Publications

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March 2007 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Edward Jones in 2006: Confronting Success

By: David J. Collis and Troy Smith

When Jim Weddle took over as Managing Partner of Edward Jones in January 2006, the brokerage firm was at a critical juncture. The firm's distinctive strategy had enabled it to grow from its roots in small-town America to become the 4th largest broker in the U.S. Weddle... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Performance; Competitive Advantage; Financial Services Industry; United States

15 Jul 2014
First Look

First Look: July 15

performance to provide quantitative insight into the link between a firm's business model choices and its profit consequences. The method is applied to Walmart by building a qualitative representation of its... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

09 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life?”

is taught in every fundamental course in finance and economics. That is, in evaluating alternative investments, we should ignore sunk and fixed costs, and instead base View Details

October 2024
Article

On Why Women-owned Businesses Take More Time to Secure Microloans

By: Goran Calic, Moren Lévesque and Anton Shevchenko

Examining gender differences in business financing reveals important dimensions on which women- and men-owned businesses differ. Although considerable progress has been made in understanding gender differences in mobilizing resources, the role of time in business... View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Gender; Financing and Loans; Equality and Inequality; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship

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07 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

When Glasses Land the Gig: Employers Still Choose Workers Who 'Look the Part'

Seeking a programming gig? Wear glasses and keep your laptop in frame if you want your profile picture to attract recruiters on hiring platforms. A new study finds freelancers are more likely to land work when they “look the part” for a... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

March 2002
Case

Mark Taper Forum (A)

The Mark Taper Forum, a regional nonprofit theatre in Los Angeles, has discovered and produced a highly acclaimed play entitled Angles in America. Because of the play's success, for-profit theatres on Broadway in New York have become extremely interested in... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Nonprofit Organizations; For-Profit Firms; Decision Choices and Conditions; Theater Entertainment; Los Angeles

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January 2009 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Targanta Therapeutics: Hitting a Moving Target

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

This case explores regulatory, product testing, and business strategy at Targanta Therapeutics, a biotech company preparing its first new drug application to the FDA. In October 2007, Mark Leuchtenberger, president and CEO of Targanta—which has just held a successful... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Health Testing and Trials; Product Development; Business and Government Relations; Business Strategy; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

September 2022
Case

BancoSol: Financial Inclusion in the Perfect Storm

By: Michael Chu and Carla Larangeira

In the pandemic, financial inclusion icon BancoSol faces a government-mandated year-long deferral of all loan payments, followed by the sudden Covid death of its CEO. In a Bolivia mired in political turmoil following a failed presidential election, with clients not... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Crisis Management; Management Succession; Business Strategy; Innovation Leadership; Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; Restructuring; Financial Services Industry; Latin America; Bolivia

24 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 24

gas regulations are more likely to share greenhouse gas emissions levels and reduction targets. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/12-026.pdf The Rich Get Richer: Enabling Conditions for... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Activision: The 'Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer' Project

By: Alan D. MacCormack, Enrico D"Angelo and Kerry Herman

Mike Ward, the producer in charge of developing the Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer game for Activision, must decide whether to launch the game in time for the 2002 Christmas season. Complicating his decision are the lukewarm response from consumers to TV test spots of the... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Product Development; Customer Satisfaction; Projects; Business or Company Management; Product Launch; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Industry Structures; Innovation Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

June 2021
Case

Mobileye 2021: Robotaxi and/or Consumer AV?

By: David B. Yoffie, Danielle Golan and Nicole Tempest Keller

In March 2021, Amnon Shashua, co-founder and CEO of Israel-based Mobileye, was preparing to meet with Intel’s new CEO, Pat Gelsinger, to review plans for the future. Mobileye had been acquired by California-based Intel in 2017, but still operated independently.... View Details

Keywords: Technology Companies; Robotics; Autonomous Vehicles; Strategy; Decision Making; Transportation; Technological Innovation; Technology Industry; Auto Industry; Transportation Industry; Israel

February 2004 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Hewlett-Packard: Culture in Changing Times

By: Michael Beer, Rakesh Khurana and James Weber

HP had been a highly successful and respected company for decades. It was well known for its company culture and management practices--the HP way--which emphasized both profits and people. Changing markets, strong competitors, and the growth of its computer business,... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Human Resources; Leading Change; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Effectiveness; Adoption; Competition

16 Oct 2012
First Look

First Look: October 16

PublicationsEnterprise Analytics: Optimize Performance, Process, and Decisions Through Big Data Author:Thomas H. Davenport Publication:FT Press, 2012 Abstract This book, an edited collection of research... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 11, 2008

cognitive lens to understanding technology trajectories across the life cycle by developing a co-evolutionary model of technological frames and technology. Applying that model to each stage of the technology life cycle, we identify View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 2017
Case

From 80 Thoreau to Mooncusser Fish House & Moon Bar (A)

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Sandra Bahous

After extensive planning, Ian Calhoun, (MBA 2010) who was also a chef trained in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu, and two co-founders launched 80 Thoreau, a “progressive fine dining” restaurant in Concord, Massachusetts, that became a local favorite as well as a special... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Boston; Cambridge

October 2019
Case

Agility Africa

By: Juan Alcacer, Caroline M. Elkins and Esel Çekin

This case illustrates the challenge and opportunities that firms face when developing and executing new business models in high-risk, low-infrastructure, low-trust countries. It features a global logistics group, Agility, that aimed to become the leader in supplying... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Expansion; Emerging Markets; Decision Choices and Conditions; Real Estate Industry; Distribution Industry; Africa

January 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Metapath Software: September 1997

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Bill Wasik

In September 1997, John Hansen called together his board to debate an interesting choice that his company had to make. Hansen--the CEO of Metapath Software, a provider of software and services to wireless carriers--had two offers to describe. The first was an offer to... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Stocks; Public Ownership; Negotiation Deal; Telecommunications Industry; Information Technology Industry

2008
Book

Predictable Surprises

By: Max Bazerman and Michael D. Watkins

Most events that catch us by surprise are both predictable and preventable, but we consistently miss (or ignore) the warning signs. This book shows why such "predictable surprises" put us all at risk, and shows how we can understand, anticipate, and prevent them before... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Forecasting and Prediction; Leadership; Risk and Uncertainty; Behavior