Publications

08 May 2023
Research & Ideas

How Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Crushed Crowdfunding for Minority Entrepreneurs

but that gap triples during periods of high public anxiety over immigration in the United States. “When there is the greatest anxiety, we see this funding shortfall.” Banks have historically rejected loan applications from Black, Asian,... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

July 2021 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Supreme: Remaining Cool While Pursuing Growth

By: Jill Avery, Sandrine Crener, Marie-Cecile Cervellon and Ranjit Thind

Following VF Corporation’s acquisition of cult streetwear brand Supreme, consumers and industry pundits were nervous that becoming part of a large, public corporation would put an end to Supreme’s slow and careful growth trajectory as pressure for quarterly results... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Growth Management; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United States; North America

Research Summary

Reforming Social Science

By: Max H. Bazerman

Social science research affects all of us. When researchers learned organ donation rates are higher in countries where human organs are automatically available for donation unless you specifically “opt-out” of the system, as opposed to countries like the U.S., where... View Details

June 2023
Supplement

Roche: ESG and Access to Healthcare

By: George Serafeim

In May 2022, Roche Group, one of the largest healthcare companies in the world, hosted its first ESG investor event focused exclusively on its efforts to impact access to healthcare. While Roche had recently set an ambitious goal to double the number of patients that... View Details

October 10, 2024
Article

Characteristics of Creative Individuals: An Umbrella Review Protocol

By: Alex Thabane, Tyler McKechnie, Phillip Staibano, Goran Calic, Colin Kruse, Jason W. Busse, Samee Parpia and Mohit Bhandari

The properties of creative products–novelty and usefulness–are generally agreed upon by researchers. Yet, consensus is lacking on which personal and environmental factors contribute to an individual’s creative potential, or to what extent. substantial research work has... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Medical Specialties; Personal Characteristics; Health Industry; Canada

February 2007 (Revised March 2007)
Case

UBS and Climate Change--Warming Up to Global Action?

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Forest L. Reinhardt and Elizabeth Raabe

Marco Suter, Executive Vice-Chairman, UBS Board of Directors, carefully studied the chart on his desk. It showed the public commitment of major financial institutions to help mitigate global warming. Evidently, UBS lagged behind its competitors. The graph was part of a... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Energy Conservation; Cost vs Benefits; Law; Financial Institutions; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Accountability; Financial Services Industry

February 2003
Other Article

The Emergence and Sustainability of Abnormal Profits

By: Michael E. Porter and Anita M. McGahan

In this paper, we examine the emergence and the sustainability of abnormal profits among businesses that were part of U.S. public corporations between 1981 and 1994 and that reported financial results for at least six years. Our results reveal strong asymmetries... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; United States

November 2012
Case

Hillary Clinton & Partners: Leading Global Social Change from the U.S. State Department

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

As U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton acted on a long-standing interest in public-private partnerships to elevate and activate an Office of Global Partnerships reporting directly to her. One major initiative that also addressed her interest in women's... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Partnerships; Global Collaboration; Innovation; Leadership; Leading Change

December 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Workplace Safety at Alcoa (B)

At the May 1996 annual shareholders meeting, Alcoa CEO Paul O'Neill reported that Alcoa was making great progress toward becoming a world-class leader, both in terms of workplace safety and profitability. This validated of O'Neill's decade-long emphasis on safety as... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Working Conditions; Quality; Cost; Profit; Management Systems

30 Apr 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Earnings Quality and Ownership Structure: The Role of Private Equity Sponsors

Keywords: by Sharon P. Katz; Financial Services

February 2008 (Revised June 2008)
Case

Shoppers' Stop Group (SSG)

By: Rajiv Lal and Virginia Fuller

As B.S. Nagesh thumbed through the 2006-2007 Annual Report for Shoppers' Stop Group (SSG), action shots of healthy-looking people dressed in the latest fashions amid the words "Redefining Retail" brought a smile to his face. As managing director of SSG-a Rs 8.9 billion... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Initial Public Offering; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Emerging Markets; Retail Industry; India

July 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Trouble at Basecamp: Managing Politics, Polarization, and Conflict in the Workplace (A)

By: Nour Kteily, Deepak Malhotra and David Lane

As founders of the software company Basecamp, Jason Fried and David H. Hansson were used to being the subjects of social media attention. Both maintained active and dedicated Twitter followings for their unique perspectives on management and life. But on April 26,... View Details

April 2023 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Fermenting Accounting Problems at Vermont Kombucha Corp.

By: Tatiana Sandino and Marshal Herrmann

Founded in 2005, Vermont Kombucha Corp. (V-Ko) was an early mover in the fledgling U.S. market for kombucha, a drink brewed for its health benefits. Early on, the company captured more than 90% of market share. Under the leadership of its founder and CEO, Joe Williams,... View Details

Keywords: Going Public; Business Model; Financial Reporting; Ethics; Corporate Governance; Stock Shares; Food and Beverage Industry

09 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Unilever—A Case Study

many foreign firms have experienced significant and sustained problems in the United States, though it is also possible to counter such reports with case studies of sustained success. 8 During the 1990s a series of aggregate studies using... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation; Food & Beverage; Manufacturing; Retail

07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

jury." The appeals court is scheduled to report within weeks. Q: What does Enron's collapse mean for the future governance and control of public companies? A: The lessons of Enron relate to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

February 2014
Article

Developing a System to Track Meaningful Outcome Measures in Head and Neck Cancer Treatment

By: Ronald S. Walters, Heidi W. Albright, Randal S. Weber, Thomas W. Feeley, Ehab Y. Hanna, Scott B. Cantor, Carol M. Lewis and Thomas W. Burke

The health care industry, including consumers, providers, and payers of health care, recognize the importance of developing meaningful, patient-centered measures. This article describes our experience using an existing electronic medical record largely based on free... View Details

Keywords: Cancer Treatment; Cancer Care In The U.S.; Outcomes Measurement; Health Care and Treatment; Measurement and Metrics; Health Industry; North and Central America

Find at Harvard

03 Dec 2018
Research & Ideas

How Companies Can Increase Market Rewards for Sustainability Efforts

flavijus For the first time, a link has been drawn between public sentiment about a company’s sustainability practices and how that company is valued in the market. The results are important both for investors searching for under-valued, socially responsible companies,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

January 2017 (Revised August 2017)
Case

Weathernews

By: Karim R. Lakhani and Akiko Kanno

Tomohiro Ishibashi (Bashi), chief executive officer for B to S, and Julia Foote LeStage, chief innovation officer of Weathernews Inc., were addressing a panel at the HBS Digital Summit on creative uses of big data. They told the summit attendees about how the Sakura... View Details

Keywords: Crowdsourcing; Operations; Globalization; Weather; Forecasting and Prediction; Global Strategy

2012
Working Paper

Finding the God Particle of the Sustainability Business Case: Greener Pastures for Shareholder Value

By: Marc L Bertoneche and Cornis van der Lugt

The start of the 2000s saw a flurry of international publications on "the business case" for sustainability, seeking to map out the returns on investment and to differentiate recommended actions from cases of corporate philanthropy. Reports by business organisations... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Environmental Sustainability

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