Publications

05 Oct 2016
What Do You Think?

Can the US Economy Regain the Growth and Prosperity of the Past?

Whose Job Is It to Rebuild the US Middle Class? Optimism among respondents to this month’s column concerning future United States growth rates hinges on whether the middle class can be restored. That’s a big contingency. Those commenting had differing opinions on just... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

April 2005
Background Note

Strategies of Unrelated Diversification

By: Bharat N. Anand and Samhita Patwardhan Jayanti

Conglomerates lie at the heart of debates in corporate strategy. They include, perhaps, the best known companies in history--Beatrice Corp., General Electric, ITT, Siemens, and ABB--and at various times over the last few decades have been both admired and vilified as a... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Business Conglomerates; Corporate Strategy; Value

December 2024
Article

Can Activists Change Business for Good?

By: Hiske Arts, Geoffrey Jones, Sarah Soule and Lora Verheecke

Leading experts debate the ability of activists to successfully challenge unsustainable corporate behavior. Includes a discussion of the role of business leaders as actvivists. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Responsibility; Activism; Spirituality; Power and Influence; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

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September 1988 (Revised October 1992)
Case

Suzuki Samurai

By: John A. Quelch

Suzuki and advertising agency executives are debating the product positioning and accompanying copy strategy alternatives for the Suzuki Samurai prior to its U.S. introduction. View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Advertising Campaigns; Advertising Industry; Auto Industry; Japan; United States

October 2002 (Revised March 2009)
Background Note

Foreign Direct Investment

By: Laura Alfaro and Esteban Clavell

Briefly reviews motivations and trends behind foreign direct investment and multinational corporations as well as the policy debate that surrounds them. View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Policy; Business and Government Relations

03 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

Forget About Making College Affordable; Make it a Good Investment

The August 2016 cover of Consumer Reports featured a striking quote by a 32-year-old nurse with $152,000 in student loans: “I kind of ruined my life by going to college.” While obviously an extreme case, her plight offered merely the latest example of media coverage... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph Fuller; Education

August 2023 (Revised December 2023)
Case

Money Fellows: The Quest for Expansion

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, Michael Chu and Ahmed Dahawy

This case explores the opportunities and challenges associated with expanding the operations of a complex entrepreneurial business model. It highlights how cultural aspects of different geographies impact a startup's operational and economic models. The case also... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Developing Countries and Economies; Geographic Scope; Business Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Egypt

October 2001 (Revised February 2007)
Background Note

Accounting for Employee Stock Options

Employees who have been granted stock options have the right to purchase shares of their company's stock at a specified price within a specified time period. The accounting for such employee stock options has been a controversial and complex topic for decades. The... View Details

Keywords: Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Accounting

April 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Reaganomics: Impact and Legacy

By: Tom Nicholas, John Masko and Matthew G. Preble

During the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan and his administration instituted several far-reaching economic policies that had both near- and long-term impacts on such aspects of the U.S. economy as monetary policy, inflation, the tax structure, and the role of... View Details

Keywords: Wealth and Poverty; Business and Government Relations; Leadership; Taxation; Government Administration; Government Legislation; Inflation and Deflation; Money; Economy; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Economic Growth; Equality and Inequality; United States

22 Mar 2018
Cold Call Podcast

Trump’s Populism: What Business Leaders Need To Understand

Keywords: Re: Rafael M. Di Tella

April 2020 (Revised February 2023)
Case

GitLab and the Future of All-Remote Work (A)

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury and Emma Salomon

GitLab is arguably one of the world’s largest “all-remote” companies. Started in 2011 and with more than 1,000 employees at present, it has no physical offices and all employees, including the entire C-Suite, work remotely from all parts of the world. The case... View Details

Keywords: Remote Work; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Value Creation; Business Model; Organizational Structure

01 Oct 2018
Book

Is the US Losing its Ability to Attract Highly Skilled Migrant Workers?

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Food & Beverage; Service

March 2014 (Revised September 2014)
Supplement

Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (B)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Natalie Kindred

This case, a follow-up to Cancer Treatment Centers of America (A), HBS No. 313-012, begins with the debate over New Hampshire's certificate-of-need (CON) law, which restricts hospital expansion. This debate ignited significant public criticism of Cancer Treatment... View Details

Keywords: Cancer; Cancer Treatment; Accountability; Outcomes; Outcomes Reporting; Outcomes Measurement; Survival; For-profit Hospitals; Health Care; Healthcare; Hospital; Certificate Of Need; Health Care and Treatment; Outcome or Result; Corporate Accountability; Policy; Health Industry; United States

2013
Article

Multinational Corporations, Global Justice and Corporate Responsibility: A Question of Purpose

By: Nien-he Hsieh

Do multinational corporations (MNCs) have a responsibility to address unjust conditions—not simply by refraining from contributing to injustice, but also by actively working to bring about a just state of affairs? This paper examines whether this question can be... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Corporations; Global Justice; Corporate Purpose; Corporate Responsibility; Human Needs; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

April 1985 (Revised March 1986)
Case

Seven-Up Division of Philip Morris

By: Michael E. Porter and Edward J. Hoff

In 1979, Philip Morris acquired the Seven-Up Co., the number three concentrate producer in the U.S. After four years of losses, Seven-Up had registered an operating profit in 1984. Industry analysts were debating the role that Seven-Up would play in Philip Morris's... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Divisions; Debates; Profit; Production; Personal Development and Career; United States

2014
Chapter

Corporate Social Responsibility and Multinational Corporations

By: Nien-he Hsieh and Florian Wettstein

A central question that arises from the perspective of global ethics is what standards ought to apply to the activities of multinational corporations (MNCs). This chapter surveys the contemporary theoretical literature on this question. The first section provides... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Corporation; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Standards

04 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

Think of it as Professors in Cars Having Coffee

do it to learn. We do it to push ourselves to think harder about the things that we care about. In our classrooms, we encourage debate, but we don't encourage people to just shout at each other. We encourage debate in the spirit of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Education; Entertainment & Recreation

July 2020 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Board Diversity at Amazon (A)

By: Aiyesha Dey and Anu Atluru

The case revolves around the decisions that the board of directors of ecommerce giant Amazon would need to make in response to the controversial letter that activist shareholder CtW investment group sent to Amazon’s shareholders, urging them to vote in favor of a... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Boards; Governing and Advisory Boards; Diversity; Gender; Race; United States

October 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

McDonald's Russia: Managing a Crisis

By: Youngme E. Moon and Kerry Herman

In August 1998, George Cohon, founder and senior chairman of McDonald's Russia, is facing an economic state of emergency. Russia is in the midst of a severe currency crisis--the ruble has plummeted in value, creating massive inflation and widespread economic disarray.... View Details

Keywords: Currency; Crisis Management; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Russia