Publications

01 Jan 2012
News

Hiroshi Mikitani, MBA 1993

Chairman and CEO, Rakuten, Inc. Download Mikitani profile (pdf) Return to Alumni Achievement Awards main page TIMELINE 1965 Born, Kobe, Japan 1972 Family moves to United States for two years 1988 Earns commerce degree, Hitotsubashi University 1988 Joins View Details

Web

Black Visionary Leadership and Redefining What's Possible - MBA

Sciences Partners & Families Peek SVMP Social Enterprise Student Life Student Loans Student Profile Sustainability Video Blog Industries Industries Architecture Construction Consulting Consumer Packaged... View Details

01 Jun 2022
News

A Sustainable Solution for Fashion

Ferdinand Stockmann (MBA 2021) and James Theuerkauf (MBA 2021) Photo courtesy Syrup Tech Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world, says James Theuerkauf (MBA 2021), who worked in McKinsey’s View Details

Keywords: April White

Web

When Ideas Become Reality: Entrepreneurship at HBS - MBA

Sciences Partners & Families Peek SVMP Social Enterprise Student Life Student Loans Student Profile Sustainability Video Blog Industries Industries Architecture Construction Consulting Consumer Packaged... View Details

June 2004 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Zara: IT for Fast Fashion

In 2003, Zara's CIO must decide whether to upgrade the retailer's IT infrastructure and capabilities. At the time of the case, the company relies on an out-of-date operating system for its store terminals and has no full-time network in place across stores. Despite... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Value and Value Chain; Information Management; Infrastructure; Supply Chain Management; Information Technology; Retail Industry

September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Wal-Mart Stores in 2003

By: Pankaj Ghemawat, Stephen P. Bradley and Ken Mark

Examines Wal-Mart's development over three decades and provides financial and descriptive detail of its domestic operations. In 2003, Wal-Mart's Supercenter business has surpassed its domestic business as the largest generator of revenues. Its international operation... View Details

Keywords: Wages; Fairness; Corporate Strategy; Operations; Labor Unions; Problems and Challenges; Gender; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; United States

Web

2022 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

session, we will discuss the case of Olay, which is facing declining sales. In the second half, we will expand our discussion to explore how firms should think about their digital journey. Can Consumers, Big Tech, and Retailers Fix Health... View Details

18 Apr 2017
First Look

First Look at New Ideas, April 18

March 27, 2017 Harvard Business Review How the Water Industry Learned to Embrace Data By: Cespedes, Frank V., and Amir Peleg Abstract—Most current talk about “big data” seems to assume the disintermediation or replacement of physical... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Sep 2023
News

Global Outposts Expand HBS’s Intellectual Footprint

at the company. He then turned his attention to the e-commerce platform the firm launched in 2018 to sell products directly to retail consumers. Now, as the case “Digital Transformation at Tata Steel” explains, Narendran had to decide... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

and from its employment of nationals at senior levels. The upshot, seen in the case of the EU, was that Unilever had a "voice" in issues that concerned it, even if it was exercised discreetly through industry and other... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

January 2022
Case

Walmart USA—Searching for Growth

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Maria P. Roche

In 2022, Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart, and his team looked back at a difficult but ultimately successful past year. The global pandemic had posed enormous challenges, but the company had weathered the storm successfully, raising same-store sales growth,... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Growth and Development Strategy; Sales; Business Strategy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Retail Industry

April 2004 (Revised September 2004)
Case

IKEA Invades America

By: Youngme E. Moon

In 2002, the IKEA Group is the world's top furniture retailer, with 154 stores worldwide. In the United States, IKEA operates 14 stores, all of which have been enormously popular despite their self-service requirements. The company's goal is to have 50 stores in... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Goals and Objectives; Competitive Advantage; Globalized Firms and Management; Retail Industry; United States