Publications

20 Dec 2004
Research & Ideas

The U.S. Patent Game: How to Change It

subtle shifts in abstract judicial doctrine will affect the amount they pay for new products. Even CEOs are not apt to give these arcane issues the same kind of attention as something like tax policy, which... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

November 2011 (Revised June 2012)
Case

The Big 3 Roar Back

By: William W. George

The "Big 3"—Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Chrysler—were all headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. Born between 1903 and 1928, they dominated the automobile industry in the U.S. for decades until they became complacent. In the 1970s they started losing share to... View Details

Keywords: Production; Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Industry Clusters; Competitive Strategy; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan

January 2009
Supplement

KPMG (B): Risk and Reform

By: Robert G. Eccles and Eliot Sherman

Under the leadership of Tim Flynn, Chairman and CEO of KPMG, the firm made a number of changes in compensation, governance, and culture in order to address the underlying reasons for actions that occurred prior to him becoming CEO that led to the accounting giant... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Ethics; Corporate Governance; Governance Compliance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation

March 2023
Teaching Note

Ransomware Attack at Colonial Pipeline Company

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 123-069. On the morning of May 7, 2021, Colonial Pipeline Company became aware that the company had been the victim of a malicious ransomware attack that had stolen and locked up company data. The extortionists demanded 75 bitcoins (worth... View Details

December 2003 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Blockbuster Inc. & Technological Substitution (A): Achieving Dominance in the Video Rental Industry

Provides a comprehensive background of the video rental industry and home entertainment giant, Blockbuster Inc. Follows the life of Blockbuster Inc. from its first days under founder Wayne Huizenga to its most recent developments under 2003 CEO John Antioco. By looking... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Competition; Change Management; Economics; Service Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

September 28, 2021
Editorial

A Guide to Implementing the 4-Day Workweek

By: A.V. Whillans and Charlotte Lockhart

As organizations continue to explore a variety of flexible work options, one promising avenue is the four-day workweek: The standard 40 hours per week is reduced to 32 hours, with the same pay and the same productivity expectations. Research suggests reducing hours can... View Details

Keywords: Workweek; Stress; Employees; Health; Performance Productivity; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Read Now

October 2021 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and Esel Çekin

In July 2021, Sunil Lalvani, founder and CEO of Project Maji, a non-profit social enterprise headquartered in Dubai that had already provided sustainable, clean water solutions to 80,000 people living in rural communities across Ghana and Kenya, was facing an important... View Details

Keywords: Water; Pricing; Nonprofit Organizations; Projects; Price; Decision Making; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; Equity; Green Technology; Social and Collaborative Networks; Africa; Dubai

March 1995
Case

Donald Salter Communications, Inc.

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Jeremy Cott

A new CEO is hired to manage the turnaround of a family-owned newspaper publisher. In a departure from previous management, he implements a new compensation scheme that explicitly ties executive pay to market-value-based measures of firm performance. Because the... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transformation; Asset Management; Wages; Balanced Scorecard; Family Ownership; Motivation and Incentives; Valuation; Journalism and News Industry

19 Mar 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Overcoming the Stress of ‘Englishnization’

In March 2010, CEO Hiroshi Mikitani (HBS MBA '93) stood in front of his employees at online retail giant Rakuten's Tokyo headquarters and dropped a bomb: all 7,100 workers would have two years to become proficient in English—the... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

09 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Leadership Lessons of the Great Recession: Options for Economic Downturns

performance during a recovery” A search for leaders who have taken alternative approaches to managing their workforce during economic downturns led us to Honeywell CEO Dave Cote, and drives the narrative of our new case study, Honeywell... View Details

Keywords: by Sandra Sucher & Susan Winterberg; Aerospace; Electronics

April 2020
Case

The Board's Role in Refocusing Bahrain Development Bank

By: Paul M. Healy and Alpana Thapar

In March 2016, Bahrain Development Bank’s (BDB) existing board term came to an end and Khalid Al Rumaihi was appointed the new chairman. Determining a need for change, he immediately overhauled the board and replaced BDB’s long-standing CEO. The new board quickly... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Governing and Advisory Boards; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Banking Industry; Bahrain

6 Jul 2021
Interview

Best Buy's Hubert Joly on Walking the Talk of Stakeholder Capitalism

By: Hubert Joly and Alison Beard

Hubert Joly, former chairman and CEO of Best Buy, says that now is the time for companies to get serious about operating to benefit not just shareholders but also employees, customers and broader society. In the face of environmental crisis, racial turmoil, and rising... View Details

Keywords: Stakeholder Capitalism; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Mission and Purpose; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

February 2000
Case

E2M Health Services

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Naomi Atkins

Outlines the growth of an innovative diabetes disease management organization from 1994-99. Having demonstrated the success of their model in managing diabetes populations in Texas and New York State, the CEO and president must decide the future strategy of the company... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Markets; Revenue; Innovation and Invention; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Internet; Health Industry

05 Sep 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

Making the Right Technical Hire

clip, then a contract designer may be prudent while you iterate on your MVP. You may pay a little more per hour for these contractors, but that far outweighs over hiring and paying a full-time salary early... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin; Technology

25 Jan 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Who Lives in the C-Suite? Organizational Structure and the Division of Labor in Top Management

Keywords: by Maria Guadalupe, Hongyi Li & Julie Wulf

23 Mar 2016
Research & Ideas

Researchers Prove C-Suite Gender Gap—but Can’t Explain It

example.” Looking at data from the Swedish Companies Registration Office and Statistics Sweden, they found that male executives earn 27 percent more than female executives, on average. The pay gap is smaller at the very top of the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

2013
Chapter

Who Chooses Board Members?

By: Ali Akyol and Lauren Cohen

We exploit a recent regulation passed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to explore the nomination of board members to US publicly traded firms. In particular, we focus on firms’ use of executive search firms versus allowing internal members (often... View Details

Keywords: Boards; Boards Of Directors; Executive Search Firms; Governance; SEC Regulation; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Succession; Executive Compensation

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May 2020 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Playing the Field: Competing Bids for Anadarko Petroleum Corp

By: E. Scott Mayfield, Daniel Green and Benjamin C. Esty

On April 8, 2019, Occidental’s CEO Vicki Hollub made a private offer to buy Anadarko Petroleum Corporation for $72 in cash and stock. Anadarko's CEO Al Walker said he would consider the offer, yet three days later, on April 11, he signed a merger agreement with Chevron... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Bids and Bidding; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits