Publications

25 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 25

reduced the temptation governments face to intervene in the operation of large strategic enterprises. In the Leviathan as a minority shareholder mode, governments have small equity ownership in corporations and in general do not intervene... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Porter’s Perspective: Competing in the Global Economy

proximity that clusters provide, companies can do things together without formal ownership or legal relationships. And this kind of flexibility opens up more possibilities for change and dynamism, which are crucial ingredients in a modern... View Details

Keywords: Re: Michael E. Porter

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

ASOS PLC

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Launched in 2000, ASOS was one of the world’s largest online fashion specialists in 2018. Focusing on young consumers aged 16–25 years, the company offered over 85,000 items on its websites, many times more than the largest fashion stores, and added several thousand... View Details

Keywords: ASOS; AsSeenOnScreen; Online Fashion; Online Apparel; Nick Beighton; Nick Robertson; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Social Media; Marketplaces; Shipping; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Gender; Currency Exchange Rate; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

January 2008 (Revised August 2011)
Case

ProntoWash: Washing the World's Cars to a Tango Beat

ProntoWash management considers whether franchising and the Balanced Scorecard could be combined to help customer-facing employees provide consistent service across the world and capture relevant management information. In 2007, ProntoWash, an international car-wash... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Growth and Development Strategy; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Franchise Ownership; Performance Consistency; Argentina

December 2009 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Diamond Foods

By: David E. Bell and Mary Louise Shelman

CEO Michael Mendes has transformed a grower-owned cooperative into a publicly traded top marketer of snack foods. Diamond's organization, culture, product development process, advertising and promotion strategy, and specifically its marketing department have been built... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Business Model; Customer Focus and Relationships; Leadership; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Cooperative Ownership; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; United States

29 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Work 3.0: Redefining Jobs and Companies in the Uber Age

as Lyft, Postmates, Upwork, TaskRabbit, and scores of others like them—connect large numbers of independent contractors providing services with customers seeking those services. The companies profit by taking a cut of the revenue for... View Details

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu; Transportation; Web Services

02 Nov 2016
What Do You Think?

Are Employees Becoming Job 'Renters' Instead of 'Owners'?

Summing Up: Is Job Ownership Nature or Nurture? Employees increasingly are becoming “job renters.” For some, it is a disturbing trend. It doesn’t have to happen. And the phenomenon isn’t universal. These observations by respondents to... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

March 1999
Case

Australia's Telstra Corporation (A): Going Public

By: W. Earl Sasser, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Frank Blount is named CEO of Telstra, Australia's state-owned telecommunications giant. In preparation for its 1997 IPO, he must reorganize the company from an inefficient public entity into a lean, customer-driven organization. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Initial Public Offering; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customer Focus and Relationships; State Ownership; Performance Effectiveness; Privatization; Telecommunications Industry; Australia

Find at Harvard

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Angels Face the Innovator’s Dilemma

limited by how quickly customers can learn and how quickly their lives and needs can change. At the same time, he said, the pace of technological progress almost always outstrips the ability of customers to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

03 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 3

wrongdoers is consistent with their judgments, and we offer preliminary evidence on how to reduce these biases. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-020.pdf Stock Price Fragility Authors:Robin Greenwood and David Thesmar Abstract We investigate the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Cable TV: From Community Antennas to Wired Cities

sets. To demonstrate the sets, he secured informal permission from his employer to string an electrical wire from a local hilltop to serve as an antenna for the reception of signals from Philadelphia stations. When customers who purchased... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann; Media & Broadcasting; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation

July 2008 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Affinity Plus (A)

By: Dennis Campbell and Peter Tufano

The executive team at Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union has pushed the concept of members first deeply throughout the organization, empowering employees to put member-owners' interests ahead of either the organization's interests or their own interests. As a result of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Financial Institutions; Financing and Loans; Profit; Cooperative Ownership; Conflict of Interests; Strategy

12 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 12

sectors. We focus on the presence of incumbent female-owned businesses and their role in promoting higher subsequent female entrepreneurship relative to male entrepreneurship. We find evidence of agglomeration economies in both sectors, where higher female View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 23

requiring commitment mechanisms. I suggest that a small set of large institutional investors, importantly, but not exclusively, index investors, could provide this commitment mechanism. Common ownership of competitors within industries... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

Cash and the Woman-Owned Business

customers and suppliers; they also provide an important buffer against revenue fluctuations in times when the business meets bumps in the road. Your entrepreneurial investment helps the business get some breathing space while it builds a... View Details

Keywords: by Candida Brush, Nancy M. Carter, Elizabeth Gatewood, Patricia G. Greene & Myra M. Hart

22 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

Online Banks Fill Funding Needs for Small Business

scale, these alternative players have the potential to fundamentally change the way in which small businesses access capital, creating greater competition, price transparency, and a better customer experience. Emerging online players are... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Banking; Financial Services

04 Apr 2008
What Do You Think?

Who Owns Intellectual Property?

"stewardship ... a more realistic term today (with regard to IP) ... (in contrast to) Ownership ... a term from the days of the 'industrial revolution'"? Do you agree that in his words, "... in the multiverse, the more we... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

July 2007 (Revised March 2008)
Case

ABRY Fund V

By: Nabil N. El-Hage, Richard S. Ruback and Leslie Pierson

In January 2006, Andrew Banks and Royce Yudkoff were considering raising a 5th fund for their media-focused private equity firm, ABRY Partners. ABRY had a strong track record that the co-founders attributed to their group's deep knowledge of the media industry and... View Details

Keywords: Cooperative Ownership; Venture Capital; Customer Relationship Management; Asset Management; Private Equity; Judgments; Competitive Strategy; Media; Corporate Finance; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Financial Services Industry