Publications

25 Apr 2012
What Do You Think?

How Will the “Age of Big Data” Affect Management?

them "data whisperers") is so acute that it may be years before a sufficient supply can be trained. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that up to 190,000 are needed now in the US, along with 1.5 million View Details

Keywords: Re: James L. Heskett

2002
Chapter

Cooperative Customer Management: Is There Strategic Potential for a New Relationship between Retail and Industry?

By: Christian H.M. Ketels, Dirk Seifert and Alexander Kracklauer

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Cooperation; Supply Chain Management; Retail Industry; Manufacturing Industry

01 Jun 2022
News

Eyes in the Skies

after analyzing supply chains and integrating geospatial intelligence with AI-driven analysis at companies such as IHS Markit, DigitalGlobe, and CAPE Analytics. With satellites scoping the same terrestrial locations up to 15 times a day,... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand

01 Sep 2018
News

Ask the Expert: Delivering the Goods

clients on e-commerce, supply chain, delivery, and global postal transformation. Here, he fields your questions about what the emerging race to your front door means for the future of last-mile delivery. Will 3D printing do to the Postal... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

24 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

These Coronavirus Heroes Show Us How Crisis Leadership Works

in Galway, Ireland. He has publicly committed to double production from 5,000 to 10,000 units per month, but that is just the start. Next come the challenges of getting supplies from all over the world, hiring and training new employees,... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Health

28 Apr 2008
HBS Case

Negotiating with Wal-Mart

perspective. There are numerous media accounts of the corporate monolith riding its suppliers into the ground. But what about those who manage to survive, and thrive, while dealing with the classic hardball negotiator? In "Sarah... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

August 2013 (Revised January 2016)
Case

Sustainability at Siemens

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Amy C. Edmondson, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Emer Moloney

Describes sustainability efforts at Siemens since arrival of Chief Sustainability Officer, Barbara Kux, in 2008. Asks students to evaluate success of those efforts and outline what the company should do going forward. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Sustainability; Energy Efficiency; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Energy Conservation; Environmental Sustainability; Gender; Electronics Industry

February 1978
Case

Sierra Log Homes, Inc. (A)

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes the history and evolution of the log home manufacturing industry, a rapidly growing embryonic industry capitalizing on the back-to-basics lifestyle changes in the United States. Focuses on one of the leading firms in the industry, but allows a discussion of... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Change Management; Industry Structures; Supply and Industry; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; United States

Career Coach

Erika Osterling

Erika (HBS '09, ITESM '00) brings 20 years of experience as an operating leader and advisor. She has spent most of her career within Energy & Industrial, with additional roles in Consumer and Retail. Erika's 12+ year career at GE progressed from View Details

Keywords: Energy; Oil & Gas; Energy; Private Equity; Financial Services (All); Manufacturing

Research Summary

Overview

By: Antonio Moreno

Professor Moreno’s research explores how digital technologies are reshaping operational processes, with a particular focus on retail and service industries. His early work examined omnichannel retail—the integration of online and offline channels to create seamless... View Details

Keywords: Omnichannel; Omni-channel; Omnichannel Retail; Omnichannel Retailing; Retail; Operations; Supply Chain Management; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Retail Industry; Technology Industry; Service Industry; Europe; Spain; Latin America

March 1979 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Chain Saw Industry in 1974

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes the structure of the chain saw industry in 1974, when it is on the threshold of a major period of growth. Data are provided on each significant competitor. The discussion should center around strategies in a growing market for differently situated... View Details

Keywords: Industry Growth; Corporate Strategy; Industry Structures; Growth and Development Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

01 Mar 2016
News

Off Script

according to one study—and the limited lifespan of patent rights. What can the pharmaceutical industry and government regulators do to improve conditions? We put your queries to Fred Hassan (MBA 1972), a managing director at Warburg... View Details

Keywords: Insurance Carriers and Related Activities; Finance

01 Apr 2001
News

New Ventures New Gains

realities. “In recent years, the student appetite for entrepreneurial ventures has increased significantly,” says HBS professor of management practice Myra M. Hart, who has studied the career trends of HBS graduates. “The contest gives... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna and Susan Young; Martin Dubilier (MBA 1952); Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

March 2005 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Procurement at Betapharm Corp. (A)

Presents a move by Betapharm to centralize procurement and e-sourcing and the many control and incentive issues that arose subsequently. View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Governance Controls; Supply Chain Management; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

March 1999 (Revised June 2004)
Case

Keurig

By: Paul W. Marshall and Jeremy Dann

Nick Lazaris becomes Keurig's third CEO in three years, after one founder was fired and the other decided to leave the company. He inherits a company that has made several abortive attempts to launch its new coffee brewing system. Now, problems with crucial suppliers... View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Product Launch; Supply Chain Management; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Manufacturing Industry

06 Jun 2013
Op-Ed

How to Do Away with the Dangers of Outsourcing

challenge of managing relationships with "partners" or "associates." Yet as the Rana Plaza disaster and too many other examples show, every outsourced stop along the supply and production... View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati; Manufacturing; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion

01 Jun 1999
News

Myra Hart Named to Professorship

Myra M. Hart, an expert in entrepreneurship, has been named MBA Class of 1961 Professor of Management Practice. She holds the MBA Class of 1961 Professorship concurrently with William J. Poorvu, who has been its incumbent since 1989. A... View Details

September 1992 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Staples, Inc.

By: David E. Bell

Staples is dissatisfied with the merchandising of its office furniture. The case reviews the situation, allowing students to consider whether the category should be dropped or changed. Permits consideration of the portfolio of products a positioning implies, and... View Details

Keywords: Change; Product Positioning; Supply Chain; Salesforce Management; Manufacturing Industry