Publications

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September 2021 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Mission edX: Balancing Social Good and Financial Sustainability

By: John J-H Kim, David J. Collis and James Barnett

In March 2021, online education platform edX considers how to achieve financial sustainability without compromising its mission to provide universal access to high-quality education. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Education; Values and Beliefs; Internet and the Web; Financial Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Education Industry; United States

Fast Answer

Stock Pitching: company, industry and market research

the Industries tab at the top of the page, search for industries. Limiting the search to "Research" will limit the results to recent market, industry and sector reports. Also, a View Details

May 2010
Article

Modern Management: Good for the Environment or Just Hot Air?

By: Nicholas Bloom, Christos Genakos, Ralf Martin and Raffaella Sadun

We use an innovative methodology to measure management practices in over 300 manufacturing firms in the U.K. We then match this management data to production and energy usage information for establishments owned by these firms. We find that establishments in better... View Details

Keywords: Energy Conservation; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity; Environmental Sustainability; Pollutants; Manufacturing Industry; United Kingdom

Fast Answer

Challenges and Opportunities in the Restaurant Industry

Research task Good for finding... ... View Details

November 2023
Case

The Commons Project in Rwanda—Building Digital Infrastructure for the Global Public Good

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui and Tom Quinn

In September 2022, The Commons Project Foundation (TCP) CEO Zhenya Lindgardt and her team met on a Zoom call to discuss building tools to help Rwandans manage their health data. They believed that helping Africa build digital infrastructure would improve much-needed... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Capital; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Health Care and Treatment; Information Management; Adaptation; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology Industry; Rwanda; United States

2008
Working Paper

Modern Management: Good for the Environment or Just Hot Air?

By: Nicholas Bloom, Christos Genakos, Ralf Martin and Raffaella Sadun

We use an innovative methodology to measure management practices in over 300 manufacturing firms in the UK. We then match this management data to production and energy usage information for establishments owned by these firms. We find that establishments in better... View Details

Keywords: Energy Conservation; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity; Environmental Sustainability; Pollutants; Manufacturing Industry; United Kingdom

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Research Summary

The Supply Chain Economy: A New Industry Categorization for Understanding Innovation in Services

By: Karen Mills

An active debate has centered on the importance of manufacturing for driving innovation in the U.S. economy. This paper offers an alternative framework that focuses on the role of suppliers of goods and services (the “supply chain economy”) in national performance. We... View Details

April 2008
Teaching Note

Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad (Brief Case)

By: Michael Beer and Elizabeth Collins

Teaching note for case # 2175 View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Human Resource Management; Incentives; Motivation; Manufacturing; Motivation and Incentives; Leadership; Change Management; Production; Organizations; Human Resources; Manufacturing Industry

January 1984
Background Note

Note on the Textile Industry in the 1980s

By: Kim B. Clark

Presents major developments in textile production technology during the 1970s and early 1980s. Outlines the specific innovations as well as the company and country of origin. View Details

Keywords: Goods and Commodities; Innovation and Invention; Production; Manufacturing Industry

17 Apr 2017
News

Panera-bred Leaders Have Risen Throughout the Restaurant Industry

offer. Shaich will remain as CEO of the operation. “Most people [here], they’ve been pushed to think in ways they’ve never been pushed to think about before,” Shaich told the Globe. Though those lessons add up to good management... View Details

Keywords: Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitality

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

producers who supply the industry. Equally hit are supply chain partners who move goods across the country. "It’s going to take some time to retool operating models to be able to succeed in this new environment.” Coming into 2020,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

April 2010
Supplement

Bill Nichol Negotiates with Walmart: Hard Bargains over Soft Goods (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

This case describes the multi-prong negotiating approach that Bill Nichol, Kentucky Derby Hosiery Co. CEO, took to deal with an ultimatum from his largest customer, as well as the outcome of this process. It concludes with a number of Nichol's observations about... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Management Practices and Processes; Negotiation Deal; Outcome or Result; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Retail Industry

05 Oct 2017
Blog Post

Working as a Software Engineer in Industrial Technology

so the work in both industries naturally appealed to that part of my personality. The people I admired most were the ones on the other side of the table—people who had built, operated and turned around companies—and I was fortunate to get... View Details

Keywords: Technology

February 2005 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Chuck's Wagon Inc.

By: Paul W. Marshall and Derek Lewis

This case describes the experiences of an HBS student as he takes on the challege of transitioning from an intern to a president at a small consumer packaged goods firm in Southern Texas. This HBS student is confronted with the opportunity to perform an operational and... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Goods; Operations Strategy; Executive Development; Strategy; Small Business; Production; Transformation; Management Skills; Financial Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Texas

21 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

How to Predict if a New Business Idea is Any Good

other once unlikely, now successful startups (LinkedIn similarly got more than 20 rejections back in 2003) seem to beg: How do you tell a good idea from a bad one? “With startups, especially high-growth startups, it’s extremely hard to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Accommodations; Financial Services

Don't Just Survive - Thrive: Leading Innovations in Good Times and Bad

2004
Chapter

When Good Names Go Bad: Organizational Illegitimacy, and the Dotcom Collapse

By: Mary Ann Glynn and Christopher Marquis

Keywords: Business Ventures; Failure; Web Services Industry

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04 Aug 2021
Research & Ideas

Worried About the Great Resignation? Be a Good Company to Come From

exodus. Generational expectations about what makes a good job are changing, employees are fatigued from the year-long pandemic and there are labor shortages everywhere. Employees have had the time and space to think about what really... View Details

Keywords: by Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

Summer 2019
Article

The Price Effects of Cross-Market Mergers: Theory and Evidence from the Hospital Industry

By: Leemore S. Dafny, Katherine Ho and Robin S. Lee

We consider the effect of mergers between firms whose products are not viewed as direct substitutes for the same good or service but are bundled by a common intermediary. Focusing on hospital mergers across distinct geographic markets, we show that such combinations... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Markets; Geographic Scope; Price; Outcome or Result; Insurance; Health Industry