a ‘K-pop’ band that has found unparalleled success around the globe—a remarkable feat given that most of their songs are in Korean. It is March... View Details

Keywords: Music; Entertainment; Superstars; Talent; Talent Development; Labor Economics; General Management; Music Entertainment; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Labor; Contracts; Marketing; Strategy; Music Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

September 1994
Supplement

Otis Elevator Company: China Joint Venture (E-2)

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Describes what happened and presents the perspectives of the three executives who played key roles in the process. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Globalization; Global Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; China

Video

Louisa Mojela & Gloria Serobe

Louisa Mojela, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of WIPHOLD, reflects on ways that she navigated her early career in the context of South Africa's apartheid system. View Details

May 1994
Case

Laura Ashley (C): Rebuilding and Transforming a Global Brand

By: Richard L. Nolan

Over the course of two years a CEO executes a business transformation strategy and key decisions. View Details

Keywords: Transition; Decisions; Performance Consistency; Performance Improvement; Business Strategy