Publications

16 Jul 2024
Op-Ed

Corporate Boards Are Failing in Their No. 1 Duty

and store managers who had the freedom to source materials unique to their marketplace. In his zeal to increase short-term earnings, Nardelli got rid of the customer advisers and centralized procurement while standardizing store offerings. The result was a disaster, as... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

07 Oct 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Securing Online Advertising: Rustlers and Sheriffs in the New Wild West

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman; Advertising

December 2002 (Revised December 2017)
Background Note

Teaching Old Companies New Tricks: The Challenge of Managing New Streams Within the Mainstream

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Describes the challenge of starting new ventures or new activities in established companies, especially if they diverge from the mainstream of ongoing commitments. Fledgling ventures require a different kind of management that acknowledges their uncertainty, intensity,... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Teaching; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Organizations; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Corporate Strategy

09 Nov 2023
HBS Case

What Will It Take to Confront the Invisible Mental Health Crisis in Business?

Cohen’s recent case studies spotlights Zak Pym Williams, the son of the late comedian Robin Williams, who is spreading awareness about mental illness after struggles following his dad’s suicide. Another case highlights the Staglins, a family of winemakers whose... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Health

05 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 5

discussed in terms of strategic and non-strategic linguistic cues. Working PapersFinding the God Particle of the Sustainability Business Case: Greener Pastures for Shareholder Value Authors:Bertoneche, Marc L., and Cornis Van der Lugt Abstract The View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Getting Down to the Business of Creativity

individual. Of course it does. But it also depends on creative thinking as a skill that involves qualities such as the propensity to take risks and to turn a problem on its head to get a new perspective. That can be learned." “Our... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Entertainment & Recreation

31 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Taking the Fear out of Diversity Policies

If you start a discussion about workplace diversity policies, don't be surprised if the hopeful topics of ethnic, racial, and gender heterogeneity lead to negative discussions about sexism, bigotry, and injustice. "Talking about and... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

31 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: Jan. 31

Perhaps negotiation teachers wanted to see themselves as surrogate peacemakers and problem solvers, bringers of value-creating light to the world through the future of good works of their charges. They certainly didn't want to see... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne & Carmen Nobel

December 2009
Article

Closing the Customer Feedback Loop

By: Rob Markey, Fred Reichheld and Andreas Dullweber

Realizing that customer retention is more critical than ever, companies have ramped up their efforts to listen to customers. But many struggle to convert their findings into practical prescriptions for customer-facing employees. Some companies are addressing that... View Details

Keywords: Customer Centric Initiative; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain

July 2018 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Rocky Mountain Condiments: Close Encounters with the Legal System for the First Time

By: Lena G. Goldberg

The founder of a Colorado start-up focused on developing a line of condiments confronts a host of legal issues that threaten the viability of her young enterprise. She is suing a co-packer for, among other things, breach of contract, theft of recipes and trade secrets,... View Details

Keywords: Law And Regulation; Start-ups; Founders' Agreements; Cross-Border Jurisdiction; Torts; Consumer Protection; Non-disclosure Agreements; Intellectual Property Protection; Fraud; Legal Remedies; Law; Lawsuits and Litigation; Laws and Statutes; Business Startups; Contracts; Intellectual Property; Food and Beverage Industry

03 Nov 2015
First Look

November 3, 2015

at facilitating communication and collaboration between practitioners and academics by introducing key vocabulary and concepts used in rigorous impact evaluation methods, starting with randomized controlled trials and comparing them with... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Choosing the Course of Passion: Brooke Boyarsky Pratt at knownwell

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz and Alexis Lefort

Brooke Boyarsky Pratt (HBS ’13) enjoyed considerable success in her early career, quickly climbing the ranks to associate partner at McKinsey, and later becoming an executive vice president at Berkadia, a Berkshire Hathaway portfolio company. Throughout these years,... View Details

Keywords: Passion; Career; Career Planning; Purpose; Personal Development and Career; Mission and Purpose; Identity; Business Startups; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Health Industry; United States

08 Nov 2016
First Look

November 8, 2016

consequence of actual leverage than it is of risk premiums. Standardized Color in the Food Industry: The Co-Creation of the Food Coloring Business in the United States, 1870–1940 By: Hisano, Ai Abstract—This working paper examines how, View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 2

since the human genome sequence was completed-has changed the way we think about, study, and approach the development of novel therapies. However, these advances in knowledge have so far not been reflected in substantial medical progress in many areas. The View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Reforming Social Science

By: Max H. Bazerman

Social science research affects all of us. When researchers learned organ donation rates are higher in countries where human organs are automatically available for donation unless you specifically “opt-out” of the system, as opposed to countries like the U.S., where... View Details

2023
Working Paper

The Effects of Inconsistent Work Schedules on Employee Lateness and Absenteeism

By: Caleb Kwon and Ananth Raman

Problem Definition: Employee lateness and absenteeism pose challenges for businesses, particularly in the retail industry, where punctuality is vital for optimal store operations and customer service. This paper relates employee lateness and absenteeism with... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Employees; Human Capital; Retail Industry

SSRN

Read Now

October 1990 (Revised November 1992)
Case

Ceramics Process Systems Corp. (A)

By: Clayton M. Christensen

A small ceramics company started by a group of MIT professors struggles with some basic technology strategy issues. A plan to take "one commercializable step" at a time in order to get a foothold in the market goes awry because of incompatibility between the company's... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Technology; Problems and Challenges; Market Entry and Exit; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Research and Development; Production; Manufacturing Industry; Cambridge

Find at Harvard

October 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

HP Consumer Products Business Organization: Distributing Printers via the Internet

By: Rajiv Lal, Kirthi Kalyanam, Shelby Mc Intyre and Edie Prescott

In spring 1998, Pradeep Jotwani, vice president and general manager of the Consumer Products Business Organization of the Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP), was contemplating the increasing success of e-commerce and its implications for his division. The consumer products group... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Marketing Channels; Business Processes; Problems and Challenges; Partners and Partnerships; Sales; Business Strategy; Information Technology; Consumer Products Industry

October 2022
Case

Afrigen Biologics: Vaccines for the Global South

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia Comeau

The majority of vaccines used on the continent of Africa (99%) are produced offshore. This makes African nations reliant on the West for major health care needs, a problem which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Afrigen Biologics (in partnership with the WHO)... View Details

Keywords: Vaccination; Vaccine; mRNA; COVID; COVID-19; Inequity; Hub-and-spoke; Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Production; Social Issues; Business and Government Relations; South Africa; Africa