Publications

December 2007 (Revised December 2008)
Case

China Netcom: Corporate Governance in China (A)

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Ning Xiangdong and Tracy Manty

With its dual listings on the Hong Kong stock market and New York Stock Exchange, state-owned enterprise, China Netcom was mandated to meet the listing requirements of these exchanges. From this initial step, China Netcom's Chairman, Zhang Chunjiang, began a program... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; State Ownership; Public Ownership; Financial Markets; Capital Markets; Telecommunications Industry; China

April 2006
Case

Edison Schools, Inc.: From the Candle to the Light Bulb?

Edison Schools, Inc., a pioneer in the for-profit management of public schools, demonstrates the challenges and opportunities related to private sector involvement in the delivery of a public good. Follows the organization from its start-up through its initial public... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Public Sector; Education; Conflict and Resolution; Public Administration Industry; Education Industry; United States

December 2004 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Cheetah Conservation Fund Bush Project, The

Laurie Marker, head of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, is trying to form a for-profit institution, the Bush Project, to control the bush encroachment problem in Namibia. Bush encroachment not only destroys the general ecosystem, but it also has a harmful impact on the... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; For-Profit Firms; Emerging Markets; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Strategy; Africa

February 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Open Market, Inc.: The E-Commerce Wars

By: James I. Cash Jr., Janis Lee Gogan, Michael Haselkorn and Mani Subramani

Continues the story of Open Market, Inc., a company founded in 1994 to support electronic commerce on the Internet. Despite a very successful initial public offering, the firm had reached a growth plateau, and the management team was considering several strategic... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Channels; Product Marketing; Product Development; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

22 Jul 2021
News

Three Keys to Unlock Lasting DEI Change in Organizations

16 Jan 2020
News

How Global Leaders Should Think About Solving Our Biggest Problems

02 Apr 2019
News

The Right Way to Get Your First 1,000 Customers

28 Jun 2018
Video

Improving Health Care Through Research

6 PM – 7 PM EST, 04 Mar 2021
Virtual Programming

Water & Climate Change: Innovating for Access and Efficiency

The Harvard Business School Business & Environment Initiative and Food, Agriculture, & Water Club invite you to join us for Water & Climate Change: Innovating for Access and Efficiency. This discussion will aim to highlight the connection between climate change and... View Details

February 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Kendle International Inc.

By: Dwight B. Crane, Paul W. Marshall and Indra Reinbergs

Candace Kendle and Christopher Bergen, the CEO and COO of Kendle International, Inc., are reviewing ways to finance the growth of their privately-owned company. Kendle is a contract research organization that conducts clinical drug trials for pharmaceutical and... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Financing and Loans; Venture Capital; Stock Options; Banks and Banking; Debt Securities; International Finance; Financial Strategy; Management Skills; Private Ownership; Initial Public Offering; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

Program

Transforming Customer Experiences

companies, product companies with service-based strategies, or companies shifting from a product focus to a service focus. The program will be most helpful for individuals who have the authority to initiate change across the organization.... View Details

Program

The HR-Executive Suite Connection

management to engage fully in every aspect of senior leadership discussions. As you analyze the core business challenges and opportunities that arise in typical executive committee meetings, you will improve your ability to build and implement strategic View Details

15 Mar 2024
HBS Case

Let's Talk: Why It's Time to Stop Avoiding Taboo Topics at Work

organization’s ability to groom successors, threatening performance. “This leads many ambitious 50-year-olds to leave the company in search of better opportunities,” Wing says. Instead, companies would be wise to initiate an open dialogue... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

January 2008
Article

Mastering the Management System

By: Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton

Companies have always found it hard to balance pressing operational concerns with long-term strategic priorities. The tension is critical: World-class processes won't lead to success without the right strategic direction, and the best strategy in the world will get... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Systems; Operations; Performance Improvement; Strategy

January–February 2022
Article

Operational Disruptions, Firm Risk, and Control Systems

By: William Schmidt and Ananth Raman

Operational disruptions can impact a firm's risk, which manifests in a host of operational issues, including a higher holding cost for inventory, a higher financing cost for capacity expansion, and a higher perception of the firm's risk among its supply chain partners.... View Details

Keywords: Operational Risk; Operational Disruptions; Information Asymmetry; Control Systems; Operations; Disruption; Risk Management

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2012
Working Paper

Why Every Company Needs a CSR Strategy and How to Build It

By: Kash Rangan, Lisa Chase and Sohel Karim

The authors argue for a strategic and pragmatic, rather than ideological, approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that contrasts sharply with the prevailing Shared Value framework offered by Porter and Kramer (HBR; Jan.-Feb. 2011). We assert that, despite... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Values and Beliefs; Profit; Practice

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Research Summary

Innovation and Productivity

In this stream of research, Professor Steinwender examines how firms adjust their innovative behavior and productivity in response to changes in the external environment. Analyzing Spanish firm-level data, she finds that two mechanisms proposed in the economic... View Details

2016
Working Paper

Pivoting Isn't Enough: Principled Pragmatism and Strategic Reorientation in New Ventures

By: Rory McDonald and Cheng Gao

New technology ventures often experience deviations from their original plans that oblige them to reorient in pursuit of better fit between their evolving products and target customers. Yet research is largely silent on how entrepreneurs explain and justify their... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Reorientation; Technology Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Product Development Processes; Organizational Adaptation; Qualitative Methods (General); Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Communication; Entrepreneurship; Alignment; Innovation and Invention; Product Development