Publications

November 2021 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Scott Tucker (A): Race to the Top

By: Aiyesha Dey and Amram Migdal

The case tells the story of the rise and fall of Scott Tucker, an entrepreneur, businessman, passionate race car driver, competitor, and owner of a professional racing team. From 1997 to 2012, Tucker built a nationwide network of payday lending businesses, becoming a... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Fairness; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governance Compliance; Governance Controls; Financial Services Industry; United States

Jeff Polzer is the UPS Foundation Professor of Human Resource Management in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. He studies how people collaborate in teams and across organizational networks to accomplish their individual and collective... View Details

2009
Other Teaching and Training Material

Personal Rapid Transport at Vectus, Inc.

By: Benjamin Edelman

PRT vehicles—often called "driverless taxis"—sought to combine the best characteristics of cars, taxis, and trains, while adding features unavailable in any existing transportation system. Like cars and taxis, PRT vehicles carried small groups—often just a single... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Network Effects; Transportation Networks; Transportation Industry

Read Now

September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Alessi: Evolution of an Italian Design Factory (A)

By: Youngme E. Moon, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Alessio Alessi, head of distribution at family-run Alessi S.p.A., is facing price and brand confusion among customers and is considering reorganizing Alessi's worldwide network of distributors. By describing the challenges facing Alessi, an internationally acclaimed... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transition; Cost Management; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Production; Problems and Challenges; Networks; Consumer Products Industry

August 2020 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Luckin Coffee (A): Caffeine-fueled Growth?

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes the founding of Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee in 2017 and its path to surpassing Starbucks as the largest coffee chain in China (by number of stores) in 2019. Unlike Starbucks stores, which were designed to be welcoming “third places” for... View Details

February 1998 (Revised August 1998)
Case

Teradyne, Inc.: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III

Alexander d'Arbeloff, Teradyne's founder and CEO, is launching his company into the software and network testing business. He has acquired three external start-ups and is beginning to integrate them with the rest of the company. While Teradyne's core... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Success; Horizontal Integration

07 Nov 2014
News

How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition

Clubs

Tech Club

Keywords: Entertainment / Media / Sports; Technology; Entrepreneurship

April 1996
Case

Shanghai Volkswagen

Volkswagen and Shanghai Sedan, have developed a joint venture to build western-quality autos in China. Having developed a supplier network capable of delivering quality components, the company now faces a need to expand capacity (demanding rapid expansion of their... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Management Practices and Processes; Joint Ventures; Operations; Performance Capacity; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Germany; China

23 May 2014
News

Facebook Succeeds Because Deep Down, We're All Stalkers

11 Sep 2012
News

Why You Need Charisma

06 May 2016
Blog Post

Make Social Media Work For You Abroad

acquaintances. This vast network can be located all over the world, but social media has the potential to bring everyone together and help you in your international search. It’s a lot easier today to find potential contacts and weaker... View Details

February 2015 (Revised June 2016)
Case

AltSchool: School Reimagined

By: John J-H Kim, Kyla Wilkes and Christine S. An

Max Ventilla and his team launches in 2013 AltSchool, a new network of tech-savvy independent K-8 "micro-schools." AltSchool is born out of Ventilla's frustration with the education options available for his young daughter. During his search, Ventilla comes to the... View Details

Keywords: Education Technology; School Models; Product Development; Entrepreneurship; Talent Development And Retention; Social Impact Investment; Information Technology; Business Model; Education; Business Startups; Customization and Personalization; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; United States

Research Summary

Research Summary

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer

Jeff Polzer is the UPS Foundation Professor of Human Resource Management in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. He studies how people collaborate in teams and across... View Details

22 May 2011
News

Change the World, and Win Fabulous Prizes

18 Dec 2018
News

José Mourinho thought he could buy success – now he’s paid the price

October 2006 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Habitat for Humanity-Egypt

By: Jane Wei-Skillern and Kerry Herman

Habitat for Humanity--Egypt (HFHE), has grown in just seven years to become one of the most successful Habitat programs worldwide. The organization is at a crossroads as it attempts to reach the ambitious goal of serving 10% of the 20 million Egyptians living in... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Construction; Social Issues; Social and Collaborative Networks; Non-Governmental Organizations; Construction Industry; Egypt