Publications

Program

Mergers and Acquisitions

Summary Across the globe, mergers and acquisitions are reshaping the corporate and competitive landscape. To help companies gain a strategic advantage and expand market share, this M&A program takes you inside the process—from strategy... View Details

14 Oct 2015
News

When People Pay Attention to Video Ads and Why

Program

Family Office Wealth Management—Virtual

gaps Explore the full range of investment opportunities Apply frameworks for evaluating unique investment opportunities for family real estate, niche assets, emerging markets, public market ideas, and startup/venture-backed investments... View Details

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

ASOS PLC

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Launched in 2000, ASOS was one of the world’s largest online fashion specialists in 2018. Focusing on young consumers aged 16–25 years, the company offered over 85,000 items on its websites, many times more than the largest fashion stores, and added several thousand... View Details

Keywords: ASOS; AsSeenOnScreen; Online Fashion; Online Apparel; Nick Beighton; Nick Robertson; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Social Media; Marketplaces; Shipping; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Gender; Currency Exchange Rate; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

March 2007
Supplement

Bain & Company, Inc.

In late 2001, the consultancy Bain must decide whether to launch information technology as a practice area within the firm. The senior executives who are Bain's clients have been asking more and more IT-related questions of the firm's partners, who find themselves... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Information Technology Industry; Consulting Industry

Web

Browse All Articles, Research, & Case Studies - HBS Working Knowledge

Case What Wartime Service Taught These Historic Leaders by Avery Forman What can corporate leaders learn from executives who served their country during wartime conflicts? Drawing on a series of case studies, Robert Simons shares... View Details

16 May 2023
HBS Case

How KKR Got More by Giving Ownership to the Factory Floor: ‘My Kids Are Going to College!’

meets its moment Stavros believed that enfranchising workers as owners would lead to higher productivity and morale—and build wealth in blue-collar communities. But, early versions of the idea met mixed results. Stock options or employee stock ownership programs, tied... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

July 2020 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Paris Saint-Germain: Building One of the World's Top Sports Brands

By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

In March 2020, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain (‘PSG’) sees his team clinch a spot among the last eight clubs to compete in the UEFA Champions League. Established in 1970 and initially a club with only moderate success, PSG’s... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Football; Superstars; Talent; Talent Development; General Management; Sports; Entertainment; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Globalization; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Strategy; Sports Industry; Europe

July 2020
Background Note

Gender Diversity on Boards: Views from Norway

By: Aiyesha Dey

The issue of gender diversity on boards has received increased attention in U.S markets over the past few years. In 2018, California introduced a law which required boards of U.S-listed firms with headquarters in California to include at least one female director by... View Details

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

February 2015
Case

BlackRock: Diversity as a Driver for Success

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

In July 2014, the Global Executive Committee (GEC) for BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, held a two-day offsite to discuss the state of talent within the firm. A year prior, in 2013, Chairman and CEO Laurence (Larry) Fink had asked Global Head of HR Jeff... View Details

Keywords: Women And Leadership; Diversity; General Management; Leadership; Change Management; Human Capital; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Financial Services Industry; United States

17 Mar 2015
News

Laissez-faire fix to labour-market inequality?

03 May 2016
First Look

First Look, May 3, 2016

Effectively By: Casciaro, T., F. Gino, and M. Kouchaki Abstract—No abstract available. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51004 February 2016 Journal of Accounting & Economics Labor Unemployment Insurance... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2009
Working Paper

Do Analysts Follow Managers Who Switch Companies? An Analysis of Relationships in the Capital Markets.

By: Francois Brochet, Gregory S. Miller and Suraj Srinivasan

We examine the importance of professional relationships developed between analysts and managers by investigating analyst coverage decisions in the context of CEO and CFO moves between publicly listed firms. We find that top executive moves from an origin firm to a... View Details

Keywords: Business and Stakeholder Relations; Capital Markets; Decisions; Managerial Roles; Financial Institutions; Investment; Market Participation; Public Ownership; Relationships

SSRN

16 Nov 2021
HBS Case

How a Company Made Employees So Miserable, They Killed Themselves

reportedly linked to job-related misery. In a landmark ruling in 2019—the first of its kind—a French court found that a number of executives at France Télécom had fostered an environment of institutional harassment in the ruthless means... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

June 2010
Article

The China Rules: A Practical Guide for CEOs Managing Multinational Corporations in the People's Republic

By: Lynn S. Paine

To achieve growth and profitability in the world's third-largest economy, multinationals need strong leadership--but China is tough on top executives. Pulsating with opportunity, China attracts foreigners, yet HR professionals continue to rank it as one of the most... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Multinational Firms and Management; Leadership; Management Skills; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Adaptation; China

Find at Harvard

02 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 2, 2019

forthcoming Strategic Management Journal Threat of Platform-Owner Entry and Complementor Responses: Evidence from the Mobile App Market By: Wen, Wen, and Feng Zhu Abstract—We examine how app developers on the Android mobile platform... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

02 Feb 2015
News

Rebranding Infosys

19 Aug 2019
News

Why “Tell Them Something They Don’t Know” Is Bad Advice in B2B Sales

2023
Working Paper

Where Strategy Matters: Evidence from a Global Startup Field Study

By: Nataliya Langburd Wright

The role of strategy for innovative startups is theoretically ambiguous and much debated among practitioners. I interviewed executives of 253 scaling software ventures from 34 countries and scored the alignment of their market and organizational choices to detect... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship And Strategy; Scaling Technology Ventures; Global Contextual Intelligence; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy